portal to legal resources

Internet Newsletter for Lawyers

The Internet Newsletter for Lawyers covers how the internet presents the law, how it widens access to the law, how it is affecting society and the world we live in, how it is affecting legal practice, getting the best from your website and legal aspects of e-commerce.

Home Page... Lawyers... Welcome... Individuals... Companies... Students... Search... About Sponsored Links

The newsletter is published in printed form, in pdf and online. See the online version here.
(No password required)

The Internet Newsletter for Lawyers has become a community of lawyers who are interested in the legal internet from all its "angles" - how it presents the law, how it widens access to the law, legal aspects of e-commerce and websites, how lawyers use the internet to market themselves and to sell legal services online and IT issues relating to all these topics.

It is typically taken by lawyers interested in how to develop their website and how to make the best use of resources online (particularly free ones), lawyers looking to develop the services they can offer their clients, marketing people within firms and chambers working on raising their profile and getting new work, IT staff responsible for applications related to the internet, and librarians and information-related staff, who circulate the newsletter to those with a special interest in one or more topics.

Main stories in the current issue.... See the newsletter online.... Purchase Details.... Comments from Subscribers....

The newsletter is published in printed form, in pdf and online. You can see the online version free of charge here.

Main stories in the May/June issue:

  • Laurie Kaye looks at the "digital shift" and describes 10 themes which characterise this shift and which shape digital media's legal agenda.
  • David Flint looks at the EU's Working Party Opinion on cloud computing. The Opinion identifies a whole series of legal issues.
  • Alex Heshmaty describes some of the most popular Google cloud applications: Googe Drive, Chrome and Chromebook
  • Amanda Millmore describes some of the most important free legal resources relevant to lawyers of all persuasions.
  • Graham Laing looks at how firms can make their web site more effective, including how retailers keep their sites attractive and profitable.
  • We start a "Legal App Corner" with a description of Ireland's first dedicated Data Privacy Law app.
  • The web is (only) 20 year's old! Nick Holmes gives us a bit of history.

Main stories in the March/April issue:

  • Alex Heshmaty describes how Skype works, issues of confidentiality, quality and data protection, and which lawyers are using it.
  • Sue Bramall considers whether you should be redesigning your website for different types of online device, and ways to go about this.
  • Nick Holmes looks at the new GOV.UK which is not as simple to use as one might hope - but it is not going to go away.
  • David Flint starts a new series on issues of corporate management and data protection for cloud systems. Blessing or curse? (Or both).
  • Ruth Bird, Bodleian Law Librarian, has developed a new app called LawSauce to help locate legal resources online - and how she did it.
  • Delia Venables rounds up barristers' comments on the Panopticon law blog from 11KBW - the winner from a large number of legal blogs.
  • Jonathan Maskew describes how Direct Access Barristers are gearing up to gather clients online (it is not only solicitors who can do this).
  • Charles Christian describes how the widespread use of social media like Facebook is starting to affect the "serious" legal software market.

Main stories in the January/February 2013 issue:

  • David Gilroy looks at the new groups and brands offering legal services, and suggests which are the ones to be afraid of.
  • Dan Fallon gives a primer on pay per click (PPC) - how it works, what it costs (with provisos) and how to get the best out of it.
  • Brian Inkster gives his experiences of the new Microsoft Surface and considers whether it is a "must have" for modern lawyers.
  • David Mort tells us why client feedback is not just for compliance purposes - it is also for business development.
  • Graham Ross brings us up to date on Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) and expects further rapid development in the year(s) to come.
  • Nick Holmes considers Lord Neuberger's BAILII lecture on the accessibility of judgments. What is BAILII's role now?
  • Delia Venables gives a brief review of Richard Susskind's new book "Tomorrow's Lawyers". Make time to read this book!

Main stories in the November/December 2012 issue:

  • Nick Holmes provides an essential guide to eBooks - options, formats, devices, readers and digital rights management.
  • Peter Garsden of Abney Garsden McDonald reviews the success of going paperless. It took over 7 years but it's worth it in the end.
  • Nigel Miller of Fox Williams provides 10 top tips for securing and managing domain names. Domain names are the basis of ecommerce.
  • Barrister Amanda Millmore reviews the use of social media in the legal system - by police, as evidence, and in the community.
  • Tom Hiskey describes his move from practice as a solicitor to running a legal technology startup company called "The Law Wizard".
  • Sue Bramall of Berners Marketing compares the relative effectiveness of blogs and news sections. Which are best?
  • Patti Havers describes the history of the Havers Directory and the new look, and new facilities of "Havers - Defining the Bar".

Main stories in the September/October 2012 issue:

  • Laurie Kaye considers whether copyright can adapt to the digital age. He describes three fundamental reasons why he thinks that it can.
  • Nigel Miller gives a tutorial on the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs) and key factors relating to keeping within the law.
  • Jeff Zindani describes how the Jackson reforms are changing personal injury and shows how the processes involved can be re-engineered.
  • Michael Scutt looks at employees posting inappropriate material to Facebook/Twitter and shows how employers can protect themselves.
  • Continuing our series on developments in Law Publishing, we look at what the Law Society is doing, and also Cecile Park Publishing.
  • Nick Holmes looks at the efforts that www.legislation.gov.uk is making to bring the statute book up to date. It will take a little while.

Main stories in the July/August 2012 issue:

  • Many law firms outsource IT, accounting support and transcription services but why are they slow to outsource real legal work?
  • The t&c's for Paypal are longer than Shakespeare’s Hamlet, those of the iPad half the length of War and Peace. It is time to change.
  • Ways to blend "freemium" and paid content to maximise contact with users and to persuade them to want more at each stage.
  • DIY Law (not just for lawyers - ordinary people too) continues to develop. What documents, templates and legal processes are available?
  • The Co-operative Legal Services ABS is planning to become a major provider of legal services. A big expansion is coming.
  • The key practice management systems for lawyers that are available "in the cloud"
  • A walk round the Government’s Justice web site, recently upgraded,

Full details on recent issues:

You can see the newsletters online, free of charge, here.

To subscribe to the print, pdf or multi-user versions, follow the link at the top of that page to "Subscribe". You can pay with your credit card or debit card or pay on receipt of invoice.

Comments from Subscribers

* Richard Susskind...
Keep the Newsletters coming. I'm a big fan!

* Alison Harvey, Gherson...
We are enthusiastic readers of the Internet Newsletter for Lawyers which we find very informative.

* Senior Assistant Librarian (Law Lords Library)...
I have found it to be an invaluable resource.

* Fawzi Zuberi (Partner), Lighthouse Solicitors
The newsletters are excellent and have already helped us in terms of giving us ideas on how to develop our I.T systems.

* Michael Haddrell, IT Manager, McEwens...
The newsletter is a brilliant way to stay updated and connected to all the latest issues and developments. Please, definitely continue our subscription and I am sure you will keep up the good work.

* Rowan Alys, Sydney Mitchell.....
It's always interesting and informative - and written in the sort of plain English that I can pass on to the non-geeky lawyers in our practice.

* Elizabeth Graham, Librarian, Brodies, Glasgow.....
I find the newsletter very interesting and informative. Thank you for all your efforts.

* Jill Cave-Browne-Cave....
I do enjoy your newsletter very much - it is certainly the best of its kind that I have ever read. May you continue with this, and your other great publications, for very many years to come.

* Vivian Grainge, Library and Information Services Manager, Freeth Cartwright
I think the newsletter is great.

* Richard Jennings, R.D.Y.Jennings & Co, North Yorkshire
Please renew subscription - and thanks for another good year.

(Other Subscribers)
* Thanks for your journal which (somewhat to my surprise since I am not particularly IT focussed) I get more out of than other.

* Your newsletter is one publication which I always make sure I read.

* I agree with the judges' comments, easy to assimilate, relevant, up to date information.

* As a subscriber I read your newsletter with great enjoyment and it is a great resource in so many ways.

* The Internet Newsletter is about the best value newsletter my firm subscribes to and I have found it extremely useful both in trying to work out a web strategy and as a "portal" to legal websites which we might otherwise have missed.

* I continue to think it is an excellent review of internet activities and just the right size for me to manage!

* I am not surprised that you won the award. The Newsletter is an excellent publication and I (and my students) find it of enormous value.

* Many thanks for the straightforward instructions on how to arrange access to the Intranet/Multiple Use version. It is refreshing to be able to provide on-line access to a publication via an Intranet without having to go through a long process of negotiating user numbers or having to distribute individual passwords!

Arkady Bukh is a leading criminal lawyer in New York NYC Defense Attorney Arkady Bukh is a leading criminal lawyer in New York handling various felony and misdemeanor crimes. A managing partner of Bukh Law Firm P.C., he's been featured in Forbes, CNN, and NY Times. Bukh & Associates is ranked #1 of 842 Criminal Defense Law Firms in New York.

Back to Lawyers' home page

email delia@venables.co.uk