ABA TECHSHOW.blog

It’s All Over But The Shouting!

Laura Calloway :: Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2009 — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:07:52 GMT

That’s what we say down here in Alabama when the game is over but the fun goes on. Which is exactly where we are with ABA TECHSHOW 2008. There is still a little more packing up and putting away to be done before we can finally put TECHSHOW 2008 to bed, including tabulating the results of all the evaluations and making note of all the good suggestions we received for ways to improve your ABA TECHSHOW experience next year. Final versions of all PowerPoint presentations have been collected, and attendees can expect to receive an email blast with the link to them by next week at the latest. Nevertheless, we’re already busy at work planning for ABA TECHSHOW 2009! ABA TECHSHOW 2009 will take place April 2-4, 2009, once again at the Hilton Chicago, and Tom Mighell will be a tough act to follow! Fortunately, he has agreed to hang around a while longer and act as our director of interactive media for 2009, to make sure our attendees keep blogging, Flickring, and Twittering their way through the show. I am also fortunate to have an extremely capable planning board for next year’s show, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them publicly for agreeing to serve. Returning planning board members include Debbie Foster, who will be serving as vice-chair, Catherine Sanders Reach, Judge Herbert Dixon and Paul Unger. New board members for TECHSHOW 2009 are Reid Trautz, Dominic Jaar, Browning Marean and Ben Schorr. Please mark your calendars for April 2-4 2009, sign up for the ABA TECHSHOW blog feed, visit our web site frequently, and plan NOW to join us next year in Chicago for the world’s premier legal technology continuing legal education conference and expo!

It's a Wrap!

Tom Mighell :: Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:02:48 GMT

Well, it's over -- last week ABA TECHSHOW 2008 saw more than 2,000 attendees, 120 vendors, and 60+ legal technologists presenting more than 50 educational sessions, and from what I've heard so far a good time was had by all. Here are some of the highlights: Keynoter Marc Rotenberg gave a timely and well-received presentation on "The Anatomy of the Eliot Spitzer Investigation," then sat down with me for a lively discussion on privacy issues and how they affect us all. ABA TECHSHOW After Dark was a terrific success, with attendees, speakers, and exhibitors mingling together with food, drink, and the sounds of the Empty Can Band. We were honored to present Cowell Taradash, P.C., the founders of IllinoisDivorce.com, with the first annual Jim I. Keane Award for Excellence in E-Lawyering, at a luncheon that was well attended by our conference registrants. Once again the Taste of ABA TECHSHOW Dinners on Friday night were the place to be, with over 130 of our attendees and faculty dining and discussing technology topics at restaurants around Chicago. As usual, the educational content reigned supreme. Every attendee that spoke to me mentioned the consistently high quality of our ABA TECHSHOW speakers. If you're weren't able to attend, check out the ABA TECHSHOW Buzz, where you can still find blog postings and photos from the conference. We'll be keeping the Buzz going all year long, so that you can keep up on the latest that's going on with ABA TECHSHOW -- just subscribe to the feed! It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2008, but now it's time to turn things over to the new team. I am pleased to announce that Laura Calloway, Director of the Alabama State Bar's Law Office Management Assistance Program, will serve as Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2009. You'll be hearing from her on the TECHSHOW Blog very soon!

ABA TECHSHOW Buzz Is Live!

Tom Mighell :: Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:46:16 GMT

A few weeks ago I mentioned that ABA TECHSHOW 2008 is experimenting with several new tools that make it easier for our attendees (as well as those who couldn't make it) keep up with what's going on at the conference. Well, this afternoon we launched the ABA TECHSHOW Buzz at www.techshow.com/buzz -- it's the place where all the action will occur once the conference gets started! Here's what you'll see there: -- An aggregated feed of blog posts authored by our ABA TECHSHOW attendees, faculty, and even exhibitors. -- A stream of photos taken at ABA TECHSHOW -- A Twitter stream, with conference updates as well as personal messages from our attendees and others -- A Del.icio.us feed, where you can find links to some of the great sites that are mentioned during ABA TECHSHOW You can see everything on the Buzz page, but if you want it to come to you, we've created RSS feeds you can easily add to your favorite newreader. If you want to participate in creating Buzz for ABA TECHSHOW, or if some of these tools are brand new to you, we've posted a Buzz Cheat Sheet (http://www.abanet.org/techshow/docs/2008/buzzcheat.pdf), with instructions on how to use each of the four services. The only rule that we have is: play nice. We reserve the right to remove content that we deem inappropriate for the ABA TECHSHOW audience. Jump right in -- we're ready to start!

Photographs are Not Always the Best Option

Judge Christina Habas — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:27:14 GMT

This is a case involving a collision between an ambulance (running with emergency lights and siren) and a light rail train, which caused the train to derail and collide into a building. The lawyers are using many photographs of the area and the vehicles, taken right after the accident, as well as several dates thereafter. The intersection where the collision occurred was in the midst of significant construction at the time of the collision, and has changed quite a bit since that time. One of the central issues in the case is the visibility of certain things at the scene: whether the ambulance driver could see the light rail train, and vice-versa, as well as the vantage points of various witnesses. Although the lawyers are inundating the jury with photographs, none of the photographs adequately depict the line of sight at critical points in the action. Witnesses are almost always saying that the photographs do not accurately set out what they could, or could not, see. Moral? Think about whether the photographs you have are sufficient to show the jury what you want them to see, or whether their use confuses the jury. Photographs carry with them a great amount of authenticity and credibility, but only if they are not confusing. Lawyers do not always have the luxury of having photographs taken at their direction immediately after an event – instead, we rely on law enforcement or investigators to take sufficient photographs for their needs. Don’t try to force a photograph to be more than it is – thus adding confusion to the trial. If a photograph doesn’t do the trick, consider using drawings based upon testimony, and explain why no photograph shows that unique vantage point. Or better yet, consider using a technology such as Trial Director or Case Map, and asking witnesses to draw on the photograph to enhance the accuracy and applicability to your case. Do not simply use a large number of photographs that do not clarify the witness’ testimony – use a visual aid, but make it the correct visual aid.

ABA TECHSHOW Tips Extravaganza – Helping You Succeed In The Practice Of Law

Dan Pinnington :: Editor, Law Practice Today Webzine — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:55:11 GMT

Year after year, without fail, the best-attended and most highly rated presentations at ABA TECHSHOW® are the "60 Tips in 60 Minutes" sessions. These fast-paced presentations are packed with practical bite-size nuggets of information. For those that aren’t familiar with this format, these are fast-paced presentations in which 3 or 4 of our best ABA TECHSHOW presenters actually run through 60 or more slides in 60 minutes. A tip might show you a simple way to improve client service, manage your time or avoid an ethics trap. Or it might tell you of a really useful Web site, an underused but essential feature of a software program, or a simple and effective way to market yourself. Whatever it’s about, you listen and you get it—and you go back to work and put the tip to use the very next day. Now, I will admit I get more exited about tips than most (OK, more than everyone), but few if any presentations pack more information and education into 60 minutes. It is a guarantee that everyone walks out of an ABA TECHSHOW tips presentation with at least a few nuggets. Exclamations of "wow – I didn’t know you could do that" are frequently heard. Each year at least a few attendees tell us "that was the best presentation I have ever seen". Well, for all those that can’t make it to TECHSHOW, we thought, why not take the same approach for the ABA TECHSHOW issue of Law Practice? So we’ve tapped some ABA TECHSHOW speakers and favorite writers for their best tips on using technology to tune up your practice. They’ve covered some hot trends and topics for your reading pleasure. Read them here. Squeezing Your Office into the Palm of Your Hand Impressing (Not Annoying) Judges Going Paperless Pleasing Clients with Top-Notch Communications Taming Voice Recognition Software Leveraging Google Tools Hot New Web Sites Billing More Time Enjoy the tips! And, if you really like them, please consider coming to see us at TECHSHOW next year. PS: Do You Have Tech Tips to share? We want to hear from you – share your wisdom with your fellow LawPracticeToday e-zine readers. Send your best practical and helpful tips to LawPracticeMagazine@gmail.com. The best will be published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section. —Dan Pinnington, Guest Editor Law Practice Magazine, April 2008 Issue Dan Pinnington writes the Tips & Tricks column for Law Practice, is Editor of Law Practice Today webzine, and is a past chair of ABA TECHSHOW.

Loss or Theft of Laptops and Mobile Devices is a Great Security Risk

Dave Ries :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Planning Board — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:09:04 GMT

Mobile technology is a necessity for most attorneys today. While it provides great benefits, it also presents great risk. Laptops, mobile devices and portable media can be easily lost, stolen or compromised. An August 2007 survey reports that 70% of data breaches result from the loss or theft of off-network equipment. The most common devices involved are laptops and PDAs, followed closely by USB drives. Important first steps are understanding t he risksand then paying constant attention to them. Some additional steps are storing only necessary information, strong authentication, use of encryption, not leaving them visible in cars, and use of security devices, like cable locks. These and other critical security measures will be explored at TECHSHOW on Saturday morning in Securing Your Clients’ Data While on the Road.

Special ABA TECHSHOW Programming for Solo/Small Firm Lawyers

Tom Mighell :: Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:24:34 GMT

If you’re a solo or small firm lawyer in the Chicago area or close enough for a day trip, why not spend next Friday with ABA TECHSHOW? We’re offering two tracks specifically dedicated to solo and small firm lawyers – the 7 must-have technologies for your law practice, how to factor technology into your thinking when hanging out your own shingle, the benefits of voice recognition software, and even e-discovery for the small firm. Single-day passes are available, not only for Friday but for our Thursday and Saturday sessions as well.

Free Ways to Take Advantage of ABA TECHSHOW 2008

Tom Mighell :: Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:33:39 GMT

If you're in the Chicago and you haven't already registered for ABA TECHSHOW 2008, there are two great free ways to get involved. First, if you're a law student (whether you're in the Chicago area or not), did you know that you can attend the entire conference for free? That's 3 days of great legal technology education, all free of charge. There's no better show than ABA TECHSHOW for those who want to learn more about the technology that's available to lawyers, how to better use the technology you already have, and what to expect in the world of legal technology once you graduate from law school. (The only caveat is that the freebies we give out to our attendees are subject to availability -- they go to paid attendees first). The other great way to experience ABA TECHSHOW 2008 is through our free Expo Hall pass. This year we're featuring more than 110 legal technology vendors, all eager to show you the latest in software, hardware, and legal technology services. If you don't have time to attend the whole conference, take an hour or two and walk over to the Hilton Chicago to wander through the Expo Hall. You'll learn a lot there, too! The free Expo Hall pass will be available on the ABA TECHSHOW website on Friday for you to print out and download. Online registration will close Friday, March 7 -- so if you're still planning on attending ABA TECHSHOW, you'll have to register onsite. See you there!

Sears Facing Class Action Lawsuit For Data Breach

John Simek :: Sensei Enterprises, Inc. (www.senseient.com) — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:18:06 GMT

On January 4th, a complaint was filed against Sears, Roebuck and Co. for posting customers’ data online in violation of its privacy policy. On the website, Manage My Home, there was a feature that allowed shoppers to look up past purchases, which could be used to look up the purchase history for any customer, in violation of Sears’s privacy policy. The lawsuit was filed in Illinois on a class action basis for all of the customers damaged. To remedy the breach, the lawsuit is asking for damages along with an accounting by Sears to determine whether the website was misused by criminals. One rumored threat would be a criminal using the information to pretend to be a Sears repair person to get into someone’s house. A copy of the full complaint may be found at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/sears%20complaint.pdf

ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Blog Feed – Call for Live Bloggers

Tom Mighell :: Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:14:50 GMT

For ABA TECHSHOW 2008, we’re creating a master conference RSS feed that will stream all of the blog buzz going on during the show. If you’re attending ABA TECHSHOW and you plan on live blogging (or just plain blogging) from the conference, please send an email to Tom Mighell at tmighell(at)cowlesthompson(dot)com – he’ll get back to you with more details.

More on Security Patch Management

Dave Ries :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Planning Board — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:05:17 GMT

As discussed in the November 11, 2007 blog post, it is critical to apply security patches for all software, both Microsoft and non-Microsoft. The importance of patch management is demonstrated by a recent report by Secunia, a leading security vendor, which reported that, in a 24 hour period, 81% of Windows users were affected by security vulnerabilities in Sun, Adobe, Apple, and Skype software. Last year, Secunia found that 1 in 3 computers in corporate networks were missing critical security patches. The Secunia Personal Software Inspector (Release Candidate 1) scans computers to identify missing security updates. It is free for personal use. Secunia and other security vendors also sell vulnerability scanners for use on networks.

ABA TECHSHOW Tip: Jim I. Keane Memorial Award

Tim Mighell :: Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:29:22 GMT

On Friday during ABA TECHSHOW, we’ll be presenting the first annual Jim I. Keane Memorial Award, for excellence in e-lawyering. The award will be presented to a lawyer or law firm that has demonstrated innovation in the delivery of legal services over the Internet. We’ll be having a special plated luncheon for this event, which is included in the price of registration for our attendees. Don’t miss it!

Don’t Let Sleeping Laptops Lie

Reid Trautz :: American Immigration Lawyers Association (www.aila.org) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:24:10 GMT

Just when it seemed safe to leave your laptop computer in "sleep" or "hibernation" mode, comes a startling report that a computer left in such a mode is extremely vulnerable to confidentiality breaches. A research team that includes researchers from Princeton University and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have found a security flaw in disk encryption technology used in many PCs and Apple computers, allowing unauthorized access to the data. According to the EFF report, "[l]aptops are particularly vulnerable to this attack, especially when they are turned on but locked, or in a "sleep" or "hibernation" mode entered when the laptop's cover is shut. Even though the machines require a password to unlock the screen, the encryption keys are already located in the RAM, which provides an opportunity for attackers with malicious intent." The research paper characterizes this new discovery as a major security flaw because it goes to the fundamental architechual features that disk encryption products have in common. This flaw can be easily exploited on laptops, but servers with encrypted hard drives are also vulnerable. The world of mobile computer security continues to evolve, and lawyers must stay abreast of these developments or face the consequences imposed by Rule 1.6 of our Rules of Professional Conduct. Join us at Techshow on Saturday, March 15 at 9:45 am for Securing Your Client's Data While on the Road to help reduce the risks and improve your productivity while you are working away from your office.

Pocket Guide to ESI For Federal Judges Urges Proactivity

Sharon Nelson :: Sensei Enterprises (www.senseient.com) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 20:20:31 GMT

In January 2008, the Federal Judicial Center published Managing Discovery of Electronic Information: A Pocket Guide for Judges. The primary author is Judge Barbara Rothstein, Director of the Federal Judicial Center, along with Judge Ronald J. Hedges (a former Magistrate Judge in New Jersey, now an e-discovery lawyer with Nixon Peabody), and assisted by Elizabeth C. Wiggins, who often educates federal judges and serves as a Project Director and Senior Research Associate at the Federal Judicial Center. The Guide really emphasizes something that is seen all too rarely, federal judges being more proactive in the management of e-discovery, specifically raising ESI points to consider rather than waiting for the parties to identify and argue over matters. Come and hear about other current development in ED at TECHSHOW during the session entitled Report from the Front Lines: E-Discovery After the New Federal Rules.

Integrate Fedex Shipments Into Outlook With Quickship

Greg Siskind :: Siskind Susser Bland (www.visalaw.com — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:07:50 GMT

f you ship a lot of Federal Express packages, you might find this free download helpful. The big benefit is being able to generate a shipping label from your contacts without having to manually enter the address. You can also track packages, look up rates, schedule pickups and find the nearest Fedex location from within Outlook. These are functions you can handle right now in a web browser so if you don’t want to clutter up Outlook, you might not want this plug in. But if you spend lots of time creating shipping labels or otherwise working with Fedex, you may like this software.

Attendee Tip: ABA TECHSHOW After Dark

Tom Mighell :: ABA TECHSHOW Chair — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:05:55 GMT

For those of you attending ABA TECHSHOW, we’ve got lots of opportunities for you to have fun and get to know your fellow attendees, TECHSHOW faculty, and exhibitor representatives. Our first event takes place on Thursday night, March 13, in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Chicago. The first-ever ABA TECHSHOW After Dark promises to a great way to end your first day at the conference with a live band, food and drink, and some great door prizes. Whatever you end up doing in Chicago Thursday night, make sure your plans include spending some time with us at ABA TECHSHOW After Dark!

Use the 80:20 Rule to Set Information Security Priorities

Dave Ries :: Thorp Reed Armstrong, LLP (http://www.thorpreed.com) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:06:03 GMT

The 80:20 Rule is a rule of thumb for setting information security priorities. It says that implementation of 20% of the key technical security steps will address 80% of the risk. While it has been stated in different ways, Symantec, a leading security vendor, includes in the 20% of technical steps: removing unneeded services, patch management, and enforcing strong passwords. The 80:20 Rule helps to identify priorities, but it is important to address all key information security steps, including people, procedures and technology. This year’s TECHSHOW will include the following sessions which will cover various areas of information security: Securing Your Clients’ Data While on the Road (basic), Anatomy of a Law Firm Data Breach (advanced), and Authentication, Encryption and Log Management (advanced).

Surveillance Recordings

Judge Christina Habas — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:53:00 GMT

10/18/2007: Bockar v. Tartler d/b/a Rocky Mountain Limousine This is a personal injury case involving a car accident. Plaintiff, a radiologist, is claiming significant money damages for his loss of income, claiming that he can no longer work or do any physically demanding activities. Defendant has performed surveillance over a period of three years, and the video shows the Plaintiff doing yardwork, loading various items into cars and walking. Defendant’s attorney has prepared DVD’s with the “highlights” of the hours of video that he plays during Plaintiff’s cross examination. During the examination, many jurors ask questions out of frustration, including, “is that supposed to be the Plaintiff?” During questioning prompted by the jurors’ questions, the Plaintiff testifies that he isn’t sure that the subject of the video is him, as the images presented at the time of that question were not clear. Later in the examination, the video clearly shows the Plaintiff, but because of the earlier confusion, the presentation is confusing and the impact lost. Moral: Obtain sufficient identification and authentication information for any surveillance tapes well in advance of trial. This may be that rare case where written discovery, such as Requests for Admission, can actually assist a trial lawyer. It is generally not the case that surveillance video has greater impact if it is “sprung” on opposing counsel at trial. Set the video up during the party’s deposition by asking specific questions about their physical abilities, obtaining their denial that they are capable of doing those activities, and then use the authentication from Requests for Admission to set up the video so that it can be presented smoothly, without confusion.

Overcoming Barriers to Implementing Technology in Your Practice

Carolyn Elefant :: Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant (www.myshingle.com) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:53:00 GMT

More often than not, I find that I am the greatest impediment to implementing new technology in my practice. Even where a new technology promises to speed up efficiency or reduce costs for clients, I realize that there's always a short term cost - the time required for me to come up to speed. For example, personal resistance accounted for my reluctance to switch back to using a Mac even though I wasted at least an hour a day waiting for my balky Windows machine to reboot. (in case you're curious, I did make the jump, which I described here - http://gdgrifflaw.typepad.com/home_office_lawyer/2007/03/carolyn_elefant.html) In my case, I'm lucky in a way. Since I run a true solo shop (outsourcing to temps where needed), I only need to convince myself to take a new approach. But what about lawyers practicing in larger firms? How do they overcome not just their own resistance but that of the other lawyers who - let's face it - can be a bit on the stodgy side. The Rosen Law Firm in North Carolina had one novel approach - as I wrote here (http://legalblogwatch.typepad.com/legal_blog_watch/2008/02/law-firm-starts.html), the firm bribed lawyers and staff to use its new wiki by offering a $1000 prize. Each time staff added to the wiki, they'd gain another chance to win the cash. By coming to ABA TECHSHOW, we have an incredible opportunity to learn about technologies that can help improve our practice. But attending the show and learning about new technology represents just part of the journey. We need to keep in mind what comes after. I'm going to give some thought to some ideas for post-TECHSHOW implementation which I hope to share in a follow up post.

CIA Not A Role Model For Evidence Preservation

John Simek :: Sensei Enterprises (http://www.senseient.com) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:02:30 GMT

On December 6th, the CIA admitted that it had destroyed videotaped evidence of detainee interrogations. The taped interrogations occurred in 2002, and the tapes were destroyed in 2005, allegedly after they were of no value to the CIA and were not needed for investigations. PC World writes that though the CIA is a government agency and not subject to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, private companies engaging in the same actions could be subject to severe sanctions for destruction of evidence. The Federal Rules require companies to keep electronic records when faced with a lawsuit or the possibility of a lawsuit. There also can be punishment for failure to keep required electronic records. The CIA press release can be found at https://www.cia.gov/news-information/press-releases-statements/press-release-arc hive-2007/taping-of-early-detainee-interrogations.html and the PC World article at http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/140594/cia_not_a_role_model_for_corporate_cios.html

Keeping up with the Buzz from ABA TECHSHOW

Tom Mighell :: Chair :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:04:24 GMT

The Internet continues to roll out some fun tools that are great at keeping people connected and talking about a conference, whether they're attending the conference or not. At ABA TECHSHOW 2008 we plan on making use of some of these tools, and we're really excited about the possibilities. Here are some of the things we're working on for the show: -- A blog feed that will aggregate all of the live-blogging at ABA TECHSHOW, as well as any other blog posts regarding the show. -- A Twitter feed will update conference attendees about upcoming sessions, events, and other fun stuff, via text message or on the Web. -- Got a camera? Bring it to ABA TECHSHOW, 'cause we're working on a Flickr feed that will show all the photos taken at the conference all in one place. -- During the conference our speakers will discuss useful and interesting websites for lawyers and legal professionals. Our del.icio.us feed will allow attendees to create a page of links from some of the sites they learn about. You won't have to be an ABA TECHSHOW attendee to see what's going on during the conference. But if we do this thing right, you'll wish you were :-) If you're attending the show, look for more information in upcoming email blasts or blog posts on how to participate.

No need for a computer: Blackberry rules!

Dominic Jaar :: Bell Canada (www.bell.ca) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 16:29:43 GMT

All you crackberries out there know exactly what I mean! But for anyone that hasn't yet drank the BlackBerry Kool-Aid, you should know that OS 4.5 is on its way and it will offer just about everything your heavy laptop can offer! Thanks to PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2255033,00.asp)we now know what's in store for us! Without reviewing model by model and server by server, lets take a look at some of the great new features offered by the new operating system: • Spell check -- I have a Blackberry 8830 and I hope it is an improved version of the spell check software already available. • BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest -- With the free Google Maps for PDA, the points will have to be of the utmost interest! • Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation -- This is a good plus since, for the moment, the best playlist I can create is an Album or Random. • Voice note recording-- This is a big plus! I installed VR+ to use my Blackberry as a dictaphone or to reply verbally to the emails I receive. Having this feature built into the new models is a treat for Voice recognition software users. • Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player -- Wow! We'll be able to watch our favorite movies and tv shows while commuting to work or waiting at the airport! • Bluetooth stereo music -- Another nice plus since, for the moment, we must use wired headsets to benefit from stereo. • Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo -- This is the grand revolution in my book, but I'm anxious to see if we will need an annual/monthly plan or if RIM got into an agreement with DTG to provide their solution for free. For the moment, I am using eOffice which would be satisfactory if it had delivered all the functionalities it represented. Unfortunately, it does not and the customer support it offers is poor, to say the least. • Native format attachment downloading -- I look forward to seeing the number and types of supported formats. Zip would be nice to open large attachments. Furthermore, it is one thing to download an attachment; it is another to be able to edit them and I will rely a lot on DTG for that task! • HTML e-mails -- Nice to have it bundled, but unless it offers the possibility to turn e-mails into calendar events or notes I don't plan to move away from $20 Bbsmart. • Over-the-air device upgrades -- That is a plus which will definitely help our BlackBerries to stay up to date even while on the road without a computer and a USB connection. • Free/busy calendar lookup -- This will likely be a useful addition, particularly if it is as well done as many of the Windows Mobile software programs. • Searching the server for old e-mail messages -- Due to my high "information hygiene" and the fact that my inbox is purged daily, I can't see any use for myself but I can definitely see the benefit for many (most) people who use their inbox as a document management system. Thanks to RIM for encouraging users to help e-discovery vendors to make a few extra bucks! • Video recording on Curve models -- My BlackBerry 8830 is not equipped with a camera but I could definitely see myself at the last Rush concert filming Neal Pearl during his drum solo. I am sure this is exactly what RIM had in mind. :-) To learn more about the present, past and future of your new best friend (sorry for your dog!), join Brett Burney and I on the Mobile Track at ABA TECHSHOW. We will discuss and review an array of third party software to make your life easier and provide you with tips and how-to's for your preferred mobile platform (Windows mobile, Palm, iPhone, etc.). Bring your PDA with you!

NY Court Rules No Attorney-Client Privilege For E-mail Sent On Employer's Server

Sharon Nelson :: Sensei Enterprises (www.senseient.com) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:56:51 GMT

On October 17th, 2007, the Supreme Court of New York County ruled that a doctor’s e-mails, sent on his employer hospital’s system, were not privileged. The hospital located the e-mails during discovery, did not read them, and notified the doctor of their existence. The doctor moved to suppress the e-mails, claiming they were privileged. The hospital claimed the doctor waived his right to privilege because hospital policy prohibited personal e-mailing while on the job, and the policy included the right to access the e-mails without notice. The doctor argued that he was protected by New York Civil Practice Law 4548, which states that no communication shall lose its privileged character just because it is transmitted electronically. The court applied a four-part test used in a bankruptcy case with similar issues to determine whether the attorney-client privilege would apply to personal e-mails exchanged by an employee with an attorney over a company-controlled communications system. The test states the privilege would not apply where (1) the company maintains a policy that bans personal or other objectionable use; (2) the company monitors employee use of computers or e-mail; (3) third parties other than the employee have a right to access the computer and the employee's e-mail; and (4) the company notifies the employee of its use and monitoring policies. The court concluded that the hospital had met all four requirements in this case, and denied the doctor’s motion to suppress. The full opinion can be found at http://www.nycourts.gov/reporter/3dseries/2007/2007_27429.htm I will be discussing this case as well as other new developments in e-discovery with Judge John Facciola and Browning Marean in “Report from the Front Lines: E-Discovery After the New Federal Rules,” on the E-Discovery track March 14 at ABA TECHSHOW.

ABA TECHSHOW Early Bird Registration Extended!

Tom Mighell :: Chair :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 21:26:44 GMT

That's right -- we're extending our early bird registration deadline to this Friday, February 8, so that you can take advantage of up to $300 in savings over the regular registration price for ABA TECHSHOW. Just head over to the Conference Registration Page (http://www.abanet.org/techshow/register/) and register today!

Missing Personal Information

Laura Calloway :: Alabama State Bar (www.alabar.org) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:47:52 GMT

Numerous news sources began reporting on January 18th that data storage service Iron Mountain had lost a stored backup tape belonging to GE Money. Although there was no record that the tape had been checked out, Iron Mountain discovered it was missing when GE Money requested it in October. It took GE Money almost two months to reconstruct what data the tape had contained, after which they began notifying almost 230 national and regional retailers that the tape contained personal information on around 650,000 of their credit card customers. One hundred fifty thousand of those customers' social security numbers were also reported to be on the tape. Both Iron Mountain and GE Money state that there is no evidence that the tape was stolen or that any of the information has been accessed. One of the reports stated that the tape was unencrypted, however other reports have quoted Iron Mountain officials as saying that "We also understand the tape was created in such a manner to make unauthorized access extremely unlikely and difficult, even for experts with specialized knowledge and technology." Bob Moss, Catherine Sanders Reach and I will discuss issues related to on-line backup and storage of digital information for the law office at our Solo & Small Firm Track session Open Sesame: Ali Baba or the 40 Thieves on Friday, March 14th.

Use Technology To Anticipate Problems

Judge Christina Habas — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 23:19:52 GMT

10/16/07: Bockar v. Tartler d/b/a Rocky Mountain Limousine: 10/16/07

This is a personal injury case involving a car accident. At the start of the case, pursuant to custom, I read a list of witnesses to the jury panel to determine if they know anyone. No jurors raise their hand to indicate that they know any of the witnesses. During trial, as one witness was walking to the witness stand, a juror indicated that she knew the witness, but knew her from her name before marriage.

Lesson? Use technology to help avoid problems in trial. Presenting not only a list of witnesses, but also photographs of them would go a long way toward anticipating this kind of problem. Trials have become extremely expensive: guard against unnecessary expense by anticipating.

About the ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Keynote Speaker

Tom Mighell :: Chair :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:27:10 GMT

We are honored to announce that Marc Rotenberg, the Executive Director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (www.epic.org), will serve as the keynote speaker at ABA TECHSHOW 2008. Our tentative title for the speech is "Who's Watching You? A Conversation About Privacy on the Internet," and we think it's a timely topic for lawyers these days. As the practice of law moves more and more towards using the Internet, huge amounts of confidential information are exchanged, communicated, or stored online. Some of the new online services promise greater efficiencies, better client service, and a more productive practice -- but are there privacy concerns? In addition to his work with EPIC, Mr. Rotenberg teaches information privacy law at Georgetown University Law Center, and has testified before Congress on many issues, including access to information, encryption policy, consumer protection, computer security, and communications privacy. He also serves as the Chair of the ABA Committee on Privacy and Information Protection. We are thrilled that Marc will be our keynote speaker, and we hope you can join us in welcoming him to ABA TECHSHOW 2008. For information on registering for ABA TECHSHOW, visit the website (www.techshow.com).

Persuasive Use of Timelines at Trial

Judge Christina Habas — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:41:55 GMT

9/11/07: People v. Davis, Courtroom 8, Denver District Court This is a complicated case brought under Colorado’s version of RICO, the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act. The case involves allegations of a conspiracy among numerous inmates at various correctional facilities over a span of some 15 years. The People have prepared timelines showing inmate’s assignments and movement among these facilities. There are so many different versions of timelines, however, that they have become nearly useless. Each inmate has a timeline, and each of these timelines takes 3 or 4 pages, making it cumbersome for jurors to review the information. MORAL OF THE STORY: The use of timelines can be far more complicating than helpful. Careful selection of different methods to identify events, people and dates, and allowing them to be compared, is crucial. Use of color, or whittling down the number of items to include in timelines, will often lead to a more useful exhibit. Because the timelines in this case were intended to show when various inmates were housed in the same facility, use of color and less use of words to allow the jurors to easily compare these facts would have made the exhibits far more persuasive and useful.

Widgets are back!

Dominic Jaar :: Bell Canada — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 23:01:49 GMT

No, I won’t take you back to this 1990s animated television series. I am referring to Web widgets, A.K.A. modules, capsules, snippets, gadgets, badges, minis or flakes. Those of you who use iGoogle or Google Desktop, Flickr, YouTube, etc. are probably aware of what widgets are. Even the new Windows Vista Sidebar includes widgets. However, even amongst these users, I suspect many are not aware of how they work and what they can be used for.

Basically, a widget is a portable snippet of code that can be embedded within most web pages in order to provide non-static information. Early examples of widgets were the infamous counters you still see at the bottom of a webpage where you are told you are the 10 000th person to view the page (and you just won 1M$!). However, the most used widget is obviously the advertising banner you see on many sites.

Personally, I use widgets on my iGoogle page to gain access to my Gmail account, to be informed about Law.com news, to access my Bloglines account and to see my new favorites on Del.icio.us. However, what I prefer is to embed within my blog contents from other websites that I think might be of interest to my readers.

For example, I have created this ABA Techshow widget. To place the ABA TECHSHOW blog widget on your blog or website, just insert this code:

Such a widget can act more or less as an RSS feed, i.e. instead of visiting the website every day to see what is new, you could add it to your person

ABA TECHSHOW Registration Open!

Tom Mighell :: Chair :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:06:50 GMT

Registration is now open for ABA TECHSHOW 2008 on the ABA TECHSHOW website. Be sure to register soon, to take advantage of our special Early Bird pricing. This pricing will only be available until February 1, 2008.

We're also pleased to announce that the ABA TECHSHOW 2008 program schedule is now online. You can view the educational sessions by track or from the day-by-day grid. We'll be posting biographical information about our speakers shortly.

Honoring Jim Keane and Excellence in eLawyering

Marc Lauritson :: Capstone Practice Systems (http://www.capstonepractice.com) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:35:46 GMT

Nominations are being accepted for the James I. Keane Memorial Award For Excellence in eLawyering. See http://www.abanet.org/lpm/award/jimkeane/ for details. The awardee will receive a free registration and be recognized at a special luncheon at ABA TECHSHOW. If you or anyone you know is involved in innovative delivery of legal services over the Web, please consider a nomination. Submissions are due by December 31, 2007.

Apple Sued Over iPhone Bricking

John Simek :: Sensei Enterprises (http://www.senseient.com) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:05:42 GMT

On October 5, 2007, California resident Timothy Smith filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the iPhone maker violated the state's antitrust law. The suit was filed in California state court on behalf of Smith by Damian Fernandez, an attorney who has been seeking plaintiffs for a class-action case against Apple over iPhone bricking. Specifically, Smith claims that Apple is violating the Cartwright Act, because the company prohibits iPhone consumers from using and purchasing a cell phone service other than AT&T. The suit also asserts that cell phone unlocking is completely legal, citing traditional copyright law as well as the more recent Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In addition, Smith's suit claims that as a result of Apple's unlawful and anti-competitive conduct, consumers continue to pay artificially inflated prices for the iPhone and AT&T's cell phone service. The suit is asking the court to issue an injunction against Apple, which would prevent it from selling the iPhone with any software lock. It also asks that Apple be enjoined from denying warranty service to users of unlocked iPhones and from requiring iPhone users to get their phone service through AT&T. The complaint does not ask for a specific amount in monetary damages, rather the complaint alleges that the plaintiffs are seeking an amount according to proof at trial. At this point, Fernandez is still recruiting plaintiffs, so the size of the suit is undetermined, but the complaint does point out that there are an estimated 1.28 million iPhone owners who are potential plaintiffs. The complaint may be found here.

Plan for Future Discovery – Think Small…

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:43:59 GMT

The gluttony of today's society for more storage has a new warning on it – higher discovery cost. Businesses are imposing stricter adherence to retention policies for backups and making attempts to "clean house" on server storage. Who is thinking about controlling sizes of the networked PC local hard drive that are often requested to be forensically imaged in litigation?

With the potential need to make forensic copies of hard drives and costs involved with such, consideration should be made for the purchase of networked computers for users with smaller local hard drives. Although most manufacturers today do not make a drive smaller than 40 GB, there is still stock available for the 20 – 40 GB drives.

Adobe Gets Into Word Processing?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 19:14:11 GMT

Adobe Systems announced their acquisition of Virtual Ubiquity at the Adobe Max conference on October 2nd. Virtual Ubiquity produces Buzzwords, an online word processing application. According to the "buzz" this is a feature-rich word processor, with some very slick real-time online collaboration built in. They are only allowing a limited number of people to preview Buzzwords, so you will have to put your name in the hat like everyone else.

Lately Microsoft has been finding real competition within the word processing arena, with the announcement of both software and online word processing applications, including Zoho, Google Docs, Lotus Symphony, Zimbra, plus nods to the standbys such as WordPerfect, OpenOffice, StarOffice, and Page 08 for Mac. Don't let it be said that there isn't a choice for word processing programs. However, making a choice will become more complex as the deciding factors will be cost, compatibility, and collaboration, in addition to feature set.

"Say what?" How about some plain English security warnings, please.

Sheila Blackford :: OSB Professional Liability Fund — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 17:15:14 GMT

I'm feeling syntactically clueless here. I don't know about you, but when I read about the RC4 stream cipher at the heart of the WEP protocol that encrypts packets of my information in a 24-bit initialization vector (IV to those of you who care) which is then "concatenated with the secret 104-bit RC4 common key to form the 128-bit per packet or session key" I get that English-major-sick-to-my-stomach-oh-no-Geekspeak-not-spoken-here feeling. There, I'm feeling better now, honest.

Seriously, I'd like to get "with-it." I'd even like to know why I should be aware of "aircrack-twp which uses the aircrack-ng toolkit" which I'm told is "readily available on the Web as a key recovery tool." Alas, I feel somewhat ambivalent about spending the time to find out what all this means since I suspect it will all be outdated by the time I figure out what I'm reading. Well, those of you who need a little hand-holding from an English major lost in Geeksville, here's what you need to know:

Beware. If you have a wireless set-up on your computer - wireless local area network (WLAN) -- especially if someone else installed it for you, check to see if the network is set up with a WEP protocol - look in your manual. The problem may be that the device still has the out-of-the-box default settings: username "admin" with no password. Yikes. This is as safe as hiding the key to your house under the doormat at your front door. Ok, get it out of there.

As to your WEP problem, change the username and use a strong password which is at least 8 digits and combines numbers, letters, and symbols. "Password" happens to be a "key-under-the-doormat" password and is most often taped in the bottom of your top right drawer of your desk. Ok, you've got to change that, too. Don't feel too bad about the WEP business. A security survey found that only 49% of wireless access point operators in New York City have upgraded from WEP to the more secure Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Oh, and that aircrack-twp, it can recover a 104-bit WEP key in less than 60 seconds, which may not be a fair speed record because I suspect the WEP key is probably "Password" anyway.

Remember To Apply Non-Microsoft Security Updates

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 17:09:48 GMT

Most Windows users know the importance of applying Microsoft security updates for Windows, Internet Explorer, and Microsoft Office products. The second Tuesday of the month is "Patch Tuesday," when Microsoft regularly releases its updates. Microsoft's Security Central web page includes links to the latest security updates and other security information. It is equally important to promptly install security updates for other operating systems, browsers and application software. For example, Adobe recently released a security update for Adobe Reader and Acrobat. According to the Security Bulletin, it addresses critical vulnerabilities that could allow an attacker to take control of an affected computer when these products are used with Windows XP and Internet Explored 7. The exploit could be installed when a user opens a malicious PDF file. Apple, Mozilla, and Skype have also recently released security updates. It is critical to address everything installed on a computer.

Phrase Express: Autocorrect on Speed

Greg Siskind :: Siskind Susser Bland (http://www.visalaw.com/) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 18:13:22 GMT

Here's a handy free tool from Bartels Media. Turn off AutoCorrect in Word and let PhraseExpress store your stock phrases and addresses and have them pop up whenever you type pre-set hotkeys and codewords.

Adding a Large Number of Photographs into PowerPoint 2007: Stop Inserting Photos One at a Time!

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:20:42 GMT

You do not have to insert one photograph and resize them one at a time! PowerPoint 2007 makes it pretty easy, especially if you are not using Sanction, Verdical or Trial Director.

Click on the Insert tab.
Click on the Photo Album button.

Click on the Insert picture from: File/Disk… button and browse out to select the photographs that you would like to include and select Insert.

Arrange the order by selecting the image and clicking on the up or down order buttons. You can also rotate and adjust the contrast and brightness.

Select the Picture Layout drop-down to specify how many pictures per slide and the default size. Fit to slide will resize every photo to fit the entire length and width of the slide.

Finally, select Create.

TIP: This feature is found under the Insert menu bar option in previous versions of PowerPoint .

Plaintiffs (Unsuccessfully) Sue Defendant's Attorneys for Copyright Infringement

Sharon Nelson :: Sensei Enterprises, Inc. (http://www.senseient.com) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:40:24 GMT

On July 20, 2007, the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a case accusing a former defendant’s attorneys of copyright infringement and seeking spoliation sanctions. Healthcare Advocates was the plaintiff in an earlier lawsuit that asserted claims for trademark infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets against a competitor. The Harding firm represented the defendants in that lawsuit, which was dismissed on summary judgment. After losing the first infringement suit, Healthcare Advocates turned their attention to the defendant’s attorneys. Healthcare Advocates claimed that, during the discovery phase of the previous suit, the Harding firm infringed on its copyright rights by viewing and printing copies of the archived images of the Healthcare Advocates' web pages. The Harding firm used a website operated by the Internet Archive to view archived screenshots of Healthcare Advocates' website via a tool called the Wayback Machine. The Wayback Machine allowed the Harding firm to see what Healthcare Advocates' public website looked like prior to the date the complaint was filed. The Harding firm printed copies of each archived screenshot and used the images during the course of the underlying litigation. However, the Harding firm did not actively save any of the screenshots they viewed onto their computer hard drives. Healthcare Advocates claimed that the firm’s use of the screenshots constituted copyright infringement. The court disagreed and granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the Harding firm’s infringing use was excusable under the fair use doctrine. The court further rejected Healthcare Advocates’ request for spoliation sanctions. Specifically, Healthcare Advocates had argued that, since the Harding firm did not save the images directly to their hard drives, the firm had a duty to save the temporary or cache files that a computer automatically stores. Healthcare Advocates argued that if these temporary cache files had been preserved, they would have been able to determine if the Harding firm used the archived images for any purpose other than what had been alleged or admitted. Healthcare Advocates argued it was prejudiced without this evidence, and that the loss of these temporary files entitled it to a spoliation inference at trial. The court found that the Harding firm had no reason to anticipate that using a public website to view images of another public website would subject them to a civil lawsuit containing allegations of infringement, or that temporary cache files would be sought. The court found that very little fault could be attributed to the Harding firm for the loss of these temporary cache files. The court also found that Healthcare Advocates had not suffered significant prejudice from not being able to look at these temporary files, and concluded that sanctions were not appropriate. The full opinion of the court may be found here .

Apple Increases Market Share

Laura Calloway :: Alabama State Bar Practice Management Assistance Program — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:24:54 GMT

Looks like 2008 will be a great year for a Mac Track at ABA TECHSHOW. The New York Times reported in its October 21st edition that Apple will move into third place in the US computer market behind HP and Dell when it announces product shipments for the final quarter of 2007. While Apple's share of the market is still not huge, it's recent sales surge represents growth of 37% as many people have decided to try a Mac after purchasing an iPod or iPhone. Industry watchers believe that the introduction of the new Leopard version of the Mac OS X operating system will continue to drive a shift to Macs, particularly the iBook. 2007 is the first year that laptops made up more than 50% of all computers sold, however, two thirds of all Apple computers sold are laptops.

Tech as Metadata Policy Enforcement

Toby Brown — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:20:33 GMT

Recently I've taken a position with a large firm based in Houston, Texas. Of course large firms bring challenges along with opportunities when it comes to legal technology. One of the more encouraging pieces of technology I've seen here in my first few weeks is called iScrub from Esquire Innovations. In addition to being a worthy metadata removal tool, I have come to appreciate our firm's implementation of the product.

Its integration with Outlook enables policy enforcement, to a greater degree. Any out-going emails that contain Word (or other predefined attachments) receive a pop-up prompting the user to select one of three options. These options are: 1) Full metadata removal, 2) Partial removal, or 3) No removal at all. The third option is primarily for documents sent internally. There is even an option to view the metadata prior to its removal.

Having given countless presentations on the dangers of metadata (most recently to disciplinary counsel), I have come to appreciate the significant lack of knowledge by many lawyers on the issue. Having lawyers aware of the issue is merely step one. Getting them to acquire and use good metadata management tools is step too. Having them create good policies and use technology to enforce those is a big step to step three. So I was pleasantly surprised to see our firm already on step three. Whether you use iScrub or another product, I highly encourage this thoughtful approach to using technology as a policy enabling tool.

Court of Appeals Says Vote-Swapping Sites Are Legal

Sharon Nelson :: Sensei Enterprises, Inc. (http://www.senseient.com) — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:27:45 GMT

After seven years of litigation, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion on August 6, 2007 vindicating the creators of vote-swapping websites that let Al Gore and Ralph Nader fans support their chosen candidates in the 2000 presidential election. The purpose of the sites, which included the now-defunct voteswap2000.com and votexchange2000.com, was to let a Nader supporter in a state where George Bush might win "swap" his vote with a Gore supporter in a state like Texas where Republican victory was practically assured. There was no actual way to enforce the swap. However, some government officials were not amused and came up with the bizarre claim that operating a vote-swap site was a criminal act. California Secretary of State Bill Jones even threatened to prosecute voteswap2000.com and votexchange2000.com. Both websites immediately shut their virtual doors in response to the threat of prosecution, but the fight did not end there. Site operators Alan Porter, Patrick Kerr, Steven Lewis, and William Cody decided to take the state of California to court. After a protracted battle, the Ninth Circuit ruled that the websites’ "vote-swapping mechanisms as well as the communication and vote swaps they enabled were constitutionally protected" and that California’s threats violated the First Amendment. The court noted that the efforts of these websites, while controversial, were conducted honestly and without money changing hands. Neither website has announced whether or not it will reopen its doors for the 2008 election, but the court’s ruling may prompt others to exercise their constitutionally protected right to swap votes. The court’s opinion may be found here.

ABA TECHSHOW Tip of the Week

Greg Siskind :: Siskind Susser Bland (http://www.visalaw.com) — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:58:55 GMT

Turn any airplane headphone jack into an outlet for your gadgets with this new device. It won't power a notebook, but you can certainly run your iPod or PDA with it.

Previewing PDFs in Outlook 2007

Steve Nipper :: Dykas, Shaver & Nipper, LLP (http://www.dykaslaw.com) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:47:17 GMT

Did you know that if you install the new version of Adobe Reader (8.1), built in is a PDF handler (previewer) for PDF (Adobe Acrobat) files? Installing Reader 8.1 thus lets you view PDF files right in Outlook 2007. The instructions for doing it can be found here.

Trustworthiness of Online Legal Resources in Question

Judge Herbert Dixon :: ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Planning Board Member — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:45:26 GMT

The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) has released a very comprehensive study entitled State-by-State Report on Authentication of Online Legal Resources. The study finds that state online legal resources are not authenticated and do not afford ready authentication by standard methods. Additionally, the AALL reports that only three of the state survey respondents expressed special concerns about authentication. According to the study's conclusion, state online primary legal resources are not sufficiently trustworthy and the public may reasonably doubt their authority and should approach such resources critically. The AALL study is a timely wake-up call for work that needs to be done to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of electronically transmitted and maintained legal documents and information. The study is available online at http://www.aallnet.org/aallwash/authen_rprt/AuthenFinalReport.pdf .

Making Sense of Records Management

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:00:56 GMT

Efficiently managing large amounts of information is a constant struggle for lawyers around the country, whether they're practicing in the largest law firm or the smallest governmental office. To address this information overflow, organizations implement records management strategies that take a variety of records – from a paper contract to an email saved on a smartphone – and ensure that the information in those records is accessible and accurate.

The ABA Law Practice Management Section has information about records management, including a book "The Lawyer's Guide to Records Management and Retention" by George Cunningham and John Montana. The 2007 ABA TECHSHOW also had a track on records management, and will continue that tradition in 2008.

Another great resource for records management information and technologies is ARMA, an international association of records management. Their conference is coming up in October in Baltimore, Maryland. Running from October 7th-10th, the conference will highlight topics ranging from e-discovery, records retention, and compliance to a "mini" Sedona Conference.

RAM Data E-discoverable?

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:15:58 GMT

Court date scheduled in case involving access to information in computer RAM for e-discovery. eWeek reports that the U.S. District Court in Central California will hear an appeal of a magistrate's ruling requiring search engines to "create and store all logs" for future possible electronic discovery. Attorneys interviewed for the article discussed possible applicability of ruling to Voice over IP (VOIP) and whether, even if ruling is narrowly tailored, it won't cause other companies to adopt it as a preventive measure.

Use a Passphrase Instead of a Password For Security and Ease of Use

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:12:09 GMT

A strong password should be at least 8 characters long and include a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. Such a password, however can be difficult to remember. The problem is compounded when a user needs multiple passwords for different accounts. A passphrase can be as secure or more secure (if longer) and is much easier to remember. For example, "I Love TECHSHOW 2008!" is 21 characters long, with a good combination of characters. It is much easier to remember than a random password of the same length. (Adapted from a SANS Institute "Tip of the Day.") The SANS Institute is a great resource on information security.

Smart App that Helps Adding Contact Data to Outlook

Greg Siskind -- Siskin Susser Bland (http://www.visalaw.com) — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 13:58:47 GMT

A hat tip to Reid Trautz for turning me on to Anagram. This little application saves tons of time by allowing you to highlight the signature block in an email, right click, and then have an Outlook contact screen pop up fully populated with the data from the signature block. The software is really smart in figuring out what data should go in what field. The software is cheap ($29.95) and can be downloaded on the web at http://www.getanagram.com.

New Electronic Discovery Blog: Ride the Lightning

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:34:51 GMT

Ride the Lightning is the name of the new blog from Sharon Nelson. Sharon is President of Sensei Enteprises, Inc., an electronic discovery and computer forensics firm. Their firm is nationally known as experts in computer forensics and her husband, John Simek, Vice President of the firm, is maybe the most capable computer technologist I've ever met. This blog will no doubt become a "go to" site on forensics and discovery.

More important (to me anyway) is that she and John have become really my good friends over the years. Sharon and I served on ABA TECHSHOW board together and she followed me as chair of TECHSHOW. This summer she and I launched the podcast The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology. Watch her blog. Although it attacks some pretty technical topics, I don't think it will ever be boring.

Help Us Plan ABA TECHSHOW 2008

Tom Mighell -- Chair, ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:51:18 GMT

The ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Planning Board is hard at work putting together our next conference, and we'd like to get you involved. Help us choose the roundtable sessions that will be presented during TECHSHOW. Our popular roundtable sessions are designed to give attendees the opportunity to speak one-on-one with our legal technology experts, in a more conversational setting. To make sure we choose the topics that matter to you, please take this Roundtable Track Poll and vote for your favorite eight (8) topics. Thanks in advance for being a part of the ABA TECHSHOW planning process!

Paperless 2.0

Toby Brown -- LegalSpan (http://www.legalspan.com) — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:48:37 GMT

Going paperless is a new mantra among many lawyers. With litigators proving out the cost savings of going paperless with discovery document collections, more and more lawyers are taking the dive and implementing paperless systems. The obvious cost savings are touted frequently. These include: 1) Scan once versus copy many times. 2) Less rent on file room space. 3) File room staffing costs. And 4) Copiers, toner and other hard costs of copying.

But getting rid of paper is only a partial step in making the most out of a paperless office. Electronic information provides benefits that paper doesn’t. However, some steps need to be taken to gain those benefits. First and foremost, you need to index the information as it is created or scanned. This indexing effort will provide many returns throughout the life of the information.

Un-indexed information is information that is hard (a.k.a. expensive) to find and retrieve. IDC discovered that the average knowledge worker (e.g. most people in a law firm, but especially lawyers) spends 2.5 hours a day looking for un-indexed information . Applying their analysis, a lawyer loses 130 billable hours per year or $19,500 in revenue (with a $150/hour rate) looking for un-indexed information. This number may seem high, but consider the additional costs of staff time and time spent re-creating information or securing it from other sources and the number becomes much more reasonable. So spending some time up-front to properly index electronic information pays off well in the long run.

Going paperless presents a number of challenges. If you are going to spend the time and money to make this effort, do it as smartly as you can. Creating useful indexes of your electronic information will go a long ways towards that goal.

DC Court Orders Restoration of Back-up Tapes in WMATA Disability Rights Case

Thu, 23 Aug 2007 20:50:14 GMT

In the District Court for the District of Columbia, disabled plaintiffs claimed that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) failed to provide adequate services to people with disabilities. Discovery was heavily litigated, and in an opinion dated June 1, 2007, Magistrate Judge John M. Facciola addressed several discovery issues including the production of e-mail from backup tapes. Plaintiffs sought production of backup tapes of certain electronic documents written and received since the filing of the lawsuit. Plaintiffs argued that WMATA should pay to restore the backup tapes since it failed to properly instruct employees to retain potentially responsive electronic documents. Although WMATA presented testimony that its e-mail system was programmed with an automatic deletion feature that deleted any e-mail after it had been in existence for sixty days, the court found WMATA’s failure to suspend the automatic deletion feature indefensible. Plaintiffs proposed that the backup tapes be restored so that, once rendered searchable, their contents could be searched by a keyword analysis to find the e-mails of several persons they had identified by name. Plaintiffs requested that, once the e-mails were found, they be converted into TIFF format, and that production be done on a rolling basis. WMATA objected on the grounds of burden and expense, insisting that the backup tapes were not reasonably accessible and that there was little reason to suppose that they would produce relevant information. The court rejected WMATA’s argument citing the newly amended Rule 26(b)(2)(B) which makes clear that a court may order discovery from sources that are not reasonably accessible upon a showing of good cause and after considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The court found that in this instance the application of these factors made for an overwhelming case for production of the backup tapes. The court’s opinion may be found here .

Outlook on Your Desktop

Greg Siskind -- Siskind Susser Bland (www.visalaw.com) — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:16:24 GMT

I've just discovered a neat little application that I've loaded on the computer. Outlook on the Desktop is exactly what it sounds like. The free program (a donation is requested if you like the application) loads your Outlook calendar as a transparent background image on your desktop of your computer so you can always see what's on your agenda even if you don't have Outlook open. You can download the software here.

Low Tech Deserves Attention

Judge Christina Habas — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 21:10:38 GMT

Carleo v. King is a case involving a claim by one lawyer against another lawyer for breach of a verbal contract. Plaintiff claimed that he represented certain clients in an employment matter, and that case was taken over by the Defendants. Plaintiff claimed that the second lawyer (King) agreed to pay fees for work performed by the first lawyer (plaintiff). Needless to say, this case was document intensive, including thousands of pages of the attorneys' respective files, pleadings and other materials. Because of the large amount of materials, the Court ordered the parties to limit the exhibits in the Juror's Notebooks to 50 pages each side, and to use technology to present any other documents.

The lawyer using technology did a great job of using the exhibits on a large screen, his assistant was able to highlight certain portions of those exhibits on the fly, making those exhibits much more understandable. The problem? The paper versions of the exhibits (both those contained in the Juror's Notebooks and the Court's Notebook) were not tabbed, and in many cases, pages were missing. Moral? Good use of technology does not forgive poor planning of paper exhibits. Think about the use of all exhibits in all forms.

Do Police Need a Search Warrant for a Cell Phone?

Sharon Nelson -- Sensei Enterprises, Inc. (http://www.senseient.com) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:13:59 GMT

On May 23, 2007, a U.S. District Court Judge for the Northern District of California ruled that warrantless searches of three defendants’ cellular phones violated their Fourth Amendment rights. In 2004, the three defendants, Edward Park, Brian Ly, and David Lee, were arrested during the raid of a marijuana hothouse. After they were taken to the San Francisco Police Department, the defendants’ belongings were inventoried including their cell phones. However, before the phones were placed in property bags, SFPD Inspector David Martinovich searched defendant Lee’s cell phone and instructed other inspectors to do the same with the other defendant’s phones. Martinovich admitted to perusing the defendant’s phone and writing down the contacts list before turning it over to the property clerk but claimed that the search was a permissible booking search. When the defendants filed a motion to suppress evidence found on their phones, the prosecution defended the search by likening it to the search of an arrestee’s wallet which is permissible. However, the court disagreed with the government’s analogy and found that a warrantless search of a cell phone goes far beyond the rationale for searches incident to arrest. The judge concluded that there was no basis for an immediate search of the phones such as to prevent concealment or destruction of evidence, and therefore, the police had time to obtain a proper search warrant. Although in this particular case the court ruled the searches unconstitutional, the judge noted that the Fifth Circuit handed down a contrary ruling and that neither the Ninth Circuit nor the Supreme Court had addressed the issue. The defendants’ motion may be found here and the government’s reply may be found here. The full opinion may be accessed by those with Westlaw accounts using the following citation: 2007 WL 1521573.

Certified E-mail Gains Popularity with Internet Providers

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 15:14:41 GMT

On June 7, 2007, Goodmail Systems announced that four more Internet Service Providers will start charging banks, e-commerce sites and other large e-mail senders for guaranteed delivery. Goodmail Systems is expanding its CertifiedEmail program to Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable's Road Runner and Verizon Communications. Yahoo and Time Warner's AOL became inaugural participants last year. Individuals, businesses and organizations will be able to continue sending messages for free, but they risk finding those missives caught in increasingly aggressive spam filters. With Goodmail, a company can pay a quarter of a penny per message to bypass those filters and reach inboxes directly. Recipients see a blue seal verifying that the message is legitimate; senders get confirmations and can resend messages lost in transit. Non-profit groups can participate, too, at about a tenth of the commercial rates. CertifiedEmail is a trusted-class delivery option offered only to qualifying, legitimate commercial and non-profit e-mailers for messages to existing customers and users who have specifically opted in to receive such communications. Once accredited by Goodmail, these senders’ e-mail messages are encrypted and can be detected by participating ISPs. CertifiedEmail messages are labeled with a unique blue ribbon icon in the e-mail program, enabling consumers to immediately distinguish the legitimate messages they want to receive from messages of unknown authenticity or safety. Users of participating ISPs need do nothing extra to receive CertifiedEmail. Their existing webmail programs that they currently use to read e-mail will simply show a new icon, a blue ribbon envelope, which means a message is a CertifiedEmail. The icon appears in both the inbox list view and in a special pane above the message when opened. The blue ribbon icon is universal across all ISPs and mailbox providers supporting CertifiedEmail. The service is designed to certify credit card statements, e-commerce receipts and other communications with existing customers. Although it is a service targeted at larger corporations and groups that can afford the charge, their messages are the ones most likely to be mischaracterized as junk. The announcement made by Goodmail may be found here.

"Round-tripping" and Document Assembly

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:17:51 GMT

One of the longstanding wouldn't-it-be-greats of legal document automation has been the ability to assemble a draft from an intelligent model, hand-edit it to reflect nuances of a transaction or results of negotiation, and then re-assemble it using stored answers to reflect an intervening change of basic deal terms (like parties or financial details) ... without losing those hand edits. Sounds reasonable; turns out to be very tricky.

As mentioned in a paper on current frontiers of document automation that I presented at the recent international conference on artificial intelligence and law, several vendors have achieved aspects of this over the years. One of the latest to claim victory is Exari. Check out their new RoundTrip features. I'll discuss this and related developments in future posts.

The New ABAJournal.com - Legal News Now

Posted by Edward Adams -- Editor, ABA Journal (http://www.abajournal.com) — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:25:15 GMT

The ABA Journal, which is read by more than half the nation's 1.1 million lawyers every month, has radically revamped its website. It aggregates and filters breaking news from the nation's best legal journalists and daily analysis from lawyers who are experts in their fields. It's a place where the legal community can comment about today's developments, and learn from each other.

The revamped site has three major components:

Law News Now: The home page features the latest legal news stories, hand selected by our lawyer-journalists. It's updated continuously every business day with 25-50 summaries of and links to the most sophisticated legal reporting from around the web. A quick glance at the top of our home page will tell you the most important legal stories right now, whether it's today's Supreme Court decision, this morning's developments in high-profile trials, yesterday's law firm mega-merger, or Paris Hilton's latest scrape with the law. If you only want to see the news about your practice area or state, we've created dozens of topic pages (www.abajournal.com/topics) that take you directly to the news you need.

The Blawg Directory: We've indexed more than 1,000 blogs written by lawyers who are experts in their practice areas, with more being added daily. We tell you about the author, what they cover, and include excerpts from their 10 latest posts. You can sort the directory by subject, who writes the blog (partners, associates, judges, law professors, etc.), or by the state or court they blog about. We even have a list of blogs written by students and professors at more than 130 law schools. Know of a blog we haven't included? Tell us about it.

The Magazine: The award-winning Journal's deep analysis of legal trends makes it the nation's most-read and most-respected legal affairs magazine. We've posted every story from every issue back through 2005; issues from previous years will be posted soon. New issues will go online the day they are published, and they'll be augmented with Web-only exclusives like court opinions, white papers and interview transcripts that add depth to the printed stories.

The site also has all the tools you'd expect:

Visitors can comment on every story.
The list of most-read stories, appearing on almost every page, shows what the legal community is reading right now.
You can e-mail any story to friends and colleagues.
Too busy to visit the site? It will deliver the news to you with our free daily and weekly e-mail newsletters.
Add our news feeds to your RSS feed reader.
Keep up with the latest news on your Internet-capable cell phone or BlackBerry with our mobile edition.

Hacking Your Law Practice

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 17:07:33 GMT

The July 2007 issue of the ABA Journal contains an article entitled "Law Hacks: 101 Tips, Tricks and Tools to Make You a More Productive, Less Stressed-Out Lawyer" written by Jason Krause. Jason scoured such sites as the ABA TECHSHOW 60 Sites Hall of Fame, ABA Site-tation, and LifeHack.org, as well as interviewed experts from 2008 ABA TECHSHOW Chair Tom Mighell to Gina Trapani, author of Lifehacker. Tips are categorized and cover everything from email to time management to phones to your money. This issue is a keeper!

It's Almost Like Being at ABA TECHSHOW

Posted by Tom Mighell -- 2008 TECHSHOW Chair; Cowles & Thompson, P.C. — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 23:36:01 GMT

If you couldn't make it to ABA TECHSHOW this year, despair not: we're now making much of the fantastic content available to you for purchase and/or download online. Visit the ABA TECHSHOW Products Page , where you can purchase a copy of the TECHSHOW 2007 CD, with over 50 terrific articles and handouts from this year's conference. In addition, you'll find links to audio recordings of sessions from both 2007 (eight topics) and 2006 (ten sessions) for purchase through ABA CLE. And two of our great 2007 sessions are available for free download -- the Keynote address by Judge Shira Sheindlin, and "Approaching the Edge: Is the World Flat for Legal Technology?" Check it out now!

Past ABA TECHSHOW Chairs Launch New Podcast on Use of Technology in Law Practice

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 16:42:03 GMT

A new podcast about lawyer's use of technology has been released by two past ABA TECHSHOW chairs. The first edition of The Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology is titled “Electronic Marketing: Harnessing the Web's Whizbang” and is scheduled to be a monthly feature of the ABA Law Practice Management Section’s e-zine, Law Technology Today.

Sharon Nelson (Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2006) and Jim Calloway (Chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2005) are the co-hosts. Sharon Nelson is president of Sensei Enterprises, a Fairfax, Va., computer forensics and legal technology company. Jim Calloway is Director of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Management Assistance program and publisher of the weblog Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips. Both are frequent speakers and writers on various legal technology and practice management topics and both have co-authored books for the ABA Law Practice Management Section.

This initial podcast is about 33 minutes in length. It is intended that a wide variety of legal technology topics will be covered in future editions, from specialized law office software to the lawyer's use of the Internet.

An iPod or MP3 player is not required to listen to a podcast. It may be played on a personal computer on the link listed above. The link about also includes a link to various other resources and several different ways to subscribe to the podcast so one will be notified when each new program is released.

ABA TECHSHOW 2007 a Smashing Success

Dan Pinnington — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 17:36:47 GMT

By all accounts ABA TECHSHOW 2007 was a smashing success. The numbers speak for themselves: Over 2000 registrants. 845 CLE program attendees, including almost 100 people for our new Solo and Small Firm Day at TECHSHOW. The TECHSHOW Vendor Expo Hall was sold out – 140 booths with 500 vendor reps, and over 700 people took advantage of the Free Expo Hall pass to visit with the exhibitors.

The reviews and comments I got from attendees were all very complimentary: "The best CLE program I have ever attended". "I am really not a technology person and I found the sessions were motivating and inspirational". "I just can't believe how much I am learning". "I will be changing the way I practice".

ABA TECHSHOW requires its speakers to do papers for each session they speak on, and CLE program attendees took home a CD packed with materials – something for every session.

Thanks to our amazing faculty for all their work. Some of these papers will be featured in the Best of TECHSHOW column in LawPracticeToday, the LPM Section's free e-zine www.lawpracticetoday.org.

The keynote presentation, a review of the new Federal Rules of Civil Procedure by Justice Shira Scheindlin (the judge that wrote the landmark decisions in Zubulake vs. UBS Warburg), followed by a discussion of e-discovery FAQs moderated by John Jessen of Electronic Evidence Discovery Inc., was one of the best attended sessions of the show. One attendee said "the keynote was worth the price of admission," A free podcast of the TECHSHOW keynote presentation will be available shortly on the TECHSHOW site.

A number of the sessions at TECHSHOW were recorded, and will be available on the ABA CLE site shortly.

Attendees raved about the new "Taste of TECHSHOW" dinners. These Dutch-treat dinners were hosted by program faculty and featured discussions on popular topics. Clearly attendees really appreciated the chance to meet like-minded people for discussions on topics of interest. "Taste of TECHSHOW" will be back next year with even more dinners and topic choices.

Attendees also snapped up a record number of the amazing books published by the Law Practice Management Section. Find LPM books atwww.abanet.org/lpm/publications.shtml

A personal thanks to all that contributed to the success of the show – my amazing board; the ABA LPM section staff, our top-notch faculty, and all our exhibitors.

Thanks to everyone that came to the show. If you missed it this year, mark your calendars now – ABA TECHSHOW 2008 is at the Hilton in Chicago on March 13-15, 2008. Watch www.techshow.com for more info.

Get Yer Expo Passes, Hot off the Press!

Dan Pinnington — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 18:18:07 GMT

Are you a Chicago-area legal professional with a couple of hours to kill on March 22-23? Looking for the latest in legal technology products? Then take advantage of the free ABA TECHSHOW Expo Pass -- you'll receive free access to ABA TECHSHOW's Exhibit Hall, where more than 100 legal technology vendors are waiting to demonstrate their products for you! To download your free pass, just click here, or visit the ABA TECHSHOW Registration Page and click on the PDF file under Exhibit Hall Only Pricing.

ABA TECHSHOW 2007 Salutes its Sponsors

Dan Pinnington — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 14:40:01 GMT

ABA TECHSHOW 2007 is proud to spotlight the following companies, who are sponsors of this year's conference:

LexisNexis (www.lexisnexis.com) -- Gold Sponsor

Dell, Inc. (www.dell.com) -- Silver Sponsor

Intercall (www.intercall.com) -- Bronze Sponsor

Kroll Ontrack (www.krollontrack.com) -- Bronze Sponsor

ABA TECHSHOW thanks these sponsors, and salutes them for their continuing commitment to legal technology education.

Reminder: A Whole Day of Programming for Solo/Small Firm Lawyers

Dan Pinnington — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 14:48:40 GMT

This year, ABA TECHSHOW offers not one, but two full tracks of educational programming for solo and small firm lawyers. In conjunction with the ABA's GP|Solo Division, ABA TECHSHOW will present Solo & Small Firm Day on Friday, March 23. After this special programming, all attendees are invited to the always-popular "Best of Law Practice Management Tips" plenary session. Special pricing for Solo & Small Firm Day is available, so don't miss out on this great offer!

Word Outline to PowerPoint Presentation

LeAnn Davidson — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 21:23:15 GMT

If you have an outline in Word, you can easily transfer the information to PowerPoint to create a quick presentation. More...

FCC Renews Push For Broadband Over Power Lines

John Simek — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 16:53:28 GMT

On August 4th, the Federal Communications Commission renewed its push for broadband over power lines, specifically concerned about areas where broadband has been limited to DSL or cable modems. If broadband over power lines, known as BPL, takes off, then more Americans, particularly in rural and underserved areas, will be able to plug into high-speed Internet access, and markets dominated by cable and DSL (digital subscriber line) should be forced to lower consumers' bills, according to FCC regulators. More...

Mollifying the Muse with Google

Craig Ball — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:01:27 GMT

I've always got half a dozen articles, columns or documents in process, spread over several computers, my Treo, Gmail and the web. Until today, when I got an idea, I e-mailed it to myself or started a Word document. The e-mail formatting left much to be desired and the Word document was always on the other system. But now I can e-mail whatever document I'm massaging to my personal Google Documents upload address and it's waiting for me, securely and online, with all the formatting bells and whistles I need. More...

Don't Be Tempted To Use Technology Unless It Makes Your Presentation Clear

Judge Christina Habas — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:31:41 GMT

8.30.06: People v. Eric Delgado, Denver, CO -- Beware of playing tape recordings for a jury. Criminal cases often include audio- or video-taped interviews. Many times, these recordings are not clear – either because of the quality of sound, the presence of static or interference, or even the size of the courtroom making listening difficult. I am watching a capable prosecutor try to punctuate his Closing Argument in a Sexual Assault on a Child case by playing portions of the Defendant's audio-taped statement, using his own words against him. My courtroom is a large cave – sound is often muffled and unintelligible. The prosecutor is frustrated in his playing of the tape, although he has taken great care to transfer the portions of the statement to his computer. Unfortunately, the speakers, the corruption of the sound recording, and the size of the courtroom have made it impossible for the jury to hear clearly, thus having little impact. Perhaps the prosecutor should have simply read a transcript of the Defendant's words to the jury to illustrate his point . More...

Court OK's Use of Text Message in Drug Case

Sharon Nelson — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:21:47 GMT

On August 10th, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ruled that text messages handed over by an ISP to police could be used as evidence. On October 24, 2005, federal police raided a home on Potomac Drive in Fort Washington, Maryland. They allegedly seized approximately 213 pounds of cocaine and 6.5 pounds of crack cocaine. Antoine Jones and four other men were caught in the raid. More...

Backdoors in PDF

John Simek — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 16:15:27 GMT

A British penetration testing expert has release proof-of-concept code and sample PDF files to demonstrate how the Adobe Reader can be used to launch attacks without any user action. More...

Hello? Can I Order a Human for Pick Up, Please?

Reid Trautz — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:21:03 GMT

I always get very practical tips from the education seminars at ABA TECHSHOW®, but there is one in particular that has come in very handy. Like most consumers, I am very tired of getting the voice-mail runaround from "customer service" at many corporations. From health insurers to cell phone companies and more, they all seem to send me off into voice-mail hell before I can find a human to help resolve my problem. More...