Digital Practice of Law

Court Advises Counsel of Evidence Presentation System

Smith v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112648 (D. Ariz. Feb. 13, 2008).

"Counsel are hereby advised that the Court has various audio/visual equipment available for use at an evidentiary hearing or trial at no cost to the Bar. This equipment includes an evidence presentation system, which consists of a document camera, digital projector, and screen. The projector may be used to display images which originate from a variety of sources, including television, VCR, and personal computer. The document camera may be used to display documents, photographs, charts, transparencies, and small objects. For further information please contact the Court's A/V Specialist, Brian Lalley at . . . "

 

Brief for India’s outsourcing lawyers: keep it cheap

"Some of London's magic circle law firms have turned to the streets of Mumbai for completion of work that was once the preserve of young UK lawyers. Nestled amid the bustle of north Mumbai, the headquarters of Pangea3, one of India’s biggest legal outsourcing companies, is enough to give a British corporate lawyer used to the slick environs of the City or Canary Wharf the heebie-jeebies.

On the street outside, manual scavengers pick through the morning garbage while hawkers throng the sidestreets. Inside, the scene is just as alien — more reminiscent of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise than of a traditional London law firm. . . . " Click here for more.

Multimedia Trial Consultant's Time and Equipment Expenses Awarded as Costs

Transamerica Life Ins. Co. v. Lincoln Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 72572, 34-36 (N.D. Iowa Aug. 17, 2009).  The Court awarded costs for the consultant time and equipment costs in presenting a "multimedia" trial presentation pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1920.

Court Order Regarding Exhibits Using Evidence Presentation System

Truckstop.Net, L.L.C. v. Sprint Communs. Co., L.P., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 118541, ay *5-6 (D. Idaho Dec. 18, 2009).

The Court in its pretrial order set forth the following requirements regarding the use of an evidence presentation system that would be used in Court,

4. Exhibit Lists, Exhibits, Proposed Voir Dire, Proposed Jury Instructions, Trial Briefs and Motions in Limine: All exhibit lists, proposed voir dire, proposed jury instructions, trial briefs, and motions in limine shall be filed with the Court on or before March 5, 2010. On the same date the parties shall exchange all trial exhibits, but shall not provide them to the Court until the day of trial. Counsel shall only provide the Court with a set of original pre-marked exhibits. Because of the use of electronic  evidence presentation systems, it is unnecessary to provide any copies. Counsel may wish to have available in the courtroom a copy of any exhibits which the Court may find difficult to review through the evidence presentation system. . . .

Realtime costs are not recoverable

Court holds that "realtime" costs included in the invoices for the depositions of Straus and Moss were [not] necessary in this litigation" and therefore were not recoverable. Horizon Hobby, Inc. v. Ripmax Ltd., 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96255 (C.D. Ill. Oct. 15, 2009)

Wireless Modem and Router - On the Road

"Burney's Legal Tech Reviews: Verizon Wireless USB760 Modem and the Cradlepoint CTR500 Mobile. It's getting to the point where I constantly have to be online between e-mail, instant messages, blogging, Webinars, document collaboration, shared calendars and news ingestion. I don't consider myself an online junkie (although denial is the first sign), it's just that the entire workflow around my career now requires an online connection. . . . "

PDF-to-Word Conversion: Why it's so hard to do

PDF-to-Word Conversion: Why it's so hard to do. "When a file is converted to PDF, it loses its meaning. On the surface all the information is there, and to your eyes it looks exactly the same, but underneath that, all the method, structure and intelligence used when designing the original document has been lost.† This forms the heart of the challenge faced when attempting to convert PDF files back to formats like DOC (Microsoft Word), RTF and HTML, and is not dissimilar to those . . . "

FBI to Use Voice Recognition Software

"FBI collars Nuance as software supplierMass High Tech.  The FBI plans to offer Dragon NaturallySpeaking Legal to special agents and bureau support staff to help create reports, text copies of interviews and other documents via voice recognition instead of manual typing, company officials said. . . "

Do's and Don'ts of High-Tech Trial Presentations.

Do's and Don'ts of High-Tech Trial Presentations. "Four years ago, our courtrooms in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota were equipped with new technology tools, including digital document cameras, real-time feeds, video and audio conferencing, and more. Since then, I've witnessed effective and ineffective use of courtroom technology by attorneys, support staff and trial consultants. Here are 10 common mistakes:  . . ."

Courts get tech makeover.

Courts get tech makeover. Judges say electronics speed trials. " It's all about grabbing your audience. Good lawyers know that if you capture the jurors' attention, you just might earn their understanding. In an age of instant messaging, 3-D video games, and cellphone video, attorneys who opt for old-fashioned blown-up texts or photos on poster board can lose a jury's attention before saying a word. Nowadays a well-equipped attorney will bring Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and videoconferencing to courtrooms equipped with flat-screen monitors for the judge's bench, speaker phones, VCRs or DVD players, document cameras, overhead projectors, touch-screen annotation, scanners and monitors . . . "

WiFi Finder

Canary Wireless Digital Hotspotter. "Wi-fi finders were all the rage a year or so ago, and they continue to grow in popularity. First off, they are handy for people that travel frequently and need a handy way to find free wireless hotspots so they can get some work done. But Wi-Fi finders/detectors are also used to test the strength and reach of a home- or office-based wireless network. They are much easier to use than walking around balancing a laptop in your hand. . . "

Use of Computers in the Courtroom.

Objecting to high-tech prosecutors.  "Bergen County prosecutors could soon replace the boxes and carts they drag to courtrooms with something less bulky: wireless laptops. By next year, all criminal courts at the county courthouse in Hackensack could have a system that allows certain laptop users to connect to the Internet, access networks and conduct online legal research in the courtroom without being tethered to a phone line, said Bergen County Prosecutor John Molinelli. But not everyone is hailing the new technology. Although championed by many as convenient and time-saving, the service will be available only to prosecutors - who are paying for it out of their budget. . . "

Archived Web Pages

Keeper of Expired Web Pages Is Sued Because Archive Was Used in Another Suit. "The Internet Archive was created in 1996 as the institutional memory of the online world, storing snapshots of ever-changing Web sites and collecting other multimedia artifacts. Now the nonprofit archive is on the defensive in a legal case that represents a strange turn in the debate over copyrights in the digital age.  Beyond its utility for Internet historians, the Web page database, searchable with a form called the Wayback Machine, is also routinely used by intellectual property lawyers to help learn, for example, when and how a trademark might have been historically used or violated. . . "

Jim Keane

To all:

Today, I just heard of the passing of Jim Keane, one of the true pioneers in the litigation technology area. My heartfelt condolences to his family.

In a way all of us want to be able to say that we made a difference.  Jim did. From the first time in 1989 that I heard Jim present at a technology conference he inspired me by his writings and presentations.  Over the years I was always amazed by his energy and enthusiasm for his work and life.

For those of you who want to read about his life please click on http://web.archive.org/web/19981205084909/jkeane.com/lookback.html/.

Below is the "object" that Jim had on his web site welcoming visitors. 

Impossible Object Source: The Eye Beguiled "Het begoochelde oog" - Bruno Ernst (Taschen, 1986 The Devil's Fork first appeared in an ad in Aviation Week and Space Technology (80, 1964)

Litigation Support is not an Impossible Object!

James Keane Company {Litigation Systems Analysis}

He will always be remembered.

Michael Arkfeld

E-mail Marketing Director

Over the last 5 years I have downloaded and reviewed more e-mail distribution software programs and services then I care to admit.

Recently, I have come across an excellent program for those of you who are providing e-mail newsletters and other news alerts to your clients.  The program is Email Marketing Director (US$495) from Ariel software. (http://www.arialsoftware.com/). 

Its features inlcude:

• Easy to use and works from your PC
• Email personalization
• Built-in database to manage lists
• Unlimited lists
• Subscriber's filter
• Handles bounces and removes automatically
• Built-in email newsletter templates
• Works with your existing ISP mail settings
• No monthly fees like email services
• Use for email newsletters, announcements, etc.
• Free trial

Though you can find other programs for less money, this one is definitely worth its price.

Reviews of Adobe Acrobat 7.0; ZoneAlarm Security Suite 5.5; Diskeeper 9 and Norton SystemWorks 2005

Burney's Gadgets for Legal Pros "Software Rundown Adobe Acrobat 7.0; ZoneAlarm Security Suite 5.5; Diskeeper 9 and Norton SystemWorks 2005 . . ."

Comment:  Must read article on these 3 products from an expert reviewer.

Tips for Mastering E-mail Overload

Tips for Mastering E-mail Overload. "Being at or near the the top of your organization, everyone wants a piece of you. So they send you e-mail. It makes you feel important. Don't you love it? Really? Then, please take some of mine! Over 100 real e-mails come in each day. At three minutes apiece, it will take five hours just to read and respond. Let's not even think about the messages that take six minutes of work to deal with. Shudder. I'm buried in e-mail and chances are, you're not far behind. For whatever reason, everyone feels compelled to keep you "in the loop." . . "

Destroy Your Used Hard Drives

To keep those secrets safe, beat your computer's brains out with a hammer. "HAVE YOU been reduced to a state of such furious impotence by your computer that you wanted to smash it into a thousand tiny pieces? Perhaps the world would be a safer place if you did. Businesses and private users are failing properly to delete sensitive information stored on their computers before the machines are sold on. This has made the burgeoning trade in secondhand computer parts a potential treasure trove for blackmailers, paedophiles and fraudsters . . ."

Another article on used hard drives . .Clean the Hard Drive Before Dumping Your PC.

Wired Law School

MSU College of Law is fifth most wired. "Michigan State University College of Law has been named to the National Jurist technology honor roll. In its January 2005 issue, the magazine listed the 50 most wired U.S. law schools, with MSU in fifth place after University of Oregon, Nova Southeastern, University of Illinois and Duke. To be named to the honor roll, law schools must have implemented leading-edge technology such as computer-based exams, videoconferencing for job interviews, high-tech courtrooms and Internet technology in the classroom. MSU Law offers a wireless network with access to all areas of its building, completely wired classrooms, a distance-learning room with videoconferencing capabilities . . "

In Court Presentation

Show and Tell. "Technology captures jurors but frustrates some judges and lawyers. Judge Mary Lisi of the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island keeps her eyes glued to two flat-screen panels on the bench. One displays evidence. The other displays testimony translated from the court reporter's shorthand into English in real time. With an optical mouse, the judge flags key testimony and makes notes on the screen. . . "