Last May I attended a talk by Ron Deibert, Director of Citizen Lab, part of the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, at the annual Mesh Conference in Toronto. He talked about cyber crime having become one of the world’s largest growth sectors, with savvy young coders from poorer nations leading the way. Cyber crime, he explained, takes advantage of:

• mobile networking and reliance on the web for our computing
• lack of controls (i.e. regulation and legislation) internationally
• proper security practices and policies not yet in place

Deibert has written a report for GISWatch (Global Information . . . [more]

The 2011 Apple in Law Offices Survey saw over 750 respondents provide insight on how Apple devices, ranging from the iPhone to the MacBook, are impacting the way they practice law.

iPad

Unsurprisingly, the iPad saw a huge jump in usage. In the 2010 survey, 26% of respondents used an iPad in their law office; in the 2011 survey, that figure jumped to 56%. The remaining 44% of lawyers without an iPad apparently don’t plan on going without one for long: 71% of respondents were considering purchasing iPads for their law office in the next year:

Mobile

On the mobile . . . [more]

‘Tis the season for law firms (and no doubt others) to send out season’s greetings by email, most often accompanied by the usual wordy and sometimes bilingual notices that the content of the email may be confidential, privileged and subject to diverse prohibitions that we are more or less politely admonished to comply with.

Here’s a typical, though polite, version (French omitted):

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this electronic mail message are confidential and strictly reserved for the sole use of its intended recipients. This message may contain information protected by the solicitor-client privilege. If you receive this message in

For all the talk about cloud computing and the security and ethics implications thereof, for many the concept remains a nebulous one. Earlier this month Bessemer Venture Partners, a leading venture capital firm, helped make the concept of cloud computing much more concrete by creating and publishing the Bessemer Cloudscape, a “visual to track the leading companies in this revolution.”

Bessemer has invested heavily in cloud computing, and is in an excellent position to map the cloudscape. The firm sees cloud computing not only as one of the most important technology transitions to have ever occurred, but also as . . . [more]

We read from time to time that Internet defamation is worse than that in other media because of its global reach and persistence over time. Thus the Ontario Court of Appeal in Barrick v Lopehandia 2004 CanLII 12938 issued an injunction against further defamation, in part because of the Internet’s character as “potentially a medium of virtually limitless international defamation” (the Court quoted Matthew Collins, The Law of Defamation and the Internet.) The court (by majority) also increased fivefold the damages awarded at trial, for similar reasons.

Recently the British Columbia Supreme Court granted ex parte injunctions against publication . . . [more]

Just when we were getting used to Twitter’s new interface, along comes an even newer one. Twitter is introducing a new interface that has a consistent layout across the mobile and Internet applications. The new version is gradually being rolled out; I have seen it on the iPhone but not yet on the Internet. The iPad version is still being developed.

More information is given at fly.twitter.com.

According to Kevin O’Keefe on his Real Lawyers Have Blogs blog, this redesigned Twitter will be better for lawyers. He maintains the layout is easier to use, and it is more professional . . . [more]

For authors on SLAW, you know that in today’s world, obtaining a publishing agreement with a traditional publisher means that you have to show your publisher how YOU will market and promote your own book. Those authors with a broad reach will of course be more attractive to a publisher. By the time you contact a publisher, you likely have some blog postings and perhaps print articles on your CV, but how about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and other online marketing tools? What to do and where to do them? And a biggie – how much time to spend marketing rather . . . [more]

The Attorney General for England and Wales, Dominic Grieve gave a very interesting speech on December 1 entitled ‘Contempt – A Balancing Act: balancing the freedom of the press with the fair administration of justice’ to journalism students where he commented on his approach to contempt of court.

‘Citizen journalists’ should not think they are immune to the law of contempt, that there is a certain belief that so long as something is published in cyberspace there is no need to respect the laws of contempt or libel. While he accepts the danger posed to the administration of

Love them or hate them, Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and MacBook are rapidly changing the way lawyers practice law. In just a few short years the technology lawyers use has shifted homogeny of PCs and BlackBerries to a diverse mix of PCs, Macs, iPads and iPhones. RIM, meanwhile, is imploding.

To try to keep a pulse on the rapidly shifting IT landscape, Clio, in cooperation with MILOfest, is holding the second annual Apple in Law Offices Survey – please take the survey. There’s a chance to win an iPad 2 to boot!

As I did last . . . [more]

Now being reported widely (5, 6, 7), Wikileaks and partners have documented an international market in computer, cellphone, and GPS surveillance software that can and has be used by governments for the use of tracking down dissidents. Muammar Qaddafi is the poster child, at the moment, but the practice is widespread, as indicated on this interactive map.

I have a friend who jokingly teased me for imagining that governments could possibly care what I say or who I call. When it is this easy, though, it would seem almost perverse for them to deny themselves . . . [more]

The Clawbies website design is now updated, and the season opening post is up. Yes, it’s time for the (6th!) Canadian Law Blog Awards!

Whether you’re a blogger or blog reader, the month of December has become the time to shine a light on your favourite Canadian law blogs and bloggers. And if you’re new to the Clawbies tradition, please make careful note of ‘the humble Canadian rule’ — don’t toot your own horn! Your blog gets automatically nominated when you nominate and link to other bloggers! Yes, it’s a wink-wink, nudge-nudge concept, but take a look around at . . . [more]