The Common Scold: Archives

About
The Common Scold

The Common Scold is named after a cause of action that originated in Pilgrim days, when meddlesome, argumentative, opinionated women who displeased the Puritan elders were punished by a brisk dunk in the local pond. Believe it or not, the tort lasted until 1972, when State v. Palendrano, 120 N.J. Super. 336, 293 A.2d 747 (N.J.Super.L., Jul 13, 1972) pretty much put it to rest. But the thought of those feisty women, not afraid of a little cold water, has always cheered me up and inspired me. I first used the moniker as the name of my humor column at the University of San Francisco School of Law many moons ago, and revive it now for this blawg!

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From Law Technology News

LTN Test Drive:

GPS devices aren't perfect, especially in Austin, but they sure make life easier. Especially if you program them ahead of time. And do buy the extended warranty. Read why, here.

- --Donna Payne

From the April issue of
Law Technology News.

April President's Corner:
Eric Elfman says DataCert Inc.'s Corporate Legal Desktop 10 helps corporate legal departments manage legal and intellectual property spending, while tracking documents and financial information.

BI Roster The ALM Business Intelligence Roster offers a description of BI products available on the market. To participate in the list, e-mail lawtech@alm.com for our questionnaire.

April '08:
Crowded, But Silent: If everybody's using social networking tools, why is it so quiet? By Larry Bodine. Here.

October '07:
An Undercurrent of Fear: LTN's editor-in-chief, Monica Bay, reports on the challenges of e-discovery here.

August '07:
$2 Billion EDD:
E-discovery is now a $2 billion dollar business, and there's no end in sight to the explosive growth. Check it out here.

Ball in Your Court, by Craig Ball
2007 TABBIES Gold Award, Best Column. 2007 ASBPE Northeastern Regional Award, Silver, Best Contributed Column.

Click here for links to Ball's 2007 columns on our new EDD Update blog (See right nav bar).

Web Watch, by Robert J. Ambrogi
2006 TABBIES:
Silver Award, Best Column:
Broken Promises
Podcasting

Technology on Trial
by Claire Duffett:

The Inside Job. (Oct. 07)
Clearing the Smoke. (Aug. 07)
Geoffrey Goes to Court. (Feb. 07)
A Frond Farewell. (Dec. 06)

2006 ASBPE Northeast
Silver, Best Column, Staff-Written:
Snow Job Doesn't Work (Tyco), by John Bringardner
Game Technology Wins the Day, by John Bringardner

Solutions Penalty Box:

Here are current contenders for the most use of incomprehensible jargon and cliches, including the banned word, "solution," in a press release. :)

MONICALOGUES:

Katrina's Wake:
In the April '06 LTN, Monica Bay and photographer Russ Curtis travel to New Orleans, to report on the legal technology community's efforts to rebuild practices and lives post-Hurricane Katrina. Winner: 2007 TABBIES: Honorable Mention, Best Feature.

Fear Factor: Why Lawyers Aren't Using Technology. The ABA's most recent tech survey found that only 11.7% of the nation's lawyers are using ANY trial technology. We interview lawyers, vendors, and consultants to find out why, and the answers are shocking: lawyers are afraid of technology, don't understand it, and are overwhelmed by too many choices. Vendors take some of the blame by not educating lawyers about tech's potential. The dramatic conclusion: lawyers must embrace change, and adopt technology, or they simply will not survive in today's competitive marketplace.

Low Visibility: As law firms move toward a corporate, rather than private club, model of operations, they are bringing in "C-level" executives to help them run their organizations. Yet many law firms still cling to old-school caste systems, where only the attorneys have real power, and everybody else is invisible. What's the litmus test? Take a look at the firm websites. Can you search for the CIO? For the COO? For the HR director? If not, the firm may be paying only lip service to change. Savvy firms realize that if they want to keep top-level executives, they better start treating them like partners.

No solutions! We're determined to build bridges, not walls -- and to explain and demystify technology in our three magazines.

That means no jargon, no acronyms, and no "insider" gobbledygoop. Words like solution, robust, mission-critical, strategic planning, initiatives, deployment are just silly cliches that have become meaningless. We like plain English. Vendors! Flaks! If you mother doesn't understand your press release, don't send it out.

From Law Firm Inc.