What is "Web 2.0" exactly? This article describes the key elements & possible law firm uses: "Grappling with Web 2.0 can be a bit daunting in that it has become an amalgamation of disparate trends and ideas. Equal parts buzzword, technology standard, aesthetic ideal, business model and social movement, Web 2.0 may become a phrase we come to mock as 'so 2006.' But this lack of...
This news from Google sure sounds smart to me. But will patent paralegals be impressed? "Google was live with a service enabling Internet users to search through the more than seven million patents granted in the United States. "The beta, or test, version of Google Patent Search lets people sift through patents granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office as long ago as 1790 by using...
Not really paralegal related, unless an article about the year's best inventions counts as learning about IP! (Well, there is that "Paralegal Hidden Camera" video...) "Meet Peter. Peter is a 79-year-old English retiree. Back in WW II he served as a radar technician. He is now an international star. "One year ago, this would not have been possible, but the world has changed. In...
Found this new service on the always-informative blog, Robert J. Ambrogi's Lawsites: "A Web site offering mock juries where lawyers can test their cases is now online and preparing for a formal launch in January. Called TrialJuries, the site will allow lawyers to submit their cases and have them 'decided' by online jurors similar to those who would serve on an actual jury at trial." You...
Next big outsourcing move -- legal secretaries? "Starting in the early 1990s, I noticed that secretarial work was changing as a result of widespread lawyer use of PCs. Yet I have seen few articles about this much less smart management reaction. "Already in 1991, I thought secretarial roles needed re-thinking. By 2003, when the main reaction seemed to be tinkering with the ratio, I...
Yeah, the first thing you're asking (I did too!), is what is a Mechanical Turk? "Some day, your boss could be a faceless Mechanical Turk who doles out tasks over the Internet. For nearly a year, Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk has paid amounts ranging from one cent to several dollars for tasks that take a few seconds to a few minutes to complete. The jobs include taking surveys, contributing to...
Legal Dockets Online describes new enhancements to New York State's case information databases: "Supreme Court and County Clerk dockets, decisions, monitoring, and calendar access is finally consolidating and improving. If you practice in New York, be prepared to be impressed. Here is a summary of the state's major case information databases now available to the public: "This system...
These legal-focused Web 2.0 apps -- described by Law Technology News -- look very helpful (& fun!): "What started out as a two-part tour of Web 2.0 products and services of interest to the legal profession has easily turned into three parts. In fact, our journey could easily continue for several more columns, given the abundance and assortment of useful Web 2.0 sites. Fear not, though,...
Read about this paralegal in an article titled "Good Cybercitizens Keep Watch Over ID-Theft Victims": "Janice Forster, 50, a paralegal in North Carolina, this year started FindMyId.com, a Web site devoted to educating consumers about ID theft. In the past week, she mailed more than 100 letters to North Carolina residents informing them that their personal information is available...
This job sure sounds interesting: "The Federal Trade Commission has joined the blogosphere with a site to explore how technology is changing the way consumers shop, bank, pay bills and communicate. "The 'Tech-ade Blog' will include interviews with technology experts ahead of the agency's November 6-8 public hearing on how to protect consumers from ID theft, spyware, online shopping...