Lawyerist

Google finally syncs Blackberry contacts

Sam Glover — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:50:46 +0000

Finally, a sync I can support! Google Sync will now sync your Blackberry’s built-in contacts with your Gmail contacts. This is huge, especially if, like me, you use Gmail for email. Before, I had to do a complicated dance with Plaxo in order to get my contacts onto my Blackberry. Now, it should happen automatically [...]

This post is privileged and confidential

Eric Cooperstein — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:00:46 +0000

But you started reading it anyway. We’re all so inundated with disclaimers and license agreements at every turn that we barely flinch anymore when we see the words “privileged and confidential” or worse, long paragraphs in small fonts portending doom for the unwitting recipient of a misdirected e-mail or the surfer of law firm websites. Disclaimers [...]

“Send me a postcard, drop me a line . . .”

Eric Cooperstein — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:00:45 +0000

The following is a fictionalized account of a conversation between the plaintiff’s attorneys in Illinois Central Railroad Co. v. Broussard, No. 2007-CA-01010-COA (Miss.Ct. App. Sept. 30, 2008), as reported at 24 Lawyers’ Manual 535 (Oct. 15, 2008). Associate: You know that asbestos case we filed a couple of weeks ago? Partner: You mean Broussard? Yeah, that was [...]

Link roundup

Sam Glover — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:59:33 +0000

Some things I haven’t had time to write about from the last few weeks: Synkron Syncs Files and Folders Across Platforms | Lifehacker GIMP Tricks Everyone Should Know | Lifehacker THIS is Why Solos Must Learn Technology and Think Globally | Build a Solo Practice, LLC Zotero: The Next-Generation Research Tool | Futurelawyer First Look: Microsoft Office Heads Online with [...]

Watch out for ethics bumps in flat fees

Eric Cooperstein — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:00:38 +0000

As alternative billing approaches go, flat fees have many fans. Clients like to know exactly what a particular legal service will cost and lawyers like to leverage experience they have gained in providing the same service to others. Sometimes a flat fee even lets a lawyer spend more time on a matter because there’s no [...]

A Windows I am looking forward to

Sam Glover — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:50:07 +0000

I confess, I am actually looking forward to Windows 7. When Vista came out, I jumped ship to Ubuntu. I was tired of boring, clumsy old XP, and Vista’s system requirements were ridiculous. But Microsoft has apparently dialed back the system requirements, so that most circa-2007 computers should have no problem running it. That alone makes [...]

WordPress overhauls its user interface

Sam Glover — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:45:10 +0000

Think open source is unsophisticated? Think again. Take a look at the lengths the WordPress team went to in order to redesign the user interface. To make sure users get a better interface, WordPress engaged the Ball State University’s Center for Media Design, Insight and Research (CMD, blessedly, for short). CMD conducted eye-tracking studies, usability surveys, and [...]

Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex: get it while its hot!

Sam Glover — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 13:35:51 +0000

New versions of Ubuntu are released twice a year, and the second release of 2008 comes out today! (Watch the countdown at right to find out when the actual release is available.) Since 8.04 was a stable, long-term service release, 8.10 includes a number of improvements. One of Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth’s goals is developing a [...]

The son of a bitch who invented Comic Sans

Sam Glover — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:24:46 +0000

(Click for big.)

Blogging 101: Why blog?

Sam Glover — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:00:27 +0000

A blog is probably the most effective way to drive potential clients to your (virtual) door. Well-written, attractive, and well-configured blogs consistently appear at the top of search engine results, and often result in earned media exposure for the blogger. What is a blog? A blog is just a frequently-updated website. It is a simple, easy way [...]