The Legal Toolkit

Social media data presents significant challenges for lawyers when it comes to issues of investigation, preservation and discovery. Nonsense words, arcane acronyms and unexpected abbreviations are just some of the things that attorneys need to look for in order to effectively discover evidence via social media. In this edition of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared Correia, invites Trent Livingston to discuss the challenges of sourcing social media evidence, the differences between public data, private data, metadata, and more. Trent Livingston is a director with Intelligent Discovery Solutions, Inc., and advises law firms and corporations surrounding the implementation and use of e-discovery, web and cloud-based technology. He is an adjunct professor for Golden Gate University, where he teaches complex data discovery. He is also the owner and founder of Geekly Group, LLC, a web technology consortium. You can check out his blog at www.TrentLivingston.com.

Office space is becoming less common as lawyers and entrepreneurs experiment with communal work spaces and home offices. “It comes down to time, money, and family,” Kelli Proia, aka the Stay@Home Attorney, said. When she began her practice, she was working part time and raising a family, and renting office space wasn’t practical. Now that she has mastered the ways of a stay at home attorney, she works from home full time. Proia spent her first eight years out of law school working as in-house intellectual property counsel at high-tech companies. When her daughter was born, she left the office ready to be a full-time mom. Missing her career, while enjoying every moment with her newborn, she set out to launch a part-time practice in 2009 from home. Now, she is working from home full time helping high-tech companies understand their intellectual property assets through IP management programs and eating dinner with her family almost every night. Legal Toolkit host Heidi Alexander chats with Proia on how to set up a home office, tips on how to be productive, and how to take full advantage of the benefits of working from home.

Office space is becoming less common as lawyers and entrepreneurs experiment with communal work spaces and home offices. “It comes down to time, money, and family,” Kelli Proia, aka the Stay@Home Attorney, said. When she began her practice, she was working part time and raising a family, and renting office space wasn’t practical. Now that she has mastered the ways of a stay at home attorney, she works from home full time. Proia spent her first eight years out of law school working as in-house intellectual property counsel at high-tech companies. When her daughter was born, she left the office ready to be a full-time mom. Missing her career, while enjoying every moment with her newborn, she set out to launch a part-time practice in 2009 from home. Now, she is working from home full time helping high-tech companies understand their intellectual property assets through IP management programs and eating dinner with her family almost every night. Legal Toolkit host Heidi Alexander chats with Proia on how to set up a home office, tips on how to be productive, and how to take full advantage of the benefits of working from home.

On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared Correia, invites Jordan Furlong to discuss how the legal marketplace is changing and how law firms can react. “In the short term,” Furlong begins, “we’re going to see a lot more regulatory reform ending in a small set of really advanced legal services, exclusive to lawyers.” Jordan goes on to prognosticate respecting the specific effects that changes will have upon solo and small firm attorneys, law students and law schools. Despite the disruptive change that will continue to take place in the practice of law, Jordan does, in the long term, see the light at the end of the tunnel for the redefined attorney. Jordan Furlong is a lawyer, speaker, and consultant based in Canada. He specializes in giving thought-provoking presentations covering the future of the legal marketplace and how to assimilate. Before working as a consultant and speaker, he edited top legal publications, including The Canadian Bar Association’s magazine National and The Lawyer’s Weekly. Currently he writes the blog, Law21: Dispatches from a Legal Profession on the Brink, a multiple ABA Blawg 100 honoree. His latest book, Evolutionary Road: A Strategic Guide to Your Law Firm’s Future, is available from Attorney at Work. Tune in to hear more on the future of legal services: how these will be created, priced, and delivered, and how lawyers can take advantage of the changes.

On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, your host, Jared Correia, invites Jordan Furlong to discuss how the legal marketplace is changing and how law firms can react. “In the short term,” Furlong begins, “we’re going to see a lot more regulatory reform ending in a small set of really advanced legal services, exclusive to lawyers.” Jordan goes on to prognosticate respecting the specific effects that changes will have upon solo and small firm attorneys, law students and law schools. Despite the disruptive change that will continue to take place in the practice of law, Jordan does, in the long term, see the light at the end of the tunnel for the redefined attorney. Jordan Furlong is a lawyer, speaker, and consultant based in Canada. He specializes in giving thought-provoking presentations covering the future of the legal marketplace and how to assimilate. Before working as a consultant and speaker, he edited top legal publications, including The Canadian Bar Association’s magazine National and The Lawyer’s Weekly. Currently he writes the blog, Law21: Dispatches from a Legal Profession on the Brink, a multiple ABA Blawg 100 honoree. His latest book, Evolutionary Road: A Strategic Guide to Your Law Firm’s Future, is available from Attorney at Work. Tune in to hear more on the future of legal services: how these will be created, priced, and delivered, and how lawyers can take advantage of the changes.

Adam Ziegler was a practicing attorney for ten years when he decided to leave his partnership at a Boston litigation boutique and become an entrepreneur. He is now co-founder and CEO of Mootus, a platform for open, online-legal argument. Lawyers and law students can open up legal discussion questions to their peers, who must provide the sources they use to validate their responses. “I always wanted something to exist like Mootus,” Ziegler said, “Since it didn’t, I figured I had to try.” Mootus was a success, and the driving force behind his pursuit in advancing legal technology. • Adam Ziegler began his career as a law clerk for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals. He practiced at two large firms before becoming a partner at the aforementioned litigation boutique. Since launching Mootus, he has also started the Boston Meetup group for legal innovators and begun blogging for the site www.smallfirminnovation.com. Ziegler’s career focuses on how technology can help practicing lawyers do more, better and faster for their clients. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, host Heidi Alexander chats with Ziegler about how to use technology to maintain an efficient legal practice, keep up with legal-tech innovations, and launch a legal technology startup.

On this edition of The Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia talks with Chad Burton about how to use virtual staff in your law practice. Burton’s law firm employs virtual staffing services to manage its phones, accounting, documents and secure email. Chad covers the use of virtual staff to assist in other areas, as well, including: managing social media channels, making travel arrangements, creating presentations, and more. Burton is the founder of Burton Law, a virtual law firm which focuses on representing businesses and individuals in litigation matters. He also serves as outside general counsel to small and mid-sized businesses, including new and existing franchises. He is a leading member of both the Dayton Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association. Virtual staffing saves Burton Law a significant amount of overhead costs, and those cost savings are passed along to its clients. Tune in to hear more on virtual staffing, including: what to look for, how to manage the staff, and more.

On this edition of The Legal Toolkit, host Jared Correia talks with Chad Burton about how to use virtual staff in your law practice. Burton’s law firm employs virtual staffing services to manage its phones, accounting, documents and secure email. Chad covers the use of virtual staff to assist in other areas, as well, including: managing social media channels, making travel arrangements, creating presentations, and more. Burton is the founder of Burton Law, a virtual law firm which focuses on representing businesses and individuals in litigation matters. He also serves as outside general counsel to small and mid-sized businesses, including new and existing franchises. He is a leading member of both the Dayton Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association. He is also a member of the American Bar Association. Virtual staffing saves Burton Law a significant amount of overhead costs, and those cost savings are passed along to its clients. Tune in to hear more on virtual staffing, including: what to look for, how to manage the staff, and more.

Clients have an abundance of options when hiring an attorney. Often, it is a firm’s website that determines who they ultimately hire. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander talk to Jeff Lantz about building an Internet brand and website that differentiates you from your competitors and attracts clients. Jeff Lantz is the founder and CEO of Esquire Interactive. His company is an attorney-run marketing firm that specializes in website development, Internet marketing, and branding for law firms and attorneys. Lantz was a practicing attorney for more than 12 years before he delved into Internet marketing. He has authored two books: The Essential Attorney Handbook for Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Website Development Management, referred to as “The bible for building law firm websites,” by host Alexander, and Internet Branding for Lawyers: Building the Client-Centered Website published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section. Tune in to hear from the author of Internet Branding for Lawyers on the basics of branding, website development, and marketing for attorneys.

Clients have an abundance of options when hiring an attorney. Often, it is a firm’s website that determines who they ultimately hire. On this episode of The Legal Toolkit, hosts Jared Correia and Heidi Alexander talk to Jeff Lantz about building an Internet brand and website that differentiates you from your competitors and attracts clients. Jeff Lantz is the founder and CEO of Esquire Interactive. His company is an attorney-run marketing firm that specializes in website development, Internet marketing, and branding for law firms and attorneys. Lantz was a practicing attorney for more than 12 years before he delved into Internet marketing. He has authored two books: The Essential Attorney Handbook for Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, and Website Development Management, referred to as “The bible for building law firm websites,” by host Alexander, and Internet Branding for Lawyers: Building the Client-Centered Website published by the ABA Law Practice Management Section. Tune in to hear from the author of Internet Branding for Lawyers on the basics of branding, website development, and marketing for attorneys.