To complement our current column by Kelly Friedman on E-Discovery, I thought I’d point folks to a primer on that topic by NASCIO (National Association of State CIO’s), “Seek and Ye Shall Find? State CIOs Must Prepare Now for E-Discovery” [PDF]. The brief closes with this observation:

Since e-discovery efforts hold promise for serving as a strong motivating force for state records management and digital preservation initiatives, NASCIO will address in a forthcoming Research Brief ways in which State CIOs can start and move forward records management and digital preservation initiatives while improving the states’ ability to deal with e-discovery

Here’s a link passed on by Rich in our library to an article at TechCrunch describing a new eBook service from Amazon and Google. It is meant to be delivered on a new piece of hardware called ‘kindle.’ As one reader notes, a bad choice for any book-related product, but perhaps it is meant to be a book killer.

As an interesting aside, see the second comment on the article which must be astroturf. Further into the comments there are some worthwhile thoughts, especially #8. . . . [more]

Only USD100 less than the real thing. And unburdened of any ability to transmit voice.

Apple’s new iPod touch. . . . [more]

The Bootstrapper blog has a list of 100 free products and services available on the Internet for poor entrepreneurs starting and running businesses. The list features all types of handy tools ranging from productivity software, office software, and accounting software. It also highlights free resources related to networking, communication, print and web design, marketing and sales, and customer service and relations. Best of all, it points to sites that offer free samples of trade magazines, packaging and mailing materials, coffee, coffee mugs, paper, post-its, postage, pens, and more!

I can see poor students loving this list too. Pass it on. . . . [more]

That is the question asked in an article published last week in the Legal Times.

It provides an overview of the increasing use of the legal blogosphere by tenured law professors to pursue legal scholarship:

“If you are looking for the future of legal scholarship, chances are that you may find it not in a treatise or the traditional law review but in a different form, profoundly influenced by the blogosphere (…) Who are the bloggers? The uninitiated might think they would be young professors, those who have grown up with the Internet and are comfortable with self-publication in

The Online Education Database came up with a method to determine who the top library bloggers are.

The methodology took into account various measures such as Google PageRank, Alexa Rank, Technorati Authority, and number of Bloglines subscribers.

These contests are always a bit “iffy” (see post questioning some of the criteria) but what the heck? Let’s pat ourselves on the back.

5 blogs featuring law librarians (including 2 Canucks who are Slawyers!) made the top 25 list:

• Law Librarian Blog (5th)
• Slaw contributor Vancouver Law Librarian Blog (17th)
• Slaw contributor Connie Crosby of Toronto (20th)
• The Handheld Librarian

Everyone should have a look at the latest issue of the American Bar Association Journal – Law in the Age of Terror

. . . [more]

Today’s WhatPC magazine has an interesting discussion of the high prices charged and poor service delivered by the major legal information companies, specifically naming Thomson (with its Westlaw and Sweet & Maxwell services) and LexisNexis (including the Butterworths and Tolley brands).

A few choice quotes:

“Although the sector boasts a lot about listening to customers, this is largely not so,” says one independent business information consultant. “Customer consultation is often just going through the motions because it’s expected or it looks good.”

“One key supplier introduced a new platform without adequately reflecting the needs of UK users and has been

I’m still recovering from the realization that summer is over and classes have started again, so I was pleased to see two humorous and somewhat contradictory postings on the Alcuin Society blogpage ” “But You Don’t Look Like a Librarian!” and “Are you Geeky Enough to be a Librarian. The first is by Guy Robertson who writes some interesting and funny articles for the Canadian Library Association journal Feliciter and the BCLA Reporter . . . [more]

I am getting old (and careless). I thought I knew most if not all of the law journals that were available online. In a recent post, I jokingly raised the need for Canada Law Book (CLB) to put its journals online. I have since found out that in fact a number of their journals are or will be online online. To wit:

Canadian Business Law Journal – on HeinOnline (Vols. 1-40: 1975-2004) and soon to also likely be available through CLB.

Criminal Law Quarterly – on CLB’s Criminal Spectrum product

Other CLB journal titles will also be digitized, likely soon, . . . [more]

(Ogilvy Renault LLP)

As a commercial litigator, I have dealt with cases having large volumes of documentary production and e-discovery. But I decided that I would share the thoughts of some individuals currently in the trenches instead of blogging about a personal e-discovery experience or trying to come up with any words of wisdom (which we all know, in the e-discovery realm, means something that I learned from my own mistake or a corporation’s well-publicized mistake following a U.S. judgment).

An e-discovery project is underway in my office that I affectionately think of as “someone else’s nightmare”. The case involves . . . [more]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced yesterday he has asked Governor General Michaëlle Jean to prorogue the current session of Parliament. The session was originally supposed to start again on September 17th. This means the Parliament would not sit again until October 16th, starting the Second Session of the 39th Parliament. See the Prime Minister’s Sept. 4th announcement.

According to a report by the CBC:

the move sets the stage for a non-confidence vote that could trigger an election campaign — a vote and election campaign that could turn on Canada’s commitment in Afghanistan.

Opposition parties must decide whether