Practice Technology

‘Get a Life’ Attendees Focus on Efficiency—and Smelling the Roses

Mary Schmitt Smith stopped to smell a rose at a lawyer conference in Chicago on Wednesday—and that was part of the point. “It’s a serious attempt at having fun,” the suburban Detroit attorney said of the Get a Life conference, aimed at offering attorneys tools for better work-life balance. “There’s…

May 28, 2009 2:38 AM CDT

More Lawyers Getting iPhones, But What Are the Best Apps?

According to this year’s ABA Technology Survey, the availability of the iPhone at law firms is inching upward, which means that more lawyers are adrift on a sea of available apps. The iPhone “barely registered” on last year’s survey, said Catherine Sanders Reach, director of the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource…

May 18, 2009 7:45 PM CDT

Vacation or Not, Lawyers Should Be Available via E-mail, Cleary Partner Says

Even when a lawyer is on vacation, he or she should still routinely be available by e-mail, a London partner of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton tells his partners in a recent e-mail. An “out of office” auto-reply saying that an attorney is unavailable is acceptable only in rare circumstances,…

May 18, 2009 7:04 PM CDT

Tweets Create Legal Issues for Lawyers and Employers

Although the social networking phenomenon is so new that best practices are still being developed, Twitter “tweets” are a potential litigation minefield for attorneys, their employers and other businesses. By answering, in 140 characters or less, the question “What are you doing now?” corporate and professional employees “may convey proprietary…

May 15, 2009 10:48 PM CDT

Duane Morris Lawyer Is ‘Hooked on Yelp’

Lawyer Daniel Winslow is among the business travelers who are looking to social networking sites to learn about the best local restaurants, accommodations and interesting events. Winslow, a partner with Duane Morris in Boston, tells the New York Times he needs to know about the best places to meet current…

May 7, 2009 1:27 PM CDT

Two Legal Websites Win Webby Awards

The Webby Awards, known as the Oscars of the Internet, honored some high- profile celebrities last night, but some legal websites also took home honors in the competition. Comedian Jimmy Fallon won “person of the year” for posting his act before going on late-night TV with his talk show, Reuters…

May 5, 2009 4:52 PM CDT

Teaming Up, Starting Anew

For small-firm startups, networking is key

May 2, 2009 1:30 AM CDT

Online Rankings

Martindale-Hubbell and Chambers & Partners have agreed to make Chambers’ rankings of attorneys and commentary available on Martindale-Hubbell’s website.

May 2, 2009 1:00 AM CDT

No Way Back

Don’t look now, but a technology revolution is changing the way lawyers work

May 2, 2009 12:30 AM CDT

Black’s Law Dictionary Now in iTunes

Adding to the ever-expanding toolbox for the wired lawyer who needs to work while on the go, West has launched a Black’s Law Dictionary in iTunes. This is the first iPhone/iPod Touch app for the legal publisher and features the most recent edition of the dictionary. “The idea that you…

Apr 24, 2009 3:50 PM CDT

A Justice’s Fall and Streaming High Court Video Discussed at Budget Hearing

The hearing before a House appropriations subcommittee yesterday was supposed to be about the budget for the U.S. Supreme Court, but it veered off topic with talk of cameras in the court and a justice’s fall. The meeting began with “blandishments and collegiality,” Legal Times reports, until a Texas congressman…

Apr 24, 2009 12:51 PM CDT

Wilson Sonsini Offers Free Document Assembly Tool

On Wednesday, Palo Alto, Calif.-based Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati launched a free online tool that drafts term sheets—documents that outline the terms and conditions of a business contract—for preferred stock financing. According to Wilson Sonsini’s website, the tool is a modified version of one its lawyers use internally. Users…

Apr 23, 2009 5:36 PM CDT

Apple Nixes ‘Baby Shaker’ iPhone Game After Outraged Groups Protest

Apple quickly pulled an iPhone game called “Baby Shaker” after outraged groups condemned the application for encouraging dangerous behavior. Apple confirmed that it nixed the controversial program but did not explain why it was approved in the first place, the Associated Press reports. The application begins with a crying baby…

Apr 23, 2009 11:15 AM CDT

Lawyer Offers to Give $25K to Charity if He Gets 25K Twitter Followers

A blogging lawyer doesn’t think he can top Ashton Kutcher, but he has been inspired by the actor’s agreement to donate 10,000 malaria nets to charity as a result of winning a race with CNN to sign up 1 million Twitter followers. Seattle personal injury lawyer Bill Marler has a…

Apr 21, 2009 1:22 PM CDT

Am Law Founder Steven Brill Back in Journalism

Steven Brill’s plan to save journalism has morphed into a money-making joint venture. Earlier this year, a confidential memo by the American Lawyer founder came to light that advised the New York Times to charge for its Internet content. Now Brill is teaming with two other media executives to build…

Apr 15, 2009 11:58 AM CDT