ALOHA DEBBIE CALDWELL

The indefatigable Debbie Caldwell is departing Fios, and also leaving the legal technology community. Caldwell, who served as senior manager of public, industry, and analyst relations, worked for Fios for seven years and was one of the best PR folks in the industry. We're sad to see her go, but happy for her that she will be expanding her wings with Electro Scientific Industries, where she will do marketing and communications (aka "marcom" in PR-speak).
   The global company manufactures equipment that is used to make flexible circuit boards, semiconductors, and digital forensics tools. (A different kind of ESI, she notes!)
   We wish her good fortune in her new venture.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Confused by Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Martindale-Hubbell Connected, foursquare, and Flash Mobs? You aren't alone. Social Media is exploding, and its ramifications go far beyond planning lunches with friends. Consumers are using social networking tools to air grievances -- just ask United Airlines about how effective social media can be as a complaint vehicle. But today's social media tools are also very effective business tools -- your firm or company can use them for marketing, client relationships, employee communication, and so much more.

  On Monday, April 19, I will chair Social Media: Risks & Rewards, a daylong program in San Francisco that appeals to general counsel and law firms. It will cover a range of topics, such as how to protect your company's identity, privacy, and intellectual property, as well as expose key ethics issues and how to construct an effective social medial policy.

   The ALM Events team has brought together a terrific group of speakers, from top corporate law departments, including Walmart, American Express, GE Capital, Expedia, Intel, Wells Fargo, and more.

   The day closes on a candid conversation with Lin Cherry, MySpace general counsel, followed by old-fashioned networking: a cocktail party! For more information, visit ALM Events. CLE credit is available for New York and California lawyers. The program is sponsored by Martindale-Hubbell Connected and ELT.

   P.S. The Common Scold readers can receive a $50 discount off registration by using promo code TCS50. Or you can save $100 off the registration fee by registering by April 5. 

MS WALK

I turn the microphone over to my colleague, LTN's editorial assistant Heather Schultz:

After losing vision in one eye and experiencing a strange tingling in her arm, my mother, Julia Schultz, was officially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1980. Because she couldn’t have children, in October, 1984, my parents adopted me from South Korea when I was four months old.

In the beginning of 1985, my mom started experiencing severe walking problems. Her MS was labeled as “chronic progressive,” confining her to a wheelchair. She experienced continuous hand trembles and cortisone-based treatment, which bloated her naturally thin frame. Her condition worsened, but she spent her last four years playing bingo and enjoying visits from her family.

As a testament to my mother — who passed away on Jan. 28, 1995 — I have participated in the annual MS Walk at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, Long Island since I organized my own team in 2006. Last year, I raised over $1,800. Hopefully, I will surpass the $2,000 donation mark in 2010.

If you are interested in making a donation, please visit my website.

FACE TO FACE

Not all firms can afford the sizzling new life-size telepresence videoconferencing systems offered by Cisco, HP, and other vendors. And sometimes, even if firms can afford the new systems, they aren't the right match for their needs, says Steve Fletcher, CIO at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein (and recipient of the 2009 LTN Award for IT Director of the Year).
  

Fletcher helped orchestrate an effective, flexible high-definition videoconferencing system for his firm, which has 225 attorneys and 225 support staff, and operates six offices in North and South Carolina. They first identified what types of meetings they needed to support, and the physical opportunities and limitations of each office before creating an a la carte system.

Read about the installation in the March issue of Law Technology News.

BUYING O' THE GREEN

In the spirit of all things green on Parade Day in New York City, here a few kewl gadgets that you might rationalize buying as honoring St. Patrick. We took a quick visit to ThinkGeek and found the gems below.

• JuiceBar Portable Solar Charger: No, it's not "the newest health drink franchise trend sweeping the country," says ThinkGeek. This one is "full of electronic gadget juice," and provides you extra battery zip. Its internal lithium-ion battery can be recharged via USB connection or built-in solar panel (a penny under $50).

• Dr. Timmy's Micro Hand-cranked LED Torch: A bit bigger than a quarter, this flashlight could (seriously) save your life in a disaster where there's no electricity anywhere (under $5).

• Coffee Cup Power Inverter: Tired of loose wires getting in the way of your car's shifter? This sits in your beverage holder, and provides two 120-volt AC outlets ($29.99).

• Kill-A-Watt: Connect your appliances to this device (about the size of a PDA) and determine how energy-efficient they are. It might be time to replace them with Energy Star upgrades ($24.99).

• Dissolving Travel Toiletries: Packets of shampoo, body wash, and hand soap sheets that aren't liquid so you don't have to hassle with TSA, and they dissolve instantly to provide their stated use ($4.99 to $12.99).

 

• Finally, the piece de resistance: you can hide your cables in the Grassy Lawn Charging Station. No, I am not making this up — but alas, this is temporarily out of stock, so patience is golden (hmmm, I think that is silence ... whatever).

Anyway, it "provides you with realistic artificial grass to cushion your gadgets while they charge," says ThinkGeek. "A compartment underneath hides all of the power adapters and cables." The box is 11" x 7" x 4.35".

I want to go to there!

TOSS THE TIES? THE VERDICT

A few posts down, I invited you to give me guidance on Law Technology News' photo policies — and I was thrilled that the question generated such a robust discussion here and in your private messages to me.

I asked the question of whether or not it was time to change our long-standing policy governing photos submitted for our President's Corner feature and People column. We have required gentlemen to wear a jacket and tie (aka "go-to-court attire"), and women equally appropriate outfits.

LTN has been a passionate champion of the unsung heroes of the legal industry — the legal technology professionals who too often are invisible to firm leaders. We have pushed legal organizations to address gender pay gaps and other discriminations that have presented obstacles to success. Toward that goal, we felt very strongly that by presenting the recipients of President's Corner, and those attaining People milestones, in business dress helped convey the import of their achievements.

However, an overwhelming number of you believe that times have changed, and ties do not a professional make. So I (reluctantly) bow to your wisdom. We have relaxed our policies and no longer require jackets and ties.

But I still highly recommend "go-to-court" attire. I don't want to sound like Mother Superior — and my Catholic-school-girl and Baby Boomer roots are definitely showing — but over the 12 years I have edited LTN, I have frankly been stunned at how many people submit wildly inappropriate photographs. So I'm still going to urge everyone to listen carefully to their marketing advisors, and present themselves in the best possible light to advance not just their own careers, but the legal technology community.

Here are copies of the new policies:

General Guidelines: Download 2010_Guidelines_Revised

President's Corner & Photo Guidelines: Download 2010LTNPC-People

Hat tip to Dan Bressler for spotting a  problem with prior version of PC/PG. If you already downloaded it, run a virus scan. (W97M/Thus.gen).

HAPPY DAY

Ring the Bell: Victoria Pynchon, author of the Settle It Now Negotiation Blog and the founder of the IP ADR Blog is asking all women bloggers, as well as women who are active on social networking sites such as Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook, "to proclaim and celebrate March as Women's History Month."
   Pynchon, an attorney, mediator, and arbitrator with ADR Services in Century City, Calif., suggests you take a look at a sample proclamation. She is honoring Women's History Month by posting a series of articles about implicit gender bias on Settle It Now.
   Good timing, too, as today is International Women's Day. President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama will host a reception today to mark the occasion. As the Chinese proverb says, "Women hold up half of the sky."

   While we're at it, today would be a really good day for men and women to go ask your boss if your organization is paying women equally to men for the good work we all do, so we can once and for all rid the legal profession of the unconscionable embarrasment of gender pay gaps.

Carpe diem.

FAST LANE ON VIDEO

Austin lawyer/forensics special master Craig Ball, author of Law Technology News' "Ball in Your Court" e-discovery column, recently joined me to discuss how e-discovery expertise can help women "end run" the glass ceiling, and take leadership roles in their organization. Ball calls it taking the "HOV lane" around gender pay gaps and other discrimination. You can watch the video here on the LTN website. And you can read more about it in the February issue of LTN here.