What is CRM, and how can it help me? - Ask Rick and he can probably tell you what it is in five minutes, or five questions. I'm intrigued.
9:56:17 PM
Using Blogs in Business - interesting article, and some discussion by Userland's own John Robb.
9:34:31 PM
Of Laws & Sausages - "I don't mind what Congress does, as long as they don't do it in the streets and frighten the horses." Victor Hugo
11:10:59 AM
The Media would like to - hack your PC. If you are engaged in file-trading, that is. via Copyfight.
10:05:54 AM
Internet Research - Bill Altreuter has a post referencing an ALA article: "Ten reasons why the internet is no substitute for a library" - Add an eleventh, he says: legal research. "You can do it online, but it's going to cost: many clients won't pay for it, and, frankly, most of the time, like John Henry and his hammer, it is faster the old fashioned way." (Via Woods Lot.)
I sort of disagree. Online legal research is so cheap and pervasive now that, even if the client won't pay for it, you still have to lean in that direction for most things. Legal research, especially for caselaw, is almost always better done online.
8:19:36 AM
Computers in Court - Check out this comprehensive article by Fred Glaves that discusses computer generated exhibits, the Federal Rules of Evidence and the need for judicial acceptance of such exhibits.
8:04:07 AM
Legislative Protectionism - Interesting article in the recent LawTechnology News about computer assisted legal research by Alvin Podboy, who is the director of libraries of a large law firm in Cleveland. He talks about proposed legislation by the American Legislative Exchange Counsel, a supposedly bi-partisan association for conservative lawmakers who share a "common belief in limited government, free markets, federalism, and individual liberty..." ALEC proposes model legislation like Ohio House Bill HB-482 (the Electronic Government Securities Act), which intends to create a review mechanism that any government entity would have to clear before it could launch an Internet initiative that would compete with the private sector.
As Podboy points out, the problem is that core services of state government are providing statutes, court docket information, and public records. Under the proposed legislation, it is not clear whether government could do this on a competitive basis. I think he raises a good point. As Rory says, the Law should be free. In fact, public information of all kinds should be free, and an evil curse should infect the soul of any lawmaker who attempts to pass legislation that stems the flow of that information.
8:00:17 AM
