Cloud Computing for Lawyers: An Introduction

Feb 2, 2010 - by Nicole Black

Over the last year I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about “cloud computing” and by now you’re probably wondering: what exactly is it?

At Webopedia.com, “Cloud Computing” is defined as a “type of computing that is comparable to grid computing, relies on sharing computing resources rather than having local servers or personal devices to handle applications. The goal of cloud computing is to apply traditional supercomputing power (normally used by military and research facilities) to perform tens of trillions of computations per second.”

In other words, cloud computing makes it possible for  your data and software platforms and services to be stored offsite, in the “cloud".

Online services of this type, which include software as a system (SaaS) and platforms as a system (PaaS), are becoming increasingly common and, for many lawyers, are an attractive alternative to the traditional law practice management software installed and maintained on a local server within a law office.

Alternatives to Expensive and Time-Consuming Air Travel

Feb 23, 2010 - by Nicole Black

Let’s face it, these days, business air travel is a costly proposition—it’s expensive and takes up valuable time.

And, travel time is only increasing due to the recent attempted terror attack, as widely reported in the press.  For example, as explained in a recent Montreal Gazette article:

Massive lines, flight delays and cancellations greeted Canadian passengers traveling to the United States on Sunday as new security measures moved into a second day and another suspicious incident was reported on board a U.S. flight, increasing tensions.

Weather delays aren’t helping matters either, now that we’re in the midst of a long, cold winter, as detailed in this Chicago Sun Times article:

A messy winter storm — which could bring up to a foot of snow…— caused major headaches for travelers…prompting more than 500 flight cancellations at  both city airports.

One way businesses can avoid the time suck of costly air travel is to utilize innovative alternatives to face-to-face business meetings, such as video conferencing, screen sharing and online document sharing.

ALM Virtual LegalTech: a Great Option for Busy Attorneys

Mar 16, 2010 - by Nicole Black

On March 18th, 2010 ALM Media Events will be holding live CLE events at Virtual LegalTech for the second time ever.

Virtual LegalTech is a fully interactive, online legal technology conference. At the website, the conference is described as:

(A) showcase for the latest hardware, software, tools and services that are moving the practice of law ahead through innovative solutions...VLT's fully interactive virtual environment enables you to do all the things you'd do at a live event: attend presentations and panel discussions, talk with vendors, see product demonstrations, collect information, network with colleagues and get the latest news from the ever-evolving arena of legal technology.

Virtual LegalTech is the next generation of law conferences, offering legal professionals innovative and economical ways to learn about the latest legal technologies while networking with colleagues.

There’s no need to spend money on travel or hotel expenses; you can attend the conference from the comfort and convenience of your office. And best of all -- attending Virtual LegalTech is free for qualified registrants. That’s right, it costs nothing to attend, and in many jurisdictions, including New York, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, and Oregon, you can receive CLE credits for seminars that you watch.

Law Practice Management Software: An Overview

Mar 17, 2010 - by Nicole Black

Legal practice management software is a must-have for most law offices. It streamlines the process of handling and managing a case from start to finish. Law case management systems allow busy attorneys to keep track of contacts, documents, and calendaring, among other things, for each case that is added to the system; many offer time tracking and billing features as well.

For most law practices, purchasing practice management software that is well-suited for the size and specific practice areas of the firm is a good investment that saves time and money in the long run.

One decision lawyers must make when choosing legal practice management software is whether to purchase a web-based law practice management system or a traditional desktop system that is installed and housed on the law firm’s server. Once you’ve decided which type of platform you intend to use, you can then narrow down your choices based on the specific features offered by a particular system.

Gatekeeping the Virtual Data Room

Mar 18, 2010 - by Jim Rench

The use of a virtual deal room (“VDR”) has become commonplace in modern merger and acquisition practice, replacing the formerly prevalent document room.  The advantages of a VDR include reduced cost; reduced security concerns; accessibility to multiple parties simultaneously and 24/7; reduction in actual deal time; and an electronic data trail establishing who saw what and when.

An important consideration in the deployment of a VDR is the question of who will serve as the gatekeeper to the VDR, determining what information is appropriate for posting and what level of security and access to assign to such information.

In our opinion, the Seller’s legal counsel is the appropriate gatekeeper to the VDR. Personnel of the seller, while more familiar with the information, are typically the least familiar with the deal process and potential legal issues posed by the information.  They are also the least likely to have the time, with the additional stress of gathering and producing due diligence information already layered on top of their routine daily duties.  And while deal intermediaries are certainly the most familiar with the deal-making process, they are not legal counsel and necessarily familiar with the legal issues posed by the information.

Web-based Law Practice Management Systems

Mar 23, 2010 - by Nicole Black

Law practice management software is crucial to managing the complexities of any modern law practice. However, traditional law office management software can be expensive, cumbersome to navigate and prone to such frequent  glitches that your IT consultant becomes a permanent fixture in your law office.

The good news is that there are other alternatives available, including web-based law practice management systems, a relatively new breed of  practice management software.

Advantages include lower costs due to reduced overhead, less hassle related to maintaining and upgrading the case management system and greater flexibility, since the Web-based system can be accessed anywhere, at anytime.

If you decide that a web-based system may be a good fit for your law office, there are a number of good alternatives from which to choose. Each of these systems offers variations of calendar and task management, time tracking and billing and document management.

Cloud Computing and the Ethical Obligations of Lawyers

Apr 6, 2010 - by Nicole Black

Lawyers have ethical duties to protect sensitive client data. When it comes to storing information in “the cloud,” just as with any other form of storage, taking steps to ensure that confidential client data is protected is imperative. Unfortunately, there are very few ethics opinions that have been issued on this topic, causing many lawyers to fear the potential ramifications of storing confidential client files via the cloud computing model.

According to this Law Library Journal article, “Law Libraries in the Cloud,”  at least two states have issued ethics opinions regarding the storage of client data on third party servers, New Jersey (N.J. Supreme Court Advisory Comm. on Prof’l Ethics, Op. 701 (2006)) and Nevada (Nev. State Bar Standing Comm. on Ethics & Prof’l Responsibility, Formal Op. 33 (2006)). As explained in the article:

"At least two state bars, Nevada and New Jersey, have issued ethics opinions permitting the use of an outside service provider to store client files in digital for-mat, provided the attorney exercises reasonable care…These ethics opinions suggest that to meet the standard of reasonable care attorneys must be knowledgeable about how the SaaS provider will handle data entrusted to it, and they must include terms in any agreement with the provider requiring the provider to preserve the confidentiality and security of the data."

The iPad for Lawyers

Apr 20, 2010 - by Nicole Black

I’ve had my iPad for a few weeks now and am slowly but surely discovering how it fits into my daily routine. After using it for a while, I continue to believe that the iPad is primarily a media consumption device, but it does have some utility for lawyers and will become increasingly more useful as more third party applications are released.

However, even at this stage of its development, I do think that many lawyers will find the iPad to be useful in the practice of law.

First, it’s a great device on which to store documents, rather than lugging huge reams of papers with you everywhere you go.  Imagine using it at trial or at a deposition to cross a witness in lieu of flipping through deposition transcripts or stacks of papers.

Digital Dictation for Lawyers

Apr 27, 2010 - by Nicole Black

Most lawyers are familiar with old-fashioned analog tape dictation. First, you dictate into a hand held device, which records your voice onto a tape. Then you drop the tape, which holds an assortment of dictation projects, arranged sequentially rather than in order of importance, into your secretary’s desk.  It’s a familiar song and dance and one that most attorneys despise. Eventually you receive the transcribed result of the dictation, which then needs to be reviewed, edited and returned to your secretary, who then must revise the document, return it to you, etc.

This archaic process is inefficient and arduous, with the only side benefit being that it sometimes results in very funny transcription errors. Unfortunately, the laughs don’t make up for the downfalls of an otherwise outdated system.

Fortunately, lawyers now have other options, including digital dictation and voice-to-text transcription.

Digital dictation, whereby a lawyer dictates into a handheld device and the sound is converted into a digital file, offers many benefits over traditional dictation methods.

Cloud Computing: Security Issues for Lawyers

May 11, 2010 - by Nicole Black

In prior posts I discussed basic cloud computing concepts and the ethical issues triggered by cloud computing. There are also security issues that lawyers must consider when deciding whether to use cloud computing products in their practice.

Two key steps lawyers can take to ensure that their data is secure are to:

1. ask the right questions of cloud computing vendor and
2. ensure that their contract with the vendor addresses important security issues.

1. What type of facility will host the data?
2. Who has access to the data?
3. How frequently are back-ups performed?
4. Is data backed up to more than one server?
5. How secure are the data centers?
6. What types of encryption methods are used and how are passwords stored?
7. Are there redundant power supplies?
8. Is there more than one server?
9. Where are the servers located?
10. If a natural disaster strikes one geographic region, would all data be lost?