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Internet Newsletter for Lawyers & Law 2.0

The Internet Newsletter for Lawyers & Law 2.0 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.

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The Internet Newsletter for Lawyers & Law 2.0 has become a community of lawyers, and those working with lawyers, who are interested in the legal internet from all its "angles" - how it presents the law, how it widens access to the law, how it is affecting society and the world we live in, legal aspects of e-commerce and websites, how lawyers themselves use it for communicating and for improving service to their clients, how it is changing legal practice for both solicitors and barristers, how they use the internet to market themselves and to sell legal services on the web 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.... Comments from Subscribers.... Purchase Details

September/October 2009 issue

Here are the main stories this time:

  • Virtual firms have been featured in the newsletter on several occasions in the past but how are they getting on now? We find out in this issue and we also summarise the key technology features which have made these virtual firms possible.

  • Referral companies are competing fiercely to sign up firms of solicitors for their panels but it is very hard to find out which ones are worth the money. Solicitor Tessa Shepperson (our first “roving reporter”) starts a series on this topic with a look at Quality Solicitors.

  • Also competing fiercely for your money are the legal publishers and we cover what they are offering from time to time in this newsletter. In this issue, we hear about JustCite and why it is different from other citators.

  • The nature and reliability of electronic evidence, disclosure and admissibility are key topics in all fields of law, not just IT-related fields. Barrister Stephen Mason describes the key factors involved.

  • Outsourcing is an important topic and the fields which can be outsourced, and where they can be outsourced to, continues to grow. Indeed the field has split into onshoring, insourcing, nearshoring, offshoring and several other variants. We hear about the latest developments in this field.

  • Nick Holmes gives us an overview of Search Engine Optimisation, and describes some of the important areas to cover. He also tells us which areas are so nebulous and changeable that is better to concentrate on the quality of the website rather than what Google might (possibly) think about it.

  • Penny Edwards of key consultancy Headshift describes ways in which Web 2.0 can be used within the organisation to make life simpler as well as more efficient.

The newsletter is primarily a printed publication (not everyone wants to spend their whole day glued to a computer) but it is also provided online, without extra charge. You can see what the newsletter looks like
here. You cannot see the full stories unless you are a subscriber but you can see how it "looks and feels".

Quick Summaries of Recent Issues

(Printed copies of the most recent THREE issues will be provided free to new subscribers as well as ALL of them available online).

In the July/August issue, Nick Holmes looks at the development of the Statute Law Database, how it works, the extent to which it can now be relied on and how it is now being integrated with OPSI legislation. We look at the Human Rights database provided by One Crown Office Row and the Current Awareness blog from the Inner Temple Library. We find out why reputation monitoring is important and how you can counteract any bad coverage. We cover another virtual firm and the online tools needed, and we receive a primer on current social networking tools and how they can be used to good effect. We also cover the best 20 online legal resources currently provided by firms of solicitors which are “beyond marketing”.

In the May/June issue, we tell you about Legal OnRamp, a collaboration system for in-house counsel and invited outside lawyers and why it is important. We suggest that lawyers should not just read other peoples' blogs but should blog themselves. We give you practical advice for writing marketing material and how to make it accessible to the audience yu are seeking. We continue our short series on email marketing with details of the email software you can use, how to manage the list and how to plan a campaign. A solicitor tells us who his firm is using Twitter to tell potential house purchasers about new properties coming on the market and other innovations. We hear about the new Sweet & Maxwell site. We think that voice recognition is now easy to use and we describe how to choose a product, install it and what sort of training is needed.

In the March/April issue, We describe the basic methods of digital dictation, both standalone and in "workflow" systems. We look at how to get a useful (and legally acquired) database of clients, contacts and prospects for an email marketing campaign. We cover the latest developments in Software as a Service (SaaS) - what is available and who is using it. We look at "where we are now" with BAILII and cover how some regional firms are producing their own content and "intelligent documents" online. We have had articles from "virtual" barristers before, but now we hear how one actively practising barrister lives in Morocco. We look at new features for sight impaired visitors and a printout facility for visitors who want to be able to produce a neat record of what they have found. We look at how to persuade people to actually use RSS to gather information as distinct from just knowing about it. Finally, we provide more information on e-marketing including e-publishing, podcasts, partnerships, social networking, blogs, text messaging, web awards, banner advertising, pay-per-click and search engine optimisation.

In the January/February 2009 issue, we look at how law publishing is continuing to change in response to technological change and what will happen next. We hear from a major firm about how a (successful) intranet was developed; we look at one method of enhancing a web site - implementing a purchased data base of information; we cover "fax to email" services and how they work; we look at the new HIP Regulations regarding the ending of the transitional arrangements; we hear about OUP’s new international services online and also a new database of Scottish cases; we look at Richard Susskind’s new book “The end of Lawyers?” and hear about a strategy for e-marketing for chambers.

Full details on recent issues:

Note that ALL these are available to subscribers on line.

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!


Purchase Details

The Newsletter is produced bi-monthly in printed form (designed for lawyers and those who work with lawyers, who do not want to spend ALL their time in front of a computer) but it is also available to subscribers in a web version without extra charge. You can see what the online version looks like at Nick Holmes' infolaw site (although you will not be able to read the full articles unless you have subscribed).

The cost is £45 for the year (6 issues) or 50 euros. Go to Internet Newsletter for Lawyers & Law 2.0 and follow the link at the top to "Subscribe". You can pay with your credit card or pay on receipt of invoice.

You will receive THREE back issues of the printed newsletter without charge, with any new subscription, and also access to ALL back issues on the web.


Multiple Use Licence

For Firms or organisations who wish to encourage general online use across the firm or indeed multiple locations, view and download the pdf version, do lots of photocopying, or all of these, the cost is £75 plus VAT (or 85 euros). This includes Universities and Libraries.

The price includes a printed copy. You will also receive THREE back issues of the printed newsletter without charge, with any new subscription, and also access to ALL back issues on the web.

To subscribe, go to Nick Holmes' infolaw site. You can also see what the newsletter "looks like" on that site (although you will not be able to read the full articles unless you have subscribed).


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