Loudoun judge approves predictive coding results

Hacked: What to do if your office computers are breached

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: May 20, 2013
Tags: Law Office Management, Technology

While stories of foreign hackers and data breaches may seem unlikely in the commonwealth, “it can happen to anyone,” warned John Simek, vice president of Sensei Enterprises, a digital forensics and information security company in Fairfax. Take the example of criminal defense firm Puckett & Faraj in Alexandria. Last year, the firm was one of [...]

Virtual practice: Lawyers hanging a shingle in cyberspace

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: April 29, 2013
Tags: Ethics, Law Office Management, Rules of Professional Conduct, Technology, Virginia State Bar

In Melissa Howell’s employment law practice, she rarely meets with her clients in her Norfolk office space. Instead, her clients prefer to work with her via phone and email or have her come to them, where she can access employment records and interview witnesses. Matthew Kaplan, who practices law out of his home in Arlington, [...]

Virginia high court to weigh cameras in courtrooms

By Peter Vieth
Published: April 26, 2013
Tags: Charlottesville Circuit Court, Judge Edward Hogshire, Supreme Court of Virginia News, Technology

The Supreme Court of Virginia has agreed to look at whether judges have an unfettered right to reject news cameras in their courtrooms, or whether they need a good reason to block access. The issue comes in the appeal arising from the emotion-laden trial of George Huguely V, the University of Virginia student convicted last [...]

Bringing ‘mind-mapping’ into the courtroom

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: April 23, 2013
Tags: Practice Tips, Technology

Toss the term “mind-mapping” into conversation and you’ll likely draw sideways glances. It sounds like something that would happen aboard alien space craft, and, in raw form, it looks like the doodles of a bored college student. But consumer protection attorney Dave Maxfield, based in Columbia, S.C., believes lawyers can use the technique to great [...]

Attorneys, marketers hesitate to endorse LinkedIn endorsements

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: April 10, 2013
Tags: Ethics, Social Media, Technology

Brian D. Wassom has never done work on mergers and acquisitions. But someone recently endorsed him for the skill on social networking site LinkedIn. A slip-up like that is part of the reason marketing expert Allison C. Shields, president of New York-based Legal Ease Consulting a legal practice management and marketing firm, is “on the [...]

For maximum security, shred old hard drives

By Dolan Media Newswires
Published: March 14, 2013
Tags: Technology

Every piece of technology has a lifespan, and even smaller companies likely have a technology closet with at least a few “retired” hard drives tucked into a corner. Although these machines may have been wiped using software designed to destroy data digitally, it’s possible that some remnants of company information are still present. Because of [...]

How to go paperless and address ethical concerns

By Correy E. Stephenson
Published: March 7, 2013
Tags: Law Office Management, Technology

Lawyers chasing the goal of running a paperless office are finding that both practical and ethical concerns can cause bumps in the road. Are there some documents that must remain in their original – i.e., paper – form? How many years must lawyers keep files before they can be destroyed? Can a law practice ever [...]

Cellphones: Know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away …

By Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Published: March 4, 2013
Tags: Technology

The staff of Virginia Lawyers Weekly has been checking in with local courts on their diverse policies for dealing with personal electronic devices, or PEDs. This general overview of how courts handle the PED-packing public – and lawyers – sorts courts into gross categories. There are, however, nuances and exceptions that make for overlapping policies [...]

Fairfax changes policy on cellphones in courthouse

By Deborah Elkins
Published: March 4, 2013
Tags: Fairfax County Circuit Court, Judge Dennis J. Smith, Technology

Letters, he got lots of letters and emails. Everybody inconvenienced by the court’s ban on cellphones – parties, jurors, witnesses – wanted to let Fairfax Circuit Chief Judge Dennis J. Smith know how much of a nuisance it was to be there, cut off from the outside world. People were using old-school communication tools to [...]