TechnoLawyer: Technology Industry/Legal Profession

Coming May 11, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Clint Pullin explains how to quickly compile an electronic case file (ECF) and its PDF attachments into a single PDF file that you can easily store for later retrieval, and Steven Parsons reviews the Olympus DS330 used in conjunction with an outsourced transcription service. In addition, Jennifer Little, James Marrs, and William Shilling debate whether Macs have earned a role in law firms as serious legal tools. 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 May 9, 2005 to IP Memes: You'll learn about the curious timing of a trademark dispute, how the mainstream media misreported the latest round of hearings on patent reform, and the changes in the most recent edition of the Trademark Manual of Examining Procedures (TMEP). All that plus the IP Memes IP Blog of the Week.

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.

A recent issue of IP Memes questioned the wisdom of raiding a toy store for alleged trademark and trade dress violations. TechnoLawyer member Michael Millen would like to remind everyone that this agency has a mandate much larger than its name implies, writing: "Trademark infringement investigation is an important part of U.S. Customs (an agency now under the rubric of Homeland Security). Are you suggesting that U.S. Customs cease all trademark investigations?"

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, we place Quips here in TechnoLawyer Blog and also in our TechnoGuide newsletter, but they appear in TechnoGuide first. TechnoGuide also contains exclusive content.

Scratch a blog and you'll find an RSS feed (a.k.a. XML feed). An RSS feed enables you to monitor a blog or other RSS-enabled source without having to visit the Web site. Currently, most RSS feeds consist of raw text and links so when you use them, you miss out on the site's Web design.

Hence, my prediction — Web design will eventually find its way into RSS feeds, especially those of commercial publications. Many RSS purists don't like this idea, arguing that RSS should consist solely of content. To which I say: Isn't design an integral component of content? If design didn't matter, we wouldn't bother hiring Web designers, but we do. We all want to control the look and feel of our Web sites so why not our feeds as well? Shouldn't feed reading provide the same experience as Web browsing?

Just as the purists of an earlier era could not stop the commercialization of the Web or HTML in e-mail, they will not be able to stop what some call "CSS in RSS" (CSS stands for "cascading style sheets," which provide instructions to Web browsers about the design of a Web page).

If you would like a glimpse of the future, copy and paste the RSS feed for MarketingVox (an excellent online marketing news blog) into Thunderbird (select "Account Settings" under the Tools menu, and then add a new "RSS News & Blogs" account to get started). See below for a screenshot. Also, check out this Joi Ito blog post and the ensuing discussion.

What do you think about CSS in RSS?

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 here in TechnoLawyer Blog and also in our TechnoGuide newsletter, but they appear in TechnoGuide first. TechnoGuide also contains exclusive content.

Coming May 6, 2005 to Fat Friday: David Hirsch and Patti Wall respond to recent reviews of DepPrep (David created DepPrep, and also co-authors the ABA Journal's In Re Technology column). Also in this issue, Terry Goss, Robert Hughes, and Douglas Herdman offer their two cents on the brewing controversy over the ease of use of legal software, and the importance of training. 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 May 2, 2005 to TechnoGuide:

The Next Big Thing in Blogs; Maximize Your Google Searches; Much More
In this issue of TechnoGuide, Neil Squillante discusses the next big thing in blogs, and explains how to maximize your Google searches. This issue also contains Quips about the Department of Homeland Security, KKL Software's eZClean metadata removal utility, and uninterruptible power supplies. This issue's Questions from Your Peers seek advice on bates stamping, laser printers, PDA synchronization, Rainmaker, real estate software, and VoIP. All that plus the Question of the Week.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Mondays, TechnoGuide is a biweekly newsletter that features Quips, TechnoEditorials, Industry News, Real-Life Questions submitted by your peers in the legal profession, and the Question of the Week. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.

Coming April 29, 2005 to Fat Friday: David Umbaugh reflects on how technology has enabled him to reduce his staff by nearly 50% over the past three years, Richard Siferd serves up three tips for buying legal software that will surely generate some controversy, Spencer Rhodes explores the shortcomings of the two leading image formats (PDF and TIFF), and Derek Stolp adds his two cents to the recent debate over using cheap PCs in a law firm. Lastly, Steven Finell responds to my comment about last year's presidential election with an essay that belongs in the Washington Post though we're happy to have it in Fat Friday. 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 April 25, 2005 to IP Memes: You'll discover what the Federal Circuit thinks about Smuckers' patent for crustless peanut butter and jelly, learn about a new controversial bill that would drastically change U.S. patent law, and expose yourself to some alternative viewpoints on the pending Family and Entertainment Copyright Act of 2005 (currently awaiting President Bush's signature). All that plus the IP Memes IP Blog of the Week.

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.

Coming April 11, 2005 to IP Memes: You'll get the scoop on what the mainstream media didn't report about the Grokster case, read about a unique case involving common law copyright, and learn about the latest greatest site for downloading IP-related MP3 lectures and discussions (better known these days as a podcast). All that plus the IP Memes IP Blog of the Week.

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.

Regarding the recent discussion in Fat Friday about bans on smartphones in courthouses, TechnoLawyer member Steve Minor reports that at least one court — the Eastern District of Tennessee — is "willing to make a deal with you." What about the courts in your jurisdiction?

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.