Stem’s clients were busy again in October, publishing thoughtful commentary, appearing in the media, and launching new sites and services. Here are this month’s highlights:

• Law practice management software tool Clio announced its new “Clio Sync for Outlook” tool today, to the joy of Sam Glover at Lawyerist.
• Nursing home abuse lawyer Jonathan Rosenfeld wants us to know that good nursing homes do exist, and describes how to find a good one in your area.
• Medical malpractice attorney Angelo Patane of Koplow & Patane officially launched his Arizona Birth Injury Lawyer Blog, where he discusses cerebral palsy and other birth injuries and defects.
• Federal crimes attorney Ron Chapman describes changes to Florida drug laws that provide additional ways to avoid prison.
• The Mesothelioma lawyers group at Hissey Kientz LLP warn navy and merchant marine veterans that they may be at risk for developing asbestos-related illnesses as a result of exposure to the chemical during their military service.
• Corporate owned life insurance attorney Mike Myers appeared in the documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story” and on ABC’s Good Morning America to discuss dead peasant insurance policies.
• Vancouver law firm Clark Wilson’s insurance lawyers Nigel Kent and Krista Prockiw published an in-depth paper on proposed changes to BC’s Insurance Act.
• New Jersey drug crimes attorney John Marshall writes about how heroin distribution and possession are on the rise in New Jersey.
• The Meadows Addiction Treatment Center is offering an extensive list of upcoming free lectures on topics ranging from addiction, anxiety, eating disorders, and trauma recovery.

We’ll be back next month with more new and noteworthy projects.

My latest Web Law Connected column is up at Slaw.  The article is titled Social Media & Business Productivity, and addresses the current trend of law firms using proxy servers to block in-house access to social media websites.

Perhaps unexpected, I really sit on the fence on this issue; and didn’t take the anti-blocking stance.  There are a number of ‘middle-ground’ alternatives which few firms have explored to date – including time based restrictions, and role-based (ie. based on business need) blocking.

The opinions and solutions on this issue are, unfortunately, extremely polarized.  I think it’s also worth noting that neither extreme position (global blocking or unfettered access) actually aligns with the business goals of most law firms.

For a more detailed review, please link on over… I think the article does a reasonable job of describing my thoughts on the debate.

I spoke at the Pacific Legal Technology conference this past Friday with Susan Van Dyke. The topic, as perhaps expected, was web 2.0 tools for lawyers, with a slant toward business development.

The PPT slides are now available via slideshare, and embedded below.

A big pat on the back for Stem client Themis Solutions, makers of law practice software Clio, on the occasion of its first birthday!

It’s been a tremendous first year for Clio since it launched one year ago today. Since then, the company has added has hundreds of users globally, who collectively manage (pulled from an upcoming press release): 150,000 contacts, 20,000 matters, and 25,000 documents.  Looking at their buzz page, there’s no shortage of enthusiasm.

The following quote is from Themis Solutions President Jack Newton on the company’s success,

“In our first year we’ve made great strides to enhance and refine Clio’s feature set, while ensuring it remains easy-to-use and accessible to all lawyers. This has been a terrific year and we see an exciting road ahead.  All success aside, we will keep our focus where it has always been: to provide an excellent product and superior customer support experience to our subscribers.”

If I had to pick my own moment from the first year, it would be this article from Kira Fonteneau. You don’t get a better endorsement than a client writing a hands-on article like that. … Launch day last year would be a close second. :)

In honour of birthday #1, the company announced three major new features today:

1. Outlook Synchronization (two-way synchronization of Outlook contacts, calendar items and tasks – items entered or updated in Outlook will appear in Clio and vice versa)
2. New and Improved Reports  (Client Ledger, Productivity by Lawyer, Work in Progress (WIP), Accounts Receivable (A/R), and more)
3. QuickBooks Integration

Also noteworthy, to celebrate the milestone, new users get a $25 discount on their first month’s subscription by entering the discount code “HAPPYBIRTHDAY” during checkout.

Congratulations to founders Jack Newton & Rian Gauvreau, and everyone at Clio. Many happy returns of the day…and year!