Dennis Kennedy

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January 28, 2005

January Issue of Law Practice Today Now Available

I might be biased because I am an editor, but the January issue of the ABA's Law Practice Today webzine is a good one.

A few highlights include Tom Mighell's column on ABA TECHSHOW 2005 speakers who are also bloggers, Andy Adkins (Andy, when are we going to see a blog from you?)on case management software, Fred Faulkner on RSS, Desktop Search, and Collaboration Tools and the usual great collection of columns and articles on finance, management, marketing and technology.

My contributions are a reprint of my 2005 legal tech predictions article (thank you Law Practice magazine) and an article on avoiding disaster in your disaster recovery planning - a preview of my upcoming presentation on disaster recovery at ABA TECHSHOW 2005.

Law Practice Today is a great outlet for writers covering law practice management topics. If you have good articles, let us know about them and submit them for potential publication.

Posted by dmk at 10:17 PM

January 27, 2005

The Most Important Post I Read Today - January 27

From my friend Fred Faulkner:

It's easy to forget that your friends might have brothers and sisters, sons and daughters in the military at risk around the world. It's way too easy to forget that our armchair quarterbacking and political debating points may not seem quite so important to people who worry every single day about the safety of people they care deeply about. In part, I single out this post today because the first sentence, just a simple sentence, quoted below, hit me like a ton of bricks when I read it this morning.

Fred's post reminded me of that and he also points to a fascinating way people are using technology to communicate and motivate our people in the military.

Fred says:

"As I have written before, my brother is over in Iraq fighting for this country. Rob told me about this Web site called Grouchy Media. It is run by a guy who couldn't go and fight so he did the next best thing, publish motivational videos for the troops to download and watch." Read the rest here.

Posted by dmk at 10:43 PM

Must-See Legal Technology - Recommind's New MindServer Legal Matters & Expertise

One of the fun things about being me these days is that people keep calling me to show me their cool new products.

Yesterday, I was on the phone with Bob Tennant and Kathryn Rakow at Recommind getting a preview tour of their new MindServer Legal Matters & Expertise, an addition to the MindServer Legal product suite that also includes Enterprise Search. Matters & Expertise extends document search to include a firm’s attorneys, matters, deals, cases and documents associated with any topic.

Anyone who tells you that document and file management in many law firms are not disasters waiting to happen are just whistling in the dark. I've commented on this issue as I've wondered whether large firm document management systems are broken. I've also talked with corporate counsel and corporate execs who have told me that they are afraid to ask their law firms about the state of the electronic records. They really doubt that their law firms can produce anything like a "complete" file with all of their documents.

I've been impressed with what Recommind has been doing for a while. After they showed me a great demo a year or so ago, I was begging them for a "personal" version of the search tools. They've, probably wisely, decided that they had other business to do than create tools for me.

Here's my reaction to MindServer Legal Matters & Expertise. It rocks. It took me only a few moments to see the power and simplicity of this tool. I realy like the way that the search tools focus on what is most important to practicing lawyers in their work. Recommind has clearly listened to lawyers' needs.

I like the way they've expanded the search universe to include not just documents, but "back office" systems and even designated information repositories.

However, the breakthrough, at least for me, is the way the tool focuses on matters and expertise. It makes it easy to find out who in the firm has worked on certain types of cases or matters, who has experience with certain clients or types of clients and other information that it always frustrated me that I couldn't get in my years in large firms.

Is it enough to get me back to a large firm? If I learned a firm was using the Recommind system, they'd get my attention.

Here's what I liked best - you can see the benefits in just a few minutes of demo.

Recommind is exhibiting at LegalTech in New York next week, so you'll get the chance to see MindServer Legal Matters & Expertise there. Even if you are not there, I suggest that you put this product on your must-review list for this year.

I don't have any financial relationship with Recommind - I just like the people there and what they are doing.

Posted by dmk at 10:16 PM

See You at LegalTech New York?

I finally put an end to the Hamlet-like approach to LegalTech New York I've had over the last month and have decided to attend LegalTech this year. I'll also be attending a meeting for the Corporate Legal Standard's newly-created Law Department Benchmarking Standards Panel and Committees, of which I am a member.

My plan is pretty simple - to meet as many people and learn as much as I can about what is happening in legal technology as is possible in three days.

Marty "The Trademark Blog" Schwimmer called me today so we could set up something so we could meet in person for the first time. He expects to be available around 5:30-ish on Monday evening and we're thinking about getting a group of blawggers together for dinner. Although "social coordinator" was at the bottom of the list when I worked with my career counselor, you can let me know if you want ot join us and I'll try to make info about where to meet available. There seems to be quite a contingent of blawggers who will be there.

I'm trying not to put a lot of things on my calendar for LegalTech (especially since this is a last-minute decision) so I can circulate as much as possible. By all means, if you see me, please say hello.

Posted by dmk at 09:57 PM

Time Running Out on "EDD Supplier Landscape" Discount

Just a reminder that January 31 will be the final day to take advantage of the special discount on EDDix's "EDD Supplier Landscape" research report available for readers of DennisKennedy.Blog. It's essential information for anyone who wants to be in the know about the electronic discovery industry. Get the discount here.

Posted by dmk at 09:50 PM

January 26, 2005

The Most Importtant Post I Read Today - January 26

From Nick Bradbury:

CSS and RSS: Rivals or Partners?

When you consume/read blogs via RSS feeds, what is the role of blog design? What happens when your most important readers do not visit your blog? What does it mean to live in a feed-dominant world?

Nick's take on this topic is, as usual, wise and fascinating, especially since he lives in both the CSS and RSS worlds.

As the developer of FeedDemon, the newsreader I am a huge fan of, Nick Bradbury is my clear choice as MVP of the Blogosphere for 2004.

Posted by dmk at 11:53 PM

A Conversation with Ernie the Attorney

If you know me, you know that I have a bunch of nicknames for the lawyer bloggers. Ernest "Ernie the Attorney" Svenson has long been "the coolest blawgger." The new interview of Ernest on JD Bliss will help you understand why I think this nickname is appropriate. I also like to say that Ernest is even cooler in person than he is on his blog - no small feat. After you read this interview, you'll understand why I gave Ernest one of my "lifetime achivement" Blawggies for 2004.

Ernest is the legal blogger who most inspired my entry into blogging and gave me the model for the approach that I have taken. I'm such a pure fan of bloggers and blogging that I still remember how thrilled I was the first time I got an email from "Ernie the Attorney." I told him that and he told me that he was thrilled the first time he got an email from "Dennis Kennedy." It was a good laugh.

Reading the interview made me wish that we had more chances to talk. Ernest and I stayed up until 4:00 AM talking in the lobby of the Sheraton Hotel at TECHSHOW last year - the first time we met. He then introduced me to one of his favorite haunts in New Orleans a few months later. We'll get the chance to catch up at TECHSHOW and LexThink!, if not sooner.

I'm noticing that more and more of my phone calls and emails are to and from other bloggers. I also hear the term "community" used more often by bloggers. One of the reasons there is a sense of community is the generosity, creativity and good hearts of the early legal bloggers like "Ernie the Attorney."

People often ask me what I've gotten from all the work I've put into my blog, usually in the sense of "what is the ROI?" I'll always duck the financial aspect of that question, but the real reward is in the new friends I have made. I simply cannot put a value on friendships like the ones I now have with the Blawg Channel core group, Denise, Ernest, Marty and Tom, and the other bloggers I now have as friends - almost too many to list, especially without leaving out someone.

There's a tendency for those who are new to blogging to look mainly at the marketing and other possibilities of blogging, which are very real, without appreciating the way that blogging allows you to connect and create communities of interest. I sometimes get criticized for not pursuing the commercial potential of my blog and my blogging as much as others think I should, but I've always placed a very high value on friendships and blogging is an amazing friendship-building tool.

So, read the interview with Ernest. Take some time to think about his wise thoughts and resolve to explore the ways that your blog can help you build friendships. To me, blawgspace is still a generous place, in no small part due to the efforts of people like Ernest.

I highly recommend the JD Bliss site. Josh Fruchter is doing great work with this project. For those of you who haven't already gotten enough of my story, there's an interview with me on JD Bliss that covers some of the important directions I've taken in my career.

Posted by dmk at 10:46 PM

January 25, 2005

The Most Important Post I Read Today - Jan 25, 2005

Maybe a new feature of my blog.

"Gravy," from Gaping Void:

The money quote (at least for me):

"In other words, when do the early adaptors get to take their well-earned seats on the Gravy Train, while the late adapators desperately try to play catch-up?

The answer is, basically, as soon as the early adaptors figure out how to turn their early discoveries into 'Deliverables'."

Posted by dmk at 07:18 PM

Seven Ways to Avoid Disaster in Your Disaster Recovery Planning and Procedures

What's worse than a disaster? How about doubling your disaster with a disastrous set of discovery plans, policies and procedures?

While no plan can account for every contingency or be totally bullet-proof, the following seven steps will help you avoid adding insult to injury from self-inflicted disasters.

1. Determine Your Core Business, Really. They call it business continuity for a reason. Everything flows from accurately determining what your core business is, including priorities, policies and procedures. Pay attention to what they focused on for both the short term and long term. A common theme is enabling fee-earners to return to generating fees for paying clients as quickly as possible. It's easy to focus too intently on technology issues when the big concern is generating cash flow to keep paying employees and moving forward.

2. Use Scenario Planning. Wipe out the executive committee in a scenario and see how you plan works. Question your assumptions. Run your disaster plan under the Die Hard scenario and see what happens.

3. Write the Plan As If You Will Have to Read it Someday. Imagine you are not there and someone untrained has to pull out the plan and use it. Can they?

4. Negotiate Great Agreements. Firms are starting to look at outsourcing many aspects of disaster planning. What are you third party providers obligated to do under the contracts you have signed? Is it adequate or even helpful? If you do not raise and negotiate issues, I guarantee you that the terms of any contract you sign will be more favorable to the provider than they are to you.

5. Adopt a Portfolio Approach. The modern approach to financial investments emphasizes diversification and mixing low-risk, low-return ("safe") investments and high-risk, high-return ("risky") investments in a basket that reflects your risk tolerance. The same concepts have recently migrated into the world of IT planning. Diversify your risks, responses and procedures.

6. Focus on Failure and Redundancy. Failures will happen and it becomes important to know what happens after the failure. Look at various points in your processes and procedures. Consider what happens when a failure occurs at each of these points and the options that you may have. Can you set up some "elegant failures?"

7. Test Rigorously and Repeatedly. It's important to test your plan, practice your procedures and do so on a regular basis. Lackadaisical practicing and testing guarantee poor results when something bad actually happens.

Conclusion. My best advice is to treat these matters as if they actually matter. Make time for disaster recovery, be a pest at getting answers to your questions, challenge assumptions, develop a thick skin for deal with the ribbing you are likely to take for being "too serious," and keep in mind that we live in volatile and dangerous world.

[Note: This post is an shortened version of an article I wrote for the handout materials for my session on disaster recovery at the upcoming ABA TECHSHOW 2005.]

Posted by dmk at 11:23 AM

January 24, 2005

Special Offers and Discounts for DennisKennedy.Blog Readers

I have two discount opportunities for readers of this blog - one runs out in a few days and the other is a brand new one .

1. Until January 31, readers of this blog may go to http://www.eddixllc.com/landing/dmk.asp to obtain a huge discount on EDDix's EDD Supplier Landscape research report, which is essential reading for anyone who is really serious about wanting to learn about what is happening and what will happen in the electronic discovery industry. Reading this report will save any vendor in the industry hours and hours of research time.

2. Bruce Hause has put together a similar affiliate marketing arrangement in which my readers will receive significant discounts and I'll receive some commissions in connection with Quickscribe digital dictation software and related products. Simply ask for the "Dennis Kennedy discount" when making your order.

Bruce says:

"Quikscribe has a number of unique digital dictation and transcription features that appeal to attorneys and law firms. Our "Intelligent Audio File" format allows the author to include attachments of text, images, or files embedded within the audio file. This means that you can reference a case citation from a legal database, highlight the text with your mouse, then press the "insert" button on the hand control to capture and copy the desired text. The attorney doesn't have to dictate or print the citation, and the secretary doesn't have to type it during transcription. We also have lots of info on our website for U.S. customers at www.digidictate.com."

Posted by dmk at 09:54 PM

Kevin Buckley Named One of St. Louis's 40 Under 40

My friend, biotech guru, occasional bicycling buddy, rock climbing teacher and patent lawyer, Kevin Buckley made the St. Louis Business Journal's list of 40 under 40 announced last week. He certainly deserves the recognition and it's an honor to be one of the people quoted in the article about Kevin.

As I told Kevin when he told me about this a few weeks ago, I know I'm more excited about this than Kevin is - I really like to see my friends do well and get some attention.

Kevin cares about people and he cares about biotech. It's rare to see a lawyer with Kevin's enthusiasm and passion about both the subject matter of the area of the law and the people involved in it.

If, in fifty years, someone writes a book on the history of the biotech industry in St. Louis, there will definitely be a chapter on Kevin. In it, Kevin will (1) consistently point to everyone other than himself for their efforts and (2) keep emphasizing that the best is yet to come. In it, other people will point to all the things Kevin has done, most of it behind the scenes, to put together people and make the industry happen.

Once Kevin has a little time to celebrate, I'll go back to twisting his arm to start a blog.

As an aside, I've always said that a key question to ask any lawyer is, "What do you like about practicing law?" The best lawyers I've known invariably say something about liking to help people. Note Kevin's quote in the article:

"There's this huge disconnect between research and providing a final product to sell," he said. "That's really where I want to target my practice, and really where I want to help entrepreneurs."

Posted by dmk at 09:27 PM

Mark Lieb Releases Downloadable Litigation Support Book

Mark Lieb has just released the first edition of his book, "Litigation Support Department" as a download at http://www.Litigation-Support.info.

Mark and his brother Larry run the very useful Litigation Support Vendors Association site. This book will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of litigation support managers and any law firm with a significant litigation practice.

Posted by dmk at 09:20 PM

Snow Fooling, Blog Walk Chicago was Amazing!

In our last installment, I was about to drive to Chicago with Matt Homann for our combined law firm retreat (more on that in a later post), do some prep work for LexThink! Chicago (more on that later, but invitations are out and the Catalyst Ranch space we have could not be more perfect for what we want to do), and attend Blog Walk Chicago.

We got into Chicago a short time before the biggest snowstorm in three years hit. We met up with the multi-talented and multi-blogual Fred Faulkner for a drink after work and then walked over to Bandera's for a fabulous dinner.

We woke to a snowy Chicago morning and went to visit the Catalyst Ranch before cabbing it up to Blog Walk. The Catalyst Ranch dazzled me, and I put a hold on a room there for the March 30 ABA TECHSHOW 2005 Blogger Dinner. Now, I just have to convince the rest of the ABA TECHSHOW 2005 Board to confirm the reservation. If we can do the Blogger Dinner at the Catalyst Ranch, it will become even more of a must-be-there event than it already is. (By the way, there will be opportunities to sponsor this event, provide giveaways to attendees, et al., as part of the ABA TECHSHOW 2005 sponsor/exhibitor options. You can contact me for more details.)

We were a bit concerned about being able to get up to Northwestern University for the Blog Walk, but the roads were reasonably clear, at least until we hit Evanston. Then it got to be more interesting. We rewarded our cabbie's performance, both driving and trying to persuade us how difficult it was, with a big tip and waded through the snow to Blog Walk.

We were late and walked into the middle of the event, but found, to our delight, that Blog Walk agenda was organized using the "Open Space" method we want to use at LexThink! Chicago. We got to see it in action and we were very pleased with the method.

You can find other reactions to Blog Walk from other attendees (pictures here and Lilia's post points to other commentary and resources) and on the Wiki, but here are a few of my observations.

1. I feel like the world's biggest blogging fan. It was a thrill to meet the other bloggers, some of whom I've read for several years, and get to say, "I subscribe to your feed and I want to say thank you for all that you've done." I resisted the urge, but there was a part of me that wanted to go around and collect autographs. (I'd still like to get this picture of Lilia, Jack, Steve and me autographed).

2. What a rush it is to be a room with a group of people with that level of talent, intellectual firepower AND generosity. You felt welcome. The discussions never lagged, the ideas flew and I noticed that people were always sharing suggestions, tools and ways other bloggers could do things better and easier. Matt said something about there easily being 500+ great ideas that floated around the room. I agree with that. I have a lot of notes. I was greatly energized.

3. What about the walk part of Blog Walk? There was an amazing snowstorm going on, but there was a memorable walk that was part of my Blog Walk experience. Matt, telcom guru, Martin "Telepocalypse" Geddes and I walked five blocks to the train to get back downtown. I'd guess the temperature was in the low teens (that's Fahrenheit), with a steady wind driving the snow and gusts that were in the 20 to 30 miles per hour range (you can do your own wind chill calculations – I'm afraid to find out). We just missed a train and then had to huddle in a small shelter for about 30 minutes for another train. After a long ride, with many delays, Matt, Martin and I warmed up with another great Chicago dinner and a long conversation.

4. At the end of the day, Jack announced that the shares of the costs came to $20 each. What an incredible bargain! Matt and I were talking on the way home that any organization who paid $250,000 to get this group of people for a day or two to discuss their problems and issues, strategies and future directions, would be getting the bargain of the century. All of us there (see the list at the end of this post) got an incredible level of insight and help for the cost of splitting the food (great pizza) we shared.

5. I enjoyed the fact that I was able to have significant conversations (some short, some long) with everyone there. If you are fans of these bloggers, I can tell you that they are all cooler and even more brilliant in person than even what you see on their blogs.

6. At the end of the day, Mark Bernstein (Tinderbox!!!) said something to the effect that blogs should be changing the world. What I noticed in every conversation was that no matter what area you might start with in discussing the impact of blogging, you shortly found yourself asking fundamental questions about what we are now doing. For example, I was talking with the amazing Steve Dembo (a teacher/blogger to whom I give my greatest compliment – he made me wish that he was one of my daughter's teachers) about how blogs might be used in elementary schools. Before long we (and others) were talking about what skills should be taught, how we should them, what education means, and whether the current system works or will work for our children. I summed up my thoughts with the three questions that were running through my mind – Are blogs revolutionary? Is blogging revolutionary? Or, are blogs simply another tool? I've recast those questions as I've thought more about them. Where I'm at now is: Are bloggers revolutionary / world-changing? If so, what should we be doing together? If not, why not?

An interesting synchronicity: for me, the most important, thought-provoking post that I read at the end of 2004 – one that I knew would have a big influence on me in 2005 – was called "Giving Up Traditional Blogging?" The author was Stuart Henshall. On Saturday, I got the chance to talk at length with Stuart. What value has blogging brought to me? Amazing value, in many unexpected ways.

Read these blogs and subscribe to their feeds. Read the people they read. Think about where you want to go next and what happens as blogging becomes less of a solitary effort. May you one day be as amazed as I am, perhaps as early as LexThink! Chicago.

• Jack Vinson
• Lilia Efimova
• Jim McGee
• David Burn
• Steve Dembo
• AKMA
• Denham Grey
• Tom Sherman
• Al Delgado
• Stuart Henshall
• Mark Bernstein
• Shannon Clark
• Martin Geddes
• Phil Wolff

Posted by dmk at 12:19 PM

January 20, 2005

Homann, Kennedy Law Firms to Pioneer Combined Annual Retreat Concept

I'm pleased to announce that Matt "the [non]billable hour" Homann and I have agreed to hold a combined annual retreat for both firms this year. It will take place this weekend when Matt and I drive to Chicago together to do some prep work for the LexThink! Chicago conference and attend the Chicago BlogWalk. The deal to combine our law firm annual retreats came together when we were able to land two of the best law firm retreat speakers currently available, Dennis Kennedy and Matt Homann.

Regular readers of this blog will recall that last summer I pioneered the annual retreat by blog format. As a follow-up, I can report that last summer with had a superb speaker, had lots of ideas and made some great plans, but, as is common, did not execute the plans after the retreat as well as we hoped. By combining the efforts of two firms, we hope to improve both our ideas and our execution. Plus, Matt and I were going to be riding together on the four-hour drive to Chicago and hanging out for the weekend anyway.

Although I prefer to keep the focus on retreat business, Matt may issue an open invitation for bloggers in the Chicago area to meet us in our hotel lobby.

I'm such a fan of blogging that I can't wait to meet some of my blogging heroes at the Chicago BlogWalk, including the great Jack "Knowledge Jolt with Jack" Vinson, who convinced me to move to full-text feeds.

There have been some discussions of broadcasting the retreat sessions as a webinar or podcast, but we haven't been able to guarantee broadband coverage all the way from Highland, Illinois to Chicago. We have not ruled out an audio program based on the retreat.

By the way, the response to LexThink! Chicago truly overwhelmed us and delayed us in getting invitations out, but we have vowed to get the invitations out before we get on the road to Chicago.

Posted by dmk at 11:54 AM

January 19, 2005

Dennis Kennedy's Annual Legal Technology Predictions Article Published in Law Practice Magazine

The 2005 version of my annual legal technology predictions article appears in the January issue of the ABA's excellent Law Practice magazine (the subscription to the magazine is reason enough to join the ABA's Law Practice Management Section - and the discount on the registration price to ABA TECHSHOW 2005 is icing on the cake).

The article is called "Legal Technology Predictions for 2005: Color My World" and will be available on the LPM website for free viewing for a month or so before it disappears behind the members-only wall.

Note that I wrote this article specifically with the small firm and solo market in mind. My more comprehensive look into the crystal ball will only be available this year in the form of seminars or speaking appearances, although I considering publishing it as an eBooklet or audio program. Sorry, but some of my friends made me swear that in 2005 I would stop giving away so much of my content for free.

In any event, enjoy this article. I think it has a lot of useful ideas and I hope you find them helpful to you.

Posted by dmk at 12:00 PM

January 18, 2005

Why Large Law Firms Aren't Blogging

There's a certain sense of "dog bites man" news that you get when you read Feedmelegal's recent post on the lack of blogging by large law firms. Add it to the list of tech innovations large law firms aren't using.

You may remember how astonished I was with the stories from AmLaw Tech about what the top 100 law firms were doing in 2004 and some were, incredibly, focused like a laser on setting up delivery of faxes on laptop computers! I'm sure that you remember the client surveys where the #1 answer to the question, "what innovation did your law firm bring you?" was "none."

When you are thinking about faxes, you ain't thinking about blogs.

The name of the game big firms should be playing is RSS - properly understood, blogs are a side show, and I say that as someone who really enjoys blogging.

Here's the reason large law firms don't get blogging (let alone RSS). They're talking to the wrong people. Check this out: one large law firm, Preston Gates, has become known for blogging. I spent some time on the phone today talking with the same person Preston Gates talks to - Kevin "LexBlog" O'Keefe.

In my 2004 Blawggie awards, I listed the four people whose opinions I legal blogging I put the most stock in. Kevin was one of them. OK, OK, I named myself as another one, but, darn it, I really get this stuff. I'm into my tenth year of having a website and I've never been more excited about anything on the Internet than the RSS/newsfeed technologies.

The fact is that it is the clients of firms who don't blog and use RSS who are hurt more by the failure of their large law firms to deliver useful information in these ways more than so the law firms are hurt. Check the profits per partner of large law firms this year.

I'm about to announce formally some RSS and blog consulting packages and services I'll be offering in 2005. In the same way that my own interest is in "client-driven technology," I plan to focus more on helping traditional law firm clients get what they should expect for the money they pay their law firms. I'll also offer seminars and speaking on these topics.

Of course, I'll help large law firms if they want, or any other law firms, but if you are concentrating on fax in 2005, we simply aren't speaking the same language.

Posted by dmk at 09:45 PM

January 17, 2005

MLK and DMK - 2005

Martin Luther King Day is one of my favorite holidays. You will learn why in a minute.

Over the years, I've noticed that law firms and lawyers are reluctant to celebrate Martin Luther King Day as a holiday. It often seems that they grudgingly allow lawyers and staff to take the day off, if they must, but firms do not encourage anyone to do so.

You often hear that, because people have just gotten Christmas and New Year's Day off, that MLK Day makes for "too many" days off in a short time, as if three days off in a few weeks is a terrible thing. The expectation, too, is that you should work until Memorial Day without having any holidays. President's Day as well is usually treated as holiday on which you should be working.

Even though you hear talk about concerns about productivity, continuity and not falling behind in your work, it is all but inevitable that you will hear someone launch into a commentary about their opinion that there shouldn't even be a Martin Luther King Day.

That's when I love to jump in and say that it's one of my favorite holidays. In part, I do that because I enjoy rattling the cages of people who carry on about their half-baked, ill-considered opinions, which is usually the case, but I also do so to make them consider carefully what they are really saying and how others might interpret their remarks.

I also do that because I enjoy telling my own stories about Martin Luther King Day and why I like to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr. on this day.

I was in Washington DC attending law school at Georgetown from 1980 to 1983. If you recall, that was the time that the effort to make the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. a national holiday was in full swing. I don't pretend to be anything more than an interested bystander, but I got the chance to attend two very large rallies on the Washington Mall in support of the holiday effort. Both of them made strong, positive impressions on me, but one memory always stands out.

I supported the cause, but I really wandered over the events after my law school classes in order to see what was happening and to see and hear some of our best speakers and musicians. I also wanted to be part of a large gathering of people all committed to a positive cause.

It's easy today to be jaded and cynical, to see everything in terms of politics and ideology, but, looking back, I think that everyone should experience at least once the phenomenon of being in a crowd of thousands of people holding hands and singing "We Shall Overcome." For that moment in time, at least, you really do get an overwhelming sense of what humans can do that is right and just. That feeling may not last long, but it is a cool thing.

Another thing that was fun was to be in a huge group of people chanting, "we want a holiday, we took a holiday." I like the flavor that gives to the phrase "taking a holiday."

Here's my memory that stands out. One of the years, Stevie Wonder was going to debut his Happy Birthday song (lyrics here). It was a gray, cold day. I remember snow on the ground and ice on the sides of the Washington Monument, under which we stood and watch a succession of speakers and performers appear on a stage.

When Stevie Wonder finally came out to play his song and, I swear this is true, the sun appeared and bathed the whole scene in a warm light. When I looked up at the Washington Monument, the ice and condensation shone in the light in a way that looked like a single tear on the face of the monument. It was a rare and spiritual moment that affected me profoundly – a feeling of being in a place I was meant to be, at the right place and the right time.

That's something personal to me – you can have your own reasons for what you do.

A few years ago, I decided that one of the things that I'd gradually like to accomplish over the years is to visit some of the places in the world associated with spirituality – some people refer to these as "places of power."

For example, in 2004, I was in Oklahoma City and Jim Calloway took us to the Oklahoma City bombing memorial in the late evening. I remember walking with Tom "Inter Alia" Mighell and we were chattering away until we walked up to the point where you overlook the memorial. We immediately became silent. In fact, I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I really could not have spoken. I felt the silent spirituality and power of the place. It was an amazing experience, one I recommend to everyone, and I'll always be grateful to Jim for taking us there.

The year before, I had been to a friend's wedding in Auburn, Alabama, flying into and out of Atlanta. I had always been impressed by Tom Peters' comment that whenever he was in Atlanta, he stopped by the Ebenezer Baptist Church. I had a little time, a GPS navigation system in my rental car, and decided to do the same.

I didn't realize until I got there that the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site is there, with a big visitor's center and other features. The church is quite modest, but being inside of it fills you with a sense of history, reverence, awe and connection. As I left the church and walked down the street, I realized for the first time that Martin Luther King's grave is also there. Like the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial, it is a memorial that feels exactly right. The short time I was able to spend there was quite wonderful – in its own way, both profound and peaceful - and I highly recommend a visit. I plan to return with my family one day.

I like to take a few minutes on each Martin Luther King Day to remember my own connections to this day. I also think that it makes sense to attend some kind of event or to take the time to reread something like the Letter from Birmingham Jail or the I Have a Dream speech, or to listen to or watch that profound and magical speech. Other speeches are available here and here.

This morning, I was thinking about the "I Have a Dream" speech and what a gift it is to us. Part of its magic is how it is impossible for any politician to try to commandeer it for his or her own purposes. Although it was obviously written by a father for his children, it is always difficult to imagine any adult being able to recite the speech and to be able to do so successfully and pull an audience into its power. At best, they might be a pale imitation; at worst, ludicrous. At the same time, if a child, no matter how haltingly, recited those words, there will not be a dry eye in the house. That's magic.

Yesterday, I was listening to a bunch of music. One of the songs I listened to was Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin (41 Shots)." The song, ostensibly about the Diallo shooting incident, caused a lot of controversy when he introduced it. It's interesting to see how the song grows and changes as the event that is at the center of the song recedes into history and the song begins to stand on its own. The lyrics are here.

In the version I listened to, the song begins with each of the vocalists in the band – Bruce, Little Steven, Nils, Clarence and Patti – taking a turn singing the line "41 Shots." The song begins and Bruce, perturbed, asks the crowd for quiet. He then nails the song, capturing something essential. As the song builds, he plays a jaw-dropping guitar solo. As with many of his live performances, the song builds and builds, and could go on forever and it'd be OK with me.

It meant one thing back then – it means other things now. Today is a good day to think about what it means to live in your American skin.

Posted by dmk at 09:40 AM

January 14, 2005

Blogline.com's Blog "Mapping" Policy Forces Bloggers to Move to Ads in RSS Feeds, Says Prominent Lawyer Blogger

In almost ten years of having his own website, Dennis Kennedy says he has seen his content show up in many unexpected places. However, even he was surprised when he found a twin of his blog on the website of Bloglines.com, a very popular blog tools and RSS newsreader service.

"I had done a search on Google and found that one of my blog posts was one of the top results," he says. "Then I noticed that the address for my post was not on my website, but instead on the Bloglines.com site."

When he went to http://www.bloglines.com/preview?siteid=546436, he says, "I found a doppelganger of my blog. I saw my full posts mapped onto something that someone might think was my blog, but it definitely was not my blog. Worse yet, the URL in the address box in my browser showed a bloglines.com address, not a denniskennedy.com address. Anyone who came to this page would definitely think that it was my blog and probably conclude that I was part of the Bloglines team."

When he did some more checking, Kennedy found another big surprise. The Bloglines.com addresses for his posts sometimes were ranked higher than those on his own site. In one case, however, a visit to http://www.bloglines.com/blog/cchick?subid=4563300 brought up a page that mapped his posts onto a version of Cindy Chick's LawLibTech blog. "Hey, it's an honor to be associated with Cindy's great blog, but it's extremely confusing and someone could easily believe that I was copying Cindy's material on my own blog, or vice versa. Talk about the worst of all worlds."

Even though Kennedy reports that his web pages have been "repurposed" by other sites more times than he ever expected over his years on the Internet, he says this time was especially unsettling. "I have to admit that my first reaction was to think that they had stolen my blog. I even went back to my own blog to check to make sure it was there."

Kennedy, whose law practice includes intellectual property licensing matters, raises a number of questions about Bloglines.com's practices. "There's no question that fair use is a complicated area in copyright law, but it's difficult to find ways to fit this example into traditional notions of fair use. I'd be surprised if they hadn't gotten a legal opinion on this approach, since it seems so central to their business model, but I'd like to see the reasoning in that opinion."

His main question, however, relates to the commercial benefits Bloglines.com seems to gain from his content. "With my content on their site, they are able to surround my content with their own ads and make it part of other revenue-producing activities. At the same time, they are not showing any ads or sponsor logos I have on my blog. Presumably, the Bloglines.com twin of my blog diminishes the traffic to my blog. It's all very analogous to the early controversies over the framing of web pages, even though the technologies are different."

However, more than intellectual property law may be at play. "Everywhere we go on the Internet, we are clicking our agreement to all sort of contracts that we may not read carefully enough," notes Kennedy. "I'd hate to think, however, that we are giving our permission for this type of use with a click of the mouse or simply by using the Bloglines.com website."

He sees no clear answer, for himself or other bloggers. "It's difficult to sort these issues out. In a sense, by using an RSS feed I am exposing my content to the world and, as my friends will tell you, I probably won't be satisfied until everyone in the world is reading my posts. In some ways, the whole scenario reminds me of a law school exam question. Fair use or not? What controls? Their clickwrap agreement, if any, the "terms of use" language on a blogger's site or something like a Creative Commons license for the bloggers who use these licenses?"

Kennedy admits that he has expected to see some action or discussion from the Creative Commons group. "One of the Creative Commons licenses you see frequently specifies no commercial use. Wouldn't this be commercial use? The silence from Professor Lessig and the Creative Commons group has been overwhelming. It raises serious questions about what the CC licenses really mean and how their terms will be enforced. I don't use the CC licenses because I don't think that they make sense for me, but many bloggers routinely apply one of these licenses."

Do bloggers have any recourse? "That's a great question," says Kennedy. "Bloglines offers an RSS feed reader tool that many people I know really like. I'm one of the biggest advocates of the power of RSS feeds you'll find. I hate the idea of seeing the development of RSS feeds slowed down to any degree whatsoever because of lawyers and legal issues. I really want to hear more from Bloglines about this issue before making any final judgments."

Kennedy suspects that there may not be any simple practical solutions. "Of course, I'd love to see some of the venture capital money that Bloglines has gotten or will get make it back to me," he chuckles. "Your first thought, of course, is that there should be some form of payment to the bloggers whose content is harvested and mapped onto the Bloglines site, but creating a mechanism would not be an easy job. In addition, you have the Google model, where, as I understand it, Google has actually copied my content into its databases. I haven't gotten my check for my small contribution to Google's successful IPO and I'm not holding my breath waiting for it to arrive," he says, laughing.

"I always prefer practical technology solutions to legal solutions," say Kennedy. "Maybe that's why people also tell me that I'm not like most lawyers they meet. So, I've been thinking of practical alternatives."

Has he found any good ones? "Well, Bloglines seems to be capturing and repurposing feeds rather than reproducing blog content, if I can make that fine a distinction. I look to the feeds for the solution. Although it puts a burden on bloggers, I'm giving serious thought to including a statement at the bottom of each of my feed items that gives the post's real URL on my site and makes it clear that I'm not a participant in or an endorser of the Bloglines site. But, that only covers half the problem."

Some may be surprised to find that in the free-ranging world of bloggers, there is one place most bloggers are afraid to venture. "The last taboo in blogging is definitely placing ads in feeds. The group of bloggers who most of us see as the inventors of blogging debate this issue endlessly and treat placing ads in RSS feeds as a defining moral issue. Those who have tried putting ads in feeds have really taken some heat."

Kennedy laments the fact that the debate has gone on and on and seems no closer to resolution. "Between Thanksgiving and the end of 2004, I collected more than 150 blog posts on the topic of ads in feeds. It's sad to see highly-regarded and popular bloggers resorting to pledge drives, begging and randomly-served ad schemes that probably only benefit blogs with huge numbers. It breaks my heart to see a blogger who provides great computer tips or other great information begging for donations when his or her aging computer dies, especially when companies would gladly pay for even a simple sponsor logo in that blog's RSS feed."

Today, Kennedy feels the debate over ads in feeds has reached the "how many angels can dance on the head of a pin" stage, with a focus on semantics and metaphysics. "I minored in philosophy in college, but the discussions in this debate can make my head spin. I hate to even comment on the current argument that it is OK to make money from blogs but not to make money with blogs. By the way, it is essential to italicize the "from" and "with" to get the real flavor of this discussion. As a practical matter, some of the explanations why one practice is a "from" and another is a "with," make you long for the clarity of Bill Clinton and what the meaning of "is" is. I don't want to be critical, but it's possible for a disinterested observer to conclude that "from" is what the person making the argument does and "with" is what someone else does, at least in some of these discussions. The irony is that the whole debate has ended up putting most bloggers in the worst of all worlds – the world of randomly-served ads. How in the world that isn't a "with" I'll never understand. Sorry for all this inside baseball talk about blogging esoterica."

Kennedy says that he and others are losing patience with the debate and the world of randomly-served ads that the endless debating has created. "I want to be a good citizen in the blogosphere. Lawyers already have a place in Internet history as the creators of spam. I've been reluctant to move to ads in feeds, despite the inquiries I have had, without a clear signal from the leading bloggers who dominate this issue."

He reflects for a moment and then says, seriously, "The approach Bloglines has adopted, especially in my case, changes the whole nature of this debate about ads in feeds. In fact, I'd argue that it ends the debate. If my blog can be duplicated in another location without the ads on my blog or any of the other materials I might have on my blog about my products or services or other ways I might make money "from" my blog, then what are we left to talk about? The only effective choice I have to realize the value of my blog's content and audience is to sell ads in my feed. Bloglines has brought the issue to a head. In fairness, Bloglines is not alone – you will find other examples."

Kennedy plans to take steps soon, but he's not looking to fill his feeds with intrusive ads. "I don't even understand why bloggers would use randomly-served ads. It not only works against the sense of trust and authority that a top blogger can establish, but it also introduces the possibility that a randomly-served ad may make it look like you have a conflict of interest. I've always thought that the sponsorship approach is the way to go, with a small, tasteful logo and tagline, and possibly with a link that allowed the blogger to earn commissions on sales generated through the feed. That approach also has the benefit of disclosing a blogger's financial relationships. It helps readers adjust for potential bias or conflicts, while offering good compensation to niche bloggers."

Kennedy warms to the subject, "Sponsored ads in feeds are such a logical step that I've been surprised that there has been such a fight against them. Blogging is about freedom, but the one thing I've never felt free to do as a blogger is put an ad in my feed. I understand the concern about spammers and pop-up ads, but that concern doesn't come up in the case of sponsored feeds. Each blogger can make his or her own decision. Now only the highly popular blogs can earn anything significant from ads on their blogs and corporate and academic blogs are almost immune from the question. Let's end the debate and start experimenting. At this point, Bloglines has forced the issue and I feel compelled to move to the ads in feeds approach rather than stand idly by and watch others make money off my content."

With a twinkle in his eye, Kennedy smiles and concludes, "As the song says, if ads in feeds are wrong, I don't wanna be right. I'm willing to take the heat, but Bloglines has forced my hand."

Does your blog have a twin out there?

Posted by dmk at 05:43 PM

ABA TECHSHOW 2005 - March 31 - April 2 - BTOBS

Time to reserve the dates for ABA TECHSHOW 2005 - March 31- April 2, 2005 at the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers.

There's lots of information at www.techshow.com, including a blog with an RSS feed. You can register online at the website.

The Early Bird Deadline is February 18th. Register before the 18th to save $100. Many people will also qualify for one of the other available discounts. Now is the time to get your request in to the powers-that-be at your firm and get that check issuance process started.

We've been working on putting the show together, with an emphasis on continuing TECHSHOW's unique emphasis on educational programs directed to practicing lawyers. There will be a great mix of sessions this year and it will be the premier place to meet and hang out with lots of legal bloggers. If you've never been to a TECHSHOW, this would be a great year to attend your first one.

If you have any questions about TECHSHOW, I'd be happy to try to answer them for you. Hope to see you there.

Posted by dmk at 12:18 AM

January 13, 2005

Priorities: Blogging or Math Homework

I've gotten into the habit of writing blog posts in the evening. For the last few nights, my daughter has asked me for help with her math homework right about the time I planned to write for my blog.

Obviously, I've been helping with math. Decimals and fractions. I really enjoy teaching Grace about math, but the problem sets take a while to do.

For those of you who will find yourself in the same position in a few years, I have a few observations to share.

1. Dang, those arithmetic skills deteriorate over time. I'm quick to reach for a calculator.

2. It can be difficult to know what approach to take in helping out when you aren't sure what approach the teacher is taking. I'm always trying to be careful not to do something different than what they do in class.

3. I see how the need for repetition and the "everydayness" of math homework can be wearing on kids. Grace is a very good math student, but she doesn't have, at this point, the fascination and curiosity I had (and still have) with working with numbers and patterns in numbers.

4. No matter how fascinated you might be with the implications, analogies and directions the homework can take you, it's important to keep in mind that the task is really to get the 30 problems done and when you are at problem 25, your digressions will not necessarily be as interesting to your child as they are to you. Make an observation or two rather than launching into a mini-lecture.

5. Similarly, even if you are in a hurry, keep the burden on your child to take the responsibility for doing the problems. Be aware of the line between helping and doing the work for them.

6. Monitor the amount of work and the time spent carefully. If it seems like too much or the homework is too difficult, let the teacher know. Teachers want that type of feedback and they don't often get it. If you can prime your child to go in and ask the questions they have, it's even better for everyone.

7. I think it's vital to create an atmosphere of support and understanding, and adjust your approach to what works best for your child. It's nice to hear your spouse telling you and others that you are a good math teacher.

8. I'm starting to believe that there are three lessons you can really help with: (1) emphasizing and showing that doing math problems may be more about reading carefully than doing the math, (2) encouraging the notion of showing your thought process as way to help your teacher see where you might have gone wrong, and (3) constantly showing ways to check your results.

9. Be open to what this exercise teaches you about yourself and what memories it brings. Not all of them will be pleasant. These can help you make a better experience for your children.

10. Remember that, while blogging is cool, there are better things you can be doing with your time and that it never really hurts to take a few days off from blogging to prove to yourself that the world will move along just fine without you.

I've rediscovered in the last few days how much I enjoy just playing with math problems. By the way, one of the positive memories I've had recently is how thrilled I was when I got my GRE results back as a college senior and saw an 800 as my score on the math portion. Unfortunately, I hesitate to mention that because some people who have never met me or talked to me personally used the occasion of my 2004 blawg awards post to take public pot shots at my lack of sufficient humility to meet their exacting standards. I'm probably inviting further criticism on that score. They should be pleased to learn, though, that my math skills have moved steadily downhill since then, but, darn it, it was cool when I saw those results. The ironic thing is that I respect their work and their blogs, but wonder if they say the same kinds of things to people in person that they write on their blogs. I suppose it will be a little awkward when we meet in person one of thse days.

Posted by dmk at 11:21 PM

January 10, 2005

Socha and Kennedy on the E-Discovery Process - Webinar - January 11

George Socha and I have been putting the finishing touches on our Fios webinar for January 11 (Tuesday) called "The EDD Grande Process."

Here's the description:

" 'One EDD grande please, de-duped with double metadata and a dash of OCR. Native only, no conversion today.'" Does electronic discovery seem a little confusing? Do you feel like you're picking items off a menu without understanding what you're getting? Join the crowd. Discover how the actual process of electronic discovery consists of a series of stages. Listen in as Dennis Kennedy and George Socha discuss the parallel paths of identification, preservation & collection, processing, review & analysis, production and presentation."

We have some great information and tips we unveil at this webinar, and a straightforward way to consider the entire e-discovery process, whether you are a novice or a seasoned electronic discovery expert.

The reference to "the crowd" in the description is an apt one - late last week registrations were nearing the triple digits. Get the relevant info and get registered at http://www.fiosinc.com/events/webcasts.html#050111.

Check out the upcoming Fios webinars while you are there and remember the excellent DiscoveryResources.org site.

See you there or, as the acronym goes, BTOBS.

Posted by dmk at 11:43 AM

January 07, 2005

A Major Spy Thriller Weekend - Return of Both 24 and MI5

A fabulous weekend for thriller TV fans features the return of both MI5 (on A&E - watch out for major spoilers in the plot summary, almost from the first word) on Saturday night and Fox's 24 on Sunday night (and Monday night). Fasten your seat belts.

MI5 gradually pulls you into its web. 24 grabs you by the throat and yanks you in.

A favorite script excerpt from 24:

"Jack Bauer: You don't have any more information, do you, Nina?
Nina Myers: Yes I do.
Jack Bauer: No, you don't.
[shoots her]"

Need a regular feed of 24 news? Try 24weblog.com.

Posted by dmk at 04:56 PM

January 06, 2005

LSVA.com – Excellent Litigation Support Resource

I got a nice note from Mark Lieb recently pointing me to the LSVA.com site, which I found to be a great resource on a variety of litigation issues.

LSVA.com has some great downloads, including a new litigation budget spreadsheet and a very useful document on litigation technology standards. Mark also plans to release a 170-page ebook called "Litigation Support Department," written from the lit support perspective.

The lit support people around the country are doing a lot of great, under-appreciated, work in the trenches. Check out the LSVA.com website and see what this 1,300 member group is doing. It is also is the place to go for hiring lit support talent, with a free job posting process.

Posted by dmk at 11:54 AM

SDN Compliance – Another Huge Compliance Issue Flying Under the Radar

Sarbanes Oxley is sucking away almost all of the oxygen in the coverage and discussion of records management and related issues. However, many businesses are finding that they may have issues relating to the Patriot Act, "deemed exports" and "specially designated nationals and blocked entities."

I had an interesting discussion yesterday with Sean Tierney of Legal Technology Consulting, Inc. about the later topic yesterday. He's developed a web-based compliance tool and is working on other compliance tools.

Let me simply give you the summary from LTC's SDNCompliance.com site:

"The Office for Foreign Assets Control is a branch of the US Treasury and has the duty of enforcing sanctions against "enemies of the United States" as designated on a master list called the "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Entities." OFAC has strict regulations regarding the acceptance of payment from individuals suspected of aiding terrorists. Many law firms may be unaware that they are expected to screen all past and potential clients against a list of nearly 5000 entities that changes daily. Those firms that are aware are grappling with the procedural and technological difficulty of adhering to a very tedious and challenging task. Penalty for violating OFAC regulations (whether knowingly or unknowingly) can result in fines of up to $10,000,000 and 30 years of imprisonment."

As Sean noted, that last sentence will get your attention. Add one more item to your 2005 to do list.

Posted by dmk at 11:52 AM

Macs in Law Offices

I'm working on an article for Law Office Computing about the technology you need to start a law office. My guess is that I'll use the article as a springboard to writing a more comprehensive eBook on the topic.

I decided that I want to have a section in the article about the Macintosh option, which seems more realistic now than perhaps it ever has. I don't have a contact at Apple who works in or has responsibility for the legal services vertical market. If someone can point me to the right contact, I'd be grateful and be willing to see if I can a similar favor for you.

Posted by dmk at 11:50 AM

Looking for Some Vendor Recommendations

I'm looking for a number of service providers for my own use and for some of my colleagues. Although I'd obviously consider some kind of exchange of services for publicity or referrals type of arrangement, I'm mainly interested in finding some reliable, quality providers in the following areas:

1. Fully-outsourced ecommerce and credit card order solutions.

2. Distribution and marketing of eBooks, audio and video products.

3. Webinar hosting and administration.

4. Podcast hosting, with reasonable bandwidth and download pricing.

5. Routine conversion of VHS video cassettes and analog audiotapes to digital formats and production/reproduction of CDs and DVDs.

6. Design and production of ebooks and ebooklets.

7. Print-on-demand services.

Email me at denniskennedyblog@gmail.com. References or examples would be appreciated from vendor contacts. I'll share the results of my research on this blog.

Posted by dmk at 11:47 AM

Electronic Discovery Law Blog from Preston Gates and the Best Way to Ask Me to Mention Your Blog

The highly-regarded law firm, Preston Gates, has moved into the world of blogging with the nicely-implemented and useful Electronic Discovery Law blog. I've been following the blog for a while and noticed that it seemed to be achieving momentum, with more consistent and useful postings. Most important, unlike some of the large law firm blog efforts I've seen, the Electronic Discovery Law blog has an RSS feed.

I became even more impressed with the blog yesterday when I got an email from Dave Bowerman of Preston Gates about the blog. It turns out that I picked it up before its official launch, which will be on Monday.

They've actually been working on the blog in a "live" mode before they launch it. Aside from the amazing story of Sabrina Pacifici doing three months of posts before she launched BeSpacific.com, you don't hear of many bloggers taking that kind of a rigorous approach to a launch.

This bodes well for the prospects of the Electronic Discovery Law blog becoming a solid resource on electronic discovery. As you may have noticed, there is a long trail of now-defunct blogs that law firms have launched with great fanfare but quickly faded away as they learned the difficulty of sustaining a regular posting regimen.

Dave's email to me was a textbook example of how a blogger should ask other bloggers to mention or link to his or her blog. Note the following:

1. Make a positive reference to the blogger or blog from whom you request a reciprocal link or mention (for convenience, I'll call him or her the "target blogger"). In this case, the Electronic Discovery Law blog had already posted a favorable mention of one of the Electronic Discoverers columns I co-write with George Socha.

2. Show that you have visited or are a reader of the target blogger. Bonus point: remember to make a positive comment about the blog. Dave starts simply: "I came across your blog today [nicely done]." I don't ask for much - just a little pat on the back is OK.

3. Give a reason or an example of why the target blogger's audience will benefit from knowing about your blog. Ideally, write this in a way that the target blogger can copy and paste into a post about your. Example from Dave: "we're adding the finishing touches -- including a searchable case database on electronic discovery issues -- in the next day or so for our formal launch on Monday." This database sounds like a great tool.

4. Don't ask for a "reciprocal link" or, worse, demand a link to your blog. Be polite and respect the blogger's time constraints. There are two great examples in Dave's email. First, he simply says that he "wanted to alert you to the upcoming launch of our e-discovery blog." He ends with, "Please check it out when you get a chance." Anyone who has gotten a lot of requests for reciprocal links over the years will recognize that this polite of an approach is rare indeed.

5. Mention your blog's name and give the URL so that the target blogger can easily copy and paste it in a post. You'd be surprised how many people neglect to do this.

6. Add a link to the target blog on your blog before you ask for a link in return. The only minor quibble I might have with Dave's email to me when comparing it to a mythical "perfect" request is that he didn’t say that he had already linked to my blog, but (1) there already was a post about me (better than a simple blogroll link) on the blog and (2) in fairness to Dave, he was not making a reciprocal link request.

7. Consider point #3 above very carefully. If you simply want a link from a target blogger to enhance your search engine placement or drive traffic to your blog, without offering any significant benefit as a resource to the target blogger's audience, realize that you are asking for a purely economic transaction that benefits you, not the target blogger. In that case, you must treat your request accordingly and I recommend that you read my post on my reciprocal linking and blog mentioning policy.

I wish Dave and Preston Gates the best on the Electronic Discovery Law blog. It's an important area that could use more blogging coverage. I'm planning much more electronic discovery coverage in my blog and I've been talking with several people lately about launching an e-discovery blog. At the moment, Michael Arkfeld is the key electronic discovery resource in the blogosphere, but electronic discovery is a big topic that would benefit from much greater blog coverage. I'm pleased that Preston Gates, with the debut of its Electronic Discovery Law blog, is jumping into this area with an effort that holds great promise. I'm even more pleased that they have someone like Dave Bowerman who seems to know how to handle its launch in the right way.

Note: George Socha and I will be presenting a webinar on the electronic discovery process on January 11 – details at http://www.fiosinc.com/events/webcasts.html#050111.

Some other great electronic discovery resources:
DiscoveryResources.org – http://www.discoveryresources.org

Tom Mighell's Strongest Links Column on Law Practice Today - http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/slc07041.html

A Gold Mine of Electronic Discovery Expertise: A Conversation Among Veterans of Electronic Discovery Battles - http://www.abanet.org/lpm/lpt/articles/ftr07041.html

Michael Arkfeld's book – Electronic Discovery and Evidence

EDDix's "EDD Suppliers Landscape" – http://www.eddixllc.com (Until January 31, available at a special discount to readers of DennisKennedy.Blog – details at http://www.eddixllc.com/landing/dmk.asp ; see my comments on the report at http://www.denniskennedy.com/archives/2005_01.html#000550

For litigation support issues in general, check out LSVA.com – http://www.lsva.com

Posted by dmk at 11:14 AM

January 04, 2005

Laura Owen - The Tech Evolution: Change or Die

Laura Owen of Cisco gave one of the best presentations I attended last year. She covers some of the same themes in her excellent new article called "The Tech Evolution: Change or Die," which is absolutely required reading for (1) any law firm doing any planning at all for the use of technology and (2) any corporate general counsel or purchaser of legal services.

The most striking moment in Laura's presentation came when she unveiled a simple "wish list" she had for technology tools she felt Cisco's law firms could provide Cisco. There were sixteen items on the list (I have my notes). She was not asking for all of them, but maybe a few of them. In the room were reps of some of the largest and most prominent law firms in the country. Not one of them was willing to say that they could do even one of the items on the list.

I was stunned.

None of the items represented anything like rocket science. I talked to Laura and another Cisco rep after the presentation and confirmed that they were as shocked by the response as I was.

At that point, I noticed the wafting smell of death coming from the traditional approach to the practice of law.

If you want a strategic plan to work from, you cannot do much better than simply working from this article as a blueprint. My notion of "client-driven technology" reflects a similar approach. The devil is in the details of implementation and execution and that's where someone like me, my friend Michael Kraft (with whom I had a discussion on issues very similar to those raised in this article just this morning), or one of the other great legal tech consultants can really help a firm.

My concern continues to be for the corporate legal departments and other clients who work with with law firms and lawyers who do not even get the basics of modern technology and its role in client services, let alone Sarbanes Oxley, record management and retention, and electronic discovery. Can you really expect innovation from firms focused on rolling out faxing from laptop computers?

Change or die, indeed.

We will definitely be discussing the issues raised by Laura's article at LexThink! Chicago in April. There's still time to get on the invitation list.

In 2005, I'll be putting much more of my focus into my consulting practice, especially areas like "client-driven technology." I think that I can do more good helping with corporate legal departments than I can with law firms, but I'm happy to talk with firms that are serious about making changes. Laura says, "Change or die." I might soften it a little and say, "Change or lose your best clients and best people," but that's just an iterim step on a downward spiral.

You don't have to believe me, but you'd better read the article and do some thinking about it.

Posted by dmk at 11:37 AM

January 03, 2005

Jim Calloway's Blog Goes Live!

I learned today that Jim Calloway's Law Practice Tips blog has made its official debut. What a great way to launch the year of 2005 in legal blogging.

As you may know, Jim, among other things, is the chair of ABA TECHSHOW 2005, the practice management advisor for the Oklahoma Bar and one of the best-hearted people you'll ever find. I'm pleased that he mentioned his excellent article, "Technology, Stress and the Lawyer's Quality of Life," in one of his early posts. It's one of my favorite articles on legal technology and I recommend it highly. It'll give you some inspiration to start the new year.

I just happen to know that Jim has been thinking about starting this blog for a while now and I'm so pleased to see that his ideas have come into reality. This blog will definitely be one to watch. Welcome to the blogosphere, Jim.

For the rest of you who are thinking about blogging or made a resolution to start a blog this year, come on in, the water's fine.

Posted by dmk at 10:13 AM

EDD Suppliers Landscape - Essential Electronic Discovery Research Report at a Special Discount for Readers of DennisKennedy.Blog

You may remember that my recent enthusiasm for a research report on electronic discovery from EDDix, LLC called “EDD Suppliers Landscape.” I’m pleased to announce a special offer and discount to readers of DennisKennedy.Blog from my friends at EDDix.

From now until noon on January 31, if you go to the special page that is linked here, you will have a unique opportunity to purchase the research report, EDD Suppliers Landscape, and a companion report, at a dramatic discount.

As I’ve mentioned before, I believe this research report is the best starting point for anyone seriously interested in learning about what is happening in the world of electronic discovery. If you work for electronic discovery vendor or consultant, this report is essential reading and will save you hours of time that you might have otherwise spent researching the industry.

Even if you aren’t an electronic discovery vendor, consultant or otherwise involved in the EDD industry, this research report contains a great deal of valuable information and analysis that, again, may save you hours of time you might otherwise spend researching the electronic discovery field.

The discount works in the following way. You go to the special page and follow the instructions there. Use the code available there on the order form for the special bundled offer and you get a substantial discount off the regular price.

I will receive the small commission for each sale generated through the special code between now and January 31, 2005. I will donate 10% of whatever commissions I receive to one or more tsunami relief organizations, most likely Doctors Without Borders, a favorite charity of mine.

If you want to learn more about the research report, you can see the review I gave it in an earlier post on my blog. There’s also more useful information at the EDDix website.

I want to thank Michael Clarke and EDDix for being able to put together the special arrangement to benefit the readers of my blog. I encourage everyone with a serious interest in what is happening in the field of electronic discovery to consider purchasing this report.

Here's the link to the special ordering page - http://www.eddixllc.com/landing/dmk.asp

A happy 2005 to all! Electronic discovery will be a HUGE issue in 2005 and this set of reports will help you get off on the right foot.

As an administrative note, I will be covering electronic discovery in a much more substantial way in 2005 and have created a new category for posts on electronic discovery.

Posted by dmk at 09:49 AM