MAIL BAG #031507

J. Craig Williams is NOT a happy camper! He upgraded his firm's LexisNexis Time Matters software and can't seem to resolve the glitches. I'll turn the mic to him:

... Perhaps one of the most annoying problems is the billing interface.  Every time we open a completed slip, the dollar amount drops to zero.

That's a bit of a problem for a law firm that sends invoices to its clients each month. Even though our clients don't complain, it really has a disastrous effect on cash flow. But that's not the only problem. Despite Lexis' claims that the upgrade fixes the software's bugs, even the best of intentions go wrong - things that worked in prior versions don't work in this new version. Ouch.  Please, don't get me started - there are a host of other problems, as well - but too long a list for this post.

We've made the billing interface suggestion to Lexis numerous times, asking them to fix the bug, but with no results. 

Read more here.  And Bob Ambrogi's writeup here.

* Wendy Ampolsk, editorial director of ALM's Law Journal Newsletters, has launched a blog. Check it out here.  Her inaugural post, "Author! Author!" details how our newletter division is structured and picks its articles. Here's a link to LJN's edit board roster. Welcome to ALM's blawg-o-sphere, Wendy!

* Citi Cards has jumped on the green bandwagon. The company promises to plant a tree on behalf of all of its cardholders who switch to e-mailed (paperless) statements.

*Speaking of green, The New York Times ran a very measured, thoughtful article yesterday about Al Gore and his global warming crusade, "From a Rapt Audience, a Call to Cool the Hype." An interesting discussion about the interplay between politicians and scientists, and whether or not Gore's too much of an alarmist. Worth a read -- but doesn't stop me for a nanosecond from drinking the Kool-Aid about the very-real threat of global warming.

*Larry Savell, of N.Y.'s Chadbourne & Parke, has published this primer on electronic transcript management technology on Law.com.  He concentrates his practice on products liability and media law litigation defense.

*Online recruiter Dice has released this IT salary survey which sez salaries have spiked 5.6%, but there's still a gender gap: women earn almost 10% less than their male colleagues. :(