Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on research and writing, practice, and technology.

Research & Writing

Use CanLII to Compare Two Versions of an Act
Susannah Tredwell

Most CanLII users know that CanLII provides point-in-time versions of legislation. However, one feature of CanLII that is less well known is that it allows users to compare two versions of an act. …

Practice

How to Deal With Difficult People
David Bilinsky

James C. Collins wrote the best seller: “Good to Great: Why . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on research and writing, practice, and technology.

Research & Writing

Gruesome Twosomes
Neil Guthrie

What do I mean by this? Pairs of words that lawyers routinely use together, but would be better not to. These pairs may once (in the late Middle Ages?) have had distinct meanings but now really don’t. And even in the Middle Ages they may not have: many of these ‘coupled synonyms’ (in Richard Wydick‘s phrase) join an English word with . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on research and writing, practice, and technology.

Research & Writing

Stay on Top of Changes to Specific Webpages With ChangeDetection.com
Bronwyn Guiton

ChangeDetection.com is a tool I recommend to help you monitor webpages and be notified automatically if they’ve been updated. No one wants to be sitting around refreshing a web page until that important agreement gets uploaded and goes public. This tool will watch the page for you and email you when it’s updated. . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research & Writing

Catchy Headlines and Openers
Neil Guthrie

Just as blogs get more readers than e-mails, articles with catchy headlines and enticing openers are more likely to be looked at than, well, boring ones. Here is a post from LinkedIn that illustrates the point: …

Practice

Law Firm Marketing: Finding an Online/Offline Balance
Garry Wise

There is no shortage of evangelism out there on the importance of the Internet . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research & Writing

Deciphering Legal Citations
Susannah Tredwell

Legal citations like to pack the largest amount of information in the smallest amount of space. However, if you are not familiar with the abbreviation for a specific law journal or reporter, it can be tricky figuring out what is being referred to from a few scant letters. …

Practice

Map Your Future
David Bilinsky

“Think Different” was the slogan for Apple, . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research & Writing

Get Writing!
Neil Guthrie

My first tip is simple: get writing! Or, more to the point, get blogging. Blogged content has high visibility and much higher readership than content that is distributed by e-mail. Unless you have a very targeted and well-maintained e-mail distribution list, it’s unlikely that a publication sent by e-mail will be opened (much less read) by more than 5% of its recipients. … . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research

Noting Up Tip
Shaunna Mireau

I shared some tips about technology skills with some fine folks via webinar with CBA Manitoba’s Legal Research Section recently. One of the tech skills was about noting up: Note up cases for judicial history as well as consideration of decisions by other cases and legal commentary using multiple database sources (fee and free) …

Practice

Surveys and Law Firms
David Bilinsky

Lawyers are . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Practice

Team Up to Improve Cash Flow
Garry Wise

Large enterprises typically have entire departments dedicated to maintaining positive cash flow. They employ predictable, set billing cycles, procedures that address accounts receivables, and where appropriate, safeguards to ensure that adequate deposits are on hand to secure pending purchases or services to be delivered. … . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research

Watch for New Tools
Shaunna Mireau

Today’s Tip was inspired by a news release that crossed my email: Canadian startup launches law search engine: Legal technology puts 5 million pages of laws from around the world. (September 24, 2015, Toronto) – Canadian startup, Global-Regulation Inc. …

Practice

We Really Need to Hear From You…
David Bilinsky

This week, Garry Wise and I chatted about the possible topics that we . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Practice

I Don’t Know
Garry Wise

They may be the three most difficult words for certain professionals to utter. The mere temptation to speak them aloud has even been known (among some, it is rumoured), to dredge up sweaty palms, blinding pillars of ego and fortress-thick walls of denial. I don’t know. …

Technology

Search Tips That Will Get You Better Google Results*
Dan Pinnington

It is amazing how Google . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Practice

The Long Tail…
David Bilinsky

Lawyers, I surmise, believe with their long history and experience that they are the innovators of any changes in the legal/justice system. However, that theory may need further examination. In fact it may have to be turned onto its head.

Technology

Easy Instant Lines in Microsoft Word*
Dan Pinnington

In Microsoft Word (including Mac versions) you can easily create a variety of horizontal lines . . . [more]

Here are excerpts from the most recent tips on SlawTips, the site that each week offers up useful advice, short and to the point, on technology, research and practice.

Research

Give Feedback
Shaunna Mireau

I recently did some work for one of my colleagues and was reminded how great it feels when you do something and get feedback. Today’s tip is to give feedback. Often, legal research is shared among many and giving feedback will reinforce all the positive aspects of sharing access to work product. …

Practice

(Random) Tips for September
Garry Wise

September has arrived, ushering in . . . [more]