Dennis Kennedy

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April 27, 2008

Using Word 2007 and Google Docs to Collaborate on Documents

Tom Mighell and I thought that the subject of collaborating on documents was so important that we devoted an entire section, with several chapters, to it in our new book, The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together.

I noted two good articles recently that give a good introduction to topics we cover in detail in our book.

The first Is Brian Zeve's article "Smarter, Faster Ways for Law Firms to Create and Share Documents" in the latest issue of Law Practice Today (many other good articles in this issue, too). Zeve highlights some of the collaboration features in Word 2007. You will want to familiarize yourself with these features if you will be moving to Word 2007 this year or are noticing that Word 2003 is now 5 years old and you want to put together good reasons to push your organization to Word 2007. The article also links to a Microsoft white paper on Word 2007 for the legal community.

The second is "Google Docs Lives to Share the Words." We not only used Google Docs as a prime example of a document collaboration tool in our book, but we also used it to collaborate on writing the book. The article summarizes the way Google Docs is built for a connected environment.

There is nothing more fundamental to the work of lawyers today than working together on documents and no more necessary skill-set than document collaboration skills. Understanding the available tools is essential. These two articles do a nice job of introducing some of the key tools and taking some first steps. When you are ready to go further, our book will be waiting for you.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now Available! The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell. Join the book's Facebook Group here.

Technorati tags: legal technology collaboration collaboration tools Law2.0 book word 2007 google docs

Posted by dmk at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)

April 17, 2008

Collaboration Tools Book Report

I've gotten some inquiries about the new book: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together. Let address some of the questions.

First, though, I wanted to say how happy Tom and I have been with the response to the book. The book took a lot of work and it's great to hear from readers - makes it all seem worthwhile.

We were thrilled to get the recent comments from law practice management guru Patrick J. McKenna, who has written some very influential books, including Herding Cats, First Among Equals, and First 100 Days: Transitioning A New Managing Partner. Patrick writes:

There is an old adage that one can either work hard or work smart . . . you have a choice. And we would all choose working smart, but once having made that obvious decision, you then have to figure out how. The good news is that Kennedy and Mighell have now produced the most comprehensive playbook, whether you are a solo, large law firm practitioner or working within a legal department, for how to choose and use the right technology tools to ‘smartly’ collaborate. And for those who know that collaboration is a profoundly human endeavor, the authors identify all kinds of practical and cultural issues to watch for. This is one of those few texts that will be dog-eared throughout, from continued reference.

Evan Schaeffer, one of the most influential lawyer bloggers and a collaborator with Tom and me on some my favorite e-discovery articles says:

No matter what the size or scope of your project, this book will get you started. Sections include the following:

* Collaboration on Cases, Transactions, and Projects
* Commonly Used Collaboration Platforms
* Developing a Collaboration Strategy

Since my own practice includes many joint ventures with differing plaintiffs' firm, each involving a single distinct groups of cases such as asbestos or Vioxx, I've been looking forward to reading this book since I first heard Kennedy and Mighell were writing it. (The three of us have collaborated ourselves from time to time.) Book finally in hand, I'm sure I'll find new and more effective ways to communicate with the lawyers on my team.

I'm especially having fun working my way through Appendix 3, which lists "tools by category," with web links to resources for conference calls, email, extranets, instant messaging, metadata removal tools, online meeting tools, online office tools, open-source software, PDF creation and management, project management, redlining tools, screen-sharing meeting tools, SharePoint tools, high-end platforms, wikis, file sharing, mind mapping, and social networking.

That's quite a list--which gives you an indication of the breadth and scope of Kennedy and Mighell's work. Recommended.

We'd love to get your comments as well.

The most common question we get:

Why is your book only available for pre-order on Amazon and other online bookstores and e-commerce sites?

We're agonizing over this one, but there will be a delay before the book becomes available at those locations. It sounds like it will become available this summer. The good news is that the book is available RIGHT NOW at the ABA Bookstore with available discounts. Note especially the great discounts for orders of 100 or more copies. ;-)

Can I get a sneak peak at the book before I buy it?

Yes. Both the Table of Contents and Chapter 1 are available as PDF downloads on the catalog page for the book.

When will the companion website for the book go live?

Uh, Tom, could you answer that one? Seriously, though, it looks like the site, which might be better described as a blogsite, will be live in a few weeks. I think that people will like it.

Are there Facebook or LinkedIn groups for the book?

Yes indeed. Details here. BTW, if you are the first one to help me figure out how to find the URL for the LinkedIn group, I'll give you a mention and a link on this blog.

Is the book for US lawyers only?

Collaboration is global. We look at many Internet tools. Interestingly, our first article based on the book just appeared in print in the Law Society of Ireland's Law Society Gazette.

Is the book only for lawyers?

Tom and I wrote the book with a broader audience in mind, but with a focus on lawyers. We've been pleased at how consistently readers are telling us that they see that the book has great information not just for lawyers in all types of practices, but especially for others than lawyers. In our view, anyone who is a professional services provider will find the book useful and we'd like the book to find that audience.

If you have other questions about the book, let us know. I'll answer them here from time to time until we get the book's companion site live.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now Available: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology collaboration collaboration tools Law2.0 book

Posted by dmk at 08:22 PM | Comments (2)

March 25, 2008

Book Groups and a Book Report

Tom and I could not be happier with the initial response to our new book, The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, which has been tagged as a "Best Seller" at the ABA Web Store.

If you've already bought the book, we thank you.

We're still working on getting the word out about the book, so we'd be grateful if you would mention the book to your friends or blog about it.

We're especially pleased by the people who've told us that they think that the book would be valuable to people who aren't lawyers. We think so too.

While we continue to work on getting the companion website for the book launched, we've started two groups for the book on the social networking sites LinkedIn and Facebook. On Facebook, check out and join The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies Group. On LinkedIn, look for the group called The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

If you've bought the book or are a regular reader of this blog and would to be a friend or connection of mine on either site, go ahead and invite me.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now available: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology collaboration tools collaboration

Posted by dmk at 09:10 PM | Comments (1)

March 17, 2008

Catching Up After ABA TECHSHOW

Still getting caught up after ABA TECHSHOW 2008. Hope to get back to regular posting tomorrow with a major announcement.

Thanks to everyone who I got the chance to speak with at TECHSHOW for making the conference such a great experience for me. Congrats to Tom Mighell and the TECHSHOW Board for putting on a great conference. The online coverage of the show was outstanding.

And a special thanks to all who bought the new book, getting it off to a great start.

If we got the chance to speak at TECHSHOW or you bought the book (or if you are a regular reader of this blog) and want to experiment with social network, please feel free to invite me as a LinkedIn connection or Facebook friend and I'll add you. Please mention the connection in your invitation.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now Available: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology ABA TECHSHOW collaboration tools

Posted by dmk at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

I am the Worst Liveblogger Ever: A Report from ABA TECHSHOW 2008

I am the worst live-blogger ever.

As always, I come an event like ABA TECHSHOW 2008 with the good intentions of "covering" it on my blog. I admire greatly the bloggers who post frequent accounts of show happenings, incredibly-detailed notes of conference sessions and the like, making me feel part of an event that I could not intend.

"Hey, I should do that," I think on my way to an event. And I map out ideas for how I can do it.

Ah, but, especially for me, good live blogging intentions never survive first contact with the actual event.

Inevitably, I decide that taking advantage of the opportunity to talk with people I don't see often enough in person overrides all my liveblogging intentions.

Then, I end up putting together an early morning post or two that in no way "covers" what is happening at the event.

So, that's where I find myself once again.

But, people always trump blogging whenever I have to choose. That's the greatest part of being at ABA TECHSHOW.

However, even worse, I now realize that, in addittion to not live-blogging on my own blog, I'm also the guy who keeping the bloggers you want to read from TECHSHOW - Tom Mighell, Jim Calloway, Kevin O'Keefe and others - from getting the time to blog about this event. I'd feel doubly guilty about that, if I weren't having so much fun getting to talk to the people whose blogs I read all the time and many other great people as well.

I've also convinced myself that I'm a more "reflective" blogger and my strength is in the posts I write where I have some time to think about things and to analyze them a bit. And I'm sticking to that story.

A few observations: great energy here, lots of people, and some new areas have caught my attention. I've also found myself in more interesting and productive blogging qua blogging conversations than I have been in for quite a while.

The part about TECHSHOW I love the most: constantly seeing the speakers (and some of the biggest names in legal tech) consistently making themselve accessible, answering questions, and providing amazing advice to people they meet.

It's also incredibly exciting to see the launch of the book Tom Mighell and I wrote.

Speaking a two sessions today and much else to do, so expect continued light posting, but I'll have some observations and analysis later.

In the meantime, I recommend following the TECHSHOW BUZZ (http://techshow.com/buzz) for aggregated coverage of the event and searching on the abatechshow2008 tag on Flickr for Adrian Linares' great photos from the event (and, yes, we're working on her to get her back on a regular posting schedule at her I Heart Tech blog).

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now available: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology ABA TECHSHOW

Posted by dmk at 08:28 AM | Comments (1)

March 11, 2008

Catch the ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Buzz

Whether you are attending ABA TECHSHOW 2008 this week or not, you can follow what's happening there at the new TECHSHOW Buzz site. It's a combination of social media and other resources that will add a brand new layer to the conference experience, with Twitter, Flickr, Del.icio.us and other components. There's also a combo RSS feed built on Yahoo Pipes technology.Congratulations to Tom Mighell (TECHSHOW chair), Fred Faulkner and the others involved in making this possible.

I've also set up an Unofficial ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Group on Facebook to test what Facebook can add to this process.

Looking forward to see readers there or virtually through TECHSHOW Buzz and other channels.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now available: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology ABA TECHSHOW

Posted by dmk at 09:44 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2008

Meet Me at ABA TECHSHOW

As I've mentioned, I'll be speaking at ABA TECHSHOW this week and Tom Mighell and I's book will be making its debut at the conference, so I'm really looking forward to being in Chicago later this week.

A number of people (well, more than one) have asked me about meeting up while at TECHSHOW.

The short answer is that I always make every effort to meet readers of this blog at any conference I'm attending. Despite my good intentions, it's become obvious to me that I'm often talking to people (these events are the main chance I have to visit with many of my legal tech pals) and might not seem as approachable as I'd like to be, especially if I schedule meetings.

My recent approach has been to avoid scheduling meetings and simply suggest that readers of this blog come up and introduce yourself as a reader when you see me, and I can thank you for being a reader and we can talk. I'm also really excited about the idea of actually signing copies of the book at the show.

That said, here is an overview of my plans for TECHSHOW.

Wednesday evening - speaker reception. I do have a couple of scheduled events for Wednesday, but I'll probably be around in the hotel common areas from time to time.

Thursday - Adriana Linares has talked me into volunteering significant time as a "conference concierge and probably a big exhibit hall day for me. I'll also be at the reception and start the day with Tom Mighell's introductory talk.

Friday - speaking in the afternoon, attending the ABA Journal's Blawgs and Beer event, and Tom and I are hosting a "Taste of TECHSHOW" dinner at the Exposures Tapas Restaurant. I believe that up to 10 people can sign up for that dinner to talk about collaboration tools.

Saturday - I'll be around all afternoon and Saturday afternoon is always one of my favorite times to hang out and talk with people.

I truly hope to see you at TECHSHOW. Remember that if you are in Chicago, you can get a one-day pass or even a free Exhibit Hall pass and see what's going on in legal tech. But the best part of TECHSHOW is finding out how friendly and accessible the speakers are - TECHSHOW is definitely a conference where you learn a lot both in the sessions and in the hallways outside the sessions.

One last thing: I've started a Facebook Group called The Unofficial ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Group for people planning to be at TECHSHOW. Go ahead and sign up. Tom Mighell has also set up a number of other social networking opportunities for TECHSHOW attendees.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Now available: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology ABA TECHSHOW

Posted by dmk at 09:20 PM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2008

Competitive Intelligence Roundtable Article

Just posted on the online version of the ABA's Law Practice Magazine is one of the best articles I've ever been a part of. It's called "Competitive Intelligence Roundtable: CI Tactics, Tools and Lessons to Be Learned."

I asked a who's who of experts on competitive intelligence in the practice of law (Mark Beese, David Bowerman, Cynthia Cheng Correia, Ann Lee Gibson, Mark Greene, Sabrina Pacifici and Meredith Williams) to participate in a roundtable discussion of the basics, practical tips and lessons learned about the use of competitive intelligence. To my delight, they all agreed to participate and the result is one heck of an article from which I learned a ton of things and so will you. I'm the article's moderator and a quasi-participant.

In the same issue is Ann Lee Gibson's How to Create and Use Competitive Intelligence: 45 Tips for Law Firms, a helpful CI primer to read as an intro to the roundtable article.

If you are familiar with CI, you'll benefit from the wisdom of this group. If you don't know anything about CI, these article will get you up and running. IF CI wa not on your radar, after you read these articles, it will be.

Highly recommended.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Debuting at the 2008 ABA TECHSHOW: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: competitive intelligence roundtable law pracitce ABA TECHSHOW

Posted by dmk at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)

February 29, 2008

The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technology: Now Available for Preorder

As Tom Mighell announced today, our upcoming book, The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, is now available for preorder at the ABA Web Store. There's a 15% discount if you preorder now.

The "official" launch of the book will be at the ABA TECHSHOW, where Tom and I will be speaking on the topic of collaboration tools, and will be happy to sign your copy of the book. There's still time to register for TECHSHOW or grab an Exhibit Pass and spend a day at the show.

Here's the book description from the ABA Web Store:

This first-of-its-kind guide for the legal profession shows you how to use standard technology you already have and the latest "Web 2.0" resources and other tech tools, like Google Docs, Microsoft Office and SharePoint, and Adobe Acrobat, to work more effectively on projects with colleagues, clients, co-counsel and even opposing counsel. In The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, well-known legal technology authorities Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell provide a wealth of information useful to lawyers who are just beginning to try these tools, as well as tips and techniques for those lawyers with intermediate and advanced collaboration experience.

Collaboration technologies and tools are the most important current developments in legal technology and are likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. Explained with minimal technical jargon, the book focuses on highly practical and usable ideas that you can put to work straight away.

With practical advice on how to use specific tools and concrete action steps to take, lawyers and law firms at all levels will benefit from working together better.

You'll learn:

+ The basics of collaboration and collaboration tools

+ How to select and implement tools and strategies

+ The best ways to collaborate on documents, cases, transactions, and projects

+ How to collaborate inside and outside the office

+ How to collaborate using tools you already have or own

Technology now makes it easier than ever to work with others -- this is the first guide dedicated to the special requirements of the legal world with the practical steps it takes to do it right.

It's great to be reaching the point where all of our hard work will be appearing in book form. We're very pleased with the final version of the book and think that it is packed with solid, practical and helpful information. I encourage you to preorder now and take advantage of the 15% discount.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming Soon: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology collaboration book collaboration tools book lawyers guide

Posted by dmk at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)

February 28, 2008

8 Legal Technology Trends for 2008

For many years, my favorite place to publish new articles I write for my my own enjoyment (not on assignment) has been LLRX.com. My favorite article I like to write for fun is my annual legal technology trends article, which Sabrina Pacifici usually publishes on LLRX.com.

2008 once again again brings my legal tech trends article and LLRX.com together in this month's issue - yet another great collection of articles.

This year's article is called "Eight Legal Technology Trends for 2008 – Good Times, Bad Times or Hard Times in Legal Tech?" and you can find it here.

I like to use the article both as a way of pulling together my observations about what I think is happening in legal tech and as a discussion-starter. I suspect that some of my comments will start some conversations and not everyone will agree with me. But I wrote what I saw.

A quick overview:

1. Making Better Use of What You Already Own.

2. Lawyers Win Round 1 in the E-discovery Battle . . . by a Wide Margin.

3. Security Begins to Matter . . . Really.

4. The Death Throes for Email?

5. Going Mobile.

6. Opening Audio and Video Channels.

7. Dancing with a Recession.

8. Smart Ways to Work Together – Collaboration Tools.

Take a look. Agree? Disagree? Let me know. Or, better yet, start talking about these issues and they might affect you.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming Soon: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology trends predictions electronic discovery 2008 Law2.0

Posted by dmk at 09:14 PM | Comments (0)

February 27, 2008

Really Simple Competitive Intelligence

In my last post, I was whining about how I've grown impatience at waiting for articles I've written for print publications to appear in print.

Today, my latest technology column for the ABA Journal appeared on the online version of the magazine. In that column, I want to write about simple, practical and inexpensive ways lawyers can use technology in ways to make their lives a little easier.

In this column, called "Really Simple Competitive Intelligence," I wanted to give a gentle introduction to RSS feeds, but in the context of how you can use them (and email alerts) to bring you information about yourself, your firm, your clients and other topics of interest with little effort and potentially big results. See what you think. This article will be a good lead-in to an article I'm involved in on competitive intelligence that will be coming out soon.

I also wrote (on a very short deadline) a sidebar for the feature article in this issue on Mac vs. PC for lawyers (by Rick Georges and Ben Stevens), where I was asked to do some quick recommendations/descriptions of three Macs and three Windows PCs (it's after the main article). Of course, new products have come out since I wrote this. I'm intrigued by the new MacBook Pros with multi-touch and I'm starting to be influenced by Ernie the Attorney who seems to be ditching his old girlfriend Google (inside joke) for the Mac Air.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming Soon: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology rss competitive intelligence mac vs pc

Posted by dmk at 08:56 PM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2008

KM for Legal Apps

Judith Lamont's KM World article "KM for Legal Apps: Time is Money" gives a good picture of some of the practical uses law firms are making with knowledge management applications. Conflict-checking, integrating paper and electronic document management and enhanced full-text search are some of the uses highlighted in the article.

The article also highlights a number of KM and other tech tools being used, including Microsoft SharePoint, something on which I'm quoted in the article. As Judith points out, "Kennedy also expects the various products used in law firms to work better together, more as an integrated whole than a series of functionally unrelated products."

An interesting theme that the article covers is the move by law firms to find integrated search tools inside the firm and how KM products (sometimes already owned by firms) offers the potential to fill that need.

The money quote:

It’s one thing to fail to locate a document on the Internet using Google, but when in-house resources cannot be accessed effectively, time is wasted and complaints are loud.

There are some very good ideas in this article. Highly recommended.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming Soon: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology sharepoint knowledge management collaboration

Posted by dmk at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)

February 21, 2008

By Request: What Will You Be Speaking About at TECHSHOW?

Yes, ABA TECHSHOW is getting closer and I've recently been working on the slides for my presentations, having volunteered to take on the task of creating the first drafts of the slides.

First of all, let me once again say that every lawyer who wants to learn about and get better with technology (and every lawyer is on his or her firm's technology committee) really should try to attend one of the major legal technology conferences at least every couple of years. TECHSHOW is a great show for practicing lawyers because there is so much emphasis on the actual sessions and the sessions are directed at the interests of practicing lawyers. I'm a little biased in favor of TECHSHOW because I spent a couple of years on the TECHSHOW Board, but I also have spent time trying to figure out the differences among the major legal tech shows and the focus on practicing lawyers is what I consider the differentiator for TECHSHOW. Don't get me wrong, I like all the shows (and was disappointed to miss LegalTech NY this year), but each has its unique strengths and audiences. You still have plenty of time to register for TECHSHOW.

But on to your question.

I'll be speaking at two sessions, both on Friday, March 14, with two of my favorite co-presenters, Dan Pinnington and Tom Mighell.

Dan and I will be speaking at a session called "The Virtual Law Office: Is Software-as-a-Service Ready for Prime Time?" Long-time readers of this blog and my articles will know that the odds are very high that my answer will be "yes," but Dan and I plan to take a realistic and practical look at SaaS and the pros and cons for practicing lawyers. We have some new ideas for presenting this topic that I think people will like.

Tom and I are doing a session called "Working Together Wherever You Are: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaborating on the Internet." As the program description says: "Collaboration is no longer an option. Online tools like WebEx, Sharepoint, Acrobat Connect, Basecamp, Zoho, wikis and others make it easy for lawyers to work instantaneously with clients and colleagues, whether they're across the hall or on the other side of the world. Come join the authors of a soon-to-be published ABA book on collaborative technologies as they discuss the options available to lawyers, developing a collaboration strategy, and the ethical implications of working with others in an online environment." Yes, this session marks the official launch of our book, which is now at the printers and scheduled to debut at TECHSHOW. It looks like this:

Tom and I are also hosting one of the TECHSHOW dinner events for attendees on Friday night, giving TECHSHOW attendees a chance to talk about collaboration tools and technologies with us.

As usual, I will do everything I can to make myself accessible to readers of this blog while at TECHSHOW. Please say hello. I'd be delighted to see you at my sessions.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming Soon: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology techshow saas collaboration tools

Posted by dmk at 08:40 PM | Comments (0)

February 13, 2008

By Request: Recommended Digital Audio Recorders

A reader asks:

My boss thinks the office should be in the market for a digital audio recorder, maybe something we could use for phone conversations that we could turn into podcasts. Any recommendations?

As a general note, for interview or roundtable podcasts, most podcasters these days do the calls over Skype and record the session (either recording each side of hte call and mixing the audio files or using one of many Skype recording software programs). Some conference call services and Webex will also record conference calls and send you the audio files. The laws around the country make me a little nervous about devices that record directly off of regular phones, so I haven't explored that area much. You generally want to avoid using a cell phone for any podcast.

If you are looking for a digital audio recorder that's portable, versatile and good for recording podcasts, the ones I hear people recommend most highly for podcasting are:

Edirol R-09 WAVE/MP3 Recorder

Zoom H2 Recorder (also the more expensive H4)

If I were buying for myself today, I'd probably buy the H2.

However, I bought a digital recorder last year and it has really impressed me. It's the Sony ICD-SX57DR9.

I bought it primarily because you basically get a free copy of Dragon NaturallySpeaking with it. I use it to record my presentations live for myself and it does a great job. I also recorded my daughter's 8th grade graduation from my shirt pocket with it and the sound quality was amazing.

A key consideration is how you expect to use the recorder - stationary or portable.

For my podcasts amd when interviewed for a podcast, I like to use a Yamaha mixer

with an Audix microphone

and record directly into my computer. When I podcast with Tom Mighell, he uses a USB headset mike and we have the call via Skype. We generally record each side of the call separately and mix the tracks together using Audacity. Sound quality on podcasts is a big thing for me, so I think it's important to start with a good quality recording.

The podcasters who use the Zooms and Edirols tend to do some on-location or portable interviews. They might use the built-in mikes or the might mike temslelves with a lavaliere and use and external hand mike for interviews.

As I said, I'd look hard at the Zoom H2 when going the digital audio recorder route. I like the Sony a lot, but you do have to convert the files from Sony's format and the Zoom gives you more flexibility for podcasting.

Another interesting option (although it might be hard to sell your boss on buying you an iPod) is the XtremeMac Micromemo:

It fits onto an iPod. I've used it to record some of my presentations, especially when traveling (I got it before I purchased the Sony recorder). It does a surprisingly good job. If you do some shopping, you might be able to find the Micromemo for under $50.

For great information about hardware and other technical aspects of podcasting, I highly recommend Podholes.com and the podcasts you'll find there. Sadly, it's been a while since the last podcast, but the podcasts you'll find there are a treasure trove of information on practical and technical issues involved in podcasting, sound recording, and audio equipment.

Great question. I welcome any comments or suggestions.

Note: I like the handy way the Amazon links let me show the items, but I haven't gotten the display info finetuned enough to suit my taste. Please excuse the catalog-y feel to this post.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming in March from ABA Publishing - The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell

Technorati tags: legal technology digital recorders podcasting digital+audio+recorder

Posted by dmk at 09:40 AM | Comments (2)

February 10, 2008

Is It Time for Lawyers to Encrypt Data?

Has the time arrived for lawyers to begin routinely encrypting data, especially data carried on laptop computers and USB drives?

I take a look at some of the practical questions involving data encryption and the state of encryption in 2008 in my latest legal technology column in the ABA Journal called "Hidden Assets." I focus on recent developments in the area of disk encryption.

The money quote:

When you balance the risks of loss or exposure of sensitive data against the costs and effort in encrypting data and drives, it’s becoming clear that we’ll see many lawyers moving to disk encryption in the very near future.

Disk encryption looks to be a simple, effective way to address some, but not all, data security concerns. Have you tried it? Is it working for you? Have you become less comfortable with not encrypting data in the past year?

Here's the article. Your feedback is appreciated.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming in March from ABA Publishing - The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell

Technorati tags: legal technology aba journal encryption

Posted by dmk at 04:18 PM | Comments (3)

February 04, 2008

Cole Silver's Expert Audio Series

Lawyer and career and marketing consultant Cole Silver has put together an amazing collection of audio interviews with a who's who of experts in all phases of law practice management as part of his Expert Audio Series.

It's a collection of top experts interviewed about their best topics, with coverage of key aspects of business development and marketing, career planning and development, and organizational development and management. I've contributed an interview on "Technology that Drives Operational Efficiency."

What is great about Cole's collection is that I've heard many people (including me) with the idea (and best intentions) of putting together a collection of interviews like this, but Cole has actually done it. And done it extremely well. Even a cursory glance at what is already part of this collection will show you the potential value of this material to your practice. It's a great example of what the audio/podcasting world is bringing and how an iPod (or other mp3 player) might be the best business and educational tech investment you can make these days.

Check out Cole's Expert Audio Series.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming in March from ABA Publishing - The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together

Technorati tags: legal technology expert audio series cole silver podcast

Posted by dmk at 10:00 PM | Comments (0)

January 31, 2008

Kevin Kelly on Better Than Free

Kevin Kelly's post, "Better Than Free," has given me much to think about, and I suspect it will do the same for you.

The money quote:

When copies are free, you need to sell things which can not be copied.

Well, what can't be copied?

Kevin starts with "trust," a (or perhaps the) key element of any professional services practice.

He then lists 8 "generatives" that are better than free:

1. Immediacy. (E.g., instant, targeted alerts)

2. Personalization.

3. Interpretation (or "how to" or support)

4. Authenticity.

5. Accessibility.

6. Embodiment (putting into the format you want).

7. Patronage.

8. Findability.

The second money quote:

These eight qualities require a new skill set. Success in the free-copy world is not derived from the skills of distribution since the Great Copy Machine in the Sky takes care of that. Nor are legal skills surrounding Intellectual Property and Copyright very useful anymore. Nor are the skills of hoarding and scarcity. Rather, these new eight generatives demand an understanding of how abundance breeds a sharing mindset, how generosity is a business model, how vital it has become to cultivate and nurture qualities that can't be replicated with a click of the mouse.

In short, the money in this networked economy does not follow the path of the copies. Rather it follows the path of attention, and attention has its own circuits.

Wow! To me, these are important, clarifying, and challenging (in the best sense) words. It also echoes the business models that have grown up around the Open Source licenses.

And, as Kevin notes, none of it involves selling ads.

I encourage you to read (and re-read) this post.

What do you think? I'd enjoy discussing this topic.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming in March from ABA Publishing - The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together

Technorati tags: kevin kelly open source Law2.0

Posted by dmk at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)

January 28, 2008

Ross Kodner on the Difference between IT and Legal Tech; Laura Orr on Blogging

Two posts of note today for those interested in legal tech and blogging, which I guess would be most readers of this blog.

First, Ross Kodner has a great post on the differences between legal technology and information technology (IT). It's a great discussion-starter and should make you think. Highly recommended.

The money quote:

A mistake I’ve observed SO many firms of ALL sizes across the continent is confusing IT and LT – not making, or not knowing there is a fundamental distinction between these two areas of information.

My short take is that legal technology focuses on lawyers, how they work, and technology that helps lawyers do their work better.

Second, Laura Orr has a great post chock full of great tips on blogging for lawyers. It was nice to see the reference to me, even though it reminded me that I really don't write or speak as much on blogging as I used to.

Among Laura's excellent tips, is one I want to highlight that's both simple and often overlooked:

Open an email account for your blog.

My best advice to starting bloggers is to find one or two of the blogging "rules" that you can break when you do your blog. Personal voice, more so than strict obedience of blogging best practices, is the key to a great blog (and a great blogging experience. That said, you won't find many better digests of the best blogging practices than Laura's post.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Coming in March from ABA Publishing - The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies, by Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell.

Technorati tags: legal technology blogging

Posted by dmk at 09:54 PM | Comments (1)

January 23, 2008

The Internet Roundtable Revisited: The Blog Columns

I recently mentioned the Internet Roundtable columns Jerry Lawson, Brenda Howard and I wrote on Internet marketing for lawyers several years ago and how they are some of my favorite articles.

Sabrina Pacifici emailed me that she has placed all of the columns in one location on LLRX.com. Even better, she relinked and added columns 36 and 37, a two-part series on blogging.

I remember that Jerry Lawson decided that it was time (July 2003) to cover blogs as part of Internet marketing in the columns. We had been talking privately about blogs and how they were changing all the rules and conventions of law firm websites.

I started the first column with: "When I notice that both Jerry Lawson and I have commented publicly that the energy and excitement around blogging remind us of 1995 and the early days of creating web pages, it's clear that blogging is a topic that deserves some attention . . . ."

We brought in two of our favorite bloggers as guests - Ernest "Ernie the Attorney" Svenson and Tom "Inter Alia" Mighell - and the columns are especially interesting to show their early reflections on blogging.

I've always felt that Ernie captured a core element of blogging with this comment:

I was always interested with the idea of having a website, but I would never have taken the time to set one up. But some easy-to-use weblog software with a free 30-day trial is all it took to draw me into the Internet fray. That, and an obsession to have my voice broadcast to the widest possible audience.

I thoroughly recommend the columns to anyone interested in blogs and blogging, and the early history of lawyers using blogging. Look for the discussion of the term "blawg."

Column 37 (part 2) marked the end of the Internet Roundtable columns, which was appropriate in a sense because blogs so radically changed the world of traditional law firm websites.

Jerry Lawson's final comment on that last article was both wise and prescient:

Blogs have enormous potential, but it's important to keep the phenomenon in perspective. I think we're going to see another instance of the "80/20 Rule." It will probably shake out something like this: About 80% of all lawyer web logs will fail. The remaining 20% will have greater or lesser degrees of success, mostly modest. One per cent or so, maybe less, will be extremely successful. However, some of that 1% will be so successful that they will make their owners very, very glad they got into the blogging game.

A big thank you to Sabrina for bringing back these columns. And, when you visit the articles, be sure to check out the rest of the always great content at LLRX.com.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Read the blog posts and RSS feed items I find most interesting on Google Reader Shared Items or subscribe to its RSS feed. High volume, but lots of interesting items that will get you thinking.

Technorati tags: legal technology internet roundtable blawg blogs

Posted by dmk at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

January 22, 2008

Planning for Legal Technology in a Recession

The recession winds have hit the economy at gale force levels in the last few weeks. Many people spent a nervous day watching the stock market today.

The natural reaction to news of a slowing economy is to cut back on spending. Recession often goes hand in hand with retrenchment, and there's little doubt that the legal profession is already casting a nervous eye toward technology budgets.

Today, I took a look back at an article I wrote in 2001 called "A Prudent Approach to Legal Technology Spending in a Slowing Economy." It's been one of my most popular articles. I wondered how relevant it felt today.

The article actually holds up well, despite the outdated examples and reference to Y2K efforts.

It also reflects some of my common themes, including my stubborn insistence that the concepts of modern portfolio theory (diversity of investments, et al.) should play a role in legal technology strategy and planning.

Here are the key points in the article, which are worth thinking about in the coming days and weeks.

The key: being willing to think of technology in terms of investment.

I like to think of technology investing as a form of portfolio investing. Much as we rebalance our investment portfolios in changing economic conditions, the same principles apply to technology investment. . . . The interesting conclusion in modern portfolio theory is that the most prudent approach, over the long term, includes a reasonable proportion of high-risk, high-return investments, regardless of the investment climate. In a slow economy, sticking with a diversified approach is mandatory.

Investing in technology requires a similar portfolio approach.

The article identifies six areas to consider carefully when developing your technology portfolio:

1. Technology That Cuts Costs

2. Technology That Makes You Indispensable to Your Clients

3. Technology That Helps You Get New Clients

4. Technology That Helps You Move into New Practice Areas (or Creates Profitable Niche Practices)

5. Technology That Helps You Recruit and Retain Great People

6. Technology That Makes You Saner

The article concluded with these thoughts:

In a slow economy, you need to make smart choices about technology. Focusing hard on return on investment is important, but not if you are using that as an excuse to shut down technology investment. A better approach is to get a lot of options on the table and consider their likely risk and potential return. Then prudently pick a diverse portfolio of technology investment projects and step boldly forward. Not all of them may work, but the diversification will, and you’ll find yourself well positioned for the changes to come, both in the economy and the practice of law.

I really like the ideas in this article and find them quite appropriate for today. What do you think? Do you have other ideas and strategies? Is it time to focus on recession strategies?

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Get your legal technology information by audio. Check out The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast.

Technorati tags: legal technology recession strategy planning

Posted by dmk at 09:59 PM | Comments (1)

January 16, 2008

I've Been Listening to So Many Podcasts that I Didn't Realize that Podcasting Might Have Been Declared Dead

One of the amusing things about reading blogs, especially tech blogs, for many years is how quickly trends arise, blossom and get declared dead, sometimes, it seems, within a period of weeks or even days. There are times when a trend is declared dead even before many people have even heard of it.

Just pick a trend and do a Google search on "is [trend] dead?"] and you'll be surprised by the number of hits.

However, it's also true that the "is [trend] dead?" post or, more emphatically, "[trend] is dead" post, will definitely generate traffic to your post. (See linkbaiting - by the way, is linkbaiting dead?)

A lot of things have been declared dead by someone or another lately - email, Windows Vista, the billable hour, the horse and buggy, you name it.

I've always liked podcasts. Tom Mighell and I even talked about our favorite podcasts on our own podcast.

My biggest reservation about podcasts was that there would be so much great content that you would have such a backlog of podcasts that you could never hope to listen to them all. You can be a fast reader, but it's much harder to be a fast listener.

I can confirm that my reservation was well-founded. There are lots of great podcasts. What NPR has done in the world of podcasting is simply amazing.

I've wanted to blog more about podcasts, but I find it difficult to blog about podcasts. In part, that's because there is often a time lag from when the podcast was released and when you listen to it. That can make it harder to find the URL when you want to link to it in a blog post. Also, if you listen to podcasts on an iPod or other mp3 player, you probably aren't at a computer and won't blog about it contemporaneously.

I had reached the conclusion the other day that I was going to highlight podcasts and podcasting as a key legal tech trend for 2008.

Then, I realized that there is a big debate going on whether, surprise, podcasting might be dead. I like Dave Winer's take on the topic, especially when he says, "My phone doesn't have a business model. Neither does my porch."

By the way, my Google search on "is podcasting dead?" tonight shows a total of 3.570 results.

So, I reconsidered my opinion about podcasts, for a few seconds, and went back to listening to podcasting and recommending it as a trend to watch in 2008. If you haven't been introduced to the world of podcasts, I recommend that you take a listen. A good starting point is visiting the Apple iTunes store and checking out the wide variety of podcasts now available, on almost any topic that you can imagine.

Count me on the side of those who think that podcasts are alive.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Get your legal technology information by audio. Check out The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast.

Technorati tags: legal technology podcasts

Posted by dmk at 08:12 PM | Comments (1)

January 14, 2008

ABA TECHSHOW 2008: Early Bird Discount and My Sessions

I always recommend that lawyers interested in technology, especially lawyers within easy reach of Chicago in mid-March, try to attend ABA TECHSHOW. I might show a little favoritism for TECHSHOW because I used to be on the board, but it's a great show if you are interested in educational programs about practical ways practicing lawyers can use technology for their benefit.

I see that February 1 is the deadline for a $100 early bird discount. The registration page also details other available discounts. I'll also note that joining the ABA's Law Practice Management Section was one of the best moves I made in my legal career, and it entitles you to another discount for TECHSHOW.

I'll be speaking at two sessions this year, with two of my favorite co-presenters, Dan Pinnington and Tom Mighell.

First:

The Virtual Law Office: Is "Software-as-a-Service" Ready for Prime Time? Friday, March 14, 2007

What if you could work from anywhere that you had Internet access? Our experts will help you decide whether it's finally time to make a virtual law office your reality, and the online services that can help you make it happen. We'll also cover the ethical and due diligence issues you must work through to keep your virtual office as safe as one made of bricks and mortar. Whether you want to practice from the beach, the mountains, or a treehouse, it's time to start designing the virtual law office of your dreams.

Speakers: Dennis Kennedy, Dan Pinnington

Second:

Working Together from Wherever You Are: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaborating on the Internet Friday, March 14, 2007

Collaboration is no longer an option. Online tools like WebEx, Sharepoint, Acrobat Connect, Basecamp, Zoho, wikis and others make it easy for lawyers to work instantaneously with clients and colleagues, whether they're across the hall or on the other side of the world. Come join the authors of a soon-to-be published ABA book on collaborative technologies as they discuss the options available to lawyers, developing a collaboration strategy, and the ethical implications of working with others in an online environment.

Speakers: Tom Mighell, Dennis Kennedy

Hope to see you there. I always try to make myself available to meet with as many readers of this blog as I can while I'm in Chicago for TECHSHOW.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Read the blog posts and RSS feed items I find most interesting on Google Reader Shared Items or subscribe to its RSS feed. High volume, but lots of interesting items that will get you thinking.

Technorati tags: legal technology techshow collaboration saas

Posted by dmk at 09:31 PM | Comments (1)

January 10, 2008

My Lexblog Q & A Interview

Thanks to Rob La Gatta and Lexblog for running a two-part interview with me as part of their excellent series of interviews with lawyer and law-related bloggers.

I enjoyed the interview greatly, as you probably will be able to tell. Part 1 is here and Part 2 is here.

I talk about the early history of blawgs, my own first steps to blogging, lessons learned and useful advice I wish I had gotten when I started. I tried to share some of my best information and thinking about blogging.

I also recommend the other interviews in the series - you can learn a ton of great things,, and not just about blawgs and blogging.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Read the blog posts and RSS feed items I find most interesting on Google Reader Shared Items or subscribe to its RSS feed. High volume, but lots of interesting items that will get you thinking.

Technorati tags: legal technology blogging blawg

Posted by dmk at 11:27 PM | Comments (1)

January 08, 2008

Returning to The Internet Roundtable

I was doing some research last night (for this) and wanted to find the first time that I had written about blogging for lawyers in a published article.

I actually know the answer to this question because Jerry Lawson likes to have fun and point out that I first suggested that blogs could be a great marketing vehicle for lawyers more than two years before I actually got around to launching my own blog.

So, if you go back to December 2000, in column #15 of The Internet Roundtable, a long-running series of articles on Internet marketing I co-wrote with Jerry Lawson and Brenda Howard, you'll find me saying:

"Blogs" . . . are my new favorite web phenomenon. In essence, they allow you to put an ongoing web journal of your writings on your web site, almost like a daily diary. If your site is designed to accentuate your personality, a blog might be a fascinating tool to let you easily put up opinions, idea and thoughts and get your audience to return on a regular basis.

Jerry's response was quite prescient, as always. In part, he said, "For most lawyers, blogs would be a fiasco, possibly even dangerous. On the other hand, for a few lawyers, they could be perfect."

The Internet Roundtable columns are some of my very favorite articles. We wrote 36 of them over a three-year period, all published on LLRX.com (although #36, which included Ernest Svenson and Tom Mighell in a discussion of blogging, seems to be missing). They were written as a conversation and I've used that "roundtable" format extensively over the years. It's such a great way to write good multi-authored articles.

We would pick a simple aspect of Internet marketing and kick around some of the basic ideas and concepts and offer practical insights and tips.

So, last night I looked through some of the articles. I still enjoy them and was struck by how relevant the discussions still are and how much you can learn from the articles. The columns seem to have captured some of the core principles of successful websites and improved web presence. It's interesting to see how, today, blogs, by their very nature, allow you to automatically execute some of the best elements of good content strategies.

We had a good number of guest authors, in a way a who's who in legal websites and Internet marketing from the late 1990s and pre-blog era. For example, there's a great column with Kevin O'Keefe talking not about blogs, but about creating virtual communities, the area where Kevin gained a lot recognition. Definitely worth a read.

I created this link, based on a search term, to give you quick access to the full set Internet Roundtable columns. If that link doesn't work for you, head over to the great LLRX.com site and run a search on "internet roundtable." Take a look. You'll probably find an idea or two that you can use for your website or blog. It'd be nice to see these articles get a fresh life.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Read the blog posts and RSS feed items I find most interesting on Google Reader Shared Items or subscribe to its RSS feed. High volume, but lots of interesting items that will get you thinking.

Technorati tags: legal technology internet roundtable blogs legal marketing

Posted by dmk at 07:55 PM | Comments (1)

January 07, 2008

Talking Legal Technology for 2008

Angela Wilson interviewed me about a wide variety of legal technology topics for the ESQ Soundbytes podcast that appears in the most recent issue of the ESQ newsletter (link to mp3). It's described as "attorney and ABA technology columnist Dennis Kennedy sharing what you need to know about PCs, social networking, and helpful technological gadgets."

I enjoyed the interview, as you probably can tell from the recording, and there's some good information in the podcast. Thanks to Angela, who is doing a great job with these podcasts, and to the Missouri Bar, which is again pioneering ways to use technology for lawyer (and consumer) education.

For those looking for insights into where technology is taking the legal profession, let me recommend Neil Squillante's TechnoLawyer's 2008 Predictions, which includes links to other sets of predictions for legal technology.

All of which reminds me that I need to finish my annual article on legal technology predictions.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Read the blog posts and RSS feed items I find most interesting on Google Reader Shared Items or subscribe to its RSS feed. High volume, but lots of interesting items that will get you thinking.

Technorati tags: legal technology predictions podcast

Posted by dmk at 08:39 PM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2008

By Request - Taking a Firm Completely Electronic

A reader asks:

I am a legal assistant in need of some quick advice. My employer recently asked me to track down a powerful and efficient program that would help take the entire firm electronic- files, client information, discovery. Is there one all-powerful program, or a line-up of key programs, that you would suggest to help take us virtual?

I get asked this question in one form or another on a regular basis.

I always suggest that the questioner take a look at the latest version of Ross Kodner's Paper Less Office presentation as the starting point. Let me also say congratulations to Ross on his recent wedding.

I've always liked Ross's emphasis that scanning does not necessarily mean OCR and the presentation and article I link to above will help you understand the different factors that you should consider.

I've found that often people are really asking there is a fast, easy and inexpensive way to "go all electronic."

My personal "quick advice" on getting something workable, simple and inexpensive in place would be to take three steps:

1. Buy an appropriate number of licenses for Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional. And I do mean that you should spend the extra money on the Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional version. This way you'll use PDF as your standard format. You can scan directly into Acrobat, and it will index your PDF files, optimize file sizes, and let you organize and manage the files. It's a powerful all-in-one solution. Familiarize yourself with all the features of Acrobat 8 Professional and I think you'll agree. Note, too, that PDF is becoming a standard in electronic discovery as well as electronic filing.

2.Buy an appropriate number of scanners. This takes some thought. You'll need to think through your workflow and how "electronic" you really want to get. My general sense is that in most offices an approach with one centralized, high-end (meaning fast and able to scan lengthy docs in a large volume) and a scattering of inexpensive scanners on desktops of the people who will actually use them is a good way to start. Do some research, identify scanners that get good reviews and the features you want. I notice that Ross (and others I know) seem to like the Fujitsu scanners these days. I've always been happy with HP scanners.

3. Install a desktop search program that will search networked computers. I like to add the desktop search piece because it adds the search layer to your all-electronic system. Acrobat 8 does a good job on searches, but the desktop search engines are fast, impressive and invaluable. Some are free. Features tend to evolve and change, so you'll want to check the current feature sets and prices. I believe that currently Copernic Desktop Search (free) , Google Desktop Search (free) and X1 Professional ($50 per license) will search across networked computers. You might already have other search tools on your office network, too. I've used Copernic for a long time and am partial to it. I'm wary of Google out of a (perhaps misplaced) concern that my local info will become part of the Google data-mining ecosystem (not a small concern for lawyers with confidential client info).

There are many variations on this theme and you can definitely take more complicated approaches or build upon software (and hardware) you already own (e.g., document management software). Each will involve the three pieces: scanning software, scanner and organization/search tool.

That's my quick answer to an increasingly common question. I'm interested in hearing reactions and how others might answer this question today.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Get your legal technology information by audio. Check out The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast.

Technorati tags: legal technology paperless acrobat scanning

Posted by dmk at 08:39 PM | Comments (7)

January 02, 2008

A Mini Strategic Plan for Your Tech Purchases in 2008

My newest technology column in the ABA Journal is out and it's called Tech Greats for ‘08: Spruce up your buying strategy for a better year.

I say: "Here are my best suggestions for planning to im­prove your technology—and your relationship with technology—in 2008. These ideas won’t cost you much money, but they will make your daily experience better than ever."

The summary:

1. Get some storage.

2. Get a new interface.

3. Get a new bag.

4. Get an iPod.

5. Get a blog or a podcast.

6. My best advice for 2008: Learn a new skill or technology.

Read the column to get the details.

Also, a tip of the blog hat to Steve Matthews for his Clawbie awards for best Canadian law-related blogs - a great place to find some new blogs to add to your newsreader.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Read the blog posts and RSS feed items I find most interesting on Google Reader Shared Items or subscribe to its RSS feed. Can be high volume, but lots of interesting items that will get you thinking.

Technorati tags: legal technology aba journal

Posted by dmk at 10:21 PM | Comments (1)

December 30, 2007

Best of DennisKennedy.Blog: 2007 in Review

I was reading Brian Clark's post "The Best of Copyblogger in 2007 and realized how much I like this type of year-end post. It tells a lot about the subject matter a bog covers and provides a roadmap to the best posts.

I've thought about doing similar posts each year, but the idea has always seemed a little too daunting. I took a stab at it today and it was easier than I thought. I looked through the 135 posts (a smaller number than in any calendar year of this blog so far, in part due to working on a book project) and put together this post. Enjoy!

January

In January , I looked at resolutions – for your PCh and for my own legal technology (hmm, some might be on my list for 2008, too). January was also the time for my annual Martin Luther King Day reflection. I ended the month looking at the biggest unanswered question in electronic discovery: What will "documents" mean in a world where almost all information is held in gigantic databases?

February

February was most notable for my experiment in publishing my annual legal technology trends article as a series of posts and in a number of forms. The idea was to let people see how I wrote and edited the article to create different versions. Here's the start of the long version and the short version. There was also an intermediate (and probably the best) version published on LLRX.com. Other highlights included two posts on newsreaders (here and here), one on wikis for lawyers, and a note that non-lawyers might not be treating electronic discovery with the same emphasis that lawyers are putting on it.

March

In March, Tom Mighell and I announced our upcoming book, The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies. March also had posts on two of my favorite concepts of the year: Impromptu Consultation and the Post-Email Era and The Electronic Discovery Continuum - Accelerating Complexity. I also covered topics ranging from Track Changes to Firefox productivity extensions to document assembly, and made my 2007 legal trends article available as a PDF download.

April

April found me a bit overwhelmed with email overload, but also making some of my better posts of the year: Green Legal Technology: Is the Time Ripe?, Are Lawyers Doing Work That Should Be Done By Machines?, Do Excerpt Feeds and Poor Sound Quality Podcasts Have Something in Common?, Reports of Death of PowerPoint Greatly Exaggerated?, and Has Blogging Peaked?. I also noted the tenth anniversary of Dave Winer's Scripting News blog, probably the greatest influence on my launch of this blog.

May

May was a busy month, with the number posts dropping somewhat. I noted the anniversary of Eric Raymond's seminal essay, The Theater and the Bazaar (essential if you want to understand Open Source), posted my Handout Materials on Ethical Issues for Law Firm Websites, commented on "peak blogging," highlighted some great tips on presenting from Jon Udell, and suggested that lawyers who thought that simple auto accident cases would not involve electronic discovery might be sadly mistaken.

June

I started June with a post on my visit with Marty "The Trademark Blog" Schwimmer and some thoughts about the history and future of blogging by lawyers in a post called Birth of the Blawg. I ended the month mentioning a white paper I had written on dealing with metadata under the new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. In between, I posted on Pollard's Laws of Communication, Collection and Collaboration, Talking About GPL and Creative Commons for Bloggers, and Seven Step Guide for Knowledge Management Initiatives in Corporate Legal Departments.

July

July featured one of my most rantish and popular posts - Presumptuous Computing - A Trend to Reverse. Yesterday, iTunes presumed that a stray mouse click meant that I wanted to uncheck ALL of my songs and podcasts and I spent a long time rechecking the items I wanted to put on my iPod, earning iTunes a special place among my least favorite programs. I also posted on two of my favorite topics of 2007 – Google Reader's Shared Items and storage. I ended the month focused on Babylon 5: The Lost Tales.

August

August meant a new Springsteen single – Radio Nowhere. We lost power again in St. Louis. I had a great time at the ILTA Conference. A new episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report podcast focused on lawyers using Facebook and the Google Reader. I also posted on the idea of using technology counsel in electronic discovery, clean legal technology, and a roundtable article I participated in on the impact of the December 2006 amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on electronic discovery.

September

In September, I took a nostalgic look back at Google on its 9th Birthday. The important post of the month was called The Brand is the Talent. I also posted about a roundtable article on lawyer podcasting. By September, it became apparent that working on the book was going to start cutting into my time for blogging, as I mentioned in the post Collaboration Tools, AmLaw Tech Survey 2007, and Expect a Reduced Number of Posts for a Little While.

October

October was a big e-discovery month. I started the month with Electronic Discovery Trends and Blogs: Thinking Aloud about Information Overload and Information Underload, which touches one of my favorite subjects, info underload. I followed that with 26 Electronic Discovery Trends for 2008, based on a presentation I gave, and then the short version, How About 3 EDD Trends Instead of 26? My new ABA Journal legal tech column debuted in October. I also commented on the RIAA's approach to customer relationship in The Benefits of Treating Regular Customers Like Criminals.

November

November had the smallest number of monthly posts in the history of this blog as most of my time went into finishing the final draft of the book. My infatuation with storage was on display in Windows Home Server and SharePoint and I noted Bob Ambrogi's useful article on electronic discovery blogs.

December

If it's December at DennisKennedy.Blog, then it must be time for the Blawggie Awards. This year was no exception. I must admit that I am a little disappointed that the Blawggies post did not inspire blawggers to post their own set of awards, but I had a lot of fun with the post and appreciate the kind emails and comments I've received. December also marked the untimely death of influential blogger Marc Orchant. I'll also note my post on the 2 trillion text messages sent in 2007 and the potential consequences of the move to email alternatives.

That was 2007 on DennisKennedy.Blog. Thanks for reading and commenting. If you are new to this blog, this post will give you a quick way to see some of the most representative (and best) posts.

Best wishes for 2008. If you haven't yet started your own blog, 2008 would be a great time to start.

[Originally posted on DennisKennedy.Blog (http://www.denniskennedy.com/blog/)]

Get your legal technology information by audio. Check out The Kennedy-Mighell Report Podcast.

Technorati tags: legal technology electronic discovery Law2.0 blawg dennis kennedy

Posted by dmk at 07:21 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2007

The 2007 Blawggies: Dennis Kennedy's Best Law-related Blogging Awards

Welcome to the 2007 edition of Dennis Kennedy's annual Best of Law-related Blogging Awards, first unleashed on an unsuspecting readership in December 2004 and now an annual pre-Christmas tradition here. These awards, which have become affectionately known as the "Blawggies," celebrate the best of law-related blogs as determined from my personal and highly-opinionated perspective.

Background.

A little background on the Blawggies for those who are new to the concept. The Blawggies are not based on any popular votes, surveys or, God forbid, scientific measurements. They are highly-opinionated choices made by me, based on my experience, expertise and likes and dislikes gained from nearly five years of blogging and several more years before that of reading blogs.

My original idea was simply to illustrate how your blog is essentially your own printing press and you can do whatever you want with it - like hand out official-sounding awards. I actually expected that many bloggers would pick up on the idea and do their own awards posts. Still do - call me an optimist.

Surprisingly, if only to me, the Blawggies post has annually been one of my most controversial posts. Comments have ranged from "who is this guy?" to "he's so full of himself" to my personal favorite, "he only gives awards to the blogs he reads." Well, yeah. For what it's worth, it was no surprise at all to me that the ABA Journal's top 100 blawg list generated some controversy when announced a month or so ago.

Perhaps I should have done the Blawggies instead as one of those "tag, you're it" blog memes that said, "hey, I did some blawg awards and gave you one, now you need to do a set of awards too." Be that as it may, the Blawggies have become a tradition at DennisKennedy.Blog.

About the Blawggie Criteria.

In general, I like to see blogs (1) consistently useful content, (2) a generous and helpful approach, and (3) a combination of commitment and talent, with an emphasis on good writing. In other words, I like blogs that compel me to read them on a regular basis. I read almost all blog posts in a newsreader, so the awards will reflect a bias toward blogs with full-text RSS feeds as well as my many other biases and personal preferences, which are too numerous to list here.

The Blawggies are also intended to recognize the work of long-time bloggers who might otherwise get overlooked in the usual blogging focus on the newest and latest thing. Once again, I have provided an executive summary for those too busy to read the whole post, and I do recognize that some blogging pundits deplore even the idea of long posts, even as I consistently break that "rule."

But, first, let's do away with the suspense.

Executive Summary.

Here's the "executive summary" of the award winners. I do encourage you to read the whole post for details and the honorable mention choices.

2007 Blawggie Award Categories and Winners.

1. Best Overall Law-Related Blog - Tom Collins' More Partner Income

2. The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Legal Blog - Ken Adams' AdamsDrafting

3. Best Law Practice Management Blog - Tom Collins' More Partner Income

4. Best Legal Blog Category - Law Librarian Blogs, Non-US Law-related Blogs and Solo Lawyer Blogs (Tie)

5. Best Legal Blog Digest - Stark County Law Library Blog

6. Best Blawg About Legal Blawgging - Kevin O'Keefe's Real Lawyers Have Blogs

7. Best Legal Podcast - Bob Ambrogi's and Craig Williams' Lawyer2Lawyer Podcast

8. The Sherry Fowler Best Writing on a Legal Blog Award - Ernest Svenson's Ernie the Attorney

9. Best Law Professor Blog - Jim Maule's Mauled Again

10. Best New Law-related Blog - Doug Cornelius's KM Space

11. Best Legal Technology Blog - DennisKennedy.Blog

12. Most Important Trend in Law-related Blogging - Niche Blogs

I encourage you to read more about the winning blogs (and why they were winners) and the honorable mention blogs below. If you'd rather simply see if your blog is included in the honorable mentions, simply use the "find on this page" feature in the edit menu of your browser. ;-)

The Details.

As I've said in connection with earlier award posts:

What do they call it when you get thousands of lawyers, law professors, law librarians, law students, legal consultants and others writing blogs that focus on law-related content? A good start. My real purpose with the Blawggie awards is to encourage a whole bunch of legal bloggers to do their own "awards." I think that if they did this, it would be a great way for legal bloggers to highlight the blawgs they really like and a great way for me to learn about some great blogs I might have been unfamiliar with.

1. Best Overall Law-Related Blog - Tom Collins' More Partner Income

Tom joins previous winners, Sabrina Pacifici's BeSpacific.com, Tom Mighell's Inter Alia and Marty Schwimmer's The Trademark Blog. I wanted to use these year's awards in part to celebrate Tom Collins' retirement from active blogging. What a run he has had! I read this blog everyday and almost always put it into my starred and shared items in my Google Reader. I enjoy Tom's selection of topics, his style, his perspective, his incisive analysis, and the personal warmth and generosity that permeates his work. Tom has long history of seeing how law firms are run and we are all blessed that he has decided to share his perspectives and wisdom. In many ways, Tom's blog illustrates how organizations could use blogs to share the insights and wisdom of the most experienced people in KM blogs. Best wishes to Tom on his retirement. We'll miss your steady stream of excellent posts but always appreciate the mark you have left on law-related blogging. Best wishes to Brian Ritchey on taking over for Tom. Honorable Mention - Kevin O'Keefe's Real Lawyers Have Blogs - I read every post and occasionally comment on them.

2. The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Blog - Ken Adams' AdamsDrafting

I named this award for Marty Schwimmer's lifetime achievement with The Trademark Blog in setting an example of what you can do with a practice-specific blog. There are many more practice-specific blogs this year than ever before and that makes choosing a winner a difficult task. The big issue in choosing a practice-specific blog is that I tend to read the blogs that relate to my individual practice. Therefore, I'm going to miss great blogs that cover areas I don't work in (and that's why it's a good idea for others to do their own awards). Ken Adams' blog focuses on the practical aspects of contract drafting. He covers many of the issues that we transactional lawyers have discussed and debated over the years (e.g., "indemnify and hold harmless" or just "indemnify"?). His posts are especially valuable to my practice and his mission of helping lawyers create clear, precise and readable contracts is a laudable one. Honorable Mention - Rob Robinson's Information Governance Engagement Area (Electronic discovery seems to have become a practice area of its own, hasn't it?)

3. Best Law Practice Management Blog - Tom Collins' More Partner Income

Sensing a bit of a trend here? Thank you again Tom for the great work that you've done with your blog. I said last year that "For lawyers, the most beneficial aspect of reading blogs is how much you can learn from the enormous amount of useful, practical information you can get about running, marketing and improving your law practice. On a daily basis, you can get tips and insight that can make or save you thousands of dollars." When I sometimes struggle to find a topic for a post on my blog, I often look to Tom's blog for an idea or a post of his that I can point to. As a former partner in a law firm, I can attest that Tom hits on all the issues that partners have concerns and points the way to effective solutions. Honorable Mention - Bruce MacEwen's Adam Smith, Esq.

4. Best Legal Blog Category - Law Librarian Blogs, Non-US Legal Blogs and Solo Lawyer Blogs (Tie)

I have to be one of the biggest fans of law librarian blogs there is. I learn so much from these blogs and they get named for this award every year. As I said before, "across the board, these blogs have developed into strong information resources, often with links to primary source information that I'm not sure how I would find otherwise." There's a whole list of great law librarian blogs listed here. I've also been reading more non-US law-related blogs this year, limited only by my lack of non-English language skills. I singled out the great Canadian blogs last year, but have noticed more non-US blogs, especially UK blogs, in my reading in 2007. Here's a great starter list on Non-US blogs. 2007 also seemed to be the year that blogs of solo lawyers, always an important part of the "blawgosphere," really came to the forefront. There are a diverse mix of solo blogs out there, focusing on a variety of topics, and they all have a lot of personality and have developed a voice, to me the key in becoming a great blog. Add a few solo blogs to your reading list (start here) and you'll agree.

5. Best Legal Blog Digest - Stark County Law Library Blog

There are some excellent blogs that aggregate information from other legal blogs, digest posts from other legal blogs or highlight and point to posts on other legal blogs. You can effectively monitor the best posts from a number of blogs in one place. Nancy Stinson at the Stark County Law Library Blog has been blogging in this fashion for a long time and I've been reading her blog for just as long. It's a great way to keep up with developments when you don't have much time. Honorable Mention - Rob Robinson's Information Governance Clearance Area.

6. Best Blawg About Legal Blawgging - Kevin O'Keefe's Real Lawyers Have Blogs

The name of this category is an inside joke so I could make Kevin use the word "blawg," which he hates, when he mentions that he won this award (bloggers like to do little things like that to each other). No one covers the world of legal blogging better than Kevin does. And no one today knows more about the practical aspects of legal blogging and what lawyers are doing in blogging than Kevin does. I've also enjoyed several chances to present with and talk with Kevin this year. If you want to learn how to start blogging and how to blog better, there's no better place to start than Kevin's blog. Ho