Via Sabrina at BeSpacific.com:
Reporters Without Borders has released a new Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-dissidents (46 pages, PDF).
Bruce Schneier notes the significant implications of recent Florida court decisions throwing out "driving under the influence" (DUI) cases because the manufacturer will not disclose how the breathalyzer machines work, including some fascinating comments about open source vs. closed source software.
Thanks to John Robb for pointing out Schneier's post and raising this important question:
"If you don't have access to how a system works, how can it be used to indict you?"
This week's Coast to Coast is called Katrina's Aftermath: The Gulf Coast Legal Community, and features — along with members of the Texas bench and bar who are extending southern hospitality to their displaced neighbors in myriad ways — blawgers Ray Ward and our own Ernie Svenson, who provide their firsthand accounts.
My colleague and former clerk to the Honorable William H. Rehnquist, Tom McGough, describes standing vigil for the Chief Justice.
Congratulations to our friend Jim Calloway who was recently inducted as a fellow in the College of Law Practice Management. Check out Jim's blog and you'll see why he is so highly-respected and a favorite legal blogger for so many.
Here's the Supreme Court Watch Podcast from Alliance for Justice, featuring (per its press release) "live blogging [of the Roberts confirmation hearings] to provide response and commentary in real time, as well as daily wrap-up podcasts to provide further in-depth discussion and analysis available to listeners at any time, anywhere."
Weblogs Work is running a series of interviews with blogging lawyers (I was one of the interviewees, and John Day's is also up): "Weblogs seem to work well for lawyers. We tried to find out why."
Skype + Innovation + People Who Care (Like Dina Mehta) = An effort to help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that will change the way you think about grassroots help for others in need. Imagine the possibilities.
Between Lawyers's Ernie Svenson is among the bloggers quoted in the Washington Post's article, "Blogs Provide Storm Evacuees With Neighborhood-Specific News." (Registration (free) required).
Patty Noonan on the performance of leaders so far (and on bloggers).
Jack Vinson's pre-hurricane post "Becoming Your Own Filter" strikes me as prescient and right-on-target as we try to find real news and information in these post-hurricane days.
Here's FindLaw's lawyer marketing page, launched this week, including this article mentioning BL, quoting Tom, and weighing in on the "are blogs advertising" issue: "Do lawyers need to be concerned about the ethics rules on lawyer marketing when they blog? Well, yes. But no more so than in any other forum in which a lawyer writes or speaks."
Windows SharePoint Services Applications Template: Legal Document Review: "This application for Windows SharePoint Services is for company legal departments to post legal documents and templates, communicate requirements and processes, and provide contact information. It also features a legal document review tool for managing, prioritizing, and tracking employee requests to review contracts and documents." (Thanks, Steve!)
The Inquirer reports that "According to an NOP World survey, 50% of law firms in the UK are missing basic security measures and just under half have no budget dedicated to digital security..." (Thanks, Steve!)
Tom Mighell and Dennis Kennedy of Between Lawyers recently presented a webcast with Raza Hasan of Thomson FindLaw called "Blogs for Lawyers: Building an Audience to Build Your Practice." A free replay of the webcast is available here.
Dennis Kennedy has a vision of sorts on this whole RSS thing while in Phoenix for the ILTA legal technology conference. Details here.
Doug Sorocco unpacks the Microsoft/Apple/iPod interface patent hype: "[F]olks need to do their research and understand the issues. If the claims don't cover it - it doesn't infringe." Ahh, that's better!
Just register your site with GVisit, copy and paste a line of JavaScript to your home page, and you can then track the last 20 visitors to your site using Google Maps.
Quoting from Bruce Schneier's CRYPTO-GRAM newsletter:
"An attorney in Australia has successfully used the MD5 Defense -- the
fact that the hash function is broken -- to fight a highway camera that
photographs speeders.
<http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/08/10/1123353368652.html>
<http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,16204811-1242,00.htm>
This is interesting. It's true that MD5 is broken. On the other hand,
it's almost certainly true that the speed cameras were correct. If
there's any lesson here, it's that theoretical security is important in
legal proceedings. I think that's a good thing.
<http://www.schneier.com/crypto-gram-0409.html#3>"
Implications for all digital photgraphy used as evidence in courts? You betcha.
Here's a survey worth spending a few minutes to take: Amy Gahran is conducting an online survey on the "Professional/Personal Overlap" on blogs. I'm in favor of most things that tend to make us more human, but I know that others like their blog reading without the injection of anything personal in nature. The final survey results should be quite interesting, but I suspect that the personal will ultimately push its way into even the most dedicatedly professional blogs over the long haul.
I originally posted about this on the LexThink blog, but I can't get the "Not Insane To Do List" off my mind and wanted to share it with the Between Lawyers audience. It seems so, well, not insane. See what you think.
((litefeeds)) -- because lawyers don't have enough to read on their Blackberries...
The July-August issue of the ABA's Law Practice Magazine is all about blogging, and features the roundtable we did here. Also there are a fun profile of Ernie "wrong profession" Svenson, and many a great tip from Rick Klau.
Even though e-filing is easy, a slow computer won't justify a missed deadline.
From Steve Rubel at Micro Persuasion: 10 technology-driven trends that will revolutionize how companies (and people) communicate.
NY Lawyer: Associate, denied partnership, sues firm for fraud.
The August issue of Fast Company has this succinct and on point guide to Business Blogging for Beginners (which is useful even, or maybe particularly, if you're not into cocktail parties).
NY Lawyer: : Firm can sue former associate for allegedly jumping the gun as to soliciting clients for her new firm, however firm didn't plead defamation with particularity with regard to alleged comments by associate that her former boss was abusive, nasty and difficult.
IBM has released a trial enterprise blogging tool that will integrate with its Workplace Collaboration Services: "Weblog Preview provides the basic functionality usually expected of personal weblogs. For instance, Weblog Preview supports the posting of content in a journal format, emphasizing a personal point of view. The weblogs are public by default; that is, any authenticated Workplace user can read the blog. In addition, all authenticated users can comment on or link to the posts via 'permalinks.' The weblog owners, however, can restrict access to their blogs via the Workplace membership portlet, just as with any Workplace component." I don't know much about "portlets," but this strikes me as a positive and useful step in encouraging weblog use by businesses. Via Techworld, which has this quote from IBM's Ed Brill: "By putting that into Workplace, we are saying that we expect everybody in an organisation to be able to be a publisher, not just a consumer of information." Mr. Brill's blog looks like an excellent related resource.
Here's a brief and sensible set of Guidelines Useful in Blogging aimed at businesses, from the London Free Press and authored by Ontario lawyer David Canton.
I don't have anything to add to Dennis on the parallels (or desired parallels) between tax and copyright policy, except that I enjoyed it (and I assume his concluding sentence is either rhetorical or hoping to prompt a discussion). In somewhat similar vein, don't miss Marty's post on blogs, print, and trademarks.
From Swissinfo.com, Registered E-post will soon be reality: "Since the beginning of 2005, the electronic signature in Switzerland has had the same status as a handwritten signature for contracts and business transactions."
This blog account of jury duty begins with this passage: "Oftentimes people will watch news coverage of trials and react with bewilderment when the defendant is found not guilty. They ask 'How could any jury possibly find that person innocent? How stupid can these people be?' When you actually take part in the process you come to realize how complicated finding someone guilty actually is, and you start to understand some of what may have been going on in the deliberations of those newsworthy trials that led the jury not to convict. The fact of the matter is you don’t find someone innocent: you have to find someone guilty..."
For cutting edge and up to the minute discussion and analysis of the today's Grokster decision, check out the Wall Street Journal's Grokster Roundtable, which includes Denise Howell of Between Lawyers among its imposing list of expert panelists.
At this moment, of the five most recent comments to this blog, two are about poker, and three are about penis enlargement. What precisely did the Cluetrain Manifesto say about conversations?
I never miss an opportunity to use the word Champerty in a sentence. Via Overlawyered, a story on how casino operators are funding litigation by Shinnecock Indians to claim land in the Hamptons.
Here's a little tale of ketchup, pants, and email to add to your collection of lawyer emails and voicemails that have gone feral and taken on a life of their own. (Via Boing Boing)
Any person in a business or other organization who cares about the entity's financial and technological well being would be better off for listening to Dan Bricklin's Software Licensing Podcast.
ABA Journal eReport, Is a Lawyer's Blog an Ad?: "'The rules always lag behind the technology,' [J. David Boswell, chair of the Kentucky Attorneys' Advertising Commission] says."
Cory Doctorow points to a simple calculation and wonders where all the songs on iPods come from.
From Virginia Grant at Altman Weil - For Law Departments: Five Strategies to Help Your Outside Firms Increase Diversity (PDF file).
Law Firm fails to prove it sent bills to client (and failed to provide updated retainer agreements and failed to get consent for rate increases). Via NY Lawyer.
Ernie Miller has kicked off an interesting discussion on whether the DMCA's notice-and-takedown provisions are so intrinsically messed up they should be avoided altogether.
SF Gate has a good article today on Writing the codes on blogs: "Jeff Sandquist, a Microsoft manager, said blogging has become so commonplace at the Redmond, Wash., firm that employees conversing about specific topics typically ask each other: 'Are you planning on blogging that?'"
My nominee for clueful thought of the day from Bruce MacEwen: "Too flaky for your firm? If that's your reaction, are 'pens and paper' flaky? Email? Blogs and wikis are among the new tools in the technological arms race. Are you going to let your competitors steal a march?"
Our neighbor Ernie Miller, on The Populism of Blawgs: "[J]ust because the material is rarefied doesn't mean it isn't populist."
Shel Holtz: "There's nothing new about the notion of a communication tool poorly applied."
Fredrik Wacka: "I think this approach is something we will see more of. And I think it's a genuinely bad idea."
Robert Scoble, on IBM's new blogging policy: "I guess my style of blogging wouldn't be welcome at IBM."
Robert Ambrogi, on Blogging and the Bottom Line: "[B]logs serve as valuable means of keeping current — pocket parts for the digital age." Bonus link, also via Bob: A Journalist's Guide to the Federal Courts.
Law Tech Guru post on Attention Deficit Trait (as opposed to Attention Deficit Disorder), where is the window with the url? why are there so many windows open on my desktop, oh great, another email from them, hey, CNN Breaking News, oh, big deal, he pled guily, who cares, there's the phone, I have to get a new phone, I'll let that go to voice mail, I didn't return Dennis' call, now he's going to think I'm angry at him, more email, I should turn off that feature, I wonder how to turn it off, spam seems to be creeping back up, oh, another email from her, clients, can't live with them . . ., what's up with the news reader, what was I doing? Oh, there's a Law Tech Guru post on attention deficit trait.
St. Petersburg Times' article on sexual harrassment incident in a law firm noteworthy for its excerpts from both accusers' and accused statements.
In San Francsico, Alameda and Santa Clara counties in California, plaintiffs in civil jury trials prevail 60% of the time. In Solano county, plaintiffs prevail only 33% of the time. Via DailyRepublic.com.
The NewPRWiki, a collaboration among some clueful PR professionals to share ideas and information, includes a list of resources aimed at legal issues related to business blogging.
Futher to our discussion here that blogging is not necessarily all that different from technological waters companies have been navigating for some time: Evan Brown has a write-up of a recent federal trial court decision that stands behind an employer's ability to fire those who violate its email policy.
Well, this explains a lot. A UK researcher found that the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points -- the equivalent to missing a whole night's sleep and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking marijuana." More on the bad effects of email here.
Now available at IT Conversations: my interview with George Lenard, Steve Rubel, and Jeff Seul on issues related to companies and blogging. The show notes add a few links to those listed here previously, and the conversation gets into the professional-personal life gray areas Dennis and I have been discussing.
Today brings news that a group of bloggers has submitted an amicus brief in the writ proceedings concerning Apple's efforts to discover the sources of certain rumor site stories. As far as I know this is the first time bloggers have banded together to use the legal process to weigh in on a pending legal issue — in addition to blogging about it, of course.
[Update] Thanks to xrlq for pointing out this may be the first case, but (by a few days) not the first time: Bloggers speak up in Apple case
As part of its Top 25 series, CNN has announced its Top 25 Technological Breakthroughs. Topping the list: "Wireless world." Interesting that the Internet doesn't get its own billing; instead, it's implicit in many of the others. Also interesting that #20, "E-baggage" (spam, spim, phishing, virii, worms, etc.), is included as a "breakthrough" at all.
EFF: How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else). (Via Boing Boing) Someone should now write the business side guidelines, "How to Harness the Power of Your Workforce's DIY Spirit, Enthusiasm, and Creativity (About Work or Anything Else)." (Wait: someone did!)
Well it's official: our back and forth here has resulted in consensus, and we'll be applying a Creative Commons license to Between Lawyers. Thanks to everyone who provided input and feedback. Our new licensing will show up here graphically and in our feed very soon.
Adam Curry is testing beta podcasting software that PodShow eventually will be offering for Windows. Among other things, it sounds like it will encode the ID3 tags without fuss or muss for the user. I just pointed him toward the Creative Commons information on embedding licenses in audio. With any luck that'll get built in too.
It appears that password protection is not enough to protect a company's trade secrets.
Dennis wrote: "...as in the CC licenses, you can disclaim warranties, limit liability and cover other important matters. The second point is very important." I remember seeing recently that VentureBlog is doing this kind of thing via "terms of service." From a purely personal and nonlawyerly standpoint, terms of service strike me as a little off-putting and overbearing on a weblog as opposed to a Web site. But as a practical matter there's not much "as opposed to" about it, and I'll wager Venture blog isn't/won't be the only one to go this route, so I guess I'd better start thinking more sympathetically about the idea.
Prism Legal Consulting: "Legal Offshoring May Be Harder Than It Looks."
One of the things that Law School is supposed to teach you is legal reasoning. And legal reasoning is supposed to be based on logical reasoning. If you would like to acquire better reasoning skills, but don't want to spend $60,000 just buy Crimes Against Logic by Jamie Whyte. Oh yes, and be sure to read it too.
Silicon Valley Watcher: Fired Google Blogger helps Plaxo draft blogging policy.
Better dying through technology: Washington Post: Living Wills Software Sales Surge.
D.C. Lawyer argues that his $475/hr rate is mid-range for people of his experience.
Raymond Dowd in the NY Law Journal on Zen and the Art of Photocopying . A mix of shrewd, profound and lamentable insights.
Scobelizer on e-shaming. It's not quite as simple for lawyers, though. We learn a lot of stuff through confidential means, for a start.
Adam Smith's Savvy Lawyer roundtable discussion on The Future of the Billiable Hour is up for your review.
If you were reading Bag and Baggage in 2002 (and you know who you three are), you might remember a post I did about adopting a Creative Commons license. I'm still using the same license I selected back then, updated to its 2.0 version. Soon (hopefully next week when three of our contributors get back from a conference), we're going to go through a similar process of deciding whether to apply a CC license to Between Lawyers, and if so which one. And we're going to do it through conversational posts here, so if you're interested in our thinking stay tuned. Shelley Powers has raised some timely related issues, so we'll try to grok their intricacies and fold them into the discussion.
Stowe Boyd, First, We Kill All The Lawyers: "This is also known as corporate eyewash, but it is certainly not blogging." (Do not think for a second that the irony and pathos of the title of Stowe's post are lost on us.)
Circular Logic: "The legal team at my company has started showing signs of agitation about our blogging experiments in marketing. ..." Calling Judge Kozinski!
Notes From The Legal Underground on whether blogs disintermediate law reviews.
Public Perceptions of Lawyers, a report from the American Bar Association, via f/k/a.
Alex Wellen (of Barman fame) has some succinct tips for copying music legally, covering time-and-place shifting, mix CDs, and CD rings. (Alex is still technically a newlywed, and it shows: "A mix CD for your lover is generally acceptable, but if you get married and you give that mix to all of your guests as a wedding memento, you risk your happily-ever-after status.")
VentureBlog's David Hornik received the recent Howard Rice alert on corporate blogging as well, and drily observes, "When the stakes are high, the lawyers come rolling in from all directions." He also discusses drafting VentureBlog's terms of use.
Bruce MacEwan describes an interesting recent Wall Street Journal article, "On The Case: rising legal costs may have finally met their match: technology." In pertinent part he writes, "Cisco and DuPont, together with FMC and Clorox, are developing a 'virtual lawyer' to provide automated online responses to routine legal questions concerning, for example, human resource policies. And lest you think they're all alone out there on the early-adopter curve, they plan to license this tool to all comers." (Via Michael Fox, via George Lenard's first podcast.)
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