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The IT Utility for Law Firms Image

The IT Utility for Law Firms

Tom Gelbmann

Over the past five years, the concept of an IT Utility for law firms has evolved from an interesting concept to an attractive business strategy. Growth of the IT Utility (off-premise IT services such as Co-location and Managed Services) is fueled by the confluence of increased interest by law firms in outsourcing routine administrative functions with rapidly maturing enabling technology such as security tools and services, affordable high bandwidth data communications, and management tools for large scale data centers. The IT Utility is part of a new model for managing technology infrastructure at law firms.

Features

<b>Practice Tip</b>Going Native: Using Word 2007 With Enhanced Native Architecture Image

<b>Practice Tip</b>Going Native: Using Word 2007 With Enhanced Native Architecture

Judye Carter Reynolds

With the introduction of Microsoft Office 2007, many firms are reviewing their template and macro packages for Word before they upgrade. Since the look and feel of Word '07 is so different, the migration is a significant upgrade and new training is needed. Now is a good time to review the integrated products, discover what is available natively in Word, and make a change if necessary.

Better e-Billing by Leveraging Experience and Relationships Image

Better e-Billing by Leveraging Experience and Relationships

Justin Hectus

A recent study by the LEDES Oversight Committee reported that 73% of responding law firms find that 'electronic billing is either an additional or huge burden on the firm, from which they gain absolutely no benefit.' More amazingly, these results are similar to ' but worse than ' the results of a LawNet survey done almost five years earlier. Taking note of the lack of progress encouraged me to sit down and seriously evaluate what's working, what's not, and what practical steps we can take to help move this industry in the right direction.

<b>BREAKING NEWS:</b> Sullivan & Cromwell Suit Against Vendor Highlights Problems with e-Discovery Image

<b>BREAKING NEWS:</b> Sullivan & Cromwell Suit Against Vendor Highlights Problems with e-Discovery

Anthony Lin

Sullivan &amp; Cromwell has sued an electronic discovery company for allegedly missing deadlines and preparing the wrong documents for production in the course of a major litigation.

January issue in PDF format Image

January issue in PDF format

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

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Features

Case Briefs Image

Case Briefs

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

Highlights of the latest insurance cases from around the country.

Features

Movers & Shakers Image

Movers & Shakers

ALM Staff & Law Journal Newsletters

News about lawyers and law firms in the insurance industry.

Features

Proving Your Insurance Claim Image

Proving Your Insurance Claim

Daniel G. Lentz & Ryan D. Pratt

Many companies have taken lessons from catastrophic events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and developed business-continuity plans to protect their people and assets and to restore operations as quickly as possible. While these plans are instrumental in restoring a company's operations, many miss an important aspect of any continuity plan &mdash; the programs and protocols that must be in place to prove losses related to the incident and recover funds from an insurance company.

Features

Navigating State Guaranty Funds: What to Expect When Your Insurer Is Insolvent Image

Navigating State Guaranty Funds: What to Expect When Your Insurer Is Insolvent

Gerald R. Kowalski & Jodi D. Spencer

Your insurance company is insolvent. Now what? Your state guaranty fund may provide some relief, but is it worth pursuing? As explored in this article, that depends.

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and D&O Insurance: A New Frontier of Litigation Image

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis and D&O Insurance: A New Frontier of Litigation

Nancy D. Adams

Whether a D&amp;O policy will afford coverage for the litigation resulting from the collapse of the subprime mortgage lending industry is yet to be seen. As discussed in this article, there are several policy provisions that are likely to be relevant in the subprime context.

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MOST POPULAR STORIES

  • The 'Sophisticated Insured' Defense
    A majority of courts consider the <i>contra proferentem</i> doctrine to be a pillar of insurance law. The doctrine requires ambiguous terms in an insurance policy to be construed against the insurer and in favor of coverage for the insured. A prominent rationale behind the doctrine is that insurance policies are usually standard-form contracts drafted entirely by insurers.
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  • Abandoned and Unused Cables: A Hidden Liability Under the 2002 National Electric Code
    In an effort to minimize the release of toxic gasses from cables in the event of fire, the 2002 version of the National Electric Code ("NEC"), promulgated by the National Fire Protection Association, sets forth new guidelines requiring that abandoned cables must be removed from buildings unless they are located in metal raceways or tagged "For Future Use." While the NEC is not, in itself, binding law, most jurisdictions in the United States adopt the NEC by reference in their state or local building and fire codes. Thus, noncompliance with the recent NEC guidelines will likely mean that a building is in violation of a building or fire code. If so, the building owner may also be in breach of agreements with tenants and lenders and may be jeopardizing its fire insurance coverage. Even in jurisdictions where the 2002 NEC has not been adopted, it may be argued that the guidelines represent the standard of reasonable care and could result in tort liability for the landlord if toxic gasses from abandoned cables are emitted in a fire. With these potential liabilities in mind, this article discusses: 1) how to address the abandoned wires and cables currently located within the risers, ceilings and other areas of properties, and 2) additional considerations in the placement and removal of telecommunications cables going forward.
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