♫ Well, who are you?
Who are you? Who, who, who, who?
I really wanna know…♫

Music and Lyrics by Pete Townshend, recorded by The Who.

A new service has sprung up. It is entitled “Career Excuse.com” Its purpose is to allow you to create false career references for your resume. They state:

Lets say you are applying for a Retail position and have a 3 year gap in your resume you want to fill. CareerExcuse.com has a retail company already established with a 800 number, a real address, a real website, and a real contact person.

Not only do they allow you to ‘fill’ that 3 year gap, they can act as new former job references, complete with: ‘company name, address, “800″ number, company website/Email address , contact name, contact phone number, contact email address’.

You can create your own virtual company answered by a live receptionist, or direct any inquiries into voice mail limbo.

What if someone should happen to call the listed job reference?

When we receive a call inquiring about your references, they will be directed to our human resources dept. where they are instructed to fax, or e-mail, a Authorized Release Form and their Employment Verification Form to a contact person that we provided to you as your new job reference.

It seems their creativity knows no bottom:

Bankrupt companies make a great previous employer
We have created a management company with dozens of bankrupt companies that are ready to provide any inquirer your desired reference information.

Advising on ethics is just another part of their services:

Is misinformation on a resume illegal?
No, Since a resume is not a legal document, it is not illegal to misrepresent on a resume.

Course if the employer should happen to find out about this, ah, deception:

Can I get caught and fired?
We can’t guarantee that you wont and not liable if you do. If you get the job in the first place..we did our part. It’s up to you to act responsible after you get the job

After you get the job?

It would seem that an employer must do their own due diligence by checking #800’s and email addresses against valid sources to ensure that they are receiving valid reference checks.

It does seem that they are careful about privacy:

What about my privacy?
For your protection we do not collect or share any personal information about you, such as your name, mailing address or credit card number. All of your financial transactions are conducted through Paypal, our secure payment processor.

When it comes to hiring people these days, it seems that one needs to carefully ask: “Who are You…who who????” because we would like to know…

Hat tip to Pete Roberts for passing this site along!

♫ You see more than I
Daniel you’re a star in the face of the sky…♫

Lyrics by: Bernie Taupin, music and recorded by Elton John.

Subsequent to the early glimpse into WestlawNext that Thompson Reuters provided to a group of us in Eagan, Minnesota, many of that august group have now posted their views on WestlawNext on the web. So without any further ado, here is a look at what they, and others, have seen:

I hope I haven’t omitted anyone who has posted their early views and thoughts on the new WestlawNext. In the interests of fair disclosure, Thomson Reuters did pay expenses to travel to Eagan to see the preview (brrrr…it is cold there compared to warm Vancouver!).

By visiting these other sites hopefully you will gain perspective by reading the thoughts of other legal bloggers, writers and videographers who are stars in the face of the sky.

♫ Time now to spread your wings
To take to flight
The life endeavor
Aim for the burning sun…♫

Lyrics and Music by: Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones recorded by Savage Garden.

Every so often, all of us are looking for a bit of inspiration – a few uplifting words to give flight to our ideas and our lives. Accordingly I was pleased to receive an email from a colleague Patricia Yevics pointing me to a graduation address by Steve Jobs at Stanford University on “How to Live before You Die”.

This particular video clip is hosted on: www.ted.com. I had visited TED before but this last visit brought home the full extent of the number of inspiring and truly great and inspirational clips on this site. TED calls itself: “Ideas Worth Spreading” and I couldn’t agree more. I like to think of TED as YouTube that has been moderated.

I hope that we can spread the word about TED to those who may be looking for an updraft when they are aiming for the stars.

♫ A moment of despair
That forces you to say that life’s unfair
It makes you scared of what tomorrow may bring
But don’t go giving into fear ..♫

Lyrics and music by: Stone, Greenberg, Daniel Pierre, recorded by Joss Stone.

This is a post on Slaw.ca today:

You may wonder what human rights has to do with Internet Explorer. Prior to the earthquake in Haiti, the news was filled with the cyber-attacks on Google. The latest attacks on Google’s network appear to have originated in China, reported ComputerWorld in a post dated Jan 12, 2010 and were directed at the Google accounts of human rights activists in China. ComputerWorld stated:

In a blog post Tuesday, David Drummond, Google’s chief legal officer, said that attacks have forced the company to “review the feasibility of our business operations in China.” Google, continued Drummond, is “no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn, and so over the next few weeks we will be discussing with the Chinese government the basis on which we could operate an unfiltered search engine within the law, if at all.”

Read more here: http://www.slaw.ca/2010/01/19/human-rights-google-and-internet-explorer/

♫ Baby, baby, I’m out on a limb
I’m giving in to you again…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Teena Marie.

I wanted to say a most gracious thanks to Steve Matthews and his crew at Stem Legal (Jordan Furlong, Emma Durand-Wood, and Laurel Fulford) for my 2009 Clawbie in the area of Practice Management (tied with Avoid A Claim Blog – Dan Pinnington the Director of PracticePro’s new risk management blog). I also wanted to say a hearty “Congratulations” to all those who won and who were nominated (a complete list of winners can be found here). Well Done!

I didn’t want this to be a typical acceptance speech (which can be rather boring) so I am giving into the urge to go out on a limb (which usually means someone comes after me with a chainsaw….but I digress…) and make some predictions for what will be seen in the 2010 ClawBies and legal blogs in general.

First of all, I think 2010 will be the year of the collective blog. www.slaw.ca is one shining example of what can be achieved by a powerful group of bloggers who have multiple eyes and ears and who are watching the world. Slaw has been recognized internationally for the quality of its work. Frankly I don’t know how a Canadian lawyer can practice today without following it – it is a great way to stay on top of current developments not only across Canada but in the international legal world as well. Hats off to Simon Fodden for herding this particular group of legal cats!

Another great group blog is Lawrence Gridin and Omar Ha-Redeye’s Law is Cool.

Second, individual bloggers will make more extensive use of guest bloggers on their sites. This adds variety and new voices to the mix (and also helps create cross-links). It also builds on the social aspect of blogging.

Third, 2010 will also be the year that legal organizations recognize the value of a blog. The Stream, a collective blog hosted by the BC Courthouse Library Society, illustrates what happens when an organization recognizes the informational value in hosting a blog and looks at how it can provide information differently. Johanne Blenkin and Mandy Ostick are leading the way here. Lang Michener LLP, Davis LLP, Clark Wilson LLP and other law firms fall into this emerging category.

Fourth, I would like to mention a few people to watch in the Canadian legal blogging community:

Doug Jasinki’s new blog: http://legalmarketing.ca/ is one to keep an eye on (disclaimer: Doug and his team designed my blog for which I am eternally grateful). Doug is a very bright light when it comes to online legal marketing and he and his company Skunkworks Creative Group Inc. are doing some truly innovative things in the legal marketplace (see his list of clients here).

Individual bloggers that I find particularly inspiring: Erik Mcgraken, Donna Seale and Jordan Furlong are three to watch, in my humble opinion.

Lastly, there is Steve Matthews. He is a true Canadian visionary when it comes to understanding the entire online social matrix in which lawyers and law firms are working. His work is international in scope and light-years ahead of the competition. He senses oncoming transformation from the briefest puff in the winds of change.

So there they are…baby, baby I am out on a limb again…

♫ What makes you think that you are invincible
I can see it in your eyes that you’re so sure
please don’t tell me that I am the only one that’s vulnerable
impossible…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by John Vesely, under the pseudonym Secondhand Serenade.

The State Bar of Arizona has issued one of the first Ethics Opinions on preserving client confidentiality when placing client documents for access over the Internet. Arizona stated:

“Lawyers providing an online file storage and retrieval system for client access of documents must take reasonable precautions to protect the security and confidentiality of client documents and information.”

What is interesting in the Opinion is not the fact that the electronic storage of client files was permitted as long as lawyers and law firms “take competent and reasonable steps to assure that the client’s confidences are not disclosed to third parties through theft or inadvertence” or that ‘reasonable precautions’ was the standard that was set forth; but rather that the ethics opinion specifically approved the manner in which the remote access could occur:

The rest of this post can be found on slaw.ca.

♫ And gazing down from yonder,
On a world of blue and green,
He’ll say with eyes of wonder,
I have seen, i have seen,
My eyes have seen…♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Chris de Burgh.

I have recently posted on www.slaw.ca on Barclay Johnson’s use of a Sony Reader in Court. Here is the start of the article:

A lawyer friend of mine told me about his recent use of his new Sony Reader in Court. No, this wasn’t to read books while waiting to speak in Chambers! He is using it in direct and cross-examination in court and I thought it would be of interest to the readers on Slaw. So with no further ado, here it is in his own words:

I thought I would contact you to let you know that I have recently purchased a Sony Reader Model PRS 600 (touch screen with dictionary) at a cost of $399 plus tax. I also purchased the leather book jacket for $40 (which comes with a night light) as well as an AC adapter for $40. I had looked at previous models and decided to wait until some of the issues had been resolved regarding the transfer of text and PDF files. I’ve used this amazing new device in a recent five day trial here in Victoria.

To read the rest of the article, go here.

Thanks to Barclay Johnson [bwjohnson at shaw.ca] of Victoria BC for allowing me to post his experiences here in order that all of us can gaze with eyes of wonder and say I have seen ..I have seen…

♫ I’ve seen the future, baby:
it is murder.
Things are going to slide …♫

Lyrics, music and recorded by Leonard Cohen.

I had the pleasure of attending The Futures conference in Denver CO recently that was part of the College of Law Practice Management’s Annual General Meeting.

Several themes were developed during that conference, some of which took some time to fully appreciate. Certainly there was a healthy divergence of opinion on the future of lawyers, being the theme of the conference. However, I thought I would take a moment and encapsulate my thoughts on some of these ideas based on the forces that are presently shaping the legal profession. Certainly central to my thoughts are the Legal Services Bill in the UK as well as the power of the Internet as a disruptive technology. Together these, as well as other underlying forces, in my opinion, will change the legal profession as we know it.

ODR:

Online Dispute Resolution is one technology that is not present even on the radar of most lawyers or law firms. Certainly they do not see it as a threat or even an opportunity. However, in my view, it has a huge potential to change the legal profession. In my opinion, it is certainly being looked at by court administration officials and governments anxious to cut costs and provide greater access to dispute resolution services.

What are the trends that we see? Every court registry has seen a dramatic increase in the number of self-represented litigants. How much longer will they seek to use a system that has been designed to work for lawyers rather than have a system that has been designed to work for them? So many litigants today are self-represented since they cannot afford to hire a lawyer to economically handle their case. Online dispute resolution offers the promise of a system where they are in greater control of not only their own case but also the process surrounding that case. In other words, the laws of economics have driven litigants to find a different solution – and sooner or later they will demand that the system change to meet their requirements…for easier access (by the web rather than in person), for access on their schedule (asynchronous communication rather than synchronous), for a flexible process and procedure (they have input into how their dispute is resolved rather than dealing with a rigid court process) and a process that is both seen as being fair and inexpensive.

The world of ODR is only starting to develop. But if lawyers do not embrace ODR and shape it to be a part of the justice system, it will instead develop in parallel to the justice system and eventually compete with it. In my opinion, ODR will have the laws of economics on its side, and as well all know, it is the laws of economics that eventually win out over all others.

Access to Justice = Access to Lawyers?

Most lawyers view access to justice as being equivalent to increasing the access to lawyers. However, if you talk to a member of the public, I believe they would say exactly the opposite – that lawyers in many ways impede the access to justice.

However right or wrong that view may be, the legal profession has not (yet) realized that a sizable part of the public do not see the legal profession as necessarily being part of the solution to increasing access to justice. And that is more than just troubling. It is downright scary. While the legal profession stands for strong principles of fairness, equity and justice, the public views lawyers as being barriers to these same values and principles.

So the future of lawyers lies in our own hands…the question is, what are we going to do about it? We can seize the initiative and build our own future…or we can let events continue as they have been…in which case I think I see the future baby, and it is murder…things are going to slide…

“Oi! Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck…”

Genie from the movie “Alladin”.

A fellow PMA (Practice Management Advisor) passed along this tip and I thought I would share it. She has chronic back pain (as have so many office workers). Work was something to be endured…until she found the Leap Chair by Steelcase. I know that there are other ergonomic chairs out there..but this one comes with a personal endorsement by someone I know and trust. So I thought I would pass it along here for anyone who also suffers from back pain and is looking for a bit of relief.

The chair is the Steelcase Leap Erogonomic Chair. She is now leaping for joy!

♬ We’ll find another way to dance, we’ll find another way to dance
If you get the chance you must dance, dance, dance….♬

Lyrics, music and recorded by Dan Keyes.

Oct. 2, 2009 marked the latest edition of The Pacific Legal Technology Conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada. With speakers such as Dr. Michael Geist, who spoke on how blogs, Twitter, web sites and other internet-driven collaboration tools have changed how governments shape legislation, it was not surprising that this year’s program saw record attendance numbers!

Other popular session topics were: Going Paperless, virtual lawyering, privacy and security and ethics concerns and of course, iPhones, Blackberries and other smartphones. The conference also dealt with time, task and email management using technology and how to focus your financial system to direct your future and achieve your goals…financial and otherwise. The conference closed to a ‘60 Tips in 60 Mins” presentation that saw at least 100 tips being mentioned, displayed and discussed. Copies of most of the power points can be found at: www.pacificlegaltech.com/sessions.html. Written materials (in CD-ROM format) are also available from the conference for $149 + taxes from: info@pacificlegaltech.com.

What was most interesting from my perspective were the comments and discussions that resulted from the sessions. In particular was an email exchange that I had with Grant Sutherland, a lawyer in Vancouver (I have his permission to post his comments here).

He stated that:

“You mentioned that you are a Mac user. After struggling with Vista, I purchased a Mac a year ago and will never go back to a PC. The Mac is terrific!

I am practicing part time. I have office space available at a law firm in downtown Vancouver but spend most of my time working out of my condo. I am 63 years old and have been in practice for 37 years.

There are probably a lot of lawyers like me who are getting a little long in the tooth but don’t want to retire and have a lot of experience and some useful advice to impart to clients and younger lawyers.

Technology allows people like me to work out of my home and assist clients with their legal issues. I have fully embraced technology and am always looking for new tech tips to help in my practice. (Who says you cant teach an old dog new tricks?) Your conference was very timely for me.

You may wish to consider targeting older lawyers who want to transition from an office to a home office. In my view, they are ideal candidates for the tech information you have to offer.”

So I asked Grant what are the technologies that he uses to be a mobile and virtual lawyer. Here is his reply:

“I use a MacBook Air. Weighs 3 pounds. Excellent for travel and taking to meetings locally, Starbucks, etc. I have the Super Drive to plug in to USB if I need to load software or view a DVD. I don’t take the drive with me when I travel. Don’t need it and it is excess weight.

For backup I just bought a 1 terabyte Time Capsule. I also have a couple of USB Flash Drives that I bring with me when I travel.

I have an HP Officejet Pro 7780 All-In-One copier, fax, printer, scanner. For big print or copy jobs, I email The Printing House with a file attached.

I have a Blackberry 9630–the new World Phone. Works on both GSM and CDMA so works most places in the world. I use Blackberry email and instant messaging a lot. Very efficient!

Finally, I have an iPod touch. This is useful when traveling as it has my music, photos etc so it helps to pass the time on aircraft. It is synced with my Macbook Air email through MobileMe so it serves as a backup for my email in case I encounter a problem with my computer.

I closed my downtown office at the end of February and have some legacy PC hardware and software with my accounting information. I am a stickler for precise accounting and I have a bookkeeper that comes in once a week to look after my accounting.”

Grant has found a new way of continuing to practice, in a way that supports his lifestyle and his needs, using technology to reach out to the world (or have the world find him). I would like to thank Grant for taking the time to share his perspective here for others to read and hopefully, emulate.

After all, if we still hear the music once we no longer wish to practice 50+ hours a week in a glass tower, we need to start finding a new way to dance….