TechnoLawyer

Forty years ago, President Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act, which abolished discriminatory barriers designed to limit minority participation in elections.

TechnoLawyer member and voting rights lawyer Edward Still served as a source for and was quoted in a recent article in the Tuscaloosa News commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

In particular, the article states: "Voting rights attorney Ed Still of Birmingham called the 1965 law that outlawed poll taxes and voting tests the first generation of laws needed to break the white hold on voter registration in Alabama and the South, where blacks often made up 25 percent of the population. 'The second generation of issues came in the early 1970s and those were over trying to dismantle at-large [election] districts,' Still said last week." Read the entire article (free registration required).

You can learn more about Ed Still and his practice (he also handles employment and civil rights matters) on his site Votelaw.com.

About Member News
TechnoLawyer members are among the most gifted and prominent in the legal profession. In the Member News section of TechnoLawyer Blog, we report on their latest accomplishments and success stories — everything from court victories to articles and books to new partner announcements — and much more. If you're a newsmaker, but not yet a member, join TechnoLawyer now, and then contact our newsdesk.

Regarding the ongoing discussion of Word versus WordPerfect in our Fat Friday newsletter, TechnoLawyer member Robert Mercer writes: "Primary focus for usability of Wordperfect over Word has been the reveal codes feature. I certainly don't disagree. What is probably more important and commentary which I have not read is "backward compatibility." Wordperfect is and Word is not! Without reveal codes, this issue alone would be significant. Word is unacceptably deficient on this issue alone." Since the tongue-lashing it received upon the release of Office 97,  Microsoft has actually done a good job regarding backwards compatibility of its Office file formats. The next version of Office will feature an XML-based format compatible with earlier versions of Office provided you download a free plug-in.

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Continuing with our coverage of cell phone bans in courts, TechnoLawyer member Sandor Boxer writes: "At least in the Central District of California there is no issue with cell phones per se; rather the problem is with cell phones which have a built in camera. There is certainly a local rule which precludes taking pictures in Federal Courts. As a result our local cell phone companies are well aware that trial lawyers need cell phones without picture taking capability (a requirement that eliminates the majority of cell phones being pushed by the cell phone providers). In addition, a few years ago I had a client stopped who had a cell phone which had apparently had the feature where with the push of one button it functioned like a walkie-talkie with another similarly equipped user (Nextel?). Other than that, no cell phone problems (as long as you remember to turn them completely off before the hearing starts)."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming October 14, 2005 to Fat Friday: Timothy Cleary reviews Trend Micro's PC-cillin, Brad Jensen sets forth his plan for a spam-free world, Bruce Avery defends the use of $500 PCs in law firms (plus our publisher weighs in with a related controversy), Mark Bassett explains why courts might want to ban all cell phones even if they don't have cameras, and David Ach reviews a new online travel service. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 17, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Terese Deboo and Nicholas Hagoort review Stamps.com (the good, the bad, and the price), Jeffrey Franklin provides several options for sharing your calendar and contacts, Michael Raskin explains why your backups may let you down (and we point to a must-read article on this topic), and John Gordon reviews PCAnywhere. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 13, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Ron Kahn explains how to make the most of your investment in Veritas Exec Backup and Symantec Ghost. Also in this newsletter, James Chaffee, Dan Norris, and Mark Kleiman discuss their experiences with Time Matters' tech support, and Alan Kassan describes three problems he's having with Time Matters. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 11, 2005 to TechnoFeature: In this article, tax and estate planning attorney Jason Havens discusses his quest for the perfect case management and time-billing software. Jason's quest took him on a journey through several products, including Abacus Law, Amicus Attorney, and PCLaw. But ultimately, he settled on Tabs3 and PracticeMaster Premier Edition. Why? Read the article to find out.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 12, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Dianna Reynolds explains how to use Amicus Attorney to track real estate deals, Jerry Sullenberger points to a resource with legal salary information, Monica D`Amore and Cathy Prichard review PracticeMaster for sharing calendars and contacts, and Jon Manchester reviews his Fellowes paper shredder. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 10, 2005 to IP Memes: You'll learn how Yahoo! plans to escape the copyright problems plaguing the Google Print project, what a new partnership between Verizon and Disney could mean for the privacy of Verizon customers, how Apple is trying to get a piece of that podcast action via a trademark, why a little subway map caused a big stink with transit authorities in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, how the recording industry proposes to "clean" your computer of illegal files and file-sharing programs, and what intellectual property law has to do with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Mondays, IP Memes is a biweekly newsletter that explores emerging technology-related intellectual property issues — or "memes" as we call them. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Longtime TechnoLawyer member Ellen Freedman presides over Freedman Consulting, a legal technology consulting firm that primarily serves the Delaware and Lehigh Valley. On her site you'll find dozens of practice management articles she has penned for the Pennsylvania Bar Association where she serves as Law Practice Management Coordinator.

As if that weren't enough to keep her busy, Ellen recently launched Law Practice Management, a blog designed to "assist your firm in managing the business side of your practice." What makes Ellen's blog noteworthy is that she draws her material not from fellow bloggers, but from the lawyers she helps both at her consultancy and at the Pennsylvania Bar Association. You won't find much navel-gazing here, but rather genuinely helpful information.

Recent posts have discussed rainmaking, VoIP, cell phone viruses, and law firm Web sites.

Welcome to the blawgosphere, Ellen!

About Member News
TechnoLawyer members are among the most gifted and prominent in the legal profession. In the Member News section of TechnoLawyer Blog, we report on their latest accomplishments and success stories — everything from court victories to articles and books to new partner announcements — and much more. If you're a newsmaker, but not yet a member, join TechnoLawyer now, and then contact our newsdesk.