At our
LTN Awards ceremonies at LegalTech New York, I was honored to present our inaugural Law Technology News Lifetime Achievement Awards to three wonderful members of our legal technology .John Alber, Thomas Burke, and M. Thomas Collins have all demonstrated leadership and a fierce commitment to technology innovation, customer service, and the legal technology community throughout their careers.
Alber is Bryan Cave's technology partner and leads its award-winning client technology group. Under his leadership, the group has developed innovative, web-based programs such as TradeZone, an international trade decision support system, and InsiderZone, an insider trading compliance training product. Alber is a frequent contributor to LTN, and the presentation was especially sweet, because he was the recipient of our first IT Champion Award.
Burke is chair and CEO of World Software, which offers the Worldox document management system, used by about 3,500 law firms across 37 countries. Worldox won the 2009 GoldLTN Award for document management. The Burke family founded the company in 1988 and Thomas Burke served as its president until 2009.
Collins founded Juris in 1988 and served as its CEO. By the time Juris was purchased by LexisNexis in 2007, the had become a leading provider of financial and business information systems for midsize law firms. Throughout his career, he has been a frequent speaker, author, and blogger on management topics as well as technology issues and the legal profession.
Congrats to all three for their stellar contributions to our community.
Hat tip to Lee Feldman for creating the press release on these wonderful awards.
February 9, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
#LTNY WRAPUP Whirlwind: The booths are dismantled but the buzz remains intense, as we wrap up LegalTech New York.
We saw significant new releases from companies large (Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis) and small (Rosen Technologies); learned a lot about Judge Shira Scheindlin's important new ruling on legal holds; listened with awe as Malcolm Gladwell and Lisa Sanders (right with David Craig) compared the legal and medical professions; felt more confident about drafting social networking policies; quietly cried as the Cambodia Ambassador to the United Nations, Sea Kosal, accepted the award to the Cambodia Tribunal for its creative technology; networked with established and new friends; and had such energetic conversations that we are all losing our voices.
The conference had an unexpected undercurrent: optimism.
Thank you to everyone. See you in Los Angeles in June.
Video Links:P.S. Here are just a few video links from the show: Ari Kaplan, Larry Port (Rocket Matter), Rich King, CaseCentral, Applied Discovery (George Socha speaking) and yours truly.
More: LexisNexis Mike Mintz with Bruce MacEwan, Alex Dalessio, John Alber.
Ari Kaplan interviews Deborah Baron of Autonomy.
John Tredennick (Catalyst Repository)
For more, search YouTube for LegalTech 2010.
Check out Twitter posts by searching #LTNY.
Story and press release links:
Sean Doherty's "That's a Wrap"
Sean Doherty's Getting the Most Out of LTNY.
John Bringardner's report on program with former U.N. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei and TR CEO Peter Warwick.
LexisNexis press release on Lexis for Microsoft Outlook
Blog posts:Adrian Dayton: blog post
Tom O'Connor: docNative Paradigm
Photo courtesy of Thomson Reuters
February 4, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
GENTLE RAINInspiring Words: Monday night, at LegalTech New York, we recognized the winners of the 2009 LTN Awards — leaders of our community who showed creativity and innovation to develop technology tools to help legal professionals. It was wonderful to be able to present the awards to such stellar members of our community.
The winner for Most Innovative Use of Technology in a Trial was the technology team of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, who are prosecuting five men for crimes against Humanity. The first was Kaing Guek Eav (a.k.a. Comrade Duch) who personally oversaw the torture and execution of more than 14,000 prisoners during the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. He awaits his verdict which is expected shortly.
LTN's former news editor, Claire Duffett, wrote a poignant and powerful story about the efforts of the technology team, in our December issue.
The ECCC has extremely limited resources for its mission. But with on-the-fly creativity, sheer grit, and low- and high- technology tools, the team handled both expected and spontaneous technology challenges -- everything from translating the proceedings into English, Khmer, and French; to managing a satellite system so that Cambodians in far flung villages can follow the proceedings.
We were so very honored that His Excellency Dr. Sea Kosal, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Cambodia to the United Nations, took time from his hectic schedule to join us at LegalTech to accept the award. He graced us with a short speech that was moving and inspirational. Thanking Ms. Duffett for focusing attention on the tribunal, he gently reminded us that technology doesn't just help legal teams deliver better, faster, cheaper legal services — technology can help foster justice.
Photo by Russ Curtis
February 4, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
#LTNY: LTN AWARDS PARTY! Celebrate! On Monday, February 1, we will honor the winners
of the 2009 LTN Awards, at a gala party at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., during
LegalTech New York. It will be held in the Mercury Ballroom.
Come enjoy the fellowship of our wonderful legal technology community, along great food and plenty of beverages. We'll distribute the lucite to the recipients of the vendor awards, IT director of the year, consultant of the year, IT champion, lifetime achievement, and the most innovative use of technology in a law firm, a law department, a trial, and a pro bono project!
For ticket information contact Lisa Sharpe. You can buy them in advance, and a limited number of tickets will be available on Monday at LegalTech, in the sales room, on the third floor.
January 27, 2010 in LTN Awards , LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
#LTNY: SOCIAL NETWORKING X2Social Networking x2: I will be moderating not one, but two panels addressing social networking during LegalTech New York at the Hilton (midtown) next week.
The first will be held on Monday, Feb. 1, from 2:30-3:45, "Designing your Social Media Policy to Protect and Enhance Your Company." Speakers include Lesley Rosenthal, vice president, general counsel, and secretary of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Mark Bisard, general counsel's office, American Express; and Theodore Banks, counsel at Schoeman, Update Kaufman & Scharf, and president of Complicance & Competition Consultants. For information about this panel please visit www.legaltechshow.com.
The second will be presented as part of the 6th Annual Chief Information & Technology Officers Forum, which is held in conjunction with LTNY. That panel, "Social Networking: Keeping It Secure," will be held Tuesday, Feb. 2, at 1:45 p.m., and will feature Michael Kraft, general counsel of Kraft Kennedy (and a member of LTN's Editorial Advisory Board), and David Lewis, attorney, of Proskauer Rose. For information on this program, please click here.
I hope you will join us at these two programs!
January 27, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
#LTNY: BLOGGERS BREAKFAST & FREEBIESLegalTech once again is offering a full conference complimentary pass to non-vendor bloggers.
For more information about the show you can go to www.legaltechshow.com. To facilitate effective blogging and tweeting, the front rows in all the meeting rooms will be reserved for bloggers and will have electricity available. (Sorry, but you will need to provide your own w-ifi connection.)
Please also join us for our traditional Bloggers’ Breakfast on Tuesday morning (Feb. 2) at 9:00 am in the Petite Triannon room. It's free, everyone's welcome and we will do our traditional circle-of-intros! It immediately follows our Editors' Breakfast, so you can expect a lot of PR folks will be anxious to make your acquaintance. a conference pass to send an email to my colleague, Tom Kiley at tjkiley@alm.com. We need a link to your blog and full contact information including a physical mailing address. Tom will take care of the rest.
LTNY starts Monday, Feb. 1 and runs through Wednesday Feb 3, at the midtown Hilton New York. See you there!
January 27, 2010 in LTNY 2010, Social Networking, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
WEXIS REVAMPSThe New York Times posted this article about changes in Westlaw and LexisNexis. Both companies are expected to make significant announcements at LegalTech New York; Thomson Reuter has a 9 am press conference scheduled for Feb. 1 at LTNY.
Keep an eye on our LTN website (and this blog) for details during LegalTech.
P.S. Here's the exhibitor's list.
Update: Bob Ambrogi offers a rave sneak preview on his blog, here.
"The bottom line is that WestlawNext brings the experience of searching the Westlaw database in line with what users today expect from a Web-based tool, making it simple and intuitive," says Ambrogi.
More Ambrogi here.
January 26, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
LTN TV: UPDATED! NOW A LOTTERY Total Tilt!!! Yesterday, we told you about our "LTN TV"
webcasts that we plan to tape on Monday Feb. 1 from 10 a.m. to 12 at
the ALM booth during LegalTech New York. We invited you to contact Mary
Elizabeth Whited to set an appointment if you wanted to do a 2-minute
taping with me.
What we did not expect was the absolute FLOOD of responses we received — with far, far, more requests than we could possibly accommodate. So with huge apologies to those we had already scheduled, we came to the conclusion that the ONLY fair way to accommodate all the requests is to start over — and do it as a lottery.
So here's the drill (and I acknowledge that this will make some folks unhappy, but it's the best possible "solution" we could come up with):
We will accept requests until 2 pm EASTERN time tomorrow (Weds. Jan 27). (E-mail mwhited@alm.com).
If you have ALREADY asked for an appointment you do NOT need to reapply. But all scheduled appointments are voided.
We will notify you by Friday Jan. 29 if you have been selected.
Rules:
• Only ONE person from a firm or company is eligible for an interview.
• Everyone not selected will be placed on a waiting list.
• Mary Elizabeth's decisions are FINAL. NO WHINING. If you whine, you lose your appt. Period.
•
Remember, these are news interviews, NOT commercials. Don't expect me
to be the Sham Wow dude or the reincarnation of Billy Mays. I will be
asking questions about trends, developments, etc.
January 25, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
LTNY EDITORS' BREAKFASTCountdown: We're in total overdrive here in New York getting ready for LegalTech New York, which unofficially starts on Sunday, January 31, and officially launches on Monday, February 1.
Law.com's
technology editor Sean Doherty and I will be at the show, and we are excited
about introducing LTN's new editorial assistant, Heather Schultz, at
our traditional Editors' Breakfast on Tuesday Feb. 2 at 8 a.m. in the Petit Trianon
room of the Hilton.
Everyone is welcome, and many ALM editors plan to attend, so it's a great opportunity for vendors and readers to chat with us about products and services.
We're looking forward to seeing you there!
January 24, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
LTNY VENDOR BRIEFINGSI again turn the mic over to Law.com technology editor Sean Doherty:
LegalTech New York is approaching fast and I am sure you are busy scheduling to maximize your time at the biggest legal technology event of the year. I am. In fact, I am scheduling briefings with vendors to get more information on the products and services they provide the legal community.
I would also be happy to talk with anyone who wants more information on what Law Technology News has to offer its readers in both print and online formats.
In several briefings, I will be joined by Heather Schultz, LTN's new editorial assistant. The briefings will be held in the Americas Hall II (third floor) and are limited to 30 minutes. Send me an e-mail if you would like to speak with us at the show and I will coordinate a time with you as soon as possible.
For availability between nine and five Monday (2/1) and Tuesday (2/2), you can check our online calendar here.
January 24, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
LEGALTECH PREVIEW I turn the mic over to my colleague Sean Doherty, tech editor of Law.com:
LegalTech impacts how we provide legal services and manage the business of law. With technology we can provide better legal services with research tools from LexisNexis and Westlaw, and software that cull and review data for evidence, assemble documents, and manage trial notebooks.
We can also better manage our business with time and billing programs, as well as case and matter management applications installed on premise or in the cloud.
Technology also impacts the law itself. Ken Strutin, director of legal information services at the New York State Defenders Association, writes that science and technology at trial is constantly re-examined. "Disputed assumptions about long-standing forensic methods have propelled legal practitioners into an era of heightened skepticism," says Strutin. It seems that Frye and Daubert have run their course.
Today, most litigators would not go to trial without conducting internet searches on the parties and witnesses to the litigation to work up their case. New technology such as Web 2.0 and social networks can also be the reason, ab initio, that litigants are in the courtroom.
Where is all this going? To LegalTech New York on February 1-3, and that is only the start of the conversation for legal technology that ALM has in store for 2010.
January 24, 2010 in LTNY 2010 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
JUST EQUAL #2
Huge thanks to Craig Ball -- and to the Women in E-Discovery's NYC Chapter -- for a wonderful lunch at the organization's January meeting -- where Craig and I spoke about how women can use e-discovery training to end run the "glass ceiling."
I'm in the process of writing about the event for the next issue of LTN -- and because we have recently merged the LTN and Law.com technology website, we have not yet completed building the archives, so I don't have public access yet to many LTN stories.
Therefore, if you will induldge me, I'm going to reprint my Nov. 2008 "Just Equal" column here, so I can link to it in LTN and folks will be able to access it. I'm also putting an excerpt of my October 2008 Editor's Note where I challenged every law firm managing partner, every GC, and every vendor CEO to fix gender pay inequities. It's easy. Just get a salary report from HR, identify what needs to be changed, and in the words of Nike, "Just Do it!"
I'll put these "behind the curtain," so just click below to "keep reading" to find it.
Continue reading "JUST EQUAL #2"
January 22, 2010 in Diversity, EDD: E-Discovery, Webinars, Podcasts, Programs | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
HONORING MARTIN LUTHER KING Today, we take a day to reflect on the dreams and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr.
Here are a few links to frame the day:
• MLK's Nobel Prize biography (and photo, right).
• Wikipedia biography.
• The King Center.
• "I Have a Dream" speech (YouTube).
• James Taylor's "Shed a Little Light" and the lyrics.
Have a restful and inspiring day, and let's all find the opportunity to do one unexpected act of kindness on today.
Fiat lux.
January 18, 2010 in Diversity, Good Works, People | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
RUDOY & MAHONEY: "SWIM OR SINK" As law firms and law departments struggle to thrive in the new economy, they look to technology to help them navigate. George Rudoy, director of global practice technology and information services at Shearman & Sterling, predicts key trends for the year ahead — one of our new videos on our newly revamped Law Technology News website. (We launched it late last year; it merges the former LTN site with the wonderful Law.com technology site, and is co-managed by my colleague Sean Doherty et moi!)
Rudoy and Australia's Michelle Mahoney, of Mallesons Stephen Jaques — for the second year in a row — wrote LTN's January cover story about how we're all coping with the economic turmoil of the last 18 months. In this year's "Swim or Sink" they explore the sometimes counter-intuitive ways that law firms and law departments are approaching the business of law.
Rudoy and Mahoney are among the voices (which include Foley & Lardner's Doug Caddell) who insist that the days of "doing more with less are over." Instead, they argue that it's time to rethink IT.
Rudoy says IT leaders should get more involved with the business of law. A conversation with IT should not be about applications and infrastructure, says Rudoy. It should be about how technology can help lawyers provide legal services and conduct business, including development and marketing.
January 17, 2010 in From the current issue of LTN, News & Analysis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
DOCS v. LAWYERS RE: E-RECORDS The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 allocated $19 billion to help doctors and other health care providers buy and install electronic health record systems, with the agenda of creating an integrated national Health Information Network to improve health care and reduce costs.
Robert Hudock and Jason Christ, both senior associates at Epstein Becker & Green, take a look at how the health care system compares to the legal industries adoption of e-discovery collection and production practices, in "Electronic Discovery: A Special Report," in The National Law Journal (registration required).
January 17, 2010 in EDD: E-Discovery | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
CRAIG BALL: EDD FOR EVERYBODY Most discussions about e-discovery focus on big firm, big budget litigation, but even small cases involve electronically stored information. What's a small firm attorney to do when she faces the courtroom with a relatively small matter?
Craig Ball comes to the rescue with the help of key players in our legal technology community. In "EDD for Everybody," Ball sets up a hypothetical case. In it, "Edna" who is handling a construction dispute, anticipates that the number of possible files will be somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 items.
What advice would you give? See what your peers suggest in the EDD Showcase in the January edition of Law Technology News.
January 17, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
END GAME Terminating legal holds is easier said than done, says John Jablonski. But it's also "an essential part of a defensible legal hold business process."
In "End Game," Jablonski, a partner with Goldberg Segalla, and co-author of ARMA's new book, 7 Steps for Legal Holds of ESI and Other Documents, says that "timely release of legal holds can help corporations escape from the legal hold purgatory."
To find out more, check out the January e-discovery showcase in Law Technology News.
January 17, 2010 in EDD: E-Discovery, From the current issue of LTN | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
BACK TO THE FUTURE It's been three years now since the electronic data discovery rules were added to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and the number of reported cases involving electronically stored information has skyrocketed. But some lawyers still "simply do not anticipate (or woefully underestimate) issues related to ESI," says Cecil Lynn, of counsel to Ryley Carlock and Applewhite.
In "Back to the Future" in the January issue of Law Technology News, Lynn chronicles key 2009 rulings, finding that most of them are reiterating established principles. Lynn looks at everything from the increasing clarion for "cooperation," and issues around form of production, to failure to preserve, sanctions, discovery abuse, and more. It's part of our EDD Showcase.
Want more? Check out our Law Technology Now podcast, where Cecil Lynn joins me as a guest to further explore the 2009 EDD rulings -- with a special bonus: a cameo appearance by ALM's Henry Dicker, who offers a sneak preview of LegalTech New York.
January 17, 2010 in EDD: E-Discovery, From the current issue of LTN | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
E-DISCOVERY BILL OF RIGHTS In January's Ball in Your Court column, Craig Ball argues that it's time for a "Bill of Rights" for requesting parties who seek electronically stored information from their opponents. Requesting parties, he insists, have rights -- and duties -- during litigation.
Among the rights, says Ball, an Austin, Texas-based attorney and forensics consultant, is that ESI be produced in the format in which it is kept in the usual course of business; and that the producer clearly and specifically identify any intentional alteration of ESI.
Among the duties: an obligation to anticipate the nature, form, and volume of the ESI under scrutiny, and tailor requests to minimize burden and cost of securing the data. Read more in the current issue of Law Technology News.
Craig and I will be speaking Thursday (Jan. 21) at the New York City chapter meeting of Women in E-Discovery. It will be held at noon, at Credit Suisse, 11 Madison Ave., floor 2B, in the Club room.
To RSVP please visit newyorkcity@womeinediscovery.com. We hope to see you there!
January 17, 2010 in EDD: E-Discovery, From the current issue of LTN, News & Analysis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
EXPOSING CONTENT One of the most crucial, and sometimes frustrating, aspects of reviewing electronically stored information is trying to follow e-mail "threads" — the conversations created by replies (to all), forwarding, etc. Finding all related e-mails can be a challenge, but technology can help.
In "Exposing Content," Anne Kershaw and Joseph Howie explain how "e-threading" can help you contain e-discovery costs, explicating the three general ways that e-mails are associated into threads. They also offer a chart of vendors who provide technology tools to help you create the fabric of these conversations.
It's in the EDD Showcase, in the January edition of Law Technology News.
January 17, 2010 in EDD: E-Discovery, From the current issue of LTN | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
HERE COMES LEGALTECH NY & COBALTI turn the mic over to my colleague Sean Doherty, Law.com's technology editor:
After welcoming the new year with a bevy of new predictions, we are looking forward to another LegalTech new year in New York from February 1 to 3. And it promises to be like the forthcoming Chinese New Year of the Metal Tiger, projecting a positive year with a motto of "I win." Only at LegalTech, I think the motto will be "we win."
It's going to be a new legal technology year when IT stops talking about feeds and speeds (read: hardware and infrastructure) and focuses on making it easier for lawyers to provide legal services and tend to the business side of the law.
That said, we are already getting some news on Westlaw's Project Cobalt from a number (one, two, three) of sources. The new project appears to offer users an easier interface (read: Google-like) to legal resources. I can only hope that the hype does not give us any game changers. We have the game, ladies and gentlemen. We need the tools to master it.
(Hat tip to Aric Press for pointing out the sources.)
January 17, 2010 in LTNY 2010, News & Analysis | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
JOYFUL NOISE Is it really possible that 2009 is just about over? Doesn't it feel like we were just welcoming this year? We've certainly been on an interesting journey over the last 12 months. (As in the Chinese curse, "May you lead an interesting life.")
But we move forward, hopefully with a dash of courage and gusto. So on behalf of our entire Law Technology News and Law.com team, and our mothership ALM, let me extend our warmest wishes to you for the holiday season.
May the remaining days of 2009 nurture spirits, refresh enthusiasm, enhance vision, inspire experiments, mute distress, challenge boundaries, generate relationships, temper irritations, magnify flavors, provide noise and quiet, and accelerate joy.
December 23, 2009 in Distractions :) | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
DECEMBER PRESIDENT'S CORNER Catalyst Repository Systems has introduced its Fast Track integrated processing software. Users can submit multi-language Exchange PST, NSF, and other electronic files directly into Catalyst CR, the company's web-based search and review software, says CEO John Tredennick.
The automated system processes, loads, and indexes files and then makes them available for search and review according to processing instructions set by the user, he explains.
Among other new litigation support products announced in Law Technology News' December issue is Wave Software's Trident Pro 6.2, which adds interactive searching and filtering capabilities to help users view search results quickly, and make earlier decisions on search terms and criteria by providing a report on keyword lists.
The software automatically detects exceptions and encrypted items and generates reports and logs. Its Native Review Bridge adds support for LexisNexis Concordance 10. Other improvements include enhanced Unicode support for better handling of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean data.
December 23, 2009 in EDD: E-Discovery, From the current issue of LTN | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
RAIN OF TERROR
Cambodians believe that fierce rain storms are the voices of the dead. So earlier this year, when water pounded the terra-cotta roof of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, everyone became very tense. Static shreiked from headsets and monitors, and then they went silent.
Just another challenge faced by the technology team supporting the trial of Kaing Guek Eav (aka Comrade Duch), one of the Khmer Rouge leaders who is being prosecuted for crimes against humanity and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions -- including personally overseeing the torture and execution of more than 14,000 prisoners during the reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.
In December's Technology on Trial, Claire Duffett describes how the technologists, with a tiny budget, overcame tremendous obstacles. They ran fiber optic cable from the courthouse 15 miles to central Phnom Penh; established real-time translation into three languages; and even installed cloth screens on the roof to soften the voices of rain.
And I was very happy to learn that the judges of the 2009 Law Technology News Awards selected the trial team as the recipient of the "Most Innovative Use of Technology in a Trial Award," which will be presented on February 1, at our gala reception during LegalTech New York.
Photo: Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch. Photo by John Vink
December 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
PRACTICE TOOLS The December issue of Law Technology News includes
reports on a diverse collection of new software, including these two that help
you with substantive law:
Thomson IP Manager 3 helps users manage patents, trademarks, invention disclosures, and licensing agreements. Its Process Architect technology helps users define and implement processes tailored to their intellectual property workflow. The Collaboration Portal helps IP professionals route tasks to the appropriate persons. The upgrade adds new form letter functions and improves ways to associate files and images with case data. From Thomson IP Management Services.
Kluwer Law International says its KluwerConstructionBlog targets lawyers, barristers, and in-house counsel across the world. Among the issues it tackles: multiple jurisdictions, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers, public procurement, arbitration, public/private partnerships, private financing, and more, says managing editor Sarah Thomas. The new blog also provides opinions on recent judgments, she notes.
For more Practice Tools, visit the Practice Tools page on the Law Technology News website.
December 21, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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