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Archive for August, 2011

Knowledge Management Know-How

Luigi Benetton has published a nice article called “Knowledge Management Know-How” in the current edition of The Lawyers Weekly.

The article quotes me and fellow SLAW contributor Dominic Jaar, but what I like about the article are the viewpoints from others in the industry and the wide range of tips and advice on best practices.

What I find with knowledge management is that there is usually never a single approach or method and varies a fair bit depending on the type of organization, its culture and staffing.

In fact, there has been lots of discussion in the . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Information: Information Management, Practice of Law: Practice Management

Food for Thought: Apple v Samsung Lawsuit, and the State of Broadband in Canada

Two disparate articles caught my eye this morning that are worthy of pondering.

Apple has sued Samsung claiming that Samsung’s tablets violate Apple tablet patents. Some of the features in question are actually part of the Android operating system, not just the tablet itself. In Australia, sales of Samsung’s new Galaxy Tab 10.1 are on hold pending court action. Setting aside the legal issues, and the debate over whether such patents are a good or bad thing for innovation, consider this point of view by Mike Masnick of Techdirt:

But, really, all Apple has done with this lawsuit is

. . . [more]
Posted in: Miscellaneous

Taking a Summer Vacation Will Make You a Better Lawyer (Yes, Really)

If you were planning on working through the summer without taking a holiday, think again. Vacations aren’t just for fun, relaxation and time with the family, they can provide crucial recuperation for your mental muscle. When you don’t take vacation, you lose important recovery time, and over the long term your work (and you) may well suffer.

Here’s why: Our bodies work in rhythms. Our brain does too. Throughout the day we cycle through longer periods of energy exertion and shorter periods of recuperation. Our minds can maintain optimal focus for 60 to 90 minutes before needing a 10 minute . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law

Social Media Breakfast

For the last few months a colleague from our marketing department and I have been attending SMBYEG. This is the 140 character form of Edmonton’s (Edmonton International Airport code being YEG) combined with the abbreviation for Social Media Breakfast. Not everyone who attends has a Twitter handle, but #SM users are certainly in the majority.

Social Media Breakfasts serves two main purposes:

  • Face-to-face networking: Bring together marketers, PR pros, students, entrepreneurs, and social media practitioners and enthusiasts of all stripes over breakfast.
  • Education: Through panel discussions, presentations, case studies, debates, and breakout sessions … teach, share, and learn social

. . . [more]
Posted in: Education & Training, Technology: Internet

The 2021 Quebec Lawyer

Last month, the Barreau du Québec came out with a report entitled “Les avocats de pratique privée en 2021” or The private practice lawyer in 2021 (the document is available in French here). Practicing lawyers from large, medium and small law firms were consulted in the preparation of this study.

We learn that in Quebec alone, approximately 113 000 people are associated with the legal profession, either as lawyers, paralegals, notaries, stenographers, bailiffs, etc., making this report relevant for a number of people.

This one hundred plus page document provides an interesting overview of the legal private practice as . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law, Practice of Law: Future of Practice

The Golf Tournament

Most of us have participated in or been invited to a golf tournament in our careers. Often these are over-the-top affairs with great meals, fantastic prizes and cost a huge amount of money. Over the years there has been a change in the landscape so more and more tournaments have added a charitable component but still offer great meals, fantastic prizes, and still cost a huge amount of money — yet now the competitors help pay for it.

Golf tournaments come in all shapes and sizes. From the bare bones — half day shotgun tournament followed by dinner — to . . . [more]

Posted in: Legal Marketing

Seth Godin on the New Fundamental Shift

In this ten-minute video, best-selling author Seth Godin talks about a fundamental shift in today’s business world that includes marketing, social media and a move toward openness. He says: “You are going to have to change if you want to be there too.”

Yahoo! Futurist: Seth Godin

 

Some food for thought. A quick summary:

  1. Marketing needs to be responsible for the product.
  2. You need to measure interaction.
  3. The only asset that gets built online is permission to talk to people.

I wonder about the first point and how it can be applied to a law firm? I almost think . . . [more]

Posted in: Practice of Law: Future of Practice, Practice of Law: Marketing, Technology: Internet