I am very proud to report that I have been nominated for election as vice president of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the state’s premiere legal charity devoted to ensuring equal access to the legal system and to improving the administration of justice. The election for 2012 officers will take place…
And Now for a Few of My Favorite Smartphone Apps
Just last week, someone asked me for a list of my favorite iPhone apps. I get this question a lot, so I thought I’d talk about about a few of my favorite apps.
No Angry Birds here. I will restrict myself to apps that have some application in the practice of law. That…
McKenna Long Unveils ‘Politics, Law and Policy Blog’
Members of the Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs practice at the law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP today launched Politics, Law and Policy Blog, a blog devoted to providing bipartisan policy insights and political intelligence.
It is the rare blog that can be judged by its first day, but this one certainly…
Tabulaw Seeks to Simplify Legal Research and Writing
A new website called Tabulaw hopes to simplify the task of legal research and writing. As of this writing, the site is still in a private beta, which means you’ll have to fill out a request to obtain an invitation to try it out.
The site’s premise is that legal research tools are expensive,…
Best of Blawgs, Canadian and Criminal
The 2011 CLawBies — the Canadian Law Blog Awards — have been announced.
Meanwhile, south of the border (the Canadian border), Scott Greenfield doles out honors for Best Criminal Law Blawg Post, 2011.
Great work all around. Congratulations to all!…
Blawg Tracks Circuit Splits in Search of Issues Bound for Supreme Court
As anyone who made it through law school knows, a split of opinion among the federal circuit courts is a strong indicator that the issue will make its way to the Supreme Court. A new blog, CircuitSplits.com, is dedicated to providing timely reporting and analysis of circuit splits. It is written by Nicholas J.…
Will 2012 be the Year Lawyers Learn to Love the 7-Inch Tablet?
I have a post on this at the ABA Techshow blog: 2012: The Year of the 7 Inch Tablet?…
Court Websites use Chat to Interact with Public
“If a paralegal is having trouble in the electronic case files system, they can click and have a chat with a representative who will answer their question,” explains Norman Meyer, clerk of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for New Mexico. “You don’t need someone assigned specifically to the chat live. We already have a staff member…
Supreme Court News Site Looks Nice, But Disappoints on Content
Thomson Reuters – the company that owns Westlaw – has been beefing up its coverage of legal affairs in recent years, with reporting and commentary available through the Thomson Reuters News & Insight website. As part of this push into enhanced legal coverage, the company recently launched a new offshoot devoted to covering the…
LII Conference Will Explore Open Access to Law
The arrival of 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, a true trailblazer in enabling open access to legal materials through the Web. To help mark the occasion, the LII is hosting a Law Via the Internet Conference Oct. 7-9 at Cornell Law School…
Wolfram|Alpha Releases App to Assist Lawyers
Wolfram|Alpha, the “computational knowledge engine,” has released an iPhone and iPad app designed specifically for legal professionals. The Wolfram Lawyer’s Professional Assistant provides basic reference information — such as a dictionary of legal terms and the statutes of limitations for every U.S. state — as well as…
My 10 Most Popular Posts of 2011
I always find it interesting to look back over the year to see which posts drew the most traffic. It is interesting that my most highly trafficked post was about my problems installing Adobe Acrobat X Pro. Not surprisingly, a later post thanking…