Internet Newsletter for Lawyers
September/October 2002, by Delia Venables

ISSN 1467 - 3835 © Copyright retained by Delia Venables and respective authors 2002

Are the new dot-pro domains worth it? by Tim Brown

Web Resources for the Family Lawyer and Client by David Hodson

Old Meets New in Property Group by Maitland Kalton

Book Reviews by Delia Venables
Tolley's Domain Names... Cyber-Risks... Email and Internet Access solutions

Ongoing Series on Bright New Ideas for Websites
Linking up with a Business Transfer Agency by Maria Cordina of Sherrards
Providing an Interactive CD about the Firm by Bill Jones of JMW
A Network of Small Firms Working Together by Nicholas Openshaw of xlsis

ADSL at the Office by Keith Arrowsmith

Nightmares of the Net for Law Firms by Rupert Kendrick

Email Disclaimers by Claire Griffiths

Harnessing Internet and Email by Dominic Watson
Draft Email/Internet Usage Policy (Microsoft Word document)

Barristers' Extra
Barristers on the Web by Delia Venables

Advertisements:
Justis - take the Law Reports Challenge
Lawtel Announcement
egi's Legal Service for Property Law
ActiveLawyer - Free Forum
Get your firm on lawfirmsontheweb for free
LawyerLocator and Lawyer HomePages
Westlaw UK your ultimate legal partner
Hawksmere conference on e-contracts

Information on the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers and Training Materials

Please see also the Overall Index by Subject Groupings

Delia Venables
10 Southway Lewes
Sussex BN7 1LU
phone and fax - 01273 472424
email - delia@venables.co.uk

If you have direct web access, see the information about Delia Venables and her consultancy work (IT advice for lawyers).

See also...
Legal Resources in the UK and Ireland
Lawyers' home page

If previous Newsletters are on your system or if you are accessing this directly on the web....
July/August 2002
May/June 2002
March/April 2002
January/February 2002
November/December 2001
September/October 2001
July/August 2001
May/June 2001
March/April 2001
January/February 2001

There is a pdf version of this newsletter here (176kb) or alternatively (using direct addressing for my website) here.
The "Barristers' extra" section pdf version is here (100kb) or alternatively (using direct addressing for my website) here.

Advertisements

The following advertisements appear in the Newsletter:

Lawtel Announcement

Following the acquisition of Lawtel by Sweet & Maxwell, we would like to confirm that Lawtel will continue to operate as a separate stand-alone service.

Lawtel has an established reputation for delivering high quality, timely, accurate and reliable information. Designed to allow lawyers to keep in touch with the latest legal developments at their desktop, Lawtel will complement Sweet & Maxwell's existing services.

Under the new ownership, Lawtel subscribers will continue to receive the excellent service and support they have come to expect from us.

* Lawtel UK * Lawtel EU * Lawtel Human Rights * Lawtel Personal Injury * Lawtel Civil Procedure * Lawtel Local Government
Lawtel Specialist Bulletins in the areas of Employment, Intellectual Property, Competition, Personal Injury and TMT (Technology, Media and Telecommunications)

For more information or a free trial, Visit Lawtel, telephone 020 7970 4818 or email enquiries@lawtel.com.


Justis offers you the Law Reports Challenge!

The Weekly Law Reports (WLR) is the best way to keep up-to-date with cases heard in the Superior and Appellate Courts which either develop the law in some way or introduce a new point of law - giving coverage of the cases that really matter.

We'll give you a month's free access to the Weekly Law Reports on Justis.com. All you have to do is use it and compare it with the service you currently use.

At the end of the month, if you don't think that WLR is better, then no harm done - just carry on with your old service. But, if you like WLR better (and we think you will) we'll give you a special rate for being a good sport!

To obtain your free password, call 020 7284 8080, email justis@context.co.uk or go to the Challenge page.

Smarter Legal Research from Context


EGi's Legal Service - be fully briefed on property law

EGi's Legal Service is the UK's leading online news, research and information service for property law professionals. Offering fast and easy access, their extensive databases provide up-to-date and comprehensive property law information which includes:
  • Estates Gazette Law Reports & Planning law Reports
  • Estates Gazette Case Summaries
  • Legal News
  • Legislation
  • Estates Gazette Articles
  • Claims
  • Lands Tribunal
  • E-conveyancing - FREE - see www.egi.co.uk/propert-e

    There is a 1 week free trial of the service with no commitment. Register on the site or call 0500 557788 for more information.


    www.lawfirmsontheweb.co.uk

    Law Firms on the Web is the integral directory of the award-winning legal portal LAW on the WEB, which receives over 30,000 unique visitors every month, and has just become a BT Broadband partner, alongside the likes of the BBC, Google and John Lewis.

    The directory is free to any firm that has a meaningful presence on the Web, with an opportunity to extend entries allowing readers direct, one-click, access to their website; full contact details; priority in all relevant search results; plus a full profile of the firm within the directory for just £10 per month (you can register here).

    The directory is quick, simple and easy to use with a unique prompted key word search facility, plus town, county and postcode region breakdowns to narrow search results.

    It is the definitive online legal directory.

    For more information check out the site or contact solicitor Martin Davies or by call 01243 535377.


    ActiveLawyer invites you to a Free Forum on Wednesday 18th September!

    Exploit the 4 principles of Online Legal Marketing and Communication:

  • Branding and Design
  • Strength of Relevant Content
  • Attainment of Business Driven Goals
  • Easy to Use Technology

    Join us at 9 am or 11 am, Wednesday, 18th September, Central London - more details, and a booking form, are on the site

    Update your website with the ease of simple word processing skills, automatically archive out-of-date articles and attract new business by impressing site visitors with the latest news and legal developments. Mastered in minutes. Updates in seconds.

    ActiveLawyer specialises in working for the legal community and offers professional web design, development, maintenance, content, marketing, training and software/hardware equipment. Visit the site, contact Steven Vincent on 020 7239 9050 or email steven.vincent@activelawyer.com.


    The following companies have included leaflets with the Newsletter:

    LawyerLocator and LawyerHomePages from Martindale-Hubbell

    LawyerLocator is a one-stop shop for finding a solicitor anywhere in the UK. Users can find a firm by searching on name, area of practice, postcode or town. Basic information on each firm is taken from the Butterworths Law Directory (listing 65,000 solicitors) but additional information can be placed on the directory for a fee. Martindale-Hubbell has placed its LawyerLocator utility on several major web locations such as egpropertylink.com, the UK’s number one online commercial property database, which attracts over 29,000 unique visitors a month.

    LawyerHomePages are sites we develop for you. They are tailored to meet your needs and enable you to take full advantage of the internet. We can provide professional consultancy, design and content options, and e-commerce functionality. These sites obtain preferential placement on the LawyerLocator directory.

    For more information, ring Richard Macey on 020 7868 4884 or email lawyerhomepages@lawyerlocator.co.uk.

    Martindale-hubbell is a LEXIS-NEXIS Group company


    Westlaw UK - your ultimate legal partner

    Explore a whole new world of law and more with Westlaw UK....

    The online information service that gives you the bigger picture. Hosted online and covering areas of law such as Crime, Landlord & Tenant and Corporate Business, Westlaw UK enables you to search through a plethora of legal information without even leaving your desk.

    • Explore the content.... take advantage of Sweet & Maxwell's expert commentary such as Archbold, The White Book and Palmer's Company Law.

    • Access the most relevant case material with Sweet & Maxwell's specialist case reporting series and ICLR's Law reports dating back to 1865.

    • See how the law stands today with Westlaw UK's full text, fully consolidated legislation stretching back to 1267.

    • Find out everything you need to know about a case or piece of legislation - in one place, with Westlaw UK's unique case and legislative locator documents.

    • Keep up to date with the full text of Sweet & Maxwell's renowned journals which include such titles as the Landlord & Tenant review, Insolvency Lawyer and the Criminal Law Review.

    It's all fully inter-linked and cross-referenced so you have all the details you need.

    Call 0800 028 2200 now for your FREE trial or visit the site.


    Negotiating and drafting e-contracts - a Conference from Hawksmere

    A one-day seminar featuring practical workshop sessions on 4th November 2002, in Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London.

    Contracting in the electronic world raises a range of fresh contractual challenges for all involved. This programme focuses on some of the key issues, including negotiating online, understanding website terms and conditions, and the use of e-signatures together with specific types of e-contracts including those used for web design.

    Legal challenges involving e-contracts include the potential application of laws outside familiar jurisdictions and the resolution of disputes in an online environment. These issues and others will be covered during the seminar.

    Sessions include:

  • Doing business on the Internet - a legal overview
  • Entering into successful e-contracts - a workshop
  • The Impact of EU law
  • Specific e-contracts - a workshop
  • Dispute resolution considerations in e-contracts

    Call Melanie Crocker on 020 7881 1886 or email melanie.crocker@hawksmere.com or book on the site.


    Internet Newsletter for Lawyers

    Prices are:
    • £40 plus 3.50p VAT for normal subscribers - a printed copy and access to the online version.
    • £70 plus £12.25 VAT for Firms/Chambers/Universities with Intranets or muliple online access; this includes a printed copy.
    Or 70 euros for the individual licence and 120 euros for the Intranet/Multiple Use licence.

    In the award for "Legal Journal of the Year, 2001" which I received from the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL), they were kind enough to say..

    "Delia Venables has filled an emergent niche with a newsletter making an appropriate use of the dual media of printed and web with links to the sites".

    You will always find the address of the web version of the Newsletter on the front of the printed version, in the left hand column - all subscribers are welcome to use this!

    Delia Venables' Training Materials

    I now offer a complete range of training materials - a Beginners Guide and two sets of Advanced Studies. Each course involves printed material as well as online sessions, using a passworded area of my website. You do these in your own time. Each course can be purchased either in a single user version or in the multiple user/intranet version, allowing everyone in the organisation to take the course and obtain the CPD from the Law Society or the Bar Council. Very low cost CPD - and good fun too!

    (Beginners) Guide to the Internet for Lawyers - April 2002 edition

    This consists of 2 parts - the initial "Guide" which you read in an armchair or on a train, and the "Tutorials" which you carry out seated at a computer with an Internet connection. The full text of the Tutorials is available in a passworded area of my web site. CPD is available - 8 hours for the English Law Society, 8 hours for the Bar Council and 5 hours for the Scottish Law Society.

    Price is £50 plus VAT for the single user licence and £100 plus VAT for the Intranet/Multiple User version i.e. anyone in the organisation can use the material and obtain the CPD hours.
    Or 85 euros for the individual licence and 165 euros for the Intranet/Multiple Use licence.

    If you have direct web access, there is information about the Guide and Tutorials here.

    Advanced Internet Studies for Lawyers - July 2002 edition

    Five Internet Studies for experienced Internet users exploring topics with legal relevance. The Studies cover:

  • Parliament and the Legislative Process
  • Government Online
  • Free Sources for Legal Research Online
  • Publishers' Sources for Legal Research Online
  • Selling Legal Services Online

    The Studies qualify for 5 CPD hours from the Law Society for England & Wales under the "Distance Learning" category, i.e. the work can be done in your own time. The Bar Council also accepts the Studies for 5 CPD hours.

    Cost is £40 plus VAT for an individual licence or £100 plus VAT for an Intranet/Multiple Use licence, i.e. anyone in the organisation can use the material and obtain the CPD hours.
    Or 70 euros for the individual licence and 165 euros for the Intranet/Multiple Use licence.
    If you have direct web access, there are more details here.

    Second Set of Advanced Internet Studies for Lawyers - August 2002 edition

    Five More Internet Studies for experienced Internet users exploring topics with legal relevance. The Studies cover:
  • Legal Sites in Europe and particularly Ireland
  • Legal Sites across the World
  • Specifically Scottish Sites
  • Marketing Legal Services on the Web
  • Legal Resources Provided by Barristers

    The Studies qualify for 5 CPD hours from the Law Society for England & Wales under the "Distance Learning" category, i.e. the work can be done in your own time. The Bar Council also accepts the Studies for 5 CPD hours. You can take the two sets of Advanced Studies in either order - they cover different topics.

    Cost is £40 plus VAT for an individual licence or £100 plus VAT for an Intranet/Multiple Use licence, i.e. anyone in the organisation can use the material and obtain the CPD hours.
    Or 70 euros for the individual licence and 165 euros for the Intranet/Multiple Use licence.
    If you have direct web access, there are more details here.

    Special offer for the two Sets of Advanced Internet Studies for Lawyers

    Each set qualifies for 5 CPD hours - they cover different material and you can get CPD (Law Society or Bar Council) on either or both of these.

    Usually, each set costs £40 plus £7 VAT but, if you buy both sets together, the total cost will be only £60 plus £10.50 VAT. For the Intranet/Multiple Use licence for these products, both sets together will cost £150 plus VAT instead of £100 each.

    Selling and Marketing Legal Services on the Web 2002 - March 2002

    A course with five online studies - essentially guided tours - on what firms are actually doing in 2002.

    This course Qualifies for 5 CPD hours from the Law Society of England & Wales - not from the Bar Council since the material only covers solicitors' firms

    Please note that this course will have a short shelf life - newly published in March 2002, it will probably be withdrawn at the end of the year.

  • Study One - Overview of the selling process
  • Study Two - Generating and selling legal documents on the web
  • Study Three - Specialisation and content
  • Study Four - Other models of selling legal services
  • Study Five - Specifically marketing

    Cost is £40 plus VAT for an individual licence or £100 plus VAT for an Intranet/Multiple Use licence, i.e. anyone in the organisation can use the material and obtain the CPD hours.
    Or 70 euros for the individual licence and 165 euros for the Intranet/Multiple Use licence.
    If you have direct web access, there are more details here.

    Back to Contents or Lawyers' home page