TechnoLawyer: CLE/News/References

Couldn't make it to TechShow? While the ABA has not yet uploaded materials from last week's conference, several bloggers have. Take a look (and a listen).

60 Marketing Tips In 60 Minutes

ABA TechShow 2007: Not the Same Old Same Old

2007 ABA TechShow on Lawyer 2 Lawyer (Podcast)

Did you attend TechShow? If so, please share your thoughts. What did you learn?

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Printers are the Rodney Dangerfield of the technology publishing industry — they don't get no respect. In the mid-1990s, I subscribed to Flash, a zine that covered laser printers for hobbyists, but you would be hard pressed to find such a publication nowadays. Printers tend to work more reliably than other equipment once configured so perhaps that explains this void.

Nonetheless, we think printers deserve a publication of their own given their important role in our homes and offices. Fortunately, so does our client, Databazaar, the largest independent online retailer of printer supplies. So Databazaar hired us (our LandingPage agency to be precise) to do exactly that.

Databazaar Blog launched earlier this month. Every day, we cover printers and related topics using a variety of recurring features. For example, Printer News covers new printers for home and office use, PrinTips provides FAQs, how-tos, and other tips, and DoubleSided covers the unusual and esoteric.

Importantly, Databazaar has provided us with editorial independence. The blog is a marketing vehicle only in the sense that it's designed to generate traffic. The best way to do that is with helpful content.

I always hesitate to use the "i" word, but in this case I feel it's warranted. Databazaar Blog features a number of innovations that I have not seen in other blogs. For example, we grouped a create bookmark script, email subscription form, and RSS feed together in a section called Subscription Center, which should enable people to better understand how to "subscribe" to a blog. Perhaps someday every blog will have a subscription center.

As for the content, it's more interesting than you might think. For a sampler, check out these posts:

Savvisoft Draws Up a New Blueprint for Microsoft Outlook

Kodak EASYSHARE 5100 All-in-One Printer: The Holy Grail of Inkjet Printing?

How Can I Share a Printer Connected to My Windows Vista PC?

Seeing the Light: Xerox Invents Self-Erasing Paper

Believe it or not, Databazaar Blog is not the only game in town. Several other printer blogs also exist:

The Ink Blog: A printer blog by another online printer supplies store.

Jim Lyons Observations: A blog by a printer industry consultant.

The HP LaserJet blog by Vince Ferraro: A blog by HP LaserJet's vice president of worldwide marketing.

Please send me your thoughts and suggestions for Databazaar Blog. Also, we would like to publish an article about the oldest printers still in use. If you still use a printer more than 15 years old, please contact us.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming March 27, 2007 to TechnoFeature: Learning new software is like learning how to drive — most people can't rely on the manual alone. Most of us needed Driver's Ed classes as well as a few times around the block in the family station wagon before driving became second nature. Computer software requires similar training and practice. In this article, legal technology consultant Pat Nemish provides an overview of available training methods, discusses what she thinks works best, and suggests what to do before, during, and after training. From exploratory learning to one-on-one instruction, you'll be cruising along in no time.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Over the years, people have raved about various Windows experts. While I respect these Windows wizards, I never became a follower. That changed recently when I stumbled upon Paul Thurott who serves as the editor of SuperSite for Windows and also hosts a podcast entitled Windows Weekly. If you manage the Windows computers in your firm, he is worth a look and a listen.

SuperSite for Windows

Windows Weekly

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

My Thoughts on CLE TechnoEditorial touched a nerve!

I would like to thank everyone who responded both publicly and privately. Please keep it coming as I personally consider this issue important. CLE, like all information, should be portable.

Kathryn Bellman, Director of Continuing Legal Education at the Nebraska State Bar Association, writes: "A number of CLE providers are taking their CLE content and making it available for podcasting. Our link is through LegalSpan. I think lawyers are slowly beginning to make greater use of podcasts because of their convenience — download to your computer or listen on your iPod. But every new technology has a learning curve, and the learning curve is not always about the ease of use, but rather: How will I use it in my own practice?"

Barry B. Ansbacher, a real estate lawyer in Florida, writes: "Neil, you will be pleased to learn that the Florida Bar has just joined modernity. In a huge leap from cassette tapes actually, the Florida Bar now offers MP3 downloads of its sponsored CLE courses. Many of the courses should be eligible for MCLE credit in other jurisdictions. Now if they can move to allowing downloads of a la carte topics like ALI-ABA. Sometimes there is just one seminar topic of interest for a current case or such, and it would be great to be able to purchase just those materials and audio.  With MP3 the technology will accommodate more creative policies."

William D. Elliott, a tax and estate planning lawyer in Texas, writes: "The State Bar of Texas uses MP3 format for their CLE courses available for purchase. The quality is of the highest grade."

David A. Stewart of Jeffrey Long & Associates in Portland, Oregon writes: "FYI the American Association of Justice (AAJ formerly ATLA) distributes it's CLE's in MP3 format. AAJ covers a wide variety of subjects including some commercial litigation and intellectual property. Most of it is of course geared to personal injury, professional negligence, products liability, pharmaceutical, etc., but there is a lot of other stuff as well. In my experience, the caliber of their CLE programs is outstanding and keeping apprised of litigation trends and outcomes seems like a worthwhile CLE pursuit for lawyers of most any stripe."

Finally, David M. Heisler, Operations Counsel at GE Capital Solutions, writes: "Neil, my company's legal department just inked a subscription arrangement with Practicing Law Institute, and in perusing the site I noticed that they have no less than 742 downloadable CLE courses in MP3 format. Hopefully there might be something there that would both satisfy your CLE requirements and keep you awake — just click on "Downloadable MP3's" under "Recorded Programs" in the left-hand column on the main page, or go directly to www.pli.edu/product/mp3_viewall.asp and sort by title or interest area. This afternoon I noticed at least 20 downloadable MP3's covering Internet, computer and technology law."

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

I no longer practice law, but since you never know how this here Internet thang will pan out, I do maintain my license. That means 24 hours of CLE every two years.

Despite not practicing law, I still have an interest in learning about interesting new developments in areas applicable to TechnoLawyer.

But sadly, I've found only one CLE provider — the National Academy of Continuing Legal Education — that offers its courses in my preferred format — MP3 files (the files are on a CD-ROM, but they are not restricted so you can easily transfer them to iTunes and then to your iPod).

I say sadly because the NACLE doesn't have material of interest to me. So last year, I listened to 24 hours of lectures on my iPod bored out of my mind. Nonetheless, kudos to the NACLE for providing its lectures in MP3 format.

Why don't other CLE providers? Why instead do they stream their courses on the Web? It makes no sense!

Being chained to my desk is better than being chained to a hotel ballroom, but it nonetheless prevents me from listening while walking or in my car.

Earlier this month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs published an article entitled Thoughts on Music in which he encouraged music companies to sell songs free of digital rights management (DRM).

I agree with Apple that doing so would boost sales, but I also understand the reluctance of the music companies to embrace it since the recording is what they sell.

But this situation doesn't exist with CLE providers. They don't really sell recordings. They sell verification and credits.

For example, if I buy a CLE course in MP3 format and like it so much I send it to 10 friends, I haven't hurt the CLE provider in the slightest. By contrast, that CLE provider should sing my praises! For my friends to get credit for listening to that lecture, they would have to register with the CLE provider — i.e., pay up. Only the CLE provider can provide verification and grant the credits.

In short, file sharing is a great business model for CLE!

So I hereby call upon all CLE providers to sell their lectures in MP3 format (MPEG-4 format for videos).

We lawyers will then buy them, listen to them on our iPods (or on our PCs), and share the ones we like with friends, thereby providing you with free marketing.

Capisce?

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Just as James Brown was the hardest working man in show business, Sabrina Pacifici is the hardest working woman in legal research. In addition to her day job, Sabrina publishes LLRX, a monthly legal research and legal technology Webzine, and beSpacific, a daily legal resources blog that has become a must read for many in law and government. After ten years of LLRX and three years of beSpacific, Sabrina received a well-deserved four page profile in the December 2006 issue of Law Practice. Most interesting is the interview in which Sabrina discusses the origins of LLRX and refutes the lawyers as technology laggards stereotype.

Read Law Practice's Tech Profile: Sabrina Pacifici

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming January 19, 2007 to Fat Friday: Arthur Rieman reviews his Ultimate Ears super.fi 3 Studio earphones, Kerry Hubick offers his thoughts on self- versus professional software training, Thomas F. McDow fantasizes about how winning the lottery would change his law practice, David Herdman shares his two cents on public cell phone usage, and Ernest Marquez explains how a third monitor will function in his law office. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

I've read the Harvard Business Review for years. Rarely have I come across articles applicable to legal practice. So imagine my surprise when I picked up the December 2006 issue and found two articles worthy of your attention.

In Extreme Jobs: The Dangerous Allure of the 70-Hour Workweek, Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Carolyn Buck Luce discuss a new breed of knowledge worker who enjoys working 70-100 hours/week. Lawyers among them, these people are well compensated, but claim that the challenge is more alluring than the money. Apparently, that old saying about how no one on their death bed ever wishes they had spent more time in the office might not be true.

Read the article ($6).

Listen to the podcast (free)

In Lift Outs: How to Acquire a High-Functioning Team, Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams explain how to increase your bottom line through "lift outs" — hiring a team of professionals (such as lawyers) from another firm. Lift outs are less complex than mergers, but have perils of their own. The article discusses the four steps of a successful lift out.

Read the article ($6).

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

The Georgia Civil Justice Foundation has produced a slick Web site designed to inform the general public about the legal system and help those who wish to represent themselves in small cases that may not interest a law firm. The site features clever animated shorts starring the founding fathers that explain the American legal system, and a series of videos about a mock small claims court case to discuss the various components of litigation. Nicely done! Take a look.

On a more humorous, note, does anyone know the name of this judge? In this video, "Judge Nose," as he is being called on YouTube, uses his microphone to scratch his nose. If you see a judge doing this during your opening argument, you may want to settle your case! Watch this 10 second video (click here if you don't see the video below).

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.