TechnoLawyer

Continuing with our series of reports on courts that ban cell phones, TechnoLawyer member Darren Cantor writes: "Colorado courts, so far, have not banned smartphones in any manner. However, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado presently has a policy prohibiting any camera phone (nearly impossible to get one without these days, isn't it?) from entry. You must check your phone in with the U.S. Marshals upon entry. Our plan is to go to the Chief Judge, to talk about changing this policy, but no action yet."

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.

In the film Punch Drunk Love (which I don't recommend incidentally), Adam Sandler's character realizes that a pudding company has made a mistake with its promotion for free miles — buying pudding and racking up free miles turns out to cost less than buying a plane ticket.

Has the document management startup Authoritative.Net made a similar marketing goof with its version 2.5 release of FileCenter? Probably not (Todd Rapier and his cohorts are savvy marketers — they advertise in TechnoLawyer after all), but if you have lots of JPEG, PDF, or TIFF image files that you'd like to convert into text for free, listen up.

FileCenter 2.5 comes with two free utilities — FileConvert and PaperMaster Conversion. FileConvert batch converts JPEG, PDF, or TIFF image files into full-text searchable PDF files. The catch is that FileConvert works only in conjunction with FileCenter. But Authoritative.Net offers a free 30-day fully functional version of FileCenter, which means you could batch convert tons of image files during those 30 days free of charge. I have verified with Todd that this scheme will indeed work. Pudding anyone?

Of course, Todd and his team are betting that those who take advantage of this freebie will end up keeping and paying for FileCenter. That's probably a good bet considering the favorable reviews of FileCenter in recent editions in Answers to Questions.

FileCenter 2.5 and the free utilities should become available sometime this week.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming August 10, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Mark Sargis reviews ProLaw READY, Jason Havens reviews Microsoft Small Business Server 2003's VPN functionality as well as AbacusLaw Gold and Lawgic, Kath Gilliam discusses the shortcomings of firewalls regarding spyware prevention, Neal Rogers discusses why lawyers have not yet embraced Groove Virtual Office for collaboration, and Virginia Burrows shares some invaluable advice for configuring old HP printers with Windows XP. 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 August 10, 2005 to TechnoLawyer NewsWire:  In this issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about a time-tracking utility for all the billable work you perform on your BlackBerry or Treo, a new search utility that bypasses OCR for greater accuracy, free accounting software for small firms, a utility that can batch convert image PDF files into searchable PDf files using Acrobat 7's built-in "Recognize Text" technology, and a new line of duplex scanners designed for law firms.

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Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming August 9, 2005 to TechnoFeature: When trial technology expert Lynn Kenneth Packer tried to persuade Utah's Administrative Office of the Courts to adopt off-the-shelf PC technology instead of Courtroom 21's e-podiums for Utah's state courts, they walked out in the middle of his presentation! In this article, you'll gain an insider's perspective of the rough-and-tumble politics of courtroom technology. What happened in Utah may also happen in your state — or maybe it already has. Join Lynn as he discusses his concerns regarding the Courtroom 21 model in the context of its adoption in his home state of Utah. Whether you agree with Lynn or not, his tale serves as a reminder that spending lots of money on technology does not necessarily provide for best solution.

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.

In July 2005, TechnoLawyer member Michael Bates joined the growing ranks of legal bloggers with Fair Trading Act Counsel, a blog "devoted to issues businesses face when they are being investigated and charged with offenses under Alberta's Fair Trading Act (FTA)."

Although Michael posts about the latest news and cases related to the FTA, he also encourages questions and comments from readers to forge a continual dialogue about the FTA, which he feels "is becoming increasingly used by Alberta Justice for its broad investigative powers and criminal-type prosecutions."

For a taste of Michael's blog, check out his recent post on how the Alberta government has interpreted the FTA to increase its investigative range.

Michael, founding partner of Rutten Bates and an advocate for the use of technology in the courtroom, primarily practices criminal defense and appellate law, but has recently worked on several cases involving businesses impacted by the FTA.

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. .

If you plan to fly American Airlines this month, or United Airlines in November or December, check out Sky Radio's series "Special Tribute to America's Best Lawyers." One of these programs features an interview with TechnoLawyer member and intellectual property lawyer Jeff Sheldon about the current state of the US patent system.

"During the interview I discuss what is wrong with our current patent system", said Jeff. "I opine that Congress should stop diverting user fees from the Patent Office so that the Patent Office can hire better and more examiners. I also spoke in favor of changing the current standard relating to the amount of evidence needed to invalidate a patent."

If you aren't lucky enough to catch this broadcast in-flight, you can listen to the interview online.

Jeff is founding partner of Sheldon & Mak, an IP law firm located in Pasadena, California. Aside from practicing all aspects of IP law, he authored the book How to Write a Patent Application, and writes a frequent e-mail newsletter called Tips from Jeff Sheldon, in which he discusses recent IP news.

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. .

Coming August 12, 2005 to Fat Friday: Stephen Nipper follows up his recent article with some more tips on health savings accounts, Douglas Thomas reviews HP's Scanjet 5550c, Joel Johnson reviews Pathagoras in his corporate practice, Alex Simpson provides an invaluable tip for those who file rather than pile their e-mail, and Jeffrey Bannon discusses one benefit of "native file review" for those engaged in electronic discovery. 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.

Patent attorney and TechnoLawyer member Harold L. Burstyn has recently been named Of Counsel at Milde & Hoffberg LLP, an intellectual property boutique in White Plains, NY.

At Milde & Hoffberg, Harold will represent clients in patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret, and unfair competition matters, especially if they're computer-related.

Harold works from home offices in Syracuse, NY and Woods Hole, MA, and also serves as an adjunct professor at the Syracuse University's L.C. Smith College of Engineering & Computer Science.

Harold, who admits that he remains "too suspicious of the confidentiality of wireless to have given up a wired connection for either telephone or computer," uses a desktop computer, laser printer, and scanner in his home offices, and a lightweight laptop on the go. He may make the leap to wireless soon with a new laptop, but only with encryption!

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. .

Coming August 2, 2005 to TechnoFeature: Electronic discovery is the biggest story in litigation. Soon, every case will involve at least some documents in electronic format. In this article, e-discovery expert David Moon provides an e-discovery primer packed with everything you never knew you needed to know, including the two most common pitfalls, and priceless tips on where to find data, how to preserve it, and how to request it in a reasonable manner that won't be deemed a fishing expedition.

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.