Writing briefs when judges read on iPads (Volokh Conspiracy, 17 Jan 2014) – I just read a very interesting article, Daniel Sockwell, Writing a Brief for the iPad Judge . The basic problem: [M]ore and more judges are reading briefs primarily on iPads or other tablets…. The Fifth Circuit judiciary reads the majority of their briefs on iPads, and, from conversations with numerous judges and clerks, the other Circuits are not far behind (though I was told that the Third Circuit is “not as iPad heavy as some circuits”). The best way to know how a particular judge typically reads briefs is to ask – the clerks will likely be happy to help. Why do iPads even matter? … Lawyers who care about communicating forcefully and clearly should seek to perfect style and typography in addition to substance. The rules of typography are simply different for a screen than for print… And here are the author’s suggestions (reprinted with his permission, some paragraph breaks added): A brief written to be read on an iPad should differ from one written for text in three main ways: it should use fewer footnotes, should use a different font, and should avoid confusing hierarchical organization. Lawyers who expect a brief to be read on an iPad should try to avoid footnotes. One of the advantages of reading on an iPad is that judges can adjust the screen view, zooming in and focusing on the current passage. However, this advantage is lost if footnotes require the reader to constantly scroll to the bottom of the page for citations or substantive material. Worse, the extra scrolling raises the risk that the footnotes won’t be read at all, already a concern with substantive footnotes. Next, lawyers should carefully consider what font to use in a brief that may be read on an iPad. Fonts designed for screen reading are significantly different from those designed to be printed. Most importantly, quality printers print at a much higher resolution-even the retina iPad display has only 264 pixels per inch, less than half the dots per inch of a quality laser printer. As a result, some of the best print fonts can become jagged or difficult to read at screen resolutions, especially when readers zoom in. * * *

Provided by MIRLN.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/bplanet.

Confide: an app for execs who want sensitive messages to vanish Snapchat-style (GigaOM, 8 Jan 2014) – Many people associate “disappear” apps like Snapchat with young people who want to send each other bong or boob shots. But kids are hardly the only ones who want to relay sensitive or silly messages without leaving a permanent trace on the internet. That’s the thinking behind “ Confide ,” a new app aimed at professionals who want to message each other about job references, corporate intrigue or other subjects that could cause trouble if a written record landed before HR or the legal department. Messages sent via Confide disappear on reading and can’t be retrieved later. Available for Apple devices as of January 8, Confide is the brainchild of Jon Brod, a co-founder of local news site Patch, and Howard Lerman, the CEO of marketing start-up Yext. Brod says the app came about after Lerman contacted him by email about a potential employee who Brod did not want to discuss in writing. He suggested they speak by phone instead. “We’re busy and it took us six days to connect,” he said in a phone interview, explaining why they created the app. “Professional relationships require tools for impermanence and confidence. We wanted to take the proven model of meeting for an off-the-record cup of coffee and bring it online.” To address the issue of screenshots, which can provide a way to preserve disappearing messages, Confide uses a “wand” feature that requires recipients to pass their fingers over the message to reveal additional words. The app also includes a notice feature, common among other disappear apps, that alerts the sender if the recipient took a screenshot of the message. Confide also includes another feature that might appeal to paranoid executives: end-to-end encryption that means Confide doesn’t possess a retrievable copy of the message. As for the possibility that professionals could use Confide to skirt legal duties (such as by-laws that require them to preserve corporate communications), Brod said the app is simply a platform and that it would be up to individuals to comply with their obligations.

Provided by MIRLN.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/KROMKRATHOG.

Costs of keyword searching, data analysis, not recoverable, Federal Circuit rules (Robert Ambrogi, 18 Dec 2013) – To what extent can the costs of e-discovery be recovered by a prevailing party in federal court? The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has just issued an opinion that provides a detailed analysis of that question, concluding that the answer hinges on which costs fall within a 21st Century definition of “copying.” In CBT Flint Partners, LLC v. Return Path, Inc. , the Federal Circuit considered the extent to which e-discovery costs fall under28 USC § 1920 , the federal statute that lists the costs that can be recovered in federal litigation. The only provision of that statute that would apply to e-discovery, the circuit concluded, is one that allows recovery of copying costs. Thus, e-discovery costs are recoverable only to the extent they fall within the statutory meaning of copying. [W]e conclude that recoverable costs … are those costs necessary to duplicate an electronic document in as faithful and complete a manner as required by rule, by court order, by agreement of the parties, or otherwise. To the extent that a party is obligated to produce (or obligated to accept) electronic documents in a particular format or with particular characteristics intact (such as metadata, color, motion, or manipulability), the costs to make duplicates in such a format or with such characteristics preserved are recoverable. … But only the costs of creating the produced duplicates are included, not a number of preparatory or ancillary costs commonly incurred leading up to, in conjunction with, or after duplication. That means that the costs of imaging hard drives and source media and processing those images would be recoverable in most cases, the court said. Also recoverable would be the costs of creating load files and copying responsive documents to production media. But the costs of decryption, deduplication, keyword searching, data analysis and project management are not recoverable, the court concluded.

Provided by MIRLN.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/hyena reality.

Can law blogging qualify for CLE credits? (Kevin O’Keefe, 4 Jan 2014) – Historically, education has taken place in the classroom with live speakers or recordings. With the advent of the Internet lawyers are now taking CLE classes online as well. Beyond classes, some states allow lawyers to earn credits by writing legal articles. The articles need not be law review or law journal quality or length. The articles need not be exclusively for other lawyers. In my first company, Prairielaw.com, the precursor to lawyers.com’s content and community, we had lawyers author content for consumers and small business people. Lawyers practicing in states which allowed it, earned a CLE credit for each of their articles. Such content was written and contributed by the lawyers, in part, as a means of enhancing their reputation as a reliable and trusted authority. The lawyers also contributed their articles as way to gain additional exposure online. Sounds an awful lot like lawyers publishing a blog. Would law blog articles/posts qualify for CLE credits? I took a quick look at various states’ positions on allowing lawyers to claim CLE credits for writing legal articles.

  • Tennessee : Writing articles concerning substantive law, the practice of law, or the ethical and professional responsibilities of attorneys may qualify for CLE credit if the articles are published in approved publications intended primarily for attorneys.
  • Maine : The writing of law related articles for publication will not be automatically approved for CLE credit. Authors requesting such credit must submit a copy of the article after publication for evaluation by the Board to apply toward only the self-study portion of the attorney’s annual CLE obligation.
  • Georgia : May earn credits in researching and writing articles provided that (1) the article or treatise’s content and quality are consistent with the purposes of CLE, (2) it is published in a recognized publication which is primarily directed at lawyers, and (3) the project was not done in the ordinary course of the practice of law, the performance of judicial duties, or other regular employment.
  • California : May get credit for articles published or accepted for publication that contributed to your legal education, exclusive of activity which is part of your employment.

You get the idea. Yes, lawyers may and do earn CLE credits for writing articles. At the same, though blog posts are arguably legal articles, you can see the hurdles and how states are apt to respond.

Provided by MIRLN.

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net/Stuart Miles.

“Link rot” at the Supreme Court: 49% of links in decisions don’t work (GigaOM, 23 Sept 2013) – Adam Liptak of theNew York Times provides a lively account of how half the links in Supreme Court decisions — links that provide precedent and justify the law — lead to broken or missing webpages. The so-called “link rot,” described in a Harvard study, is a problem for the legal profession, and shows how courts’ shift away from fusty paper practices isn’t all positive. More broadly, the situation shows how future discussions of infrastructure renewal should encompass plans to repair the country’s digital infrastructure as well.

Provided by MIRLN.

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

 

The Consumer Protections bureau for British Columbia has begun offering a pilot version of their Online Dispute Resolution platform, with the goal of improving the efficiency and lowering costs of settling disputes.  ODR is a way of conducting arbitration and mediation through the web, with all of the resources kept in a digital format, allowing for simple and asynchronous access, and efficient negotiation from anywhere.

The program is currently free, can be accessed at any time, and allows Consumer Protections BC to step in as a neutral third-party in specific situations.  Depending on the success of this program, plans are in the works to extend ODR to the Civil Resolution Tribunal to handle small claims cheaper and faster than if they were to go to court.  Success of the program in BC would provide a nice proving ground for the platform, to which other jurisdictions could look when developing their own ODR methods.