In 2004, the Sutherland law firm was dealing with a large enforcement matter that included scheduling many court dates. While working to effectively manage the many aspects involved in this unique case, we looked into using CompuLaw Vision, which draws on CompuLaw's vast databases of court rules and jurisdictions and automatically calculates deadlines, saving time and reducing the risk of error.
There's no mistaking that new technologies are transforming the practice of litigation. Technology can overlook the time-tested interpersonal styles that facilitate skills development, but it can also offer a leg up when it comes to seamless client service and flexible schedules, a trademark that is here to stay as more Gen Ys enter the workforce with an innate expectation of using these tools. The successful litigator must temper the tension between the obvious personal and professional benefits of taking full advantage of new technology and the corresponding loss of face-to-face interaction.
In March 2008, Microsoft received approval on its new OpenXML file format from the ISO, a step Microsoft says is "proof it is willing to make once-proprietary technology work openly with competing programs." Good riddance! The old binary format was a mess and didn't play well with other applications.
Most law firms understand the need to plan for the implementation of records retention policies, but there has been little agreement on how to achieve this goal. Firms are acutely aware of the rising costs associated with storing physical data and the burden surrounding backup, maintenance and migration of electronic content. When faced with the need to produce information, be it at a client request or when compelled by a court, the more control a firm has over its data, the more efficient and cost effective this process will be.
The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") reported that a record number of cybersquatting cases were filed in 2008: 2,329 complaints were filed under the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy ("UDRP"), an 8% increase over 2007.
Social networking Web sites are hubs of information. Information about our daily activities, the people we know and the people they know. But as these hubs become more than just a virtual place for the global community to link to friends and post "what you are doing right now," we are confronted with fascinating new questions about how we define personal space, disclosures, and express preferences about our own content.
The American Bar Association has jumped on the social networking bandwagon with a site of its own, LegallyMinded. The ABA hopes to separate its site from the professional networking pack by combining the best features of the top social networking sites with substantive legal information from the ABA's library. Ambitious as it is, the site falls short on execution.
In impassioned language more appropriate to international conflict, political debate or, at the very least, the cosmic struggles of comic-book superheroes and villains, a debate about "net neutrality" continues to rage in legal and business publications, on the Internet and in blogs throughout the world.
The author posits that " ' the practice of allowing a vocational assessment to be conducted under the guise of Supreme Court Rule 215(a) simply because a person is seeking maintenance should be stopped.
International child relocation applications raise substantially different issues from those raised in domestic relocation cases, whether intrastate or interstate. Unfortunately, the fundamental differences are not often adequately appreciated by lawyers and judges.
