Happy Holidays

On behalf of our entire Law Technology News team, let me send you and your loved ones the very warmest of wishes for the winter holidays. 

May the year's end bring you a respite of unexpected music, enough quiet, sweet companionship, a good book (via paper, Kindle, iPad, or nook), the time to actually play with your favorite app (my current obsession is Angry Birds), the company of an enthusiastic four-year-old, the comfort of a dog at your feet and a cat in your lap, corduroy, the smell of Peet's coffee and cinammon rolls on a cold morning, an afternoon with a steady friend, laughing so hard your teeth hurt, enjoying Handel's "Messiah" no matter how you define faith, a twilight walk through fresh snow, the opportunity to sleep without an alarm clock, and of course, peppermint ice cream. 

Continually,

Mon

 

John Cleaves Debuts JuryTracker

John Cleaves, supervisor of practice support in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, practices what he preaches in his November article in Law Technology News, "Build Your Own App."

His JuryTracker app just debuted in Apple's App Store. It helps trial teams observe and report juror behavior in a consistent, clear, and concise manner, says Cleaves, a member of LTN's editorial advisory board.

It cleverly uses emoticons to evaluate each juror's emotional reactions to what's going on in the courtroom (witness testimony, attorney presentations, judge pronouncements). A second set of graphics track whether a juror is taking notes, paying attention, making eye contact, fidgeting, or checking his or her watch.

The beauty of the app is its clean, simple layout -- there are buttons to categorize a juror as a "follower" or "leader," and a box to jot notes. TrialTimer monitors the time each party spends (handy when the court limits the time for presentations).

The word I keep returning to is clever. So much so that I won't be surprised if we see a "Law & Order Los Angeles" attorney wielding one in a 2011 episode.

The cost: $9.99. Don't fire your jury consultants quite yet, but that's less than the cost of a mediocre burger, fries, and a coke at most courthouse cafeterias.

Want more Cleaves? Check out this LTN Video, where he mentors new IT staff on trial team support in the courtroom.

 

EDD in the Clouds

With the explosion of interest in cloud computing, aka software as a service (née application service providers), it's no surprise that issues are arising about the e-discovery ramifications when your data is floating up in the ether of the web.

Internet.com's CIO Update offers an interesting article, from EMC's James Shook (director of e-discovery and compliance) and marketer David Morris. They tackle several topics, including legal holds (don't expect you can dodge them just because your files aren't physically in your shop), and the "enormously complex" issue of international privacy laws.

The authors concede that conducting EDD on data within the cloud "will have its challenges. Identification and collection of large volumes of data can have intensive bandwidth, CPU, and storage requirements -- and that's assuming there are self-help tools in place to locate the data on your own." Then there's the issue of screwups by your provider, such as accidental deletions -- and who picks up the tab for fines and sanctions.

In Vino Veritas

Sometimes, it's incredibly helpful to break your routine, and share ideas with an eclectic group of people over a good meal with a few bottles of wine. David Cowen, of The Cowen Group, understands the power of this dynamic, and puts together "Cowen Signature Dinners" where he invites about 20 members of the legal technology community for a conversation. That number is perfect — too few and the discussion can be forced; too large and it can be intimidating.

 Monday night, Cowen (whose shop offers head-hunting, management consulting, and industry intelligence), gathered litigation lawyers from firms (Mayer Brown, Ropes & Gray, Proskauer, and others) and corporate law departments (CA Technologies, Marsh & McLennan, Tyco International, and others), to talk about e-discovery migraines in a private room at Mahattan's Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

Thomas Allman, former GC of BASF and an active voice in the development of e-discovery, did a fine job moderating the lively discussion, which covered everything from the realities of legal holds to the year's most debated cases about sanctions. Recommind  picked up the tab, with CEO Bob Tennant, senior counsel Howard Sklar, and assistant GC Jason Robman contributing to the discussion.

Cowen describes these events as "blue-sky discussions that offer a unique venue for senior executives ... to confer over a wide range of legal, business, and technical ides that impact the market, their organizations, and their careers." His goal is "to facilitate a candid conversation about the strategic impact of technology on the legal industry." If Monday's event is typical, Cowen's team hits the mark.
  
P.S. The Cowen Group's fifth annual Litigation Support Salary Survey was released late Tuesday. While the economic recession kept salaries in check, the survey notes that workload has been spiking for the last five consecutive quarters. "Forward-thinking executives should be preparing for increased hiring and a corresponding rise in salaries in 2011."

Collision Course

I turn the microphone over to my colleague, LTN's news editor Brendan McKenna:

The American Bar Association has drafted two issue papers that have the legal technology community on high alert: "Client Confidentiality and Lawyers' Use of Technology" and "Lawyers' Use of Internet Based Client Development Tools." Comments are due by Dec. 15, 2010.

In "ABA on Collision Course With New Technology," Jonathan Ezor, assistant professor of law and technology, and director of the Institute for Business, Law and Technology at New York's Touro Law Center, warns our community to take heed. The proposed papers, he argues, don't reflect the current state of technology and practice realities. Since 1999, when the ABA first approved the use of unencrypted e-mail, we have been introduced to everything from cloud computing and smartphones, to virtual law offices, he notes.

Consultant Larry Bodine addresses the marketing issues here.

Join the discussion at the ABA's "Commission on Ethics 20/20" website. (An e-mail list has also been created.)

Awards & Accolades!

In the December issue of Law Technology News, we announced the winners of the 2010 LTN Vendor Awards.

The awards have evolved from the early days of LTN, when they were calculated by how many folks requested information via the "bingo" postcards included in each issue. Today, it's much more sophisticated. Results are determined by analyzing the responses to our LTN Vendor Satisfaction Survey, conducted online, explains Kevin Iredell, head of ALM's legal intelligence division.

Congrats to all the winners! And a reminder to submit nominations for the LTN law firm and law department awards by Dec. 13. Application form is here.

Deadline Extended for LTN Awards Submissions

Good news: We are extending the deadline for entries to the juried 2010 LTN Awards to Monday, Dec. 13 (11:59 p.m. EST), to allow a bit more post-holiday time for folks to enter. It's a great opportunity to shine a spotlight on our community's top IT leaders and projects! Too often, these folks and projects are behind the curtain -- it's time to celebrate their successes.
    The categories are: IT Champion of the Year, IT Director of the Year, and most innovative use of technology in: 1. a trial, 2. a law firm, and 3. a legal department.
   There is NO FEE to enter, and the process is simple. Just download the application form. You may nominate candidates who do not work at your organization, and you can nominate yourself. More information is available at www.lawtechnologynews.com (click on Awards tab on top nav bar)

Notes: Project timelines do not apply to IT Director or IT Champion awards. PDF submission forms may be emailed to us: lawtech@alm.com. Fax 646-822-5106.

Questions: Contact Monica Bay or Heather Schultz at 212-457-9601 or lawtech@alm.com. (We are both out of the office today (Friday 12/3) but back Monday.)

Pick Your Poison

What's worse -- your pet project is killed via one loud elephant-like stomp or nibbled to death by ducks? Steven Levy, principal of Seattle's Lexician consultancy, says you can avoid both.

Managing change is key, says Levy, who had a long stint at Microsoft heading its legal technology efforts. "Some project managers try to increase success by erecting overwhelming barriers to change," he writes, in "Align Your Allies," in the LTN December issue. But too many changes can derail your project, he warns.

Levy's tips for success include getting buy-in from stakeholders, who must feel that they have a voice in the process. Change logs, checklists, and incremental delivery also help.

And keep an eye out for the December Law Technology Now podcast with Levy.