Futurelawyer

My Name is Sue - How Do You Do?

Link: Jabra JX10 Series II Review | Treonauts. I have been using the tiny Jabra JX-10 bluetooth headset for over a year, and, while I have tried others, it is the best of them all. Digital signal processing, a tiny footprint, and you forget you have it on. However, one of the downsides has been the necessity to have a second headset for connection to the computer, and use with Skype. I look like a Borg with two headsets in my ears, but I am functional. Now, the Series 2 Jabra is out, and it has multipoint software that permits connection to two bluetooth devices at the same time. I will play with it this weekend and report back whether it works. Oh, by the way, it is all in black, and Johnny Cash would be proud.

Sullr : USA

Link: Sullr : USA. Thanks to Robert Ambrogi, of LawSites , for the link to this useful site. Just put in an area code and phone number, and, if the number is listed, the address and a Google Map pops up, with options for Satellite views and directions. Very useful.

Death By Email: The Secret is Out

Link: Death By Email: The Secret is Out. Here is a cautionary tale from Roger Matus, about the necessity to be careful with email. If you are, as I am, using email for confidential attorney-client communications, and also communicating with opposing counsel, be VERY careful before you click that send button. Using email is like driving a car; accidents happen when you let down your guard. Always be conscious of where your emails are going, and re-read them before you send them.

How To Write An Appellate Brief

Link: YL-27-Ward.pdf (application/pdf Object). Okay, Raymond P. Ward is an insurance defense lawyer who practices in big law; however, this 12 page Chapter of a Defense Research Institute book that he authored contains some gems about writing an Appellate brief. What I took from it is that you have to be detail oriented, and, if you didn't attend the trial, you need to immerse yourself in the record, learning the underlying facts better than the parties themselves. That is actually not as hard as it sounds, since you will be coming to the facts without preconceived notions and emotional prejudices. We all tend to go into denial when it is our own case at trial. The next most important tip is that the actual writing of the brief is often secondary to the preparation. In brief writing, the mantra is 90% preparation, 10% digitation. Now, go forth and wow those appellate robes.

Resizeable Form Fields :: Firefox Add-ons

Link: Resizeable Form Fields :: Firefox Add-ons. While I am on the subject of add-ons for Firefox, here is one that anyone can use. If you are ever frustrated by the short text boxes in online forms, this little extension allows the dragging of the text entry field box to whatever length you like. Just click on the end of the current box, and drag it where you want.

Auto Copy :: Firefox Add-ons

Link: Auto Copy :: Firefox Add-ons. By now, all of you have switched to FireFox, so this is for you. As you know, there are many extensions that give additional functionality to Firefox. This is a time-saving tip for Windows users. Download and install the AutoCopy extension, and, thenceforth, everything you highlight in Firefox will automatically be saved to the Windows clipboard. No more highlighting, right-clicking, choosing save, etc. Just select it, let go of the left mouse button, and, voila, the text is saved. Ctrl V brings it into any Windows app; for example, your trusty word processor, where you are writing that dynamite contract or pleading. Given the plethora of forms on the net now, you can just drag the mouse over contract language or pleadings you find on the net, and immediately insert them into your document for editing.

Lifehacker Top 10: Top 10 Clipboard Tricks - Lifehacker

Link: Lifehacker Top 10: Top 10 Clipboard Tricks - Lifehacker. Quickly. What is the most used feature of your Windows or Mac computer? Google? Nope. Word Processing? Yes, but what part of word processing? Why, the humble clipboard function of course. As lawyers, we spend our lives creating documents of all types, and the clipboard function is never far from our little fingers; sometimes, I think I have Ctrl C and Crtl V planted in my brain. Well, this list of tips and add-ons for clipboard, for Windows and Macs, is a great productivity booster. Check it out. The coolest tip? Why creating a script that sends text or phone numbers or whatever to your cell phone or email.

The Trial Technologist’s View

Link: The Trial Technologist’s View. Here is a nice blog about legal technology. It contains some interesting information about trial technology and the equipment used. Recommended.

Google Phone - The IPhone Killer?

Link: Compiler - Wired Blogs. The long awaited Google phone is looking to be available in the Fall, and looks like the IPhone killer. It will be cheap, have built-in GPS, and be integrated with GMail, Google Maps, Google Calendar and Google Docs. The best news is that it will have an open architecture, being based on the Linux kernel. This will truly be a phone for everyone. Apple better look out; Google is coming to the war.

This Is So Not a Solo's Office!

Link: Texas Lawyer Blog: Law by design. Texas Lawyer highlights the new offices of mega firm Susman Godfrey, which looks more like a hotel lobby than an office. Modern, contemporary design demands clean lines, and light colored walls. My office is a converted house with a stucco exterior, and some tables and chairs I got at the Sam's Club Warehouse. I don't have any Rauschenberg paintings, but there are some photographs I made in my darkroom, and some plaques on the wall. We have a junkyard cat roaming the office, keeping away the Florida fruit rats. Other than that, where is my design excellence award?