This thing called AI: Will it help you or will it harm you?

By Chere B. Estrin This is the first of a two-part series. Next, we chat with Tara Eberhart, Paralegal Manager of an AmLaw firm who can straighten us out as to whether the paralegal position is about to be wiped out.  I sat down with Dr. Don Billings, a long-time colleague, who knows just about anything one needs to know about legal technology and beyond. I figured he was one of the best to...

How Legal Secretarial Roles Are Evolving in Big Law | The Legal Intelligencer

Legal Secretaries are being phased out and now look very differently. Is your job next? This article is a great read - Chere Estrin The older, traditional role of a legal secretary is pretty much gone, said one industry observer. The secretary of the future needs to have really strong IT skills ... and more multitasking than ... Highlights The role of legal secretaries is evolving with the...

Here’s How Legal Technology Expertise Can Make or Break Your Career

In a perfect world, all paralegals know everything about legal technology.  As you and I know, there’s no perfect world. However, not knowing enough about technology or believing you do, is the best way to bust your career. Trust me. I have 20+ years of experience managing, educating and staffing thousands of paralegals. (OK, I can admit to having more years of experience but then I have...

New LitSupport Survey Shows Managers Get Big Bucks

The Organization of Legal Professionals (OLP) has been surveying Litigation Support Professionals to uncover interesting insights and valuable facts to help LSPs make the most of their careers.  The survey, sponsored by ZyLab and Career Numbers, is unlike traditional salary and utilization surveys. The survey is left open to regularly update the information and release new and interesting...

Legal Tech West Coast: A Wealth of Information

Risk & Responsibility vs. Cost Control:Managing eDiscovery’s Great Balancing ActA Session Presented by Bill Speros LegalTech West Coast 2011Guest Blogger:  Raul Estravit Legal Tech West Coast – what a wealth of information! On Wednesday, May 18, I attended the session given by Bill Speros, lead counsel handling all of the e-discovery and litigation processing matters related...

“Keeping Current Can Be Hard to Do for Law Librarians”

I bet! In fact, I've often thought that being a law librarian would be a most interesting job. Just think about everything you would learn!"Librarians are curious people. We like to skim magazines and books, we like to surf the Web and we have some interest in a lot of topics. A former co-worker used to say that librarians are 'trivial' in that we are always picking up trivia -- a definite...

“Consultant Compatibility: Take the Quiz”

Always good to have thoughtful checklists for hiring vendors, I say. And this quiz from Legal Technology looks very helpful:"There's a saying that starts, 'You know you're in trouble if ...' But sometimes, by the time you know you're in trouble, it's too late to start asking 'Why?' "One example of such a time is with e-discovery and legal technology projects. If you're halfway through...

“Can Data Have a Life After a Death?”

Of course! Just be sure to utilize some basic, but smart, computer management skills:"Everyone who has worked with a computer, even before the arrival of the Internet, knows the sickening feeling of loss. Without warning, hours of your work suddenly vanish from the screen. You hope (and pray) that perhaps it's been saved in a backup or temp file -- but often it's not. As your internal...

“A Paralegal’s View of The ABA Techshow”

Excellent review of the ABA Legal Techshow posted on the Indiana Paralegal Association blog:"As I write this article, I am on the train heading back from Chicago after four (4) days of legal tech submersion at the annual the America Bar Association Legal Techshow. The ABA Techshow is an annual gathering of the most prominent legal techies from across the country and some say in the entire...

“Document Imaging: Keeping It Simple”

Author Tony DeLoera, the chief technology officer at Ice Miller, describes how to manage document imaging the right way: "Simplicity. This was the guiding principle in our selection of a document-imaging system. In early 2005, Indianapolis-based Ice Miller was overrun with paper. With 225 attorneys, and three branch offices in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Naperville, Ill., we decided to...