Practice Technology

Twitter Is ‘Force Multiplier,’ Could Help Nab Stolen Autos, Seattle Police Say

The Seattle police department made history this week by sending out its first tweet about a stolen vehicle. But that tweet at was soon followed by another, and the city’s cops plan to use the social networking site routinely to enlist the public’s help in looking for hot cars, reports…

Dec 2, 2010 8:02 PM CST

Software Helps Lawyers Keep Focus on Bottom Line

Law firms are increasingly using automated software to track client collections and lawyer time in flat-fee cases. Lawyers at Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney are among those using the software—on a daily basis, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. The first thing they see every morning when logging onto their computers is a…

Dec 1, 2010 12:00 PM CST

The 4th Annual ABA Journal Blawg 100

Our 100 Favorite Blawgs

Dec 1, 2010 8:05 AM CST

MacGyver Your Software: Necessity Reveals Useful Tools You Never Knew Your PC Had

When Microsoft surveyed Office 2003 users about features they wanted to see in Office 2007, most of the requests were for features already in Office 2003. That fits the time-honored maxim of computing: We use only 10 percent of the features of the programs we have. I have noticed that…

Dec 1, 2010 7:55 AM CST

Law Firm Demystifies Legal, Banking and Finance Jargon With iPhone App

If the term “Canadian wrapper” makes you conjure Drake, then you might think about downloading the Book of Jargon to your iPhone. The app, developed by Latham & Watkins, provides a glossary of U.S. legal and regulatory terminology, along with capital market and banking slang to help make financial jargon…

Dec 1, 2010 7:35 AM CST

ABA Ethics 20/20 Commission Ponders its Strategy for Ranking Lawyers

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20, already charged with studying a daunting agenda of issues, has been given another tricky assignment: examining how various services go about ranking lawyers. Publishers of lawyer rankings say they provide a service to both consumers and lawyers. But some in the legal profession express…

Dec 1, 2010 6:30 AM CST

Predictive Coding Software Helps Morgan Lewis Review Millions of Pages in 1 Month

As large companies spend increasing amounts of money on electronic discovery, their law firms are turning to specialized software to help find the relevant documents. Large companies expect to spend about 7.1 percent of their litigation budget on e-discovery this year, up from 5.2 percent five years ago, the Wall…

Nov 29, 2010 2:47 PM CST

Holiday Gifts for Lawyers: Tech Toys, Greta Garbo’s Lawyer Letter & SCOTUS Losers Mug

Quick: Who was the winner in the Dred Scott case? What about Plessy v. Ferguson? For those who don’t immediately know, a coffee mug offers the answer concerning these and 28 other famous U.S. Supreme Court decisions: “Add a hot beverage and the losers disappear, revealing who won these landmark…

Nov 22, 2010 5:47 PM CST

Change Is Either an Event or Continual, Depending Upon Your Vantage Point

Editor’s note: The New Normal is an ongoing discussion between Paul Lippe, the CEO of Legal OnRamp, and Patrick Lamb, founding member of Valorem Law Group. Paul and Pat spend a lot of time thinking, writing and speaking about the changes occurring in the delivery of legal services. We hope…

Nov 22, 2010 2:52 PM CST

Move Over Socratic Method, ‘Clicker’ Offers Law Profs New Option to Monitor Student Progress

As some law profs and law school administrators bemoan or ban the electronic devices that make it easy for today’s students to sit in the back row and text and e-mail during class, a growing number of educational innovators are adding new wireless technology to their arsenal of teaching tools…

Nov 17, 2010 3:00 PM CST

Court Website Briefly Shut Down in Apparent Domain Name Snafu

A website for Massachusetts courts was briefly shut down after officials apparently failed to renew the domain name. Yesterday, the site was gone and replaced by a notice that “”massreports.com” has expired, the Boston Globe reports. C. Clifford Allen, who heads the Reporter of Decisions office for the courts, told…

Nov 16, 2010 1:33 PM CST

Am Law 101-200 Firms Out-Blog Their BigLaw Counterparts

According to an informal survey, law firms in the American Lawyer’s second hundred law firms blog more than those in the Am Law 100. Social media consultant Adrian Dayton solicited help and compiled lists of the Blogs of the Am Law 100 and the Blogs of the AmLaw 101-200 at…

Nov 10, 2010 7:26 PM CST

Lawyer Rating Service Avvo Expands to Include Doctors

The controversial lawyer ratings website Avvo has taken on a new challenge. Today Avvo announced that it has launched a doctor-ratings directory that will offer information on physicians’ backgrounds, experience and disciplinary records. Avvo already rates lawyers on a 1-to-10 scale and includes their disciplinary sanctions. “Yes, it’s true,” Avvo…

Nov 1, 2010 4:38 PM CDT

Cyberspace Under Siege

Law firms are likely targets for attacks seeking to steal information off computer systems

Nov 1, 2010 9:58 AM CDT

Law Firms Will Integrate Social Media in Their Websites, Consultant Predicts

Updated: Lawyers using online social media are finding that it is most effective at creating offline relationships. Social media such as Twitter can help lawyers find clients or even other lawyers interested in collaborating on a project, Mashable.com reports. Blogs can showcase expertise and create a brand identity. But it’s…

Oct 27, 2010 10:30 AM CDT