From reading Law.com, I discovered that the 7th Circuit recently developed its own wiki. Its focus is to provide an online space where lawyers and judges can post information on practice and procedure in both the court of appeals and the district courts. As Carolyn Elefant writes on Law.com, its definitely a great resource for both experienced and newbie lawyers. . . . [more]

Some bright folks at the University of Toronto’s Department of Computer Science Human-Computer Interaction Group spend their time thinking about how we get along with computers and make them do our bidding (ha ha). One interesting project involves a hand-held projector and a computer pen, enabling the user to project material onto any surface within a room and, in effect, park it there, such that this document is “located” on that tabletop and that graphic is lodged on the wall to the right, etc. “Shining” the projector gun on that tabletop reveals the document and sweeping the gun to the . . . [more]

If you can’t make the Spring pilgrimage to Eagan, MN, let Eagan come to you.

There’s a brand new podcast from the West-Thomson research specialists. It features West reference lawyers Ed Fisher, Katy Hauck and Andy O’Meara, who discuss how they approach the calls, e-mails and live chat messages they get every day. They also talk about why they became reference attorneys and offer advice for Westlaw customers in how to best use their help.

And if you can’t manage the Podcast, do keep up with the free newsletters. . . . [more]

The Justicia Awards recognize outstanding broadcast and print stories that foster public awareness and understanding of any aspect of the Canadian justice system, or the roles played by institutions and participants in the legal system.

The nomination period for the 8th annual Awards is now open. The deadline is June 15, 2007 for entries covering stories that were published or broadcast between May 16, 2006 and May 15th 2007.

The awards will be presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Bar Association in Calgary on August 11.

They are sponsored by the Canadian Bar Association and the Department of . . . [more]

Some time ago we noted that Charlie Nesson at Harvard Law was planning to use Second Life for a course he and his daughter were teaching. Now I learn that at Seattle University School of Law Elizabeth Townsend Gard used it in her first year Property Course. The description of the course and how it incorporated Second Life can be found on Terra Nova; and you can watch the video descriptions of the student projects on the blog set up for that purpose. Judging from what I saw, and speaking as a one-time property teacher, I think we have . . . [more]

Writing in The Times, Jonathan Weber captions a column: Why we need Microsoft, the great underdog.

Google has changed the way of the web in less than ten years. Without a strong Microsoft, its dominance will only increase.

It’s a provocative position, but it actually has aroused some resonance.

See Has Google Created A Monster?

Microsoft, the Underdog

And as for poor Microsoft, on April 26, it reported quarterly revenue of a mere $14.4 billion, net income of $9.3 billion. That’s $55 million a day.

The Europeans got it dead wrong.

Pass the collection plate. . . . [more]

It took a bit of digging, but I have found the letter released which I referred to in yesterday’s post.

See this site: Canada’s Boreal Forest, hosted on the Boreal Songbird Initiative website. The letter itself is a 37 page PDF in English, and French. The letter is 1 1/2 pages in length, with 2 1/2 pages of footnotes and 33 pages for the over 1,500 signatures.

It was released yesterday simultaneously in Ottawa and Seattle by:

• Dr. David Schindler, Professor of Biology, University of Alberta
• Dr. Terry Root, Stanford University Professor and author of multiple

We’ve been waiting in anticipation to see what will happen. Today Reuters and Thomson have confirmed they will be joining forces to create one of the largest financial news publishers in the world, surpassing Bloomberg. . . . [more]

While I can understand that occasionally one might visit a library while on vacation, I had never realized that one might choose not merely one’s destination but also one’s hotel by virtue of access to legal information.

I’m not just talking about high-speed web access in a hotel room.

The Taj in Chandigarh is advertising a Law Library as one of the features that might attract visitors. See Taj Chandigarh Brings More Amenities For Hotel-Lovers On The Eve Of Completion Of Two Years

Reading down to the fourth paragraph:

The facilities like Wi-Fi Internet access, Business Centre, Two Meeting Rooms, . . . [more]

The People’s Daily has just announced major improvements to the
Community Legal Information Center (CLIC), a community legal information website, run by the University of Hong Kong.

The China Information Technology and Law Center organized a completion ceremony for the website, which is also one of the activities celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The CLIC project is commissioned by the Hong Kong government and funded by the Department of Justice of the government under which the law center is to develop, host and maintain the website.

The bilingual website is a . . . [more]

Almost thirty years ago, two friends Ed Belobaba (then of Osgoode Hall and now of the Superior Court of Justice) and Eric Gertner (then of the Ontario Law Reform Commission and now of Mccarthy Tétrault) had the vision to work to create a new journal, the Supreme Court Law Review.

The Law Times obituary of Justice Bertha Wilson illustrated its story with a portrait from the SCC collection by Mary Lennox Hourd.

If you look closely, it’s clear that the book Wilson J is resting her right hand on is the Supreme Court Law Review. Not often does Canadian . . . [more]

There’s a thoughtful piece on Law.com about how exactly one does manage a multi-jurisdictional practice, particularly where the firm has grown quickly by merger or acquisition: Tech Integrates Firms’ Global Networks

The article points out how technology and systematic knowledge management may help.

At White & Case, a software program alerts a lawyer in New York whether the firm’s Beijing-based attorney already drafted a similar document.

At Reed Smith, lawyers get a chance to meet their worldwide colleagues during “speed networking sessions,” when associates from all locations unite in one place.

At White & Case, a software program that stores