Lawyers Using Social Media More, Says ABA Tech Survey

In the past year there’s been an increase in lawyers’ social media use, according to the 2012 ABA Legal Technology survey. Out of 823 respondents, 22 percent indicated that their firm had a blog, Bob Ambrogi’s LawSites blog reports. Last year that number was 15 percent. The survey also asked…

Aug 16, 2012 6:57 PM CDT

Are You Suspicious of People Who Don’t Have a Web Presence?

This week at The Not-So-Private Parts, Forbes blogger Kashmir Hill responded to commenter backlash to a post she wrote last week citing Slashdot and Slate that drew the conclusion that it’s suspect for an individual not to have a Facebook account. Hill herself doesn’t feel this way, noting that her…

Aug 15, 2012 7:59 PM CDT

Cybersecurity Is Top of Mind for General Counsel and Co. Directors

For the first time in 12 years of surveying general counsel and corporate directors of public companies, data from the “Law and the Boardroom Study” show that data security is the top concern. The annual survey by FTI Consulting and Corporate Board Member reached out to 1,957 general counsel and…

Aug 15, 2012 10:07 AM CDT

Drexel Law Prof to Use $500K Grant to Expand LawMeets, an Online Lawyering Skills Platform

Law students looking for real-world experience negotiating deals and counseling clients have a virtual sandbox thanks to a Drexel law professor whose innovative start-up has won backing from the National Science Foundation. At the end of July, the NSF awarded Prof. Karl Okamoto $500,000 to expand his Web-based LawMeets, which…

Aug 14, 2012 12:44 PM CDT

Online Marketing, Including Lead Generation, Is Addressed in Changes to ABA Ethics Rules

Online marketing tools for lawyers are addressed in revisions to the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct approved Monday by the ABA House of Delegates. When do online discussions give rise to duties to prospective clients? May a lawyer generate leads through Groupon? What type of online communications are impermissible…

Aug 6, 2012 8:01 PM CDT

Lawyers Have Duty to Stay Current on Technology’s Risks and Benefits, New Model Ethics Comment Says

Updated: Lawyers can’t be Luddites, according to changes to the model ethics rules approved Monday by the ABA House of Delegates. Some of the changes approved by the House update the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct to acknowledge that information is stored digitally as well as in paper files,…

Aug 6, 2012 7:46 PM CDT

Lawyers Say Predictive Coding Gets Them to Key Docs Fast, But Wonder If Savings Claims Are Overblown

Predictive coding does save money and helps lawyers quickly identify key documents in big cases, attorneys say. However, participants in a small study conducted for FTI Consulting wondered whether the cutting-edge computerized document review technique really saves as much as some claim it does, reports Reuters. Some also were concerned…

Aug 6, 2012 11:23 AM CDT

Know the Questions to Ask So You Can Practice Ethically in the Cloud

When it comes to small law firms ethically practicing “in the cloud,” knowing what questions to ask can be as important as the answers. Philadelphia attorney Daniel Siegel clued in his audience to some state ethics opinions that highlight those questions in his presentation, “Moving Your Practice to the Cloud…

Aug 2, 2012 10:30 PM CDT

5 Tips for Time and Technology Management

Unlike many programs at an annual meeting, one began Thursday at 8:30 a.m. sharp: “Time Management: Is It Really 5:00 p.m. Already? Where did the Day Go?” The biggest takeaway from the Law Practice Management Section program is that what we have known as time management has largely become a…

Aug 2, 2012 3:39 PM CDT

Of Sound Mind: Make Plans for Your Digital Estate

Aug 1, 2012 6:50 AM CDT

Beyond Prediction: Technology-Assisted Review Enters the Lexicon

Aug 1, 2012 6:09 AM CDT

Samsung Sanctioned in Big-Bucks Patent Case for Not Turning Off Company Email Auto-Delete System

A federal magistrate judge in California who is overseeing part of a big-bucks patent infringement case concerning Apple Inc.’s smartphones has sanctioned Samsung Electronics Co. over its use of its own proprietary email system. Finding that the Samsung system, which automatically deletes email after two weeks unless employees save them,…

Jul 26, 2012 4:48 PM CDT

Workplace ‘Bring Your Own Device’ Policies Save Money Now, But May Risk Future Litigation

There are a number of reasons why employers often find it beneficial to acquiesce to workers who wish to use their own personal electronic devices on the job. But adopting so-called Bring Your Own Device policies, while a money-saver for employers in the short run, can create a number of…

Jul 17, 2012 10:50 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Bar Associations Too Cautious on Ethics of Cloud Computing, Blogger Writes

Clouded Judgment At My Shingle, Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant takes various state bar associations to task for their uniformly similar recommendations that lawyers get their clients’ express consent when they store clients’ data in cloud platforms. “Not only does this kind of requirement throw up a red flag that…

Jul 13, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Law Prof Twitter Users Are Mostly Male, Tally Finds

Nearly 200 law professors are on Twitter, and the majority of them are male, according to a blogger’s new tally. Writing at the Faculty Lounge, Pace law professor and Twitter user Bridget Crawford released her “very beta version” of law prof Twitter users. The original list had grown from 93…

Jul 12, 2012 10:30 AM CDT