Year: 2009
Electronic evidence: disclosure and admissibility
Digital devices (and thus digital evidence) are ubiquitous, and any lawyer that fails to ask their client for evidence from their laptop, Blackberry, mobile telephone, memory sticks or iPod is risking an action in negligence if such evidence could have been made available and would have been relevant in any legal proceedings but was not […]
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Outsourcing ”” a competitive tool
It would be an understatement to say we live in challenging times and no doubt the next 18 months will continue to be difficult. It is at such times that innovation thrives, whether this is through new products and services or new business models or tweaks to old models. It is likely that outsourcing and […]
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Search engine optimisation – a holistic approach
Most users don’t look past the first two or three pages of results returned by a search engine, so understanding and implementing search engine optimisation (SEO) is critical. SEO is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a website from search engines via natural (or “organic”) – as opposed to paid […]
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Using Web 2.0 within the organisation
Expensive centralised, standalone systems and complex processes of communicating and storing information are amongst some of the main contributors to wasteful and inefficient processes. People need to work on a platform that gets them out of their in-boxes and word documents. New tools like wikis, blogs, RSS and personal dashboards are combined in this platform […]
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Improving legislation on the web
In 1996 HMSO started publishing new legislation on its website. Comprehensive coverage was later extended back to 1987 for Acts and 1988 for SIs. Although publication of legislation was timely and presentation competent, we yearned for what had been promised for many years – a comprehensive, up-to-date version of the statute book. Finally it arrived […]
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1COR Human Rights
When Members at One Crown Office Row (1COR) first discussed setting up a Human Rights Website in 1997, what everybody had in mind was something that ran along the lines of a university law syllabus, with private law categories on one side, tort, contract, equity and so on; and public law on the other, with […]
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Current Awareness from the Inner Temple Library
The Inner Temple is one of the four historic Inns of Court. They are unincorporated associations which have existed since the 14th Century and play a central role in the recruitment of student barristers, as well the training and continued professional development of established barristers. The Inns of Court hold the exclusive rights to call […]
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Reputation monitoring and brand promotion
When Bing Crosby sang “You’ve got to accentuate the positive/and eliminate the negative” back in 1944, he probably wasn’t thinking about the internet and promoting business reputation. But at its simplest, those two ideas are the underlying principles behind managing your online reputation, and moreover, they’re intrinsically linked. You can either be proactive in promoting […]
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Setting up a virtual firm
Just over a year ago I set up Lawbridge Solicitors as a virtual firm after 21 years as a partner in a High Street practice. As the partner responsible for my former firm’s IT, I had been interested in the idea of a virtual law firm for some time. The increasing financial pressures on High […]
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Social networks – how they work
Facebook has over 200 million users; LinkedIn, the network for business and professionals, has over 40 million; Twitter is all the rage; and don’t forget blogs. Although these services are hugely popular, it’s safe to say that amongst lawyers use is still largely confined to so-called early adopters. Should you be using these (public) social […]
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FreeLegalWeb progress
I reported in the November issue on the FreeLegalWeb project I initiated which is designed to provide better, affordable, joined-up access to the law. The idea has been fleshed out and a number of potential stakeholders have been approached. The Pilot Project which will focus on Housing Law is now under way thanks to initial […]
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Resources provided by firms of solicitors
Many firms of solicitors provide useful legal information on their websites, but in most cases it is information aimed at a particular type of potential client – those with injuries who are considering a claim, individuals considering divorce, companies trying to collect debts, employers and employees with employment problems and so on. In other words, […]
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