Legal Web Issues 2011
A CPD course for solicitors and barristers
by Nick Holmes and Delia Venables
(No 15 in the Legal Web Series)


These courses (published in pdf) are designed for use in any of three ways:

  • reading on screen, with live links to follow up on areas of interest
  • printing off in sections for armchair reading
  • as an online course qualifying for CPD from the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Accredited for 5 CPD hours from the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority for 2011 and 2012.

The course consists of practical articles written by Nick and Delia and other leading experts in their fields. You can see more details and purchase the course on the infolaw site. Here is a brief summary.

Contents

Legal Web Issues 2011

1. Developments in law publishing
Nick Holmes reviews the landscape as we preside over the end of an era in law publishing, when the looseleaf service reigned supreme and lawyers actually wanted to write (and read) books. Will the internet finally kill the law book? Alistair King of Justis describes the new, re-engineered JustCite which now offers free first page results.

2. Social media in the workplace: risks and policies
Michael Scutt considers the risks of using social media in the workplace and suggests social media policies that will help reduce those risks.

3. Web law issues
Simon Halberstam provides a basic primer on domain name dispute issues and discusses recent cases.
Eduardo Ustaran looks at the data protection issues regarding importing contacts into online networking sites.

4. ebooks for law
Scott Vine of Clifford Chance looks at what is available on Kindle for Lawyers, including the first ebooks from major legal publishers. He reviews some of these and also asks a series of hard questions about how firms can successfully purchase and manage ebooks.

5. Accessible law
The digital revolution has delivered free access to legal materials but this amounts to only a minor portion of the materials that lawyers need in order to practice law and the public needs in order to understand it. Nick Holmes explores what more we need in order to understand the law and how this need can be met.

Each of the chapters is intended to take the student one hour to read and absorb. The course qualifies for 5 CPD hours from the Solicitors Regulation Authority and from the Bar Standards Board.

The course can be read on screen and all the links to relevant web sites described in the text are provided, making an interesting and useful course experience. There is a straight forward test at the end to be returned to Delia Venables for marking. We hope you will enjoy this ebook and find it interesting and useful.

Gaining the CPD

To qualify for the 5 hours CPD, you need to answer a set of questions. (You do not have to have already purchased the e-book to see the questions). The questions are not difficult in themselves but are intended to indicate, for CPD purposes, that you have indeed worked through the materials, visited some of the sites described in it and considered the issues raised.

Here are a few pointers to help you answer the questions:

  • You can print out the questions to keep beside you as you read the material but please note that the questions may change from time to time.
  • Do not worry about the precise style or format of the answers — the questions will be marked by a human being (ie me), not a machine!
  • Keep your answers short and simple; the process is not designed for “essay” type answers. However, you can type in answers which are longer than the "box" - the text will move as you type it, within the box.
  • Do not hit "Return" or "Tab" in the middle of an answer, since the system then assumes that you have finished answering that question.
  • You have to complete the form (i.e. the set of questions) in one session - you cannot Save the form and continue with it another time.
  • The pass rate is 70 per cent and practitioners may submit one further set of answers if they fail the first time.

    I am normally able to send you the reply within 2 working days. However, occasionally there are computer problems or I am even on holiday! If you wish to check on the latest situation with respect to possible problems or delays, please see The Problems Page.

    Evaluation Form

    There is an evaluation form here enabling you to comment on whether the course has met its aims and intended learning outcomes, the ease of using the online materials, the relevance of the set of CPD questions and whether the course gives good value for money. There is also a question relating to accessibility issues and whether we can make the course easier to use for those with any kind of disability.

    You can fill in this form online and submit it to me (the process of doing this is the same as answering the test questions). If you would prefer to remain anonymous, you can print out the form, fill it in by hand and post it to me at 10 South Way, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1LU.

    Cost and How to Purchase

    The course costs £80 plus VAT and includes the use, by one person, of the course, qualifying for 5 CPD points.

    There is a special combo price for the two courses Legal Web Resources 2011 and Legal Web Issues 2011 purchased at the same time of £120 plus VAT.

    A multiple use licence for one course, suitable for organisations with several people likely to use the e-book and including the licence for up to 5 people to take the course, costs £200 plus VAT.

    There is a special combo price for a multi-use licence for up to 5 people for the two courses Legal Web Resources 2011 and Legal Web Issues 2011 purchased at the same time of £300 plus VAT.

    For organisations purchasing the multiple use licence and wanting more than 5 people to take the course and obtain the CPD, additional CPD entitlements can be purchased in packs of 5, for £15 a person, ie £75, plus VAT (obviously, each person still has to take, and pass, the online test!). You can purchase the course from the infolaw site here.

    After completing the purchase, the user can access and download the course, and when ready, complete the brief test and be credited with the CPD.

    Purchasing is by secure credit card processing and allows immediate access to the course. If you do not wish to pay by credit card, other payment methods can also be accommodated on the infolaw site, including sending a cheque. Online access is enabled on receipt of payment.

    • Between them Nick and Delia have accounted for many UK legal web firsts
    over the last 15 years:

    • the first legal portal in the UK came from Nick in early 1995 and Delia provided the second in mid 1995
    • the first online accredited CPD course Delia's Guide to the Internet for Lawyers in 1996
    • the first newsletter about the legal internet Delia's Internet Newsletter for Lawyers in 1996
    • the first book about the legal web Researching the Legal Web, Butterworths 1997, by Nick and Delia
    • the first web version of a printed publication Delia's Internet Newsletter for Lawyers in 1999
    • the first online forms service, Nick's infolaw Formfinder, and then the comprehensive Lawfinder in 2001
    • one of the first UK legal weblogs and the first legal metadata webfeed from Nick in 2004
    • among the first legal commentators in the UK to take full account of Web 2.0 and social networking for lawyers

    Comments or queries? email delia@venables.co.uk
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