Susskind Headlines "Generals of the Revolution"

Author/professor/futurist/techie Richard Susskind was the headline act at today's "Generals of the Revolution" road show, touting his campaign that the profession must recognize that lawyers -- whether they are in private or corporate practice -- must embrace new work models and technology to meet the demands of their clients for better, faster, and cheaper legal services. (Attendees at the event received a copy of his 2008 book: "The End of Lawyers? Rethinking the Nature of Legal Services.")

Lawyers, he said, must grasp that their clients want "proactive, not reactive" services that incorporate a heavy dose of risk management. Clients want dispute avoidance, not resolution. They'd rather have "a fence at the top of the cliff than an ambulance at the bottom." And, he said, necessary change is not simply about automating existing workflow and processes, it also means innovation.

Susskind effectively outlined a primer for legal professionals to identify, face, and embrace change, in the light of corporate demands for "better, faster, cheaper" legal services. That means determining what services require the nuanced expertise of veteran lawyers, versus what parts of the process can be commoditized and either outsourced, or via technology, offered as templates, checklists, and even self-service options.

A good analogy always helps folks understand concepts, and the England-based Susskind offered a British metaphor: Tailors who create unique suits based on individual measurements provide what is called "Bespoke" work, he says. But many folks prefer the economy of prêt-à-porter.

The New York City event is the fourth of five scheduled programs (also in London, Houston, Palo Alto, and Chicago), presented by Datacert, and co-sponsored by ILTA, the General Counsel Forum, and InsideCounsel magazine. Today's event also coincides with the launch of Datacert's new Passport, a practice and risk management system that targets corporate counsel.

SoloCorps Launch

Solo lawyers Carolyn Elefant and Lisa Solomon have created SoloCorps, a website with 50 videos that chronicle the "the stories, experiences, and wisdom of solo and small firm lawyers." It currently features attorneys from Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Pennsylvania; more are scheduled. Attorneys are also  invited to upload their own videos.

The project grew on the fly this summer, when Elefant and Solomon were traveling together to speak at midwest bar conferences. They turned to friends at the American Bar Association's "Legal Rebels" project, and borrowed a Kodak camcorder and wireless lavalier microphone. Florida's Rocket Matter sponsored the project.

It's no secret that the profession is in a "state of upheaval, with conventional law jobs being lost each day and BigLaw on the demise," Elefant wrote on her blog,  MyShingle.com. "Yet out of this turmoil, the solo experience edures and inspires. We want to capture the rich range of experiences of solos and small firm lawyers across the country." 

Elefant's Washington, D.C. firm focuses on energy practice and policy. New York-based Solomon provides legal research and writing services for attorneys, and runs The Billable Hour, which sells gifts and cards for legal professionals.

-- Heather Schultz, LTN assistant editor.

Sticks & Stones

A New York court has rejected a suit alleging online harassment, holding that the state's laws "do not recognize cyber or internet bullying as a cognizable tort action." Finkel v. Dauber was decided in July, in the Supreme Court of Nassau County; plaintiff Denise Finkel was allegedly the subject of "extremely unpleasant" Facebook messages.

In the New York Law Journal, Stephen Kramarsky, a member of Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky, analyzes the case and recent efforts to create legislation to protect teens in the light of recent suicides related to bullying.

"Much of the public discourse in online communities and social media -- whether private blogs, websites like Facebook or MySpace or services like Twitter -- consists of button pushing and trash-talk, good natured or otherwise. Context, in such situations, can be extremely important and broad legislation, while satisfying in the wake of tragedies ... is not always the best solution," says Kramarsky.

In the absence of a contextual analysis -- present in New York's defamation law, but missing from many of the proposed and existing cyber-bullying laws -- this kind of communication, familiar to anyone who has ever been in a 'flame war,' could become a crime," he says. "As a policy matter, it is best to avoid criminalizing what may be a "social norm" in a given context simply because legislators are disconnected from that context. The rules of discourse on Facebook are not the same as those on the Senate floor."

But, he concludes, "some regulation of electronic bullying and harassment is arguably in order -- even if it is only an update of existing law to include electronic communications -- but in any such regulation discretion must be the watchword. As the Finkel court correctly notes, in this area 'context is key."

Thomson Reuters Celebrates TrustLaw

I turn the microphone over to LTN news editor Daniel Howley:

Thomson Reuters celebrated its new TrustLaw service Tuesday, with a luncheon and a panel

discussion at its New York City headquarters. President and CEO Peter Warwick presided over the program; the panel was moderated by the iconic Arthur Miller, professor at New York University's law school.

The web-based global program is designed to promote and encourage pro bono law efforts, and provide news and information about anti-corruption efforts. It has been running since June, under the leadership of Monique Villa, CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation, the company's charitable arm. The official launch will be early next month, at the International Bar Association Annual Meeting in Vancouver.

The TrustLaw site features TrustLaw Connect, a platform that helps non-government organizations and "social entrepreneurs" who cannot afford normal legal services more easily connect with legal professionals who are willing to assist them. Another goal is to provide opportunities for lawyers to "engage in high impact pro bono work" that they might not encounter in their day-to-day practices.

The panel focused primarily on how pro bono attorneys can better assist NGOs in offering free legal services, and how TrustLaw fits into that equation. Speakers included Villa; attorney Diana Good; Ann Cotton of the Campaign for Female Education; Jill Kickul of the Stewart Satter Program in Social Entrepreneurship at NYU; and Joan Vermeulen of the New York City Bar's Vance Center for International Justice.

More information on TrustLaw and TrustLaw connect can be found at www.trust.org.
See also, Bob Ambrogi's report.

Virtual LegalTech

Virtual LegalTech Starts Today: seven live sessions, with all but one earning CLE credit in Calif., New York, and Ill. (Credit is pending for Florida.) Here are two of the six panels that can generate those important CLE credits:

9:15 a.m. Eastern time: "Legal Project Management" features Rocket Matters' Larry Port (chief software architect) and Mike Moore, the company's CFO/VP of business affairs. (Port wrote one of the most hilarious Green Law columns we have ever run in LTN, about his adventures buying a Prius.) Port will discuss how lawyers can borrow project management ideas that are popular within software and manufacturing industries and use simple, practical techniques to run their firms more smoothly.

11:30 a.m. Eastern time: Minnesota consultant George Socha and Daegis' Gene Eames will discuss "The Legal Significance of Search" to answer the questions "When can search results be deemed 'good enough'?" and "When is a determination of 'reasonable" comprehensiveness required?"

Be sure you carefully follow the CLE rules. You have to stay for the full 60 minutes, and write down and retain a spoken "verification code" during the program. Note that only the live version, not the archived one, earns credit.

Perils & Pitfalls

We write a lot about computer virtualization in Law Technology News, because it is an effective way to not only save money, but also to go "green" and reduce energy consumption. Benefits include fully exploiting computer resources, easing administration, improving fault tolerance, and saving costs for electricity, cooling, and floor space.

But the positives are not without risks. John Roman Jr., director of legal technology at Nixon Peabody, details seven pitfalls, including "putting all of your computing eggs in one basket. If your physical server goes down, so do the virtual servers installed on the physical server." That can result in a "single point of failure" that can cause major issues with your computing availability, he explains. Another risk: "VM sprawl," says Roman. Because it's easy to create virtual machines, "if the original VM is ill-configured from a security standpoint, so too will all replicated units."

Correction: In yesterday's breaking news about the acquistion of Daticon EED by Document Technologies, I incorrectly stated that the company's headquarters would be in Kirkland, Wash. DTI's HQ will remain in Atlanta, the Kirkland office now serves as a regional technology center.

Darwin Watch: DTI Acquires Daticon EED

Document Technologies Inc. has acquired Daticon EED, a Seattle-area e-discovery company. The company will now be known as "EED, a DTI company," based in Atlanta.

Effective immediately, it will act as the operating unit supporting current Daticon EED clients. John Davenport Jr., currently president and CEO of DTI, will continue in that role. The terms of the deal "are not, and will not be disclosed," said publicist Amy Juers, of Edge Legal Marketing.

DTI says it now has annual revenue of more than $130 million, including $70 million-plus from discovery services. It operates six large data centers in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Seattle, Washington, D.C., and Norwich, Conn.  The former EDD Daticon offices in Kirkland, Wash. will be used as a regional technology center.

The acquisition dissolves the "Daticon" moniker, marking the end of a rather turbulent past. Founded in 1993, Daticon was previously based in Connecticut. It was bought in 2006 by Xiotech Corp., of Eden Prairie, Minn., after filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. (Xiotech bought only the assets, not the liabilities of the company, according to news reports.)

In 2000, a majority interest in Daticon was purchased by Daniel Gordon, who was later convicted for embezzling $43 million from Merrill Lynch, including money used to purchase the interest.

The EED in the name refers to the company previously known as Electronic Evidence Discovery Inc., founded in 1987 by John Jessen. "I am confident DTI will leverage this history to continue advancing the combined leadership position in the discovery service industry," he said today.

Mining for Gold

What's that old expression, we only use 10% of any of our technology features? Seattle-based consultant (and former head of Microsoft's legal technology team) Steven Levy helps you better exploit your existing software in "Dig(ital) Gold," in the September issue of Law Technology News.

Much unfound "gold" lies within your existing time and billing and general ledger systems, he says. If you mine it, you can improve your organization's productivity. To do so doesn't require an engineering degree -- you can gather this data using ordinary Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and other tools your attorneys, IT staff, and finance professionals already understand and can manipulate, he says.

For example, you can analyze whether the business of your five highest-revenue clients is increasing or decreasing. If you examine these trends at least once a year, you may be able to ascertain underlying problems and resolve or mitigate them & before clients walk out the door.

Change Your Outlook: George Socha checked in to update us on Judge James Rosenbaum, who will be appearing Oct. 1 at the Colorado Association of Litigation Support Professional's eDiscovery Summit in Denver, as we reported yesterday in the LTN Daily Alert. Fellow Minnesotan Rosenbaum has retired from the bench, Socha notes, and is now affiliated with JAMS, and available as a meditator/arbitrator.

Colorado eDiscovery Summit

 Jeff Staal, litigation technology support manager at Davis Graham & Stubbs, wants to remind you that the Colorado Association of Litigation Support Professionals will hold its eDiscovery Summit in Denver on October 1. Speakers include retired United States District Court Senior Judge James Rosenbaum, who now is affiliated with JAMS, and also serves on the Sedona Conference Advisory Board and 

Rosenbaum, left, who hails from Minnesota, will offer a federal judge's perspective on e-discovery. Other panelists include Steven Bennett, a partner at Jones Day's New York office, who will discuss EDD ethics, and Matthew Rita, a partner at Ford & Harrison, who will provide a case law update.

Speaking of the Sedona Conference, it has just released the 2010 editon of "The Sedona Conference Commentary on Legal Holds: The Trigger & the Process." It contains numerous changes from the 2007 public comment version, and can be downloaded here.

President's Corner: John Willcutts

President's Corner: Nexidia's president and CEO, John Willcutts, reports that the latest upgrade of the company's audio review software, AudioFinder 3, is a desktop-based program that allows you to search by example to locate individual words or phrases within an audio file.

In other litigation support news, StoredIQ has upgraded its namesake information management software for corporate counsel. StoredIQ 6 now integrates with the company's new eDiscovery Manager to help law departments address discovery requirements. It includes an improved user interface, step-by-step workflow, and a new Analyze Anywhere tool.

Bridgeway Software also targets corporate counsel, with Legal Hold 3. It offers enhanced workflow tools and customizable custodian response options.

IConect Development has debuted nXT 830, the latest upgrade of its flagship product. New features include batching, e-mail sorting, folder rules, and an export tool to LexisNexis CaseMap.

Read more about new litigation support offerings in the Sept. issue of Law Technology News.

Cloudy Forecast?

In Law Technology News' September cover story, "Safe Sky," Patrick Oot, general counsel of the Electronic Discovery Institute, details how corporate law departments can be at odds with the business side of their organizations over cloud computing.

As online repositories become dirt cheap, they are more tempting to companies, especially for e-mail and messaging. (Hosted Exchange e-mail services now go for about $2.50 per month per person.)
   But the move to the cloud increases risks that must be managed, from privacy to security to potential waivers of attorney-client privilege. And for companies that operate overseas, the problems become even more complicated, as organizations must comply with regulations that can vary from country to country.
   Oot dives into some of the risks created and argues that the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act is already out-of-date and needs a revamp, quickly.

More! More!

Bob Ambrogi's September LTN "Web Watch" column, "Are Legal Blogs Dead?," drew quite a reaction from the blawgosphere. Critics fell into two contingents, reports Ambrogi on his LawSites blog (which recently underwent a gorgeous remodel).

  
"In one camp were those who were unhappy with the blogs I chose to highlight. In the other were those who were unhappy with the blogs I overlooked. My intent in the column was only to highlight a handful of recently launched blogs to serve as examples to show that blogging is alive and well within the legal community. It was neither a 'top blog' list nor a comprehensive index, just a sampling of some that had struck my eye as potentially interesting," he says.

Ambrogi just might revisit the topic in a future issue, so if you have launched a blog in the last six months, reply to his post.

Want more? Check out September Law Technology Now podcast, where I interview Ambrogi about how legal blogs have matured in the last few years. Bob  spotlights new sites that cover everything from fashion law (CaseClothesed) to "white collar" crime (Crime in the Suites) to intellectual property (Trademarks + Brands).
   Ambrogi listed 15 new blogs and notes that they are popping up like the proverbial crabgrass in July.
   "I have no idea how many law-related blogs exist. I doubt anyone can say for certain," he says. "But these blogs show that there is always room for new ideas or for novel approaches to established topics."

Mark Your Calendar: 9/23 for Virtual LegalTech

On Sept. 23, ALM will host the next "live" session of Virtual LegalTech. It is free, and all but one of the four hour-long panels will offer continuing legal education credit for California, New York, and Illinois attorneys (Florida credit is pending).

• 10:15: "Tools & Techniques for a Successful Business Development Culture: Client Teams." (No CLE.)

• 1:45: "Improving Legal Department and Firm Efficiences through Innovative Technologies." (Speakers include consultant Steven Levy, a frequent contributor to Law Technology News.)

• 2:45: "FRCP 26 (F) All Access: A Behind the Scenes View of the Current Requirements." (U.S. District Court Judge Michael Baylson is among the speakers.)

• 4:00: "Social Media & eDiscovering: Untangling the Tweets for Trials." (U.S. District Court Judge David Waxse is on this panel.)

For a full schedule, click here.

Why We Changed Our Headline Style

OK, this qualifies as almost TMI, but just in case you noticed that we've changed our post headline styles from all caps to initial caps -- we'll tell you why: because we are now linking the Scold to Twitter (@commonscold) -- and the all caps on Twitter "shouts" and is impolite!

I'm slowly updating the Scold to remove stale links, etc. etc. It will take a while, but hopefully it will make it even better! Thanks for your patience!

 

One Thing iPads Cannot Do

My colleague Anthony Paonita forwards this advice about how not to use new iPads. There are some functions that print newspapers simply do better than any other media, warns Newsday about its new iPad app.

Sorry for the temporary blackout of the video. Apparently, Apple whined about it to YouTube. Here's another version.

BE PREPARED

One of the most terrifying and exhilarating days of my career was the first day I walked into the San Francisco federal courtroom of Judge Samuel Conti as the law clerk for Albert Abramson (left). Abramson was  the lead attorney in a multi-plaintiff Alaska plane crash case. During the eight-week trial, my job was to take care of anything Al needed, from exhibits to power strips for the projectors, to a cup of coffee.

Al has been a wonderful mentor, and he was instrumental in helping me navigate my quick transition from actually practicing law to writing about law. I cherish my memories of working at what is now Abramson Smith Waldsmith -- the lessons Al taught me have shaped my understanding of litigation and the practice of law (and life!). I was admitted to the bar during the trial, and will never forget the enthusiastic welcome I received from Judge Conti, all counsel, and the jury on that wonderful day.

In our latest LTN video, Latham & Watkins' John Cleaves offers concrete tips on how you can reduce your anxiety when it's your turn to take the litigation support hot seat in a courtroom. Cleaves is the supervisor of practice support in the firm's Los Angeles office and a frequent contributor to Law Technology News.

It all boils down, says Cleaves, to the Boy Scout motto, "Be Prepared!" Before trial, says Cleaves, visit the courtroom and scope it out. Introduce yourself to the clerks and ask about protocols, e.g., what the judge likes and doesn't like. While there, check out all the electrical outlets.

Be sure to always have a backup laptop — (über-aggressive opposing teams have been know to "accidently" spill water on opponents' computers).  And always keep a Power Bar in your bag so your stomach won't growl if you don't get a chance to eat lunch.

Want more? Here's a cover story from last year on the same topic.

AWARDS & ACCOLADES

New York-based Pro Bono Net has won the 2010 InnovAction Award from the College of Law Practice Management. The competition honors outstanding innovation in the delivery of legal services, "demonstrating to the legal community what can happen when passionate professionals, with big ideas and strong convictions, resolve to create effective change," says Jordan Furlong, a partner with Edge International, who was chair of this year's contest.

Pro Bono Net was selected for its LawHelp Interactive program that helps underrepresented citizens complete necessary legal forms. Last year, about 150,000 civil court forms were created with the service, including documents regarding child support, domestic violence protective orders, consumer debt, and eviction, says PBN. The system helps create efficiencies for legal aid programs, so more people can be served, and also makes it easier for attorneys to help in areas of law where they may lack experience.

Bill Pollak, ALM's president and CEO, is the current chair of PBN's board of directors.

New York's Axiom won an honorable mention for its "function outsourcing" program, designed to reduce costs and improve efficiencies for clients.

The CLPM was formed in 1994; 200 practitioners have been chosen as fellows.

ASSOCIATE TECH MALAISE

The American Lawyer's annual Associate Survey is hot off the press, and not surprisingly, it reports significant malaise about technology.

Addressing the dilemma of whether it's best, during a recession, "to conserve cash or ramp up spending to win a competitive advantage when the economy turns around," reporter Charlie Mead found that firms tried both approaches, with mixed results.

TAL asked 4,942 mid-level associates to rank their firm's technology in the areas of quality, training, support, and use on behalf of clients. Morrison & Foerster took a big hit from complainers, and dropped to 69th from last year's 46 ranking. "Technology updates have been nonexistent," wrote one frustrated MoFo fifth-year lawyer. "The firm is cheaper than ever in all respects, and it is depressing."

Bingham McCutchen took a similar spill, dropping from 38 to 58, and was called "even less nimble with respect to adopting new technologies" than in the past. (The firm says it will invest more money this year.)

"I think the firm fails to see how much productivity is lost due to outdated technology," wrote a third-year associate at Reed Smith, which took a slight drop from 86 to 81.

At the bottom: Boies, Schiller & Flexner, where upgrades are long overdue, complained a senior associate. "I think we really are in the Dark ages," said the associate. "We don't have a document management system."

Probably no one would be surprised that Wilson Sonsini was cited as quick to adopt new tech even in rough times. Happy associates there pushed the firm's ranging up to 16 from 95 last year. Top firm Thompson Coburn (for five years running) didn't cut technology spending, but didn't expand it either.

The complete survey is available at www.americanlawyer.com/associates.

ILTA TECH PURCHASING SURVEY

ILTA and InsideLegal have released the results of the 7th annual "ILTA Member Technology Purchasing Survey." The 43-question web-based survey yielded 109 firm responses, with 84% from the U.S. and 16% from Canada, the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.

Among the highlights of this year's poll:

• 45% of respondents report that their firms are already back to normal financially

• 6% expect to be there in another year

• 17% have implemented cloud computing;

• 49% use Microsoft's SharePoint internally, and 24% use it as a collaboration tool for clients and other external communications;

• 69% were offered vendor discounts last year, and 20% received free services from their tech vendors;

• biggest challenges: e-mail management, staffing, and storage.

For a free copy of the survey analysis, visit www.InsideLegal.com.

SOCIAL JUDGES

State judges -- on their own time -- are cautiously experimenting with social media (e.g., Facebook), reports Tony Mauro in The National Law Journal. But, he notes, "judges doubt they could use the new media tools in their professional lives without violating judicial ethics codes."

A recent survey from the Conference of Court Public Information Officers found that 40% of responding judges say they use social media, and almost all said judges and court personnel need to familiarize themselves with the phenomenon. But less than 7% use sites for official purposes, such as alerts to the public or press about newly issued rulings, says Mauro. An exception is the Tennessee court system, on Twitter, which has about 900 followers.

NY EDD UPDATES

New York has been a hotbed for e-discovery advances, what with Judge Shira Scheindlin's landmark cases (Zubulake, Montreal Pension, et al), and Magistrate Judge Andrew Peck's opinions on keywords.

The state's judiciary recently finalized alterations to §202.10(b) and §202.70(g) of the Uniform Rules of Trial Courts, which became effective on Aug. 17, after approval by Chief Judge Jonathan Lipmann and the presiding judges of four appellate division departments. The New York Law Journal offers this analysis by Joel Stashenko about how the amendments -- which state that all attorneys "must be sufficiently versed in matters relating to their clients' technology systems to discuss competently all issues relating to electronic discovery" at preliminary conferences -- will push recalcitrant lawyers to understand EDD.

And after 11 years of experimentation, New York has also begun to institute mandatory e-filing in some areas, he reports.