One of our most distinguished authors passed away recently. Harold S. “Hal” Bloomenthal, scholar, practitioner, and author, was considered a dean of West’s Securities Law Library.
Having practiced in the areas of corporate and securities law since 1955, Hal’s titles included: Securities Law Handbook, Emerging Trends in Securities Law, Securities and Federal Corporate Law 2d, International Capital Markets and Securities Regulation, Going Public Handbook, Sarbanes-Oxley Act in Perspective, and Securities and Federal Corporate Law Report.
Hal Bloomenthal
Hal’s accomplishments as an author span more than 40 years and include law review articles and treatises on securities law, administrative law, and natural resources law. At a time well past when most people would have been happy to retire to a life of quiet enjoyment, Hal still possessed a strong desire to remain active in the field, continuing to learn and to share his knowledge and experience into his 90th year. That desire, and the insightful analysis he brought to his writing, will continue on through the efforts of Sam Wolff, Hal’s co-author, friend, and colleague of over 20 years. Mr. Wolff will carry on Hal’s legacy in the Securities Law library titles.
Hal had a long, varied and distinguished career in law. After graduating with a B.S. degree from Marshall University, Hal served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II. Following his military service, Hal received a J.D. degree from Duke Law School and a J.S.D. degree from Yale Law School. He commenced his law career as an enforcement attorney in the Denver Regional Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hal most recently served as counsel to the Denver firm of Holme Roberts & Owen, L.L.P. and as Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver College of Law. He also taught securities law as a member of the faculty at the Wyoming College of Law and Northwestern School of Law of Lewis and Clark College, and as a visiting professor at Duke Law School, Colorado University, the University of Arizona, and The Hastings College of the Law.
Hal will be remembered fondly by his family and countless students, colleagues, and friends. Many lives touched, and a life well lived.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
Education |
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The International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) conference continues to amaze and inspire me. Last week’s meeting in Nashville proved to be the best of the five ILTA conferences that I’ve attended.
ILTA is a peer networking organization for legal technology professionals. Members include IT managers and directors, database administrators, practice automation specialists, training professionals, network administrators, CIOs, CTOs, and a wide range of other legal technology experts. These individuals assemble annually to share their experiences, insights and innovations through roughly 200 top-quality educational sessions over four days each August.
ILTA coordinates member connections among both functional and regional groupings. Functional groups are called “peer groups,” offering networking and information sharing among individuals interested in Knowledge Management, Desktop and Application Services, Risk and Records Management, User Support Services, and eight other practical member alignments. Regional groupings organize around geographic centers – promoting professional networking across peer groups within most major cities in the United States, and expanding aggressively around the globe. The annual conference supports the peer and regional group connections, encouraging members to network and share both within and beyond these circles of interest.
Serving as the “Practice of Law” liaison with ILTA for Thomson Reuters, I had the privilege and pleasure to participate, on a relatively limited scale, in the preparation and programming for this conference. Working closely with one of the many outstanding ILTA volunteers, Julia Forbes (manager of Training and Application Services for Boston-based Brown Rudnick, LLP) and I defined and proposed ten session concepts. These proposals were reviewed by an ILTA committee, and three of our ten sessions were selected for this year’s annual conference.
I was struck by the thorough and purposeful process of shaping these sessions. ILTA is extremely selective as it evaluates session proposals. They scrutinize the form and substance of each session, considering the needs and benefits for their members, ultimately distinguishing the most appropriate topics, and then positioning them for relevant ILTA peer groups.
Throughout the process of preparation and presentation of these sessions, I was amazed by the commitment, focus and efficiency that Julia Forbes and the other ILTA volunteers demonstrated. Their determination and devotion produce the quality programming that is essential to this conference. I applaud their efforts, along with the stellar leadership that drives this remarkable organization and this outstanding conference.
Posted by Lance Odegard in:
In Practice | Practice trends |
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The ILTA 2011 Conference finished with the annual ILTA Awards Dinner at the Gaylord Opryland. While we were sorry to see the conference come to an end, the evening and conference were capped off with Hubbard One receiving the “Vendor Implementation of the Year” award.
The award, which recognizes outstanding achievement by a vendor organization that has celebrated a highly successful technology implementation for a client in 2010, went to Hubbard One in recognition of the implementation of InGeer, an innovative SharePoint project for Australian law firm, Herbert Geer.
Herbert Geer – with offices in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane – wanted to find a better way to access, manage, and leverage the firm’s arsenal of information to drive better business decisions and shape the client experience. The firm engaged Hubbard One to build InGeer, an intranet that brings together information from across the firm into a single portal to facilitate more efficient and effective decision making, and also shape the client experience.
Hubbard One successfully implemented a comprehensive financial reporting and matter planning portal built on XMLAW SharePoint technology that serves the entire legal community of Herbert Geer. The portal provides the firm’s lawyers with the ability to access detailed client and matter information and provides a holistic view of client activity in real-time.
We’re delighted that InGeer has been recognized at the ILTA awards – this was a fantastic project to get involved in and we enjoyed working with the team at Herbert Geer on every stage of the process.
Our thanks to ILTA for the award, and for hosting another outstanding annual conference. We’re already looking forward to ILTA 2012!
Mark Schiff is president, Hubbard One
Posted by Mark Schiff in:
Technology and innovation |
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Three firm representatives discussed coaching programs and their experiences implementing these programs: Sharon Ford of Sidley Austin LLP, Jan Huber of Baker & Daniels, and Julia Montgomery of Arent Fox LLP.
The speakers differentiated coaching from training. Training was described as a traditional classroom or virtual classroom environment with one teacher and more than one student. Coaching is a one- on-one experience that is customized for the pupil. While many firms have training programs in their firms, fewer have coaching programs.
The three offer tips on setting up successful technology coaching programs. Handouts are available on the ILTA website.
One example cited involved the rollout of Office 2007. Initial traditional training was well attended but the attorneys did not retain the content of that single session. Since training for attorneys is not mandated in most cases as it is for staff, they do not have to attend the group trainings. Attorneys may be embarrassed about their lack of technology expertise, leading to their reluctance to attend group training. The panelists felt – both from their own observations and requests from some attorneys –that attorneys often need additional customized one-on-one training. Attorneys felt they were the weak links in creating Office documents, causing additional work for others in their team to fix mistakes. Current trends in firm hiring include less administrative staff, requiring attorneys to create more of their documents themselves. And alternative fee arrangements increase the attorneys’ desire to increase their efficiency. One-on-one coaching allows the attorney to learn these skills without feeling pressure from others observing them.
Panelists shared several tips that helped turn their coaching experiments into permanent programs. Pre-coaching meetings with attorneys allowed trainers to see what products the attorneys used and how they used them. Follow up meetings with the attorneys’ secretaries gave additional insight and gained the secretaries’ acceptance in the process. It is important to coordinate with the attorney’s secretary and the help desk to ensure all parties have a consistent strategy and message. The coaches had the goal of providing customized training but had to balance that with specific core competencies that needed to be emphasized to every attorney. The Help Desk call logs were analyzed to discover which of the attorneys’ skills were commonly underdeveloped, and these were the focus of the core curriculum. Proper preparation of a core curriculum, and customizing it for each attorney allowed both goals to be achieved. Training documentation was posted privately to attorneys, so they did not feel put on display. Coaches always asked attorneys for permission when they wanted to publicize attorney success stories.
Another key to success that all speakers agreed upon was word of mouth promotion by the initial group of attorneys trained. It was emphasized to them that they were getting special coaching that was specifically designed for them.
It looks as if personal coaching of attorneys has a place in the overall training plans of law firms. We will have to wait and see whether this trend continues and becomes more popular in other firms.
Josh Wolf is a technology manager with Thomson Reuters
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Technology and innovation |
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I was pleased to see a mixture of Elite Enterprise IT and Finance staff attending my session at ILTA 2011: Maintaining a Healthy Elite System. Almost everyone takes away a nugget of information to explore further, either gained directly from the presentation or from group discussion. IT staff, whether new to managing Enterprise systems or veteran administrators, often find it useful to review tips for troubleshooting and keeping their systems running smoothly. Finance staff usually leave the session with increased comfort that their systems largely take care of themselves with scheduled maintenance jobs that run automatically, and also with an appreciation for the manual technical tasks that they may not have known their IT staff performed. I believe the nuggets discovered this year included PAL, SQL Nexus, and check_schema.ksh.
PAL (Performance Analysis of Logs) and SQL Nexus, both free downloads from codelplex.com, are two open source utilities that help system administrators run quick performance bottleneck analyses. Tuned for specific server roles and hardware configurations, both utilities quickly process large volumes of historic performance data and show the results in easily readable reports—a nice alternative to importing the raw data into Excel and defining formulas and graphs to search for problem trends. Further, these tools provide a straightforward way to identify a qualitative performance baseline against which to compare future performance.
Soon after the conference, Elite will post check_schema.ksh on its knowledge base. Producing a report that can be used to identify missing standard objects, like indexes and columns, this Korn shell script compares the schema of your actual Enterprise database against the standard schema that the source code for your Enterprise version defines. Reestablishing missing indexes or columns will help avoid performance problems or application errors that may result from the missing objects.
For the most part, maintaining a healthy Elite Enterprise system is a hands-off activity. However when problems do arise, having knowledge of the system infrastructure and a few powerful but uncomplicated tools in your arsenal will reduce the stress and time needed to resolve them.
Bruce Rosen is a team lead technical consultant with Elite
Posted by Bruce Rosen in:
Technology and innovation |
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In the ILTA 2011 session on Open Source Gurus, self-proclaimed geeks gathered to share their experiences of using open source software in the law firm environment. Topics of discussion varied, from challenges in implementing open source software to cost savings realized from going with an open source solution versus a commercial one.
Panelists included: Nathan Smith, network manager at McKee, Voorhees & Sease; Lance Rea, CIO at Davis & Gilbert LLP; Dale Qualls, director of IT at Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson LLP, and; Jerry Askew, principle consultant at Network Solutions. They took the stage to discuss their individual experiences with open source software.
The majority of the session centered on sharing of a list of favorite open source software currently being used at the panelists’ firms:
ProjectPier – is Linux-based project management software which boasts an intuitive interface for managing tasks, projects, and teams through a web browser.
OpenVPN – is a web-based, open source VPN software with very reasonable pricing. Clients are available for Windows, Linux and Mac. Panelists agreed that software performance has improved significantly in recent versions and that it is a viable, inexpensive solution for creating a VPN at a smaller firm.
ZoneMinder – is an open source video camera and surveillance system which works with most off-the-shelf cameras. The panel commented that the system is very feature-rich, with advanced capabilities like motion detection and split-screen images.
WebCDwriter – Lets users burn CDs from anywhere on your network to a shared CD or DVD burner. One of the panelists commented that this application is very useful for his firm, where many systems no longer include an optical drive.
JBackpack – A personal backup program which allows users to run their own incremental backups by using a simple, Java-based interface. Backup is increasingly important at law firms, and some panelists found that giving users control to store and retrieve their own files led to less downtime in the event of a data loss.
Zend.To – is a file transfer program for sending large files across a network without using email. One of the more unusual features is that it can integrate with active directory. With email restrictions becoming increasingly strict at law firms, this software can be a simple solution to large file transfers.
Bates Master – A solution for Bates-stamping PDFs.
FreeEed.org – A free eDiscovery tool which can pull data from a variety of sources and quickly process them. The panel mentioned that the website has the Enron data posted for users to test out the software.
Synergy – Allows a user to manage multiple computers and monitors using the same keyboard and mouse. The connected machines don’t have to be on the same operating system, and no special hardware is required. This tool is popular among system administrators who constantly split time between computers.
OpenWRT – A widely popular open source router firmware, which allows a tech-savvy user to replace a router’s built-in firmware to gain deep control over their router’s hardware. By utilizing this firmware a systems administrator could effectively save money by adding features to cheaper routers.
The session wrapped up with a discussion of success rates of open source projects. Overwhelmingly, the responses were positive, but panelists cautioned that the right tool for the job should always be selected. The best method for selecting software, they said, is to work backward from end-user needs and then work within budgetary constraints. Sometimes open source tools fit the bill perfectly; other times, a commercial solution is more appropriate.
One final comment seemed to resonate well with the audience: “The thing I like about open source is I don’t need to spend anything to try it out. I can install it right away and see if it works for my firm. If it doesn’t, I can always buy the right solution later.”
Posted by Andrew McLennan-Murray in:
Technology and innovation |
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This morning I had the opportunity to sit in on the session titled Talking Technology to Attorneys at ILTA 2011. The session was very well attended, indicating how top of mind this topic is for today’s legal technology leaders.
The panelists were Judith Flournoy from Loeb & Loeb LLP, Martin Metz from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and Curtis Meltzer from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP, and the panel was moderated by Angel Garcia-Manso from Hubbard One.
The focus for the session was how to communicate with lawyers about technology strategy. The panelists shared some insightful information about how best to talk technology strategy with attorneys and build consensus for new technology initiatives.
Metz highlighted that the most important aspect in communicating with attorneys about technology is to have a strategic plan in place. By having a strategy and a framework in place, law firm leaders can establish creditability with attorneys. Metz suggested five questions that should guide a strategic plan:
1) What’s the current situation?
2) What kind of firm do you want to be?
3) What’s our guiding philosophy?
4) What are the IT costs?
5) What projects do we want to tackle next year?
The panelists also highlighted building relationships and rapport as another important factor in successfully discussing technology with attorneys. Flournoy suggested seeking out targeted groups of attorneys to use as sounding boards for new technology initiatives and projects. Building rapport with attorneys and making them part of the process helps build consensus and support for new initiatives. However, Flournoy reminded the audience that law firm leaders can only build their reputation and relationships by delivering on their commitments.
Posted by Callie Hodge in:
Technology and innovation |
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Information Technology (IT) plays a critical role in today’s law firm, being increasingly entwined in the day-to-day workflow of attorneys.
But IT groups often find themselves planning their projects in a “silo”; that is, they find themselves preparing for the IT future of the firm without the input of key stakeholders within their organization. This lack of communications can lead to a variety of problems within a firm, ranging from end user frustration to competitive disadvantage in the market for the firm as a whole.
In their ILTA 2011 session, “Expanding the Technology Strategic Planning Process,” Robert Craig, from Baker Hostetler, Janet Day, from Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, and John Alber, from Bryan Cave LLP, spoke about ways to connect the right stakeholders into their planning processes.
Each shared their organizational experiences and challenges with implementing large-scale IT projects within law firms. Though their individual approaches differed, they all had experience with so-called “silo” IT planning.
They shared some warning signs to look for at firms which might suffer from similar problems, as well as steps firms can take to make their IT departments a key center of innovation and competitive advantage:
Read more… (more…)
Posted by Andrew McLennan-Murray in:
Technology and innovation |
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Developed from feedback received at last year’s session, Michael Mills from Kraft & Kennedy, Inc., Gerard Neiditsch from Mallesons Stephen Jaques, Jeffery S. Rovner from O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and Ron Friedmann from Integreon led a lively panel discussion on the major trends impacting information management, technology and more.
These days the only thing changing faster than technology is client expectations. Boundaries between firms and the outside world are dissolving, and lawyers are facing a loss of control as clients demand more transparency and have access to information, such as fee structures, that had previously been kept under lock and key.
Another hot topic was the increasing need for mobility among the work force, and a glance at all of the iPads around the room definitely helped reinforce the case that lawyers are demanding these type of changes like never fore. Not only does IT need to provide ways for attorneys to be able to fully function outside of the office but they need to make it simple.
Overall, it’s clear that there’s not going to be one simple answer on how to prepare your law firm for the future. An ending comment from a panelist pretty much summed it up when he said that if you have partners that want something fool-proof, you won’t be able to future proof your firm.
We want to hear from you, what do you think future proofing your law firm looks like?
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
In Practice | Technology and innovation |
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Whether it’s the tablet shootout, learning how to future-proof your law firm or speculating on Law2020, this year’s International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) conference in Nashville, Tennessee promises to have it all, including us.
Several of our flagship businesses and brands will also be out at the conference and hosting several sessions on the latest products and technology news from Hubbard One, Elite and Engage. There are also two sessions highlighting WestSearch and the WestlawNext mobile.
Throughout the conference we will be vigorously tweeting, blogging and bringing you video highlights from many of the great sessions so stay tuned to Legal Current for all the latest ILTA news.
And don’t forget to keep up with us on Twitter, its @legalcurrent and the conference hashtag is #ILTA11.
Posted by Jessica Leibrock in:
In Practice | Technology and innovation |
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What’s in a word? The Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th edition from Thomson Reuters can provide both definition and pronunciation through a new Android App. When the word of the day isn’t a word you know, Black’s mobile applications is ready to find that content on your Android.
Black’s is available as an Android App and also [...]
Pangea3 CEO David Perla was a member on the panel for Legal Process Outsourcing 2.0 at the ACC Annual Conference in Denver recently.
With the rapid growth surrounding LPOs in the legal industry, the panel addressed numerous topics and issues ranging from: how each company addresses the relationship with the LPO differently to the best way [...]
We’ve got a great podcast this month to kick-off the New Year featuring an interview segment with attorney Yar Chaikovsky about monetizing patents and the forthcoming impacts of patent reform.
Then in our “On the Blawgs” segment we learn about one blogger’s top five social media tips for businesses.
In our “Chaos in the Courts” segment, we [...]
