Category Archives: Weblogs

Welcome to My New, Improved(?) Blawg

Just a short note to let you know that I’ve migrated the blawg to a new platform.  It’s a bit of a job migrating 577 posts that have accumulated since 2008, and there are a few tweaks to complete; however, since I depart tomorrow morning for the State Bar of California 88th Annual Meeting, it will remain a work in progress for the next couple of weeks.

I’ll also re-establish subscriber feeds soon.  Thanks for your patience.

 

Temper, Temper…

MP900149066Let's begin with the premise that the Internet makes it easier to…

Does your mind automatically think of positive attributes such as, 'communicate with others', 'market your business' or 'research virtually any topic'?  You'd be right about all of them.  Unfortunately, the Internet also makes it easier to:

Defame others.

There have been a trifecta of such cases in Georgia; and juries haven't been shy about awarding substantial (six-figure) damages.  What's the commonality?  They're all blogging cases.  The highest award of the three is $900,000 (The article says it's nearly ten-times what the plaintiff's sought – $48,000 – but isn't that nearly twenty-times?  Must be that new math…)

Yikes!  Did I mention how much I love you all?

People are taking – what used to be – vicious 'water cooler' gossip at worst and posting it online.  Unfortunately, in the eyes of the law, that creates an important distinction.  It changes an old case of slander (spoken statement, aka 'to the ear') into a new case of libel (written statement, aka 'to the eye').

Hint – libel is usually considered more serious.  Never mind the evidentiary advantages (you put your comments in writing), but people are much more apt to believe something written rather than spoken.  Why?  Because the perception is that someone wouldn't put an item in writing unless they had a reasonable level of confidence that it was true.

I guess they haven't been watching the primary contest, lately…

Tips & Tricks: I’m Suffering from Writer’s Blawg…

MP900448495It seems like all I'm doing these days is writing.  Writing, writing, writing…

I came across this post from my colleagues at K&L Gates ("Electronic Discovery Law" on my blogroll).  They've created a comprehensive list – with links – to all of the states that have enacted e-Discovery rules

This is simply a fantastic resource – and it's why they're on my blogroll in the first place!

I hope you find it as useful as I do.

A Perry Home Companion

MP900400186 Well, it's been a quiet week in eDiscovery Insights-Land, California, out on the edge of the prairie…the little blawg that time forgot and the decades may improve…where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the lawyers are above average…

Anybody who's a fan of Garrison Keillor recognizes the above reference.  About the only connection I have to the original is that I grew up in the province of Alberta, which is on the Canadian prairie (yes, Canada has a prairie…)

I channeled that quote after reading this great line from Adrian Dayton in the National Law Journal:

"Social media and blogging aren't about making you famous; they are about making you a little bit famous…"

Dayton examines why major law firms are – or aren't – blogging, and why.  Take it from me, I can think of many reasons to blog and many reasons not to blog.  In this 'taken out of context' world, which also happens to be a staple of litigation strategy (as I partially examined in this post, recently) it's very easy for someone to take a snippet of information and manipulate it.

Comes with the territory.  Like it or not, we live in a sound-bite world.

On the other hand, a lot of major firms may not be blogging; but they're reading us.  I found that out when, for example, a Partner at Jones Day quoted one of my posts for an article about Twitter in the New York State Bar Association Journal.

A little bit famous…

[Thanks to Charlotte Brownstone for today's title!]

It’s a Long, Hard Blog

Happy Presidents Day. I started working on a post Friday, but still haven't finished it. In the meantime, I came across this NYT story about the status of blogging in general.

Attention spans are shortening, but neither law nor technology are disciplines that allow us to skim over a few lines of information here & there. We're in the immersion business.

Take this to heart: When I used to make Super-8 movies as a hobby, the viewfinder in the camera had an orange light that flashed for eight seconds. What was the purpose? The manual suggested never filming a scene longer than that without changing because studies showed people didn't have the attention spans to follow much more.

This was thirty years ago…

E-N-D for E-D-D (Update, that is…)

MP900443190

 

I have a little sad news to pass along.  EDD Update announced that as of today, they're discontinuing the blog.  For those who have taken my advice and accessed some of the sites on my blogroll, you've probably found EDD Update to be an excellent source of information.

I've been a guest-author of their blog for a while and we can only hope that it re-emerges in another form.  Thanks to Monica Bay and her team for providing an excellent service!

This Just In: Blawgging is Hard!!!

AD_Half&Half Just kidding.  Well, sort of…this is my 188th post…

The devil is in the details.  Take a look at this outstanding compilation of facts & figures about the blogging habits of the AmLaw 200.  Takeaway; 48% of the AmLaw 200 have blogs.  That's a lot of information floating out there in the blogosphere.

I've taken my share of ribbing about some of my posts from other bloggers (Gabe Acevedo from Gabe's Guide to the e-Discovery Universe has the distinction of being the first) but I don't take it too seriously.  My title pokes a little bit of fun at Mark Herrmann's article that was recently published in the ABA's Litigation magazine, Memoirs of a Blogger.  It's about six discoveries he made – referred to as 'blind spots' – after he decided to create a legal blog.

Sometimes you have to resort to a 'damn the torpedoes' attitude, get started, and feel your way through.  That's how I did it at the beginning.  Hopefully, the path becomes a little clearer.  All I know is, I'm still here and like the energizer bunny, I'm still going.

One thing that has always worked for me?  I'll call it 'blind spot #7' – don't spend too much time worrying about what the 'competition' is doing.  Concentrate on turning out the best 'product'.  Cream always rises to the top.

At this point, I'm hoping to make it to Half & Half…

DISCLAIMER

This blog site is published by and reflects the personal views of Perry L. Segal, in his individual capacity.  Any views expressed herein have not been adopted by the State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees or overall membership, nor are they to be construed as representing the position of the State Bar of California.

The purpose of this blog site is to provide information and insight about e-Discovery law and technology.  The information and insight contained in this blog site are provided only as general information for educational purposes, which may or may not reflect the most current legal or technological developments.  No representation is made about the accuracy of the information.  The blog topics may or may not be updated subsequent to their initial posting.

By using this blog site you understand that this information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship – or any other client relationship – and is not intended to constitute legal advice.  This blog site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state.

Perry L. Segal does not wish to represent anyone desiring representation based upon viewing this blog site in a state where this blog site fails to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state. This blog and any related web sites are not intended for those viewers in any state where the blog or web sites fail to comply with all laws and ethical rules of that state.

Drum Roll…New Blogroll!

CB064019It’s amazing what one can accomplish while simultaneously watching college Bowl games…

I wanted to draw your attention to my new blogroll, which sits on the left sidebar.  Over the past several years, I’ve consulted many e-discovery resources and these are among my favorites.  I highly encourage you to check them out.  The topic is so broad that nobody can know everything, and having a body of resources to consult gives all of us a great advantage.

For anyone who has been reading my posts, you’ve seen that my goal is to deliver a serious message with a little bit of humor.  It shouldn’t be construed to mean that I don’t take the subject very seriously.  This is a very stressful discipline and my sense of humor has always kept me going.

Also, there was no need for me to re-invent the wheel.  As you will see if you visit these blogs, there are some very impressive, talented people out there who are making all of our jobs easier.

I decided that my blog was not going to be a repeat of what others are already doing so well; I write from my own perspective, of one who sits in those rooms and conducts those meetings – those of us who are tasked with ‘getting it done’, if you will.

Referee Signaling Score --- Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

Those who share that responsibility will likely agree with my observation that theory is usually much easier than practice, e.g., in theory, the boss funds your project, in practice, maybe not.

I suppose this might be the e-discovery version of Dilbert, except I have no artistic talent (my readers will ultimately judge whether I have any writing talent, either).  Although I will say that one of my best friends is a cartoonist and I’m considering having him put some pictures to my words this year.

2009 presents the latest set of challenges.  Let’s hit the ground running!