Google+ for Lawyers: First Impressions

http://ow.ly/5T2xA

An article by eDiscovery expert Kevin O'Keefe, posted on Real Lawyers Have Blogs.

This artilce provides Kevin O'Keefe's analysis of Google+, and how he feels it will assist attorneys.  The writers of the SRM Legal blog fully agree with the points made by Mr. O'Keefe regarding Google+.  As the article points out, Google+ reached the level of 20,000,000 users in the first month....it took television 13 years to reach 50,000,000 users, and the internet 4 years to reach that number.

The article states that Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are not likely to go away, however, using Google+ is also going to be a valuable networking tool (it probably already is).

 As the final sentence of the article read, "Though Google Plus is still in its infancy, I suggest you try it out. Google Plus is here to stay and some of the people you'll want to network with as a lawyer are going to be using Google Plus." (Emphasis added)

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Email in Oracle Case Will Remain Public

http://ow.ly/5T0Al

Article in Info World by Chris Kanaracus. 

This article discusses the suit Oracle filed against Google over the Android mobile device.

Google attempted to assert attorney work product, claiming a specific email was privileged.  Judge William Alsup denied Google's assertion and refused to order redactions of certain portions of the email.  The email in question read as follows:

"What we've actually been asked to do by Larry and Sergey is to investigate what technology alternatives exist to Java for Android and Chrome," Google engineer Tim Lindholm wrote in the Aug. 2010 email, in reference to Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. "We've been over a hundred of these and think they all suck. We conclude that we need to negotiate a license for Java."

The article provides a detailed analysis of why the email was not held to be privileged.  This high profile case will continue to remain in the news, and also highlights the importance of eDiscovery to the legal profession.

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When Can an Employer Fire an Employee for a Facebook Post?

http://ow.ly/5Sun1

Article on Workplace Privacy Blog of Littler's law firm, Privacy and Data Protection Group website, written by Phillip L. Gordon.

This is an excellent article that provides further insight to a recent article posted by Mr. Gordon.  The article describes 3 recent "Advice Memo's" published by the NLRB's Office of General Counsel.  The 3 memo's outline various scenarios regarding Facebook posts, and when they might be said to contain protected speech.  In none of the 3 examples scenarious outlined in the NLRB's opinions was the speech said to be protected, but lacking from the 3 examples were speech aimed at organizing co-workers.

The article quotes the NLRB's adivce as follows:  "In each of the three Advice Memoranda, the General Counsel referred to the same or similar legal standards. These standards also provide useful guidance and include the following

• Protected: When the employee “acting with or the authority of” coworkers (a) “seeks to initiate, induce or prepare for group action,” or (b) “brings truly group complaints to the attention of management.”
• Protected: The employee’s activities are “the logical outgrowth of concerns expressed by the employees collectively.”
• Unprotected: The employee is engaging in activity “solely by and on behalf of the employee himself.”
• Unprotected: The employee’s comments are “mere griping” as opposed to “group action.”"

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How Should Early Case Assesment Tools be Utilized?

http://ow.ly/5Sn8h

An artilce by Serena Lim appearing on the Bits & Bytes for Litigation Edge blog.

This article discusses the use of "Early Case Assessment" tools in a real world example, and how it assisted a specific investigation into possible corporate wrongdoing.  Various uses of ECA technology can certain assist in reducing costs, and assessing potential liability risks, as this article points out.

This article also mentions a 4 part series that was written by Joseph Bartolo, J.D., one of the author of SRM Legal's blog, and provides a link back to the first 2 parts in that 4 part series..the other 2 sections of that series will be published in August 2011.

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eDiscovery Process, Policy More Important than Tools

http://ow.ly/5ShFd

Article appearing on CMS Wire, written by Sharon Fisher.

This artilce provides information regarding business practices, and the importance of having policies in place regarding the lifecycle of ESI, in order to avoid eDiscovery errors.   The article cites the global LDM study regarding eDiscovery errors, and provides many interesting statistics.

47% of the survey respondents mentioned that errors they experience were caused by inadequate data retention policies.  This will continue to be a challenging issue for major corporations, as the amount of user content continues to grow exponentially.

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Lawyers: Don't be Late to the Google+ Party

http://ow.ly/5SeNE

Article by Steven Matthews on attorneyatwork.com website.

The article offers several points as to why Google+ will be an important resource for attorneys, not least of which is the fact that it will affect Google search rankings for websites.  Some of the points the article make regarding the importance of Google+ are as folllows:

Affects your business;
G+ profiles for business will create a unifying hub;
G+ is more business than FB, more personal than LinkedIn, and more substance than Twitter;
Adwords advantage;
Extended circles can target legal audience;
Gain "First Mover" advantage.

Are you on Google +?  The writers of this blog are, as are 20,000,000 others.

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60 Iphone and Ipad Apps in 60 Minutes

http://ow.ly/5SdFu

This is a post from Jeff Richardson's blog, iPhone J.D.

The article describes a CLE event involving Reid Trautz, Josh Barrett, and Jeff Richardson, which was moderated by Tom Mighell. 

The article provides a follow up to the 60 minute CLE event, which focused on the use of various apps that can prove useful to attorneys.  A comprehensive list of the 60 apps which were referenced during the CLE is provided as well, and this should prove to be a helpful resource to those relying on iPhone or iPads to assist with day to day business activities.

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