Internet Newsletter for Lawyers

Justice wide open

judithtownend — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:20:17 +0000

The principle of open justice has been robustly developed in English law since the mid-17th century, but the courts service in England and Wales has yet to fully utilise online technology for the dissemination of courts information and legal knowledge.

Practice management systems in the cloud

deliavenables — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:19:08 +0000

The phrase “in the cloud” has only been in common use for two or three years. Previously, phrases like “hosted systems”, “outsourced systems” and “software as a service” (SaaS) were used instead, and meant much the same thing, but the take-up of such systems was rather slow. Now, nearly all the major suppliers of legal software have hosted systems of one sort or another.

Linex Smart Alerts

fionafogden — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:18:48 +0000

Information overload, especially in the form of too many emails, is a common issue for lawyers and those who support them. However, clients expect their adviser to know what issues are facing them and what is going on in their industry. And as to winning new clients, the inventive fee earner is on the lookout for that reason to give them a call.

Two ebiz topics

kimtasso — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:17:19 +0000

This issue's two ebiz topics are: Should you recruit your own marketing person or use an agency? and Blending online and offline marketing

Barristers Public Access: How successful has it been so far?

deliavenables — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:16:47 +0000

Many chambers and individual barristers are represented on my web page . I contacted them recently to ask if they would give me their views on how successful the Public Access scheme has been so far and how they see it developing in the future. Here are their responses.

LexisNexis eBooks

victoriataylor — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:15:19 +0000

Since the late 1980s, LexisNexis has been publishing electronic books on floppy disk, on CD and online through LexisLibrary. These are sophisticated ebooks containing links through to cases and legislation as well as other text resources. What has changed in recent years is the rise of the mobile device. From 2008 onwards we realised print was at the cusp of a major shift: mobility was at an all-time high and there was a growing prevalence of e-readers and ebooks for personal reading. In July 2010 LexisNexis launched its first ebooks programme.

Keeping up with IP law

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:14:51 +0000

There is no shortage of blogs and updates on intellectual property law as IP is a particular preoccupation as the internet and the knowledge economy develop. Here’s a selection, with links to these and more in the infolaw Lawfinder Blogs catalogue.

May 2012 issue PDF

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:13:18 +0000

Access the May 2012 issue PDF (subscribers only).

CPD for solicitors

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:12:48 +0000

A new course from Nick and Delia, Solicitors and the Internet 2012, qualifies for 5 hours CPD from the SRA.

Cloud computing

admin — Sun, 06 May 2012 00:11:40 +0000

The terms "cloud computing", "hosted systems”, “outsourced systems” and “Software as a Service (SaaS)" are now used almost interchangeably. All Newsletter articles on these topics are now indexed under "Cloud computing".

Comparing website proposals

suebramall — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:20:31 +0000

Comparing website proposals can be rather like comparing apples with pears. What questions should you ask and how do you know whether the quotes you receive are directly comparable?

An online solicitor in Scotland

brucedewert — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:19:10 +0000

As a one man band in the Far North of Scotland, I run a fairly standard Scottish county town solicitors office. About 10 years ago I had a flash of inspiration and decided that was not beyond me to automate the making of wills online. I did a search on the internet and found only one other website offering instant wills (in England) and so I took the plunge.

BIALL Solos / one man bands

viviangrainge — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:18:05 +0000

BIALL is an independent and self-supporting body representing the interests of legal information professionals, documentalists and other suppliers of legal literature and reference materials in the UK and Ireland. BIALL organises regular training events, publishes a quarterly journal and runs an Annual Conference. Practical support and advice is given through a number of schemes run by committees, by its publications and through a series of special interest groups. This article is about the BIALL Solos group.

The changing legal landscape – threats and opportunities

davidmort — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:17:32 +0000

The legal services market is likely to experience more changes in the next few years than at any time in recent history. There are clear threats to many high street law firms and solicitors from new competition but there are also opportunities for law firms willing to explore new business models and partnerships, or those ready to expand their marketing options.

Promoting your chambers

catherinebailey — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:16:15 +0000

Spending money on promotion for your chambers is often seen as a massive punt, a huge risk, a pure gamble. But it needn’t be that way. It’s all about measuring your return on investment, and understanding that for success to be had, the investments needs to be planned, budgeted for and delivered via integrated marketing campaigns.

Who owns copyright in judgments?

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:15:15 +0000

As part of the questions relating to one of our CPD courses last year we asked “Who owns copyright in judgments in the UK? What are you views on this?” Here are edited versions of some of the answers received which reflect the variety of opinion on the issue and how it should be addressed.

Keeping up with information law

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:14:50 +0000

Another legal topic that has developed hand in hand with the internet is information law – a small but perfectly formed area of law where there is a great deal of online update, comment and other activity, not just from qualified lawyers, but from journalists and rights activists. Here is a selection of key blogs to follow.

ProView professional grade ebooks

chrishendry — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:13:09 +0000

Mobile devices and the proliferation of new applications offer lawyers the potential to increase their productivity. However, the lack of a purpose built professional grade app to access legal books has posed a challenge to fully leveraging the potential of the devices for lawyers. This is why we developed and launched Thomson Reuters ProView – a new, professional grade ebook app.

March 2012 issue PDF

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:12:20 +0000

Access the March 2012 issue PDF (subscribers only).

Conscious Guide to the EU Directive on use of Cookies

andrewgray — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:01:47 +0000

Sponsored by Conscious Solutions

New rules about the use of cookies came into effect in the UK on 26 May 2011. Many people have asked what impact the new rules will have on users of their websites and what they need to do to ensure compliance with the new law. This article answers those questions.