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.

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!

For the past couple weeks, Stem client Themis Solutions, which offers the legal case management software Clio, has been running a series of blog posts aimed at demystifying Software as a Solution, or in its more common abbreviated form ‘SaaS‘.

Here’s a quick run-down of Clio’s 10 key aspects for legal SaaS:

1. What is Software as a Service?
2. Why (or why not) choose a SaaS solution?
3. Why web-based practice management?
4. Security
5. Privacy
6. Data availability
7. Total cost of ownership
8. Terms of service
9. Data Migration
10. Offline Access

For more details, link on over and read the entire posts within the series. See: “10 Things Every Lawyer Should Know About Legal SaaS“.

In a press release that came out in early March, LexisNexis released their CRM product Interaction into the legal SaaS marketplace. Perhaps a sign that web-based software has finally “arrived”, the release itself was quite telling on a number of fronts.

First, the quote from Bill Wilshire, Lexis VP of CRM/Analytics:

“We estimate that the streamlined efficiencies of InterAction onDemand hosted software will enable a firm with 100 attorneys to realize average cost savings of about 22 percent over three years as a result of less hardware, staffing and licenses.”

This is a great statistic for web-software companies out there, including our own legal web software client, who can now point to a direct comparison (desktop application to SaaS) and show cost savings. Take that number, and identify the higher technology overhead (per lawyer) with smaller firms, and the sales proposition improves.

Second, the release shows that the legal web software market isn’t just for solos & small firms. Interaction is an enterprise CRM solution, and if Lexis can offer it to a firm of 100-lawyers, then the tipping point to a firm of thousands isn’t far off.  I don’t think that’s a prediction, that’s the future.

And lastly, I’m wondering if the web may be a merger point between all those software co. acquisitions and the Wexus duopoly of legal publishing products. Content is valuable when it hits eyeballs. In the current firm model, that means application software. Tomorrow?  Let’s just say it wouldn’t be surprising to see legal publishers hedging their bets; and perhaps using the web to deliver a unifying online product.

Project work has been plentiful here at Stem recently (which I’m blaming for my lack of blog posts). And like so many of you whose inboxes are constantly running out of control, I found myself needing to take additional action this week.

On Wednesday, notifications for twitter follows and friendfeed alone peaked at 45 emails, so I decided to route them around my inbox. We use Google apps for business, but the same thing can be done with Outlook or exchange. I simply created a filter for all incoming email from the two services, sending these messages into their own folder, and archiving them out of my inbox.

So here’s my new routine: I’ll scan these ever day or so, and will delete or follow back on Fridays.

Is this novel or innovative? Not at all. Lots of friends have recommended this to me for some time. If the volume had been a little lower, I’d probably have put up with it…  But setting the bar a little lower isn’t always a bad thing, and inbox management helps everyone.  So I’m passing it along.

Soon to be unveiled in the upcoming issue of the ABA LPM’s Law Practice magazine will be LegalWEB2.0, a new column to be edited by yours truly.  I’ve included a small image capture below to pique your interest! If you care to squint, you can probably get a sneak peak at the into blurb from the first article, written by PMA extraordinaire Erik Mazzone!

The focus of this new column will be on the practical aspects of web innovation within the legal community. My role, or at least as I see it, will be to track down stories (and authors) that highlight the latest methods of web engagement. The read write web is an environment that’s constantly evolving, both on the public-Internet and within law firms. My hope, is that this column will help lawyers decide which tactics & technologies are valuable investments of their time, and which are not.

I’m very excited to be expanding my role with Law Practice in 2009.  I’m also thankful to have the mentoring and guidance of Editor-in-Chief Dan Pinnington, as well as Joan Feldman and Joy White.  All three have been incredibly helpful, and I feel confident going forward knowing that I have their support.

And while I’m on the thank-you circuit… I’d also like to acknowledge former Editor-in-Chief Dave Bilinsky, who both got me involved in LPM and persuaded me to sign up for (yet) another volunteer gig. Thanks Dave! ;) Actually, all sarcasm aside, my time with LPM has been an exceptional experience.  It’s a extremely smart and fun group to be around. And I highly recommend it.

Just confirmed by Google’s Matt Cutts, you should be able to download the brand new Google browser Chrome as of tomorrow morning. (link will go live when Google launches the site)

Given that Stem is almost entirely run on web applications like Google Apps and Freshbooks, I probably owe it to myself to take this one for a run. That said, I’m also a big fan of Firefox so my loyalties are definitely going be tested.

And speaking of Firefox, it will be interesting to see where Google stands on its support for the Mozilla Project (see comment #1 on Matt’s post) after the announcement. All I can say is, browser standards & interoperability had better adhered to. Web design could take a serious step backwards otherwise; especially when adding what could soon prove to be a major player in the browser market.

On the plus side, Google is billing it as an open-source product. So fingers crossed.

(Update) One bold prediction: If Google gets any kind traction, Chrome will be the jumping off point for a future Google Operating System. The first requirement needed to compete with the likes Microsoft & Windows in the OS market is a user base willing to install application software. Other than the Google Toolbar, this might be their best opportunity yet.

Tom Mighell and Dennis Kennedy have launched a new companion blog and wiki to go with their book – The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools & Technologies.

Both bloggers have been long time favourites of mine, and if they can rekindle some of the Between Lawyers magic with a collaboration tool slant, I’ll certainly be all ears on this one.

Congrats on the new book, blog and wiki gentlemen! Subscribed.

A quick plug for the upcoming April 21st edition of Leg@al IT, Canada’s Premier Legal Technology Conference. For the second year running, Dominic Jaar has put together a stunning lineup of speakers for this event.

Unfortunately, I can’t be in attendance this year; but I have promised Dominic to fly out & join the fun for Leg@l IT 2009! I’m including some background info, below, taken from the site’s About page:

“Leg@l.IT, in collaboration with the Young Bar Association of Montreal (“YBAM”), the Canadian Bar Association and the Montreal Bar, is proud to present Leg@l.IT 2008, a conference on information technologies (“IT”) and law. This year, Leg@l.IT will take place on April 21st at the Mount Royal Centre in Montreal.

Every day, businesses, enterprises, people but also lawyers work with their computer, Internet, scanners, PDAs, etc. However, most lawyers are not aware of the impacts of IT on their work and on their professional obligations. Furthermore, they often do not realise how IT can help or harm them in their practice.

Last year, more than 130 people attended Leg@l.IT2007 and we expect this number to increase to over 200 in 2008 with the addition of partners and advertisers such as the Canadian Bar Association and the Montreal Bar! More sessions (3 tracks), world-class speakers, interesting and varied topics, etc.: a clear receipt for success!

The panellists and speakers are judges from different Courts, university teachers, lawyers, and IT specialists from Canada, the United States and Europe. The conference will attract members of the canadian, Quebec and Montreal bars, government employees, CIO, CLO, CTO, CEO, teachers, law and computer science students and teachers, computer technicians, records managers, etc. In other words, you should be there!”

Visit the online registration page for more information!