Dan Berexa's Tennessee Law Blog

Online Dispute Resolution's Influence on the Practice of Law

Dan Berexa and the Honorable Catherine Bussart are co-producing a Continuing Legal Education and Continuing Mediation Education program for the Tennessee Bar Association titled Modern Law Practice Series: Online Dispute Resolution’s Influence on the Practice of Law. The program will take place on November 17, 2016 and focuses on the emerging use of online dispute resolution (ODR), which allows users with civil disputes to forgo court proceedings by using web-based technologies and the Internet to resolve their conflicts. Speakers include UT Law Professor Ben Barton, Vanderbilt Law Professor Larry Bridgesmith and Colin Rule, the Founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Silicon Valley based online dispute resolution service provider Modria. Dan and Judge Bussart are members of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Special Committee on the Evolving Legal Market (ELM), which is exploring the evolution of the practice of law. The Modern Law Practice Series programs are part of the TBA’s initiative to education its member lawyers.  

Click here for more information on the program or to register.

Dan Berexa is a Rule 31 General Civil Mediator. For more information see his mediation page. 

Early Reviews on iPad for Lawyers Sound Promising

Now that the much awaited iPad has hit the streets, the post-release reviews will start rolling in. Click Here is to see what Tablet Legal has to say, with a focus on why lawyers might like the iPad.

Click here for a new review by TabletPCReview.com and here for ChannelWeb's review.

Sounds promising.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

Will Lawyers Fall for the iPad?

Although Apple's iPad will not be released until later this month, it has generated a great deal of excitement. Thanks to the heads up from Ben Stevens a/k/a The Mac Lawyer, I plan on following Tablet Legal, a blog focusing on the use of Apple’s iPad by lawyers and the legal profession.

Ben Stevens will be in Nashville this Friday (March 5) for the Tennessee Bar Association's LawTech 2010 program. I look forward to catching up with Ben and hope to see some of you at LawTech.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

The Tennessee Bar Association's Law Tech 2010 - March 5, in Nashville

I have been a co-produced for the Tennessee Bar Association's annual "Law Tech" program for 4 years. This year Law Tech is back and better than ever. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, door prizes, many double-track sessions and even more sponsors with a total of 6.5 CLE credits.

Bill Ramsey and Phillip Hampton kick things off with their technology trends and updates for 2010. Then featured speaker, Ross Kodner, author of the law technology blog, Ross Ipsa Loquitur, will teach you how to go from paper to pixels to create the complete (and "Green") electronic case file.

Ben Stevens, author of The Mac Lawyer blog, will show you how to practice law in the clouds by using Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) to improve your practice, while Dr. Stuart Miles demonstrates how to use visuals to strengthen your trial strategy.

In the afternoon, Ross Kodner and Greg Siskind, author of the bestselling ABA book, The Lawyers Guide to Marketing on the Internet, and his Visalaw blog, will discuss how to grow your practice ethically and affordability using social media and viral marketing. Meanwhile, there will be a special panel discussion for Mac attorneys.

Next, Finis Price, author of another well known blog, TechnoEsq, will teach litigators how to use technology effectively during trial and at mediation, and Ross Kodner will demonstrate how to use practice management systems to practice more profitably and ethically. Finally, Ross Kodner will give a session on how NOT to commit malpractice with your computer while Conrad Jacoby gives a practical session on e-discovery.

In sum, you get to choose from 10 educational sessions for a total of 6.5 hours of CLE credit, breakfast and lunch is included, door prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the event, and many of the speakers will be available for questions and networking throughout the day.

I hope to see you there!

Click Here to Register for Law Tech 2010.  

Dan Berexa
Nashville, TN

Adobe Acrobat 9 for Lawyers

The TBA's Law Tech 2009 was a success! Rick Borstein's presentation, "Adobe Acrobat for Lawyers," contained a great overview of the features of Adobe Acrobat 9. The redaction tools, document comparison, Bates numbering and the notes and commenting tools are particularly helpful in document-intensive cases. I recently upgraded from Acrobat Standard 6 to Pro 9. Rick's Acrolaw Blog is full of helpful information, including video which explain how to use the features of Acrobat 9.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

iPhone or Storm or Bold?

If you are trying to decide whether the iPhone or Storm is better for you click here.

UPDATE: If you are considering a new smartphone, The Mac Lawyer  has a guest post suggesting the Blackberry Bold is the best choice. Look for The Mac Lawyer (Ben Stevens) at the Tennessee Bar Association's LawTech 2009 program in Nashville on February 20.

Dan Berexa 
Nashville, Tennessee

What's new for 2009? Web 2.0. Learn about Macs from Ben Stevens aka "The Mac Lawyer." Rick Borstein of Adobe Teaches Acrobat 9. All at LawTech 2009: Marketing, Management and Technology Solutions for Your Firm - February 20, 2009 in Nashville

The Tennessee Bar Association's Law Office Technology and Management Section has put together a great program this year for the annual LawTech event which will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee on Friday February 20, 2009. 

Here is a summary of the 7 hour CLE program:

In the morning, you will learn about legal technology trends for 2009 and how to handle ethical dilemmas created by technology in this "age of Myspace.com and micro-recorders." Then, Rick Borstein, author of the well known blog, "Acrobat for Legal Professionals," will discuss how Adobe Acrobat can be used to improve your practice. In the afternoon, “PC” attorneys from small to mid-sized firms will enjoy a panel discussion regarding issues such as mobile security, data backup, and disaster planning. “Mac” attorneys, on the other hand, will be glad to know that Ben Stevens, publisher of the well known practice management blog, “The Mac Lawyer,”* has agreed to return to lead a panel discussion on Macs for Lawyers. Last but not least, Catherine Sanders Reach from the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center, which publishes the popular Site-tation blog , will discuss how to use standard technology and the latest "Web 2.0" resources to market your practice and work more effectively on projects with colleagues, clients, co-counsel and, yes, even opposing counsel. Lunch is included with the program, and door prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the seminar.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

I hope to see your there.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

Here is a summary of the 7 hour CLE program:

In the morning, you will learn about legal technology trends for 2009 and how to handle ethical dilemmas created by technology in this "age of Myspace.com and micro-recorders." Then, Rick Borstein, author of the well known blog, "Acrobat for Legal Professionals," will discuss how Adobe Acrobat can be used to improve your practice. In the afternoon, “PC” attorneys from small to mid-sized firms will enjoy a panel discussion regarding issues such as mobile security, data backup, and disaster planning. “Mac” attorneys, on the other hand, will be glad to know that Ben Stevens, publisher of the well known practice management blog, “The Mac Lawyer,”* has agreed to return to lead a panel discussion on Macs for Lawyers. Last but not least, Catherine Sanders Reach from the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center, which publishes the popular Site-tation blog , will discuss how to use standard technology and the latest "Web 2.0" resources to market your practice and work more effectively on projects with colleagues, clients, co-counsel and, yes, even opposing counsel. Lunch is included with the program, and door prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the seminar.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

I hope to see your there.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

LawTech 2009: Marketing, Management and Technology Solutions for Your Firm - February 20, 2009 in Nashville

The Tennessee Bar Association's Law Office Technology and Management Section has put together a great program this year for the annual LawTech event which will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee on February 20, 2009. The list of nationally know speakers is great.

Here is a summary of the 7 hour CLE program from the TBA's website.

The TBA's Annual Law Tech seminar is back and better than ever. In the morning, you will learn about legal technology trends for 2009 and how to handle ethical dilemmas created by technology in this "age of Myspace.com and micro-recorders." Then, Rick Borstein, author of the well known blog, "Acrobat for Legal Professionals," will discuss how Adobe Acrobat can be used to improve your practice. In the afternoon, PC attorneys from small to mid-sized firms will enjoy a panel discussion regarding various issues such as mobile security, data backup, and disaster planning. Mac attorneys, on the other hand, will be glad to know that Ben Stevens, publisher of the well known practice management blog, The Mac Lawyer,** has agreed to return to lead a panel discussion on Macs for Lawyers. Last but not least, Tom Mighell, co-author of The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together and "Inter Alia,"** a blog dedicated to legal technology, will discuss how to use standard technology and the latest "Web 2.0" resources to work more effectively on projects with colleagues, clients, co-counsel and, yes, even opposing counsel.

Lunch is included with the program, and door prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the seminar.

** The Mac Lawyer and Inter Alia were both included in the 2008 ABA Journal Blawg 100 which lists the "100 best Web sites by lawyers, for lawyers, as chosen by theeditors of the ABA Journal."

Click here to register for LawTech 2009.

I hope to see you there.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

According to ABA Survey, Lawyers Slow to Embrace Web 2.0

             An article in September’s ABA Journal, WEB 2.0 STILL A NO-GO, summarizes the results of a survey of 850 lawyers nationwide regarding the adoption of web and mobile technologies. Some of the more interesting results were:

§         Most respondents have a Smart Phone/Blackberry. Even 50% of lawyers 60 or older are using mobile devices.

§         95% of the respondents conduct legal research online.

§         The number of lawyers using free online legal research services exceeds the number using for-fee services.

§         27% of lawyers regularly consult blogs. Only 2% maintain blogs.

§         Few lawyers are taking advantage of the more recent Web 2.0 technologies, such as RSS feeds, podcasts and online videos.

Click HERE to see the article.

 

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee

Save the Date - Adobe's Rick Borstein to Speak at TBA's LawTech 2009

Mark you calender for February 20, 2009! That is the date for the Tennessee Bar Association's Law Office Technology and Management Section's LawTech 2009 Program. One of the scheduled speakers for the law office technology program is Rick Borstein, a Business Development Manager specializing in the Acrobat-Legal Market for Adobe Systems Incorporated.  Rick frequently speaks on using Acrobat in the practice of law and is the author of the blog Acrobat for Legal Professionals. I recently participated in a webinar in which Rick demonstrated the features of the latest Acrobat release - 9. Rick is a great speaker and Acrobat 9 has a lot to offer lawyers when it comes to reviewing, redacting, searching, organizing,  bundling, comparing and collaborating on documents. Acrobat has gone beyond images of paper documents and it is now possible to imbed video, such as Flash, in PDFs.

LawTech 2009 will be held at the Downtown Doubletree Hotel in Nashville. The program includes lunch, exhibitors, door prizes and optional Mac-Track programming for Mac users or those thinking about making the switch.

P.C. will also be well represented at LawTech.

Dan Berexa
Nashville, Tennessee