Month: November 2016
Internet for Lawyers CPD 2016 competence courses online now
Thanks to those who have already completed our new Internet for Lawyers CPD 2016 courses and a reminder to those who have not that you can earn all the CPD you need with us online now. Barristers. You have a month to complete your 2016 CPD. You may undertake any of our courses and claim […]
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Private prosecution – a viable alternative
A surprisingly large number of lawyers are unaware of the right to bring a private prosecution and the potential benefits that such a course of action can bring. A private prosecution is a ‘criminal law’ action and is prosecuted in the criminal courts but if utilised effectively, it can be a very useful tactic either […]
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The intangible law firm
A view from across the pond. Remember all those ludicrous predictions you kept hearing about how law firms were some day going to invest heavily in intelligent technology that could do legal work? Funny thing about that: some day is today. Here’s what’s actually happening, right now, with advanced technology in law firms: Kira Systems’ machine-learning document […]
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8 analytics tips for success online
“War is 90 per cent information” – Napoleon Bonaparte With the legal sector continuing to go through a period of unprecedented change, law firms are increasingly looking for ways to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. Law firm decision makers throughout the country will be busy developing and implementing business plans, setting objectives, goals […]
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Brexit, copyright and liminality
I’ve always liked the word “liminality” – a threshold that marks the boundary between two phases. If nothing else, Brexit presents an opportunity for its appropriate use. The UK’s current state, where we are still in the EU but apparently heading somewhere else, does feel liminal, with its quality (to quote Wikipedia) of ambiguity or disorientation. You can sense […]
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Legal software suppliers A to Z
In the last issue of this Newsletter, I wrote an article on the main suppliers of cloud based software for lawyers. I described the suppliers who have developed software for the cloud, from the ground up (no pun intended), with no option for in-house use; there were about 30 suppliers, and their offerings, described in […]
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Free content in your inbox
A good way of keeping up to date with recent developments in law – and to collect quite a bit of free content – is to sign up for email alerts. But take care to choose wisely, lest your inbox be flooded with updates you don’t have time to read. It’s best to choose a […]
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What is Net Neutrality?
Net neutrality is the idea that all data sent across the internet should be treated equally, without the application of any discriminatory filtering based on specific criteria. To better understand the concept, it helps to view the internet as a “dumb” network of pipes merely facilitating the flow of data from one location (eg a […]
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Barristers CPD for 2017
The Bar Standards Board has finally come up with draft guidelines for their new CPD scheme, commencing 1 January 2017. For 2017 there will be no requirement to complete a set number of CPD hours. You will have individual responsibility for what training you require and you will have increased flexibility in the types of […]
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The IALS Open Book Service for Law
The Institute for Advanced Legal Studies (IALS) has launched OBserving Law, the IALS Open Book Service for Law, being developed as part of the School of Advanced Study’s Humanities Digital Library open access book publishing initiative. OBserving Law aims to provide a new open access monograph publishing service for legal researchers. Titles will be made […]
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Upgrading the law, regrading lawyers
On 6 October 2016 Professor Richard Susskind delivered the annual Society for Computers and Law lecture, entitled “Upgrading the Law”, marking 20 years since the publication of his The Future of Law. How had he fared in his predictions? He was not shy about confirming his successes but did not gloat and admitted that his […]
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Apps and Cyber Crime – avoiding the security hazards of working on the go
Clients are demanding Apps for real-time communications, lawyers need them for remote working. But how do we improve the security of apps in order to prevent any data security breaches? Law firms are prime targets for cyber-attacks due to the amount of money they hold for clients and the sensitive information they control. Clearly, remote […]
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