Freemium? – pah!

I would like to see the back of the word “freemium” – it’s ugly, contrived and smacks of an in joke. More importantly, it does not describe anything new or concrete. The fundamental concept underpinning a “freemium” service – something offered for free to get someone to pay for something else – is as old […]

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Free case law – an overview

Free case law is old hat now. The House of Lords posted its first judgment on the web in 1996 and BAILII “freed the law” in 2000. But how far have we come since then? This article sums up the current position. Public sector provision The Supreme Court at www.supremecourt.gov.uk publishes its Decided cases in […]

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Hosted systems and cloud computing

(With Bill Kirby) First of all, let’s define a few of the terms which are used in this area: A hosted system is created where the bundle of computer applications that lawyers use (Word, practice management system, digital dictation etc) that would traditionally be run and managed in-house are run and hosted remotely by a […]

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Twitter for law firms

It’s easy to use Twitter poorly, something millions of users demonstrate every day by updating their followers about what they’re doing, thinking or feeling at any given moment. There are extremely few people whose opinions and emotions are so compelling and central to the public good that we should hang on every character (up to […]

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LinkedIn for law firms

Speaking generally, I’m much less bullish on what LinkedIn can do for law firms than what either Facebook or Twitter can offer. I’ve come to view those as dynamic platforms that offer interesting and even exciting possibilities for law firms to tell their stories and shape their online personas. LinkedIn, by contrast, is more a […]

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A solicitor’s eye view of SEO

In December 2007 I finally decided I knew enough about my chosen field to open up my own firm, Driving Defences LLP. My partner, Philip Trotter, and I, opened the door and waited for the work to flow in. I made my website as good as I could, plastered my phone number all over it […]

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The iLegal iPhone app

The iLegal iPhone application, created by Timothy Leigh, a law student currently studying the Legal Practice Course, aims to provide you with the law in your pocket – or at least access to the UK’s revised primary legislation as taken from the UK Statutory Law Database (SLD). It provides access to all the UK’s primary […]

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The RTA PI claims process – progress?

Following my article on the new claims process in the last issue, I caught up with Dominic Corr, our IT director, to find out what progress had been made. He reports: “Systems integration involves Structured Systems Analysis, Design Methodology and elements of Rapid Application Development. This project from the beginning was simply about assembling data […]

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FreeLegalWeb launches

I’ve reported previously on progress of the FreeLegalWeb project I initiated which is designed to provide better, affordable, joined-up access to the law. At long last we have a public Beta service at www.freelegalweb.org. Given our modest budget, the Beta service is limited in its initial functionality but strong on aspiration. The site provides core […]

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Facebook for law firms

Should law firms develop a presence on the social networks? A small minority of individual lawyers actively network on blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter and perhaps also on Facebook, though the majority are infrequent users of these services. Now law firms themselves are taking tentative steps to establish an official presence. In the first of a series […]

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Clerksroom – a virtual chambers?

The meaning of the word “chambers” depends on who you ask, or where you look for the answer. The Bar Standards Board defines the word through the code of conduct and its use has many meanings in the code. The Bar Standards Board and the Bar Council records office allow you to elect to be […]

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Legallybetter.com – based on client ratings and reviews

Legallybetter opened for business in January 2009 to provide a quick and reliable way to compare solicitors and then find a solicitor, for private individuals and for businesses. Its unique feature is that it brings independent consumer reviews and ratings of solicitors from around the UK together in one place. These have come from unsolicited […]

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