Business of Law

6 tools to help firms track social media

There’s a pressing need for a tool that can monitor and archive everything a law firm’s client says and does on social media, given that more and more e-discovery demands are including data generated by employee mobile devices. More than 41 percent of firms surveyed last year reported having to…

Sep 1, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

Add an extra layer of password verification to help safeguard your data and accounts

Are passwords alone enough to protect our data and accounts? Is it time to add more protection? Multiple-factor verification, now a trend, combines several elements to help protect your accounts. So if you haven’t heard of two-factor verification or explored it, put it on your “to do soon” list. If…

Sep 1, 2013 7:30 AM CDT

Is the integrative law movement the next ‘huge wave’ for the legal profession?

Sean Mason’s legal practice is all about love. Most lawyers wouldn’t associate estate planning or divorce mediation with tenderness and devotion, but Mason says “helping clients express love for the people who matter most in their lives” is the principle that guides his Santa Barbara, Calif., practice at the Mason…

Aug 1, 2013 7:30 AM CDT

Responsive design can help you create a website that works well with all devices

There has been a huge growth in the number of people viewing websites from smartphones and tablets. How long has it been since you redesigned your site? Have you taken these developments into account? Most websites were designed for the standard PC user and use a print approach—with tables, columns,…

Aug 1, 2013 7:20 AM CDT

Product manager helps partners build better client budgets. Is that revolutionary?

Is Fenwick & West’s product manager position the best thing since sliced bread? Or is the idea behind it as stale as the original loaf? “I think it’s a new term for an old concept,” says Ed Poll, who heads LawBiz Management in Venice, Calif. Peter Zeughauser agrees to a…

Aug 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

Minority women find blocks on the path to the top

Minority women make up only 2.16 percent of the nation’s law firm partners. In fact, for our June cover story on the female leaders of the Am Law 200 firms, not a single minority woman was present (“Women in Charge,” June). Recessionary losses of associates and partners, including “a disproportionate…

Aug 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Going mobile: A special tech trends report (gallery)

The data used in this special report was taken from The 2013 Legal Technology Survey Report.

Aug 1, 2013 6:55 AM CDT

IP firm holds the lead in the flourishing field of design patent litigation

Consumers are becoming more interested in the appearance of things they buy, which has led to a dramatic increase in the number of design patent applications. Design patents are distinguished from utility patents because the design patent protects a product’s unique external appearance, while the utility patent protects the way…

Aug 1, 2013 6:50 AM CDT

Attorney helps protect against shipwrecks’ plunder

Antique coins, guns, anchors and various other historical finds from sunken ships dating from the days of ancient Greece to the Napoleonic Wars—these are the artifacts attorney James Goold has spent much of his career defending. “I’m the opposite of a looter,” says Goold, whose interest in cultural preservation disputes…

Jul 1, 2013 7:50 AM CDT

6 mini-reviews of new legal apps and products

This month the Business of Law section begins running minisummaries of recent product reviews. Read the full reviews by following the links. From the Droid Lawyer blog by Oklahoma City lawyer Jeffrey Taylor: The Anker Astro External Battery charges quickly and allows you to carry on without rushing for an…

Jul 1, 2013 7:40 AM CDT

Shrinking legal spending: Corporate clients cut back on outside representation

A survey of in-house law departments shows corporate clients netting major savings by using certain tactics to reduce spending on outside law firms. Huron Consulting Group’s 2013 report, the Huron Legal Impact Benchmarking Survey, found participants realizing up to 54 percent lower external legal spending as a percentage of company…

Jul 1, 2013 7:29 AM CDT

Solo Solutions: Is there really a better way to bill?

This month, we introduce a new addition to our solo and small-firm coverage: Solo Solutions. From time to time, our solo and small-firm readers will tell the ABA Journal how they solved a problem in their practice or created a helpful innovation. We hope you learn something. And we’d love…

Jul 1, 2013 7:20 AM CDT

At Iron Tech, students bring tech answers to legal issues

We can debate the need for law schools to teach the practice of law, but there might be more in store for the profession, with law students changing how it’s done. They’re developing legal technology to either help consumers and their nonlawyer advocates who might need legal services or to…

Jul 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

Google teaches how to better use Google

Even though Google has become an essential tool for lawyers, many attorneys use only a small fraction of its features. They would readily admit that their search skills could be improved. If you’re looking for a small technology education investment that can pay big dividends, ramping up your Google search…

Jul 1, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Some basic rules for using ‘bitcoin’ as virtual money

Techies know that “bitcoin” is a virtual currency generated by predetermined computers and recognized on traditional currency exchanges as BTCs. Of interest to investors and business owners, bitcoins have skyrocketed into mainstream popularity, as has their price. No government is involved in creating bitcoins, and they are insulated from Cyprus-style…

Jul 1, 2013 6:50 AM CDT