Robert Ambrogi's LawSites

Survey: Media Access to Mass. Courts

2010-02-08T11:25:00.002-05:00

The Judiciary/Media Committee of the Supreme Judicial Court is considering revisions to the Guidelines on the Public's Right of Access to Judicial Proceedings and Records. In order to evaluate whether the guidelines should be amended or expanded and what other initiatives the committee might wish to pursue, the committee is asking members of the news media to complete a survey on media access to the courts.

As a member of the Judiciary/Media Committee and in my capacity as executive director of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, I am helping to disseminate the survey and compile its results. If you are a journalist who covers the Massachusetts courts, please take a moment to complete the survey and return it to me.

You can download the survey here, in Microsoft Word format: Survey of Media Access to Courts.

Interview with Rocket Matter Founders

2010-02-05T08:39:00.000-05:00

During LegalTech, I recorded this conversation with the founders of Rocket Matter, Larry Port and Ariel Jatib. Rocket Matter is a Web-based practice management and time-and-billing application. They talk about their product, the cloud, social media and the cow in their office. Lots of background noise, and Ariel is softer than Larry, but listenable.

Listen to or download the MP3 file: rocketmatterinterview.mp3.

Update on Errant iPhone Evidence App

2010-02-04T17:53:00.000-05:00

Last week here, I reported on an iPhone evidence app that was missing one of the federal rules. The company that created the app, Tekk Innovations, contacted me to say that it has now updated the app's description to say, "Current as of December 1, 2007." That may not be enough to alert everyone that it is missing a rule, but it is a step in the right direction.

The company also said that it has another app, Lawstack, that it describes as its "flagship legal app." Lawstack has all the federal rules update through December 2009, it said. It includes the Constitution and the federal rules of civil procedure, appellate procedure, evidence, bankruptcy procedure and criminal procedure.

Thomson Reuters Acquires Super Lawyers

2010-02-02T17:20:00.000-05:00

In a move that underscores the increasing importance of lawyer ratings and reviews in helping consumers select a lawyer, Thomson Reuters announced today that it has acquired the Super Lawyers, the suite of attorney-rating publications and Web site created by Key Professional Media, based in Minneapolis, Minn.

Super Lawyers creates and distributes an annual listing of outstanding U.S. lawyers by state and practice area, reaching 11 million consumers via inserts in leading city and regional magazines, as well as online. Super Lawyers will be part of the Thomson Reuters, Legal, Business of Law group, which offers lawyer marketing and client development tools, and includes the FindLaw and Hubbard One businesses. The Super Lawyers business will be led by Vice President and General Manager Barb McGivern.

I met briefly today with Christopher Kibarian, president of the Business of Law group, who said that the Super Lawyers ratings will be integration in the Findlaw lawyers directory, along with consumer reviews and other information designed to help consumers choose a lawyer. The Super Lawyers site will also continue to operate as a separate site.

"Super Lawyers is an extraordinary complement to our business," Kibarian said in a press announcement. "Attorneys rely on word-of-mouth and recommendations to build their client base. We�re pleased to be able to provide the attorneys selected to the Super Lawyers list with additional support and services to achieve greater visibility and recognition for their accomplishments."

Kibarian said that a key priority for Thomson will be to provide assurances of the independence and integrity of Super Lawyers ratings. Super Lawyers already employs a rigorous selection process, he said, one that has been recognized by bar associations and courts across the country for its credibility and sophistication. It combines peer nominations and evaluations with third-party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.

On top of that, Thomson will create an independent advisory board to ensure the integrity and independence of the ratings process.

I will write more about this, but this is clearly part of a larger trend towards providing consumers of legal services with the same types of reviews and ratings that consumers expect when buying other products and services.

Screen Caps of Lexis Office Integration

2010-02-01T08:34:00.000-05:00

LexisNexis Unveils Office Integration Today

2010-02-01T08:33:00.000-05:00

Lawyers spend much of their time at their computers, and much of that time using Microsoft Word or Microsoft Outlook. In recognition of that, LexisNexis today is announcing a major new product that integrates search and other tools directly within Word and Outlook. Called Lexis� for Microsoft Office, the product is an add-on to Office that lets lawyers access these tools as they work within Office applications.

Simply put, the product splits the screen within an Office application and brings results and information right into the application, whether it is Word or Outlook. Notable about the product is that it enables powerful and intuitive search within Office not just of the LexisNexis database, but also of the open Web and of a firm's own document management system, all simultaneously and all with just a couple of keystrokes.

The product adds three primary search components to Word and Outlook. Results are displayed alongside the document or e-mail, so you see both simultaneously. The three components are:

Search. From a single search box within Word or Outlook, run a search that spans LexisNexis, the Web and your firm's internal database or DMS. Results from all sources are displayed in a pane next to the active document.

Background. Click this button to search for background information on �entities� within a document or e-mail. An entity could be a person, company, organization or case. The button automatically indexes the working document with hyperlinks to relevant information from LexisNexis, the Web and internal resources. Click the hyperlink to view the information in the side pane. The Background feature will also display full Shepard�s reports and apply Shepard�s SignalTM indicators directly to the cases cited within the text of the document. Full text versions of case law, news and information cited within an e-mail message or Word document can also be accessed through the lexis.com� resources directly within the Microsoft software application.

Suggest. Similar to the Background function, this functionality interacts with any text in a Word document or Outlook message. By manually highlighting any portion or block of text, the user can prompt a search that will pull up relevant information from internal, LexisNexis and Web resources. The content is displayed in a side pane within the application.

For lawyers who are connected to SharePoint Server and Microsoft SharePoint Workspace, this tool also provides the ability to store, organize and share documents on a related topic from a SharePoint site. SharePoint can also act as an internal company database from which Lexis for Microsoft Office pulls information.

Although LexisNexis is announcing Lexis for Microsoft Office today at LegalTech in New York, the product will not immediately be available. It will launch for Microsoft Office 2007 in spring 2010, the company says, and will be available with Microsoft Office 2010. It will not work on older versions of Microsoft Offfice. To access and use the product's capabilities, users will require a current LexisNexis subscription.

Lexis developed the product in conjunction with engineers from Microsoft Corp. It has been beta testing the product with law firms for several months and refining it based on their input. Lexis says the testers have been enthusiastically pleased with their ability to access key information about a document from directly within Office.

Even as Lexis readies this product for release, the company is engaged in a parallel effort to broadly overhaul its core research product, with changes in the works for its technology, design and functionality. The initial release of that will be later this year. A spokesman I talked to described the product being announced today as "the first step in our journey of reinvention."

Gov. Patrick and I Reach Out

2010-01-30T22:46:00.000-05:00

I cannot explain the weird expression on my face as I greet Gov. Deval Patrick, the honoree at the recent 45th anniversary dinner of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation.

Amazing Photo of Quincy Market in 1904

2010-01-30T14:03:00.000-05:00

Here is a preview, but go to photo blog Shorpy to see a high-resolution version.

WestlawNext: More Screen Caps

2010-01-29T18:05:00.000-05:00

As a follow-up to my post earlier this week with a first look at WestlawNext, here are a half-dozen screen caps provided by West:

Evidence App for iPhone is Missing a Rule

2010-01-29T12:58:00.001-05:00

[Read an update to this post.]

Lawyers, beware the errant iPhone app! I recently installed an app, FR Evidence, which promised to provide "the complete text of the Federal Rules of Evidence." Problem is, it is missing Rule 502, which was added to the FRE effective Sept. 19, 2008.

The app is created by Tekk Innovations, a company that has made a number of legal apps for the iPhone.

For a free iPhone app that has the complete FRE, along with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Constitution, try LawBox.

Fastcase iPhone App Now Publicly Available

2010-01-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, I posted an exclusive first look at a pre-release version of the new iPhone app from Fastcase. It provides no-cost access to a full library of cases and statutes.

The app has now been approved by Apple and is available for download from the App Store.

Join Me on PR Insider Radio Friday

2010-01-28T22:35:00.000-05:00

Join me tomorrow, Jan. 29, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, where I will be a guest on the Internet radio program PR Insider, hosted by Maureen Kedes. Also on the program will be Jay Jaffe, founder of Jaffe PR, and Heather Morse Milligan, director of marketing at Barger & Wolen in Los Angeles. We will be talking about PR using social media and the move away from traditional public relations towards reputation management. If you miss the live program, it will be archived on the site.

A First Look at WestlawNext

2010-01-26T15:36:00.000-05:00

Rumors have been circulating for some time now about Project Cobalt, Westlaw's internal code name for its most significant overhaul since it moved to the Web. Now we know that Project Cobalt's official name is WestlawNext and that West will formally introduce it to the public on Feb. 1 at LegalTech New York.

Recently, West gave me a preview of WestlawNext and supplied me with a password to try it out. This is no mere cosmetic redesign. WestlawNext completely changes the search interface and the search engine behind it. In fact, the change is so dramatic that West has given its new search engine its own name: WestSearch. This new search engine does not just look at the terms you enter, a West executive said. Rather, it tries to identify the issue of law based on the terms you searched.

The most striking change from the former Westlaw to WestlawNext is the disappearance of the database directories. No longer need you select a specific database to search. Instead, the front page of WestlawNext is Zen-like in its sparsity � or, I should say, Google-like. Atop the page is a search bar which invites you to "enter search terms, citations, databases, anything."

Your search � Boolean or natural language � will run across everything in the Westlaw database and return a page showing an overview of the most relevant results from each group � cases, statutes, secondary sources, briefs, whatever. If that sounds daunting, it isn't. On the left of the screen is a menu for refining the search by group. Click to see only caselaw that matches your search or only statutes or whichever. After you select one of these filters � say, cases � a new submenu appears allowing you to further filter the results by any number of parameters, including court, judge, party, topic and Key Number.

This is much simpler and more intuitive than having to choose a database to search, if for no other reason that you don't always know which database is best suited to your search.

At the same time, WestlawNext makes it simple to limit your search by jurisdiction or to a particular library. Within the search box, a drop-down menu lets you choose as few or as many jurisdictions to search as you want. You can also browse any of the various libraries by jurisdiction and topic.

The same search bar works to KeyCite a case. Just type "keycite" and the cite to bring up the subsequent history of a case. Whenver you view a case, the KeyCite information is displayed across the top of the page, in tabs for Negative Treatment, Citing References, History and Filings.

Currently in Westlaw, the default ranking for search results is by date. In WestlawNext, the default ranking is by relevance. At any time, you can reset the default to whatever ranking you prefer.

The new Westlaw makes a number of changes in how documents are displayed, including all new settings for fonts, margins and other styles. The user is able to customize these settings to their liking. A notable change is that headnotes no longer display automatically. Instead, the user can opt to display the full set of headnotes for any case by clicking on a button. This makes it easier to get right to the meat of a case.

Another change is that a case's most negative citing reference is shown right on the same page with the case. The previous version of Westlaw would show a yellow flag but provide no explanation.

As you view search results, a panel on the right of the screen shows relevant entries from treatises and other secondary materials. For example, a simple search, "Massachusetts open meeting law," revealed secondary sources such as relevant entries from the Massachusetts Practice series, briefs filed in open meeting appeals and pleadings from open meeting lawsuits.

There are many smaller enhancements that fall into the category of nice touches. For example, select a block of text and a pop-up menu appears allowing you to highlight it, add a note, copy it with its reference, or add it to your research. All of your research can be saved and organized in folders. WestlawNext will also keep a history back a year of every search you do and allow you to search within your history.

The bottom line is that WestlawNext brings the experience of searching the Westlaw database in line with what users today expect from a Web-based tool, making it simple and intuitive.

Join Me Today for E-Discovery Webcast

2010-01-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

Today at 1 p.m. Eastern time, I will participate in a webcast on e-discovery trends for 2010. The webcast is sponsored by Fios and hosted by Mary Mack, corporate technology counsel for Fios and author of the blog Sound Evidence. While e-discovery will be the focus of the webinar, Mary and I plan to talk about a range of topics related to trends in legal technology and the legal profession.

Exclusive First Look: Fastcase iPhone App

2010-01-25T17:28:00.000-05:00

The legal research service Fastcase is preparing to launch an application that will let users research cases and statutes on their iPhones, all for free. The app is awaiting final approval from Apple before it will be available in the App Store. Fastcase granted me an exclusive first look at a pre-release version of the app. Here is what I found.

The app provides access to the largest free law library available on the iPhone. When you arrive at the main menu, you can select to perform one of three tasks: search caselaw, search statutes or browse statutes. Select caselaw and you come to a search screen. By default, the app searches all jurisdictions and date ranges. You can choose to narrow any of these. For example, you can select all or any combination of federal circuit courts, all or any federal district courts, all or any bankruptcy courts, and all or any state courts. (Like Fastcase on the Web, it includes all 50 states and the federal courts.) Likewise, you can search all dates or set the start and end dates to limit the range.

Also on the search page, you can select how many results to show and how you wish the results to be displayed. By default, results are displayed by relevance, but you can opt to show them by date or name. You can also select whether or not to display results using Authority Check, the Fastcase tool that shows subsequent citations of a case.

As with Fastcase on the Web, you can search using natural language or Boolean queries or search by citation. Search results show the case name, decision date, a relevance score, and either the first or most relevant paragraph from the case. If you selected Authority Check, an orange-colored icon tells you how many times each case in the results list has been cited overall and how many times it has been cited by other cases in the search results. Press the orange button to bring up a list of those citing cases.

Cases are displayed in a crisp, readable, Times Roman font. The font can be adjusted to display in three different sizes. Cases include pagination and search terms are highlighted. Internal citations are hyperlinked. As you look at a case, a button on the bottom of the screen lets you jump to its most relevant paragraph. At any time, you can return to the results list with the press of a button or jump to the next case on the list. A red "save" button lets you save any case for easy retrieval later on. Using buttons along the bottom of the screen, you can return to your recent searches or view a list of your saved documents.

Searching statutes is similar. The app lets you choose whether to search by keyword or by citation. You can select the U.S. Code and most state codes. You can search only one jurisdiction at a time. A half-dozen state codes are not included on the app because the states claim copyright in them. For these states, the app offers to open the state code's Web site in Safari. Alternatively, statutes can be browsed. As with cases, you can save documents for easy retrieval later on.

Settings allow the app to be customized in various ways. Users can set how many results to display on a page and what information to display in the results list. Users can also set the size of the local storage file, to prevent the app from clogging the iPhone's storage space. Stored cache can be cleared with the click of a button.

As I noted at the outset, the app will be free to download and searching the Fastcase library using the app will also be free. First-time users will be required to register, but there will be no cost. Current Fastcase subscribers will be able to use their existing log-on and password.

I have included a number of screen shots along with this post so you can see for yourself what the app looks like. I was impressed by its ease of use. I was even more impressed by its speed. Results appeared quickly in all my searches and full opinions appeared just as quickly. The app does not have all the features of Fastcase on the Web. For one, there is no print or e-mail option. However, using the iPhone's ability to copy and paste, I easily copied an entire case and pasted into an e-mail that I sent to myself. That said, this is a surprisingly robust legal research tool that will allow its users to find cases and statutes wherever they are, whenever they want, all for free.

Fastcase could not say when the app will appear in the App Store. When it does, I'll be sure to let you know.

Review: Google Scholar's Case Law Research

2010-01-22T12:48:00.000-05:00

In the wake of news that Google now offers case law research through Google Scholar, I've written an in-depth review, published on Law Technology News.

Conn. Dismisses Total Attorneys Ethics Case

2010-01-18T19:59:00.001-05:00

Over at Legal Blog Watch, I have written frequently about the series of ethics complaints filed in some 47 states by a Connecticut lawyer against Total Attorneys. (See, for example, my posts here, here and here.) No state has found any ethical wrongdoing by Total Attorneys or by any of the lawyers who participate in it.

However, in one state, Connecticut, the chief disciplinary counsel found cause to file charges against five attorneys, alleging that they were obtaining referrals through and sharing fees with Total Attorneys in violation of legal ethics rules.

Now comes news that the Connecticut charges have been dismissed. According to an e-mail I received from Total Attorneys, a three-person panel of the Connecticut Statewide Grievance Committee dismissed the complaints on Friday. According to the e-mail, the panel dismissed the charges at the close of the disciplinary counsel's evidence, before the attorneys were even required to put on their defense. This would suggest that the panel saw no even arguable ethics violation in the case presented by the disciplinary counsel.

Bar Exam Prep Via an iPhone App

2010-01-18T12:53:00.000-05:00

At $999, it is the most expensive app available for the iPhone. But this one may actually be worth it, as TechCrunch reports. Called BarMax CA, it is a full-fledged preparation course for the California bar exam, offered entirely on the iPhone, at a third to a quarter less than the price of a BarBri course.

The app was the brainchild of Mike Ghaffary, a graduate of both Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School. He pulled together a team of Harvard law grads to create the app.

What does the app offer? A lot, says TechCrunch:

The app is over 1 gigabyte in size, which is the largest application I�ve ever seen. It includes thousands of pages of materials as well as hundreds of hours of audio lectures. It�s all the information you could ever want for the two-month course. And again, it can be done all on your iPhone. That said, if you do want some more tangible paperwork for certain sections, BarMax will send you that electronically as well.

By the end of the year, the company plans to add bar-exam apps for New York and five other states. It may also offer a version for just the multi-state for $500.

Join me on Twitter for Future of Law Discussion

2010-01-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

Join me tomorrow, Jan. 12, from noon to 2 p.m. ET on Twitter for a discussion on the future of the legal industry. Follow the discussion using the hashtag #FOLI. Follow me on Twitter as bobambrogi.

The discussion is taking place in cooperation with Martindale-Hubbell Connected, which has been hosting a series of events and discussion around the future of the legal industry. I recently live-tweeted a seminar on this topic and other discussions are taking place within Connected's discussion forums.

During tomorrow's discussion on Twitter, we plan to discuss a number of topics, including the future of the law firm model, future staffing and compensation trends, the future of the billable hour, how social media will evolve within the legal profession, and many others.

I hop you'll join the discussion and share your thoughts.

See You at the Avvocating Conference?

2010-01-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

I am very happy to report that I will be a keynote speaker at the Avvocating Conference Jan. 21 and 22 in Seattle. Sponsored by Avvo, the conference has a great line-up of speakers who will address the theme of advanced online marketing training for lawyers.

The line-up includes insiders from LinkedIn, Facebook, Google and Microsoft's Bing, along with legal industry leaders such as Tim Stanley, founder of Justia (and originally of FindLaw). The topic of my talk is "Empowerment Through Social Media."

The cost of the two-day conference is $249 and affordable hotel rates are offered at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront Hotel. More information is available here.

I hope to see you there.

Bid on Seminar By Me, Support Legal Services

2009-12-29T20:01:00.000-05:00

As part of its celebration of its 45th anniversary, the Massachusetts Bar Foundation is holding an online fundraising auction. I have donated a one-hour seminar on social media, presented at your law firm or place of business.

The MBF is Massachusetts' premiere legal charity, working to increase access to justice for all individuals, regardless of their ability to afford a lawyer. I am a member of the MBF's board of trustees.

So bid on me and help support an important cause. While you're at it, check out the other great items up for bid and buy a ticket for its gala 45th anniversary dinner, which will be held Jan. 14 and feature a special award to Gov. Deval Patrick.

Dogs Helps Sniff Out Food-Allergy Dangers

2009-12-22T13:34:00.000-05:00

As the parent of two kids with nut and other food allergies, I live in constant fear of hidden allergens in food. (I wrote in 2006 about my older son's near-death experience from an unmarked peanut-butter cookie.) Here is good news for parents who find themselves in this situation: Food-sniffing dogs trained to protect children with food allergies. WBZ TV reports on Angel Service Dogs, a Colorado-based organization that trains dogs to sniff out the scents of dangerous foods in the same way that law enforcement dogs are trained to sniff out contraband.

The 2009 Law-related Blogging Awards

2009-12-22T13:11:00.000-05:00

Lawyer and legal technologist Dennis Kennedy has published his annual law-related blogging awards, which he calls The Blawggies. I am happy to report that Lawyer2Lawyer, the podcast I cohost with J. Craig Williams, received the award for Best Legal Podcast -- a notable achievement given that Dennis has his own outstanding podcast with Tom Mighell, The Kennedy-Mighell Report.

The honor is even greater because this is the fourth year in row that Dennis named Lawyer2Lawyer best podcast. He also awarded us Blawgies in 2008 (in a tie with Denise Howell's This Week in Law), in 2007 and in 2006.

Both Lawyer2Lawyer and The Kennedy-Mighell Report are produced by the great folks at the Legal Talk Network.

Other Blawggie Award recipients for 2009:

Best Overall Law-Related Blog - SLAW.
The Marty Schwimmer Best Practice-Specific Legal Blog � Tie: Steve Nipper�s The Invent Blog and Patrick Lamb�s In Search of Perfect Client Service.
Best Law Practice Management Blog � Jim Calloway�s Law Practice Management Tips.
Best Legal Blog Category - Non-US Blawgs.
Best Legal Blog Digest - Stark County Law Library Weblog.
Best Blawg About Legal Blawgging - Kevin O'Keefe's Real Lawyers Have Blogs.
The Sherry Fowler Best Writing on a Legal Blog Award � Allison Shields� Legal Ease Blog.
Best Law Professor Blog - Paul Caron's The TaxProf Blog.
Best New Law-related Blog � Social Media Law Student.
The DennisKennedy.Blog Best Legal Technology Blog � Ron Friedmann�s Strategic Legal Technology.
Most Important Trend in Law-related Blogging � Tie: Group Blogs and Microblogging.

Congratulations to all the honorees and thanks to Dennis.

The Top 10 Expert Witness Rulings of 2009

2009-12-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

A piece I wrote, The Top 10 Expert Rulings of 2009, is published in the e-newsletter of IMS ExpertServices. I review my picks for the year's 10 most important appellate opinions involving the admissibility of expert opinions and the procedural formalities surround their use. Let me know of others you think I should have included.

Round-up of Legal Podcasts

2009-12-21T15:56:00.000-05:00

On Friday, I posted Legal Podcasts for Your Holiday Travel at Legal Blog Watch, a round-up of law-related podcasts you might want to load onto to your favorite MP3 player before heading out on your holiday travel.

Check out that list and add one more: any of the weekly podcasts on international dispute negotiation from the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution.