No #opensource at #ABATECHSHOW? No Worries.

The session schedule for #ABATECHSHOW 2012 is out, and #opensource didn’t make the cut this year. And you know what? That is perfectly OK.

Just glancing at the schedule, there are clearly bigger fish to fry than open source applications. Mobile security. Advances in cloud computing and security. Social media. Social media and eDiscovery. Technology moves at a fast pace, as you all are no doubt aware. And many of the advances have a direct impact on the solo and small firm cases. Open source? Not so much. Open source applications skill exist, mind you, and there’s nothing preventing you from trying some out or looking at them as alternatives.

Is it a bummer open source isn’t making a return? Yes. Am I that broken up about it? No. I’m more interesting in lawyers learning tips and tricks, and finding tools to use to better sift through the massive amount of data spewed across the Internet. The legal profession is undergoing shifts across the board, and #ABATECHSHOW 2012 schedule illustrates some of those shifts. Not only is the profession becoming more mobile, but its clientele is already mobile. In personal lives, we’re used to posting and commenting and not always aware of potential ramifications.

So #ABATECHSHOW is doing what it does best: educating lawyers on developments, advancements and new technologies. Are you going?

Social Media and eDiscovery at #LTNY

Way back in June, I posted a on some articles I had written on open source, and social media and eDiscovery. At the time, there wasn’t much talk of social media and eDiscovery, and open source was waning in interest for many.

Last year, when I went to #ltny, I spoke with a few eDiscovery vendors and came away thinking hrm…social media will soon be a factor. There was one session that touched on social media use during trial, which was helpful and sparked the Texas Bar Journal article I wrote. Since then social media has come up more often in terms of eDiscovery and trials. I read things about juries being unable to tweet, blog or post online during trials, and some jurors getting in trouble for doing so, and feel symptoms of Twitter withdrawal coming on.

So imagine my delight in finding a session at #ltny titled “Effects of Social Media on Trials and Juries.” The session description is as follows:

Thanks to the social media explosion people are saying things about themselves publicly at an unprecedented pace. They also are connecting in ways unheard of just 10 years ago. How can this trend be used to your advantage? What are the best practices? What are some of the lessons learned – often the hard way? Our panel will discuss:

• Using Facebook to pick juries – yes or no?
• The impact of jurors doing their own online research
• Leveraging social media and emerging technologies in your trial strategy
• The impact of increased access to court proceedings via tweets, texts and tablets

Jurors doing their own online research. Court proceedings via tweets, texts and tablets. Um…guilty? The leveraging social media and emerging tech in trial strategy strikes me as the most interesting aspect. The immediate thought is swaying of public opinion, which naturally brings to mind #blago. Court proceedings might be an area where hashtags really come in handy. Who knows?

At any rate, #ltny looks to be rather interesting. It has a number of #cloudcomputing sessions too, which isn’t surprising. Practically a standard topic now. Social media in eDiscovery seems to be heading that way as well. Further proof lawyers need to know about social media beyond its use for marketing.

Twitter: Underutilized Tool at Conferences?

I read Carolyn Elefant’s nice post on Nolo, For Conferences, Nothing Beats Tweets, and remembered that, a couple years ago, I was so incredibly annoyed at how underutilized Twitter was used at conference, I  bought the domain TweetMyConference with the intent of using as a way to demonstrate the usefulness of Twitter at conferences. I just put a couple windows up to start while I worked on it locally, my head filling with more useful functionality than I had programming knowledge to achieve. Today, I’m still shocked no one else has done something similar. Or maybe they have but it isn’t well known.

Part of the problem, I think, is that those charged with organizing conferences, perhaps even attendees, still aren’t sure of the usefulness of Twitter. Twitter still has that “what I’m eating for lunch today” label attached to it. That seems to only be further strengthened by its use of celebrities in promotional videos, demonstrating a total lack of understanding for its users, but alas, I digress.

Carolyn offers some good pointers on using Twitter while at a conference. I’ve employed those myself with a fair amount of success. And while #abatechshow is the most obvious example, there’s a better one: #MILOfest.

MILOfest (pronounces my-lo) is short of Macs In Law Offices and is put on by Victor Medina. As you can guess, it’s a conference devoted to all things Mac in a law office setting. I don’t remember how I heard of it, probably by following Victor on Twitter, but I remember thinking of it as a worthwhile conference to attend. So I did, and, of course, I tweeted from the event. My Twitter reputation proceeded me, which I’ve kind of gotten used to now but, none-the-less, still find surprising.

The thing that struck me, and that I remember now after reading Carolyn’s post, are the inquiries, via Twitter, from other Mac-using attorneys who hadn’t heard of MILOfest, and wanted to know more. I directed them to the website, and responded to their tweets as I best I could since it was my first time at MILOfest. They were excited, and pleased, that there was a conference strictly on Macs in law offices. They weren’t alone!

So just by tweeting from a conference, other people, not at the conference, learned something. And at least one expressed interest in attending MILOfest 2011.

And it’s that sharing of information that is the important, yet underutilized component of Twitter at conferences. I’d wager that’s due to so few tweeters attending (and tweeting from!) conferences. Perhaps conference organizers will reach out to tweeters as they reach out to journalists, or tweeters will reach out to conference organizers, and we’ll all learn something new.

First Mac, then #cloudcomputing so perhaps #opensource #abatechshow

OK. So I’ve been on a bit of a post-#abatechshow high. Small Firm Innovation launched, softly, to a warm reception. And I apologize to those of you who stopped by the Clio booth last Monday only to find me huddled on the floor, “wired in,” as they say. I’m known to acquire “tunnel vision” from time to time, and that was one of those times. Needless to say, I’m rather pleased with the initial result.

And then there was the #opensource session with Dennis Kennedy and Rodney Dowell. Outstanding.

Truth be told, despite my incessant tweets (ask Ben Schorr) and blogging, I thought it’d be surprising if five, maybe seven, people attended. I mean, really. It was slotted at the same time as 60 iPhone/iPad Apps in 60 minutes. Did you see all the iPads and iPhones at #abatechshow?! How can you compete with that? Not to mention the rumors of the BlackBerry tablet, the PlayBook. The session was already at a disadvantage, and despite the fact that people seem to think my Twitter feed moves mountains, I wasn’t convinced more than seven people would show up. And that was OK. That’s seven more people who might not have known about open source applications in a law office setting. After all, how can one resist the allure, if not the cosmic pull, of iPads and iPhones?

So imagine my shear delight when more than seven people showed up to the open source session! There more like 12-15 people, I think. Maybe a few more. A good mix of IT folks and solo/small firm lawyers. And Dennis and Rodney did not disappoint. They made a point of covering some basics, like what “open source” means in a literal, and figurative sense, before delving into actual law office uses. I especially liked the example of recycling an old computer or laptop by setting it up as an Internet station in a waiting room or lobby. They made good use of the 10 tips framework, starting small and gave some actionable tips to the attendees.

As if the presentation wasn’t enough, there were audience questions! How to find answers (search forums), stay informed on updates, security issues, etc (email list signup). The audience was not only paying attention, but actively engaged! They really wanted to know what to look for so they could start. It was fantastic.

It got me thinking: there was a Mac session or two, then a whole track and then a Taste of TechShow dinner. There was a cloud computing session or two, then a track and then a Taste of TechShow dinner. Now there’s been an open source session. Perhaps a track, and a Taste of TechShow dinner are soon to follow.

A big thanks to Paul Unger, TechShow 2011 chair, Ben Schorr and the whole planning board and everyone who had a hand in making the 25th Anniversary so awesome. Without their help, and that of Dennis Kennedy and Rodney Dowell, open source would remain off the law firm radar.

#abatechshow Meetups oughta be a Party Crawl

There are five days until #ignitelaw and six days until #abatechshow.

So it makes sense that the Twitterverse, not to mention blogs and emails, are lighting up with meetup invitations. They are all good you almost wish it was just a party crawl!

Here are ones I know about:

• Beer for Bloggers. Co-hosted (my bad) by LexBlog (@kevinokeefe) and ABA Journal (@edadams)on April 12 at 5:30pm. How I forgot about this one, I don’t know. Always a good time, and usually held at the hotel bar. (Thanks Andrea!)
• The Sociable Lawyer Meetup. See. Told you more would crop up! This one is hosted by Rocket Lawyer on April 11 from 5-7pm at Kitty O’Sheas, which is really convenient as it is right inside the Hilton Chicago. Good place to hold a meetup. Spent a few St. Patrick’s Days there as a Shannon Rover, and you can pretty much find anyone connected to #abatechshow there at just about any time during the conference.
• #cliomeetup. Hosted by Clio on April 11 at Sushi Samba rio from 8-11pm. Clio, I’m told, is a bit famous for its TechShow parties…er…meetups. There is almost always a story to be told the next day. I confess I have not had the pleasure of experiencing a Clio TechShow party first hand. Perhaps that will change this year.
• NextPoint Spring Release Party. Hosted by NextPoint at Buddy Guy’s Legends on April 12 from 9-11pm. Local company hosting a meetup at one of Chicago’s best blues clubs. What’s not to like?
• Chicago Tweetup #413meet.  Hosted by Andrea Cannavina (@legaltypist) and Erin Russell (@legallyerin) on April 13 at Three Aces from 7-9pm. FYI: not just a TechShow meetup, it’s a Chicago Tweetup! Some cool Chicago tweeters will be in attendance, like @SeanMcGinnis and @gizmodesign. I’ve never been to Three Aces myself, but after experiencing a Kamakazi Burger at a Taste of TechShow dinner last year, I’m keen on the Hammer of the Gods burger for comparative reasons.

So far, that’s one post-Taste of TechShow party each night. It’s only Tuesday, though. Meetups/parties have a way of popping up as the conference gets started. Overlapping events is expected. If you hear of others, feel free to post them in the comments, or ping me on Twitter.

There oughta be a Party Crawl!

Double down on #opensource? #ingnitelaw #abatechshow

So I was rereading my previous post on taking the #ignitelaw plunge, checking out the submissions and it occurred to me: there two talks on open source were submitted.

There is Dennis Kennedy’s “The Freemium Practice of Law” and Sam Glover’s “Bootstapping A New Law Firm With Free Software.” Although, I think it’s “Bootstrapping.” That’s two open source submissions though, from two different, well respected people. Clearly open source is taking root in the legal community. Let’s not forget that Dennis Kennedy is also doing an open source session at #abatechshow. The last day, as a matter of fact, with Rodney Dowell. That is at least two, potentially, open source presentations this year. Up from, well, zero last year.

Granted, it’s possible neither Ignite Law presentation will make it in the end, but somehow I don’t think that will be the case. I think we’ll see the start of a shift, or perhaps more publicity of a shift from strictly proprietary to a combination of proprietary and open source applications in law offices.

Exciting, and interesting times, indeed.

Took the #ignitelaw plunge

After some prodding, friendly prodding, I submitted a talk to #ignitelaw: 50,000 Tweets and Counting: Twitter Lessons You Need to Know.

Yes, I opted to take the Ignite Law plunge this year. Voting just opened, so I wanted to take a moment and let you know that, well, voting has opened.

There are a number of really good submissions this year. I confess that, last year, I found out about Ignite Law just before it happened (yay for Twitter!) so I didn’t have the opportunity to read through, let alone vote, for submissions. I did, however, have a ton of fun tweeting from the event. And it’s exciting to see some familiar as well as new faces with submissions this year. So check’em out and, of course, vote!

And you can bet, whether or not I’m selected, I’ll be tweeting away. Huh. Be quite a challenge to present and tweet at the same time! Well, maybe my Twitter lessons will remain a secret and I’ll just share everyone else’s. I really have no idea.

Good luck to all!

Now, really, stop reading this and go vote!

Rumors are true: #ignitelaw returns to #abatechshow

I took the few tweets about #ignitelaw in the #abatechshow stream with a grain of salt. I was excited, to be sure, but information tends to travel faster on Twitter, and the Internet in general, before anyone takes a moment to verify. With such big news, I prefer validation from a couple trusted sources.

And validation has arrived. Ignite Law returns! Sunday, April 10, 2011. Tickets are available.

It was a new thing at TechShow last year, and was a nifty way to kick off TechShow. Decidedly not as straight laced as you might expect TechShow presentations to be, and they didn’t hold back the funny. In fact, it provided a good mix of humor, intelligence and wit. No one presentation was the same and there was something to be learned from them all. It was a nice change of pace, actually, so I’m pretty excited…ahem…totally stoked Ignite Law is back!

Quite fitting, actually. Ignite Law opens TechShow while an #opensource session closes.

If you missed Ignite Law last year, take a few minutes and check out the videos of the presentations.

Needles in the #ediscovery haystack at #ltny: @TextFlow, @TrialPad, @RealPractice and @MyCaseInc

There is probably a reason why LegalTech New York is called LegalTech and not the eDiscovery Showcase, and the logical explanation seems to be consistency. This year’s big vendor push may not be the same next year, though I’m inclined to think eDiscovery will be just as big next year but we’ll have to wait until next year.

There were some needles hidden in the eDiscovery haystack, though, which managed to make themselves known through the cluttered Twitter feed. I admit, it’s rather cool when they send you a tweet and ask you to stop by, but I couldn’t help being a bit skeptical, too. Everyone always has something to show off at a trade show, that’s the point.

Of the ones I browsed, four stick out:

• TextFlow from Nordic River
• TrialPad
• RealPractice
• MyCase, Inc.

TextFlow

As a freelancer, I spend an awful lot of time emailing or uploading documents with all kinds of edits. Articles, drafts of books and blog posts, comment letters, you name it. While Google Docs is helpful, not everyone uses it. Same with ZoHo, so I often have to resort to using OpenOffice or Microsoft Word, which creates the step of re-saving and attaching the document to an email. You see where this is going…

So I was downright excited when I was approached by the people at Nordic River while waiting for the Kroll On Track session, who proceeded to give me a demo of TextFlow. The premise is incredibly simple. Mind-bogglingly simple. You upload the original document, and an edited version or two, and TextFlow shows you each change, line-by-line. Line-by-line! In an incredibly user-friendly interface which, quite frankly, puts Track Changes to shame, not to mention the total lack of anything useful like that in Google Docs.

They do offer a free trial, and the cost posted on their website is $4.99/user/month. Not bad. Do some due diligence and number crunching though to see if it’ll work for you.

TrialPad

There was a fair amount of buzz before #ltny about TrialPad, with some lawyers already raving about its use in the field, also called the court room. Being a new iPad owner (though not a lawyer), I was intrigued. After TextFlow, it also struck me how mind-bogglingly simple TrialPad is by also focusing on one specific area or addressing one specific issue. That whole “do one thing and do it well” mantra at work again. And guess what? It works with Dropbox! *ca-ching*

The lawyers already using TrialPad were right on the money. It’s quite intuitive and easy to use. Nothing super fancy, nothing you don’t need. It makes good use of the iPad, from what I can tell, and rotating between documents and presentations, not to mention folders, is a fairly smooth process. Its annotation ability was pretty nifty. I can see law schools finding the app quite useful, too.

I imagine their inboxes are overflowing with feature suggestions, and it will be interesting to see if it gets adapted to other platforms, like Android.

RealPractice and MyCase, Inc.

In the interest of full disclosure, and so you don’t all yell at me, I do work for Clio as its Community Manager. That isn’t a secret. However, I attended #ltny as me, the Founder & Chief Consultant of Shadow Froggy Consulting. And if you follow me on Twitter, or read this blog, you know I’m an incredibly curious individual always looking to learn new things or engage in discussions. Both RealPractice and MyCase, Inc. did not fall short of engaging discussion. And neither did Nordic River or TrialPad, for that matter. There’s some downright awesome stuff happening in the legal field, and it’s fascinating to see it from so many different viewpoints and being able to share them on this blog.

So. RealPractice and MyCase, Inc. Both are entrants into the online practice management realm, but with a twist.

RealPractice integrates website and marketing efforts with its practice management system, simplifying the process of collecting leads and inputting them for future follow-up and/or reference. It was more seamless than I expected, and the websites are professional-looking, which is not always the case when trying to integrate separate systems. It does a fairly good job of merging the business-side of law with the actual practice/case management of law, which you don’t often see.

The website and marketing functions stick in my mind more so than its practice management system, though, as website and marketing are two areas ripe for growth, still, in the legal industry. Their demo made me think of something my dad often repeated when I first started my consulting company: build simple websites for small firms and doctors offices. They don’t have a clue, they need it and you’ll have repeat business. RealPractice is doing just that.

MyCase, Inc. had me intrigued with its “social practice management” tag line. What the heck does that mean? Turns out, it means integrating social media aspects into an online practice management application. A “social media layer,” as they say. Their website defines it as “the idea that a law firm should have a secure and accessible social network between themselves and their clients. It is the idea that clients should have this constant connection to their attorneys without having to be on the phone or in person with them.” It made me think of my open v. closed network part of an MHConnected presentation last year.

It uses a similar message/update function like Facebook, an Activity Stream, and a notice function like health care companies. You know, those emails you get about an update to an EOB or response to a message, but there’s nothing in the email notice except a link to log into the site to read the message. I personally find those annoying, that extra step just to get information, but I understand the reasoning behind it. We had a really interesting conversation about improved communication, the far too early demise of Google Wave and how document management is still annoying, not to mention there is still not such thing as “paperless.” Even Michael Rogers, the Practical Futurist, still uses paper. He was holding paper notes during his presentation!

Parting Thoughts

With the continued proliferation of mobile devices, there will be dramatic change to eDiscovery in the coming years. Vendors I talked to expressed optimism that mobile platforms, like now trusty desktops, would become more standardized so data dumps will become just as routine. There is just as much activity going on outside of eDiscovery, though, that it should not be ignored.

The thing that is clear, and was mentioned more than once at #ltny, is that technology is shifting the legal landscape. Not in small areas or minor ones, but in big tectonic shifts. Like the dealing with the recession, we’re reaching the point where action is required. It will be interesting to see what happens as the year progresses.

A different take on #ltny ignoring social media

In case you didn’t know, LegalTech New York (#ltny) was last week.

Let’s first dispense with the elephant in the room: social media. There was some grumbling about few sessions, one for sure and one from Kroll on Track that was billed as “Trends in Social Media and Cloud Computing” but turned out to be just a primer on cloud computing. How disappointing.

Tim Baran let it be known that the lack of social media adoption might be due to the fact that LegalTech New York is vendor driven. That is an understatement. Social media, at least Twitter, was in heavy use MAINLY BY VENDORS tweeting about their booth and give aways. It often seemed as if us attendees were incapable of reading signs or a map of the trade show. Needless to say, ALM has its work cut out for it in sifting through the #ltny Twitter feed. I have to wonder if they think it’s even worth the effort to find those useful nuggets from attendees that have since been swallowed by vendor tweets. Gone are the days when a conference got kudos merely for having a hash tag, it seems, or even simply allowing the use of social networks like Twitter.

All was not lost, however.

Though Kroll on Track incorrectly labeled its session on social media and cloud computing, it did offer one nugget that continues to be ignored by most, though not by eDiscovery vendors.

The nugget? Social media is a boon to eDiscovery. And it behooves lawyers to view it less through the continuous “marketing” pitch and more through the “underutilized utility” lens. Lawyers would be wise to start participating in social media, if they haven’t already, more to gain an understanding of how the various platforms work so when it comes time to present information at trial, they can better educate the courts and the public on the kinds of repercussions, and benefits, all this sharing can have.

There was a case brought up at the tail end of the Kroll session, Crispin I believe, that made a point of listing the judge as asking about the privacy settings of a Facebook page in order to ascertain exactly what expectation was set for the viewing of information. Yes. A judge. A judge wanted to know about Facebook privacy settings in order to better understand an expectation of privacy.

And this is where ALM and LegalTech New York can really shine since it is more like an eDiscovery Showcase. Social media can be viewed as yet another treasure trove of information, information lawyers want to protect their clients. They get that information from eDiscovery vendors, and from their clients, but if they don’t have an understanding of how Facebook operates v. Twitter v. LinkedIN or any of the other sites, they are not going to be able to protect their clients. Or they aren’t going to be able to find the information necessary to win their case.

LegalTech New York could do wonders of getting lawyers and other legal professionals off the “social media as marketing tool” bandwagon and onto the next level: eDiscovery, understanding and preparation to win cases.