Jurors Who Tweet! Beware!

Under legislation passed last year, and signed by Gov. Brown, California jurors, who tweet during trial or jury deliberations could face jail time.  The law went into effect the first of this year.

A similar bill was vetoed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, because he believed the current warnings to jurors were adequate.

The new legislation states that trial judges must inform jurors that the prohibition of communication or research about a case includes all forms of electronic or wireless communication or research. It was by prompted by numerous reports about jurors using cell phones and other devices to research cases or contacts, the San Francisco Chronicle reported last year. Violators could face up to six months in jail.

It will be interesting to see how this new law plays out, if it works, and if the judges are really going to throw jurors in the slammer over tweets!  What do you think?

For more information on the new California law that went into effect:

http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/tweeting_jurors_to_face_jail_time_with_new_california_law?utm_source=maestro&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tech_monthly

Seventh Circuit Awards e360 a Whopping 3 in Damages Against Spamhaus – e360 v. Spamhaus

Seventh Circuit Awards e360 a Whopping 3 in Damages Against Spamhaus – e360 v. Spamhaus.

This has been an interesting case, with an equally interesting result in the damages award!

Antispam Law Draws Backlash

Antispam Law Draws Backlash.

This article discusses the stiff anti-spam law passed recently in Canada.  It also contrasts an important feature of Canada’s law, which is that it is an “opt-in” system, meaning that marketers in Canada are forbidden from just sending “cold” materials to consumers via email.  The penalties for violation of the law in Canada are quite steep.

By contrast, most home-grown attempts to address the anti-spam problem legislatively preserve the marketers right to communicate in an unsolicited way with the consumer, placing it almost on a pedestal of free speech and fundamental democratic ideals.  Note the quote in the subject article about the trade offs for living in a “free society.”

But, what happens when a society’s technologies are such that individuals can cause serious harm to an individual’s – or even large company’s – data and hardware housing that data, not to mention the financial loss caused from loss of productivity just for having to address the spamming efforts.  We recognize it as a crime, yet are we not leaving a giant loophole in U.S. laws for spammers to continue their dirty work?  Or, would adopting Canada’s approach stifle free enterprise?

Court OKs Private Seizure of Domain Names That Allegedly Sold Counterfeit Goods

Court OKs Private Seizure of Domain Names That Allegedly Sold Counterfeit Goods.

This article is a bit dated, but still quite interesting to read.

Proposed CA Ethics Opinion On “Virtual Lawyering” In The Cyber Box

The opinion is now open for public comment.  I encourage all interested parties to do so.  At your leisure, you can download a copy of the proposed opinion from the Cyber Box at the top of the blog page.

Cozy Up To The Best Personal Time Mgmt App (You May Never Have Heard Of)

For some time, I have wanted to write a short post, putting in a plug for one of my favorite tech tools – Cozi Calendar.  My delay, I suppose, stems from the fact that no other online legal journal I know of has mentioned Cozi Calendar.  Why should they?  Cozi Calendar has nothing whatsoever to do with the legal world – until you consider what extraordinarily hectic lives legal professionals lead.  Just treading water in the office productivity pool often requires all the help we can get.  Personal commitments, you say?  What are those?

But, we have them, do we not?  We have family dinners, PTA meetings and soccer games, and date nights with significant others just like anyone else.  The individuals in our personal lives expect us to meet our commitments to them just like we would anyone else.  Many times, our commitments to those in our personal lives wind up being more important that those in our profession.  Enter a tool like Cozi Calendar.

I first became aware of Cozi Calendar about a year ago.  I had never heard of it, which was something of a surprise because my research and writing leads me to analyze and review a lot of productivity tools like calendars.  So, I began to investigate what Cozi Calendar could do.  Almost immediately, I fell in love with it – and not because it has a gazillion bells and whistles.  Quite the opposite.

The makers of Cozi emphasize a philosophy phrased as “Live Simply.”   Unlike many companies, however, these folks actually produce a product that epitomizes their philosophy.  As calendaring applications go – particularly those focusing on businesses – Cozi lacks many features one might expect.  Cozi does not focus on meeting one’s calendaring needs for business or work.  Instead, it focuses on organizing and managing the personal side of your life.  It does so wonderfully.

In my experience, the same problem affects many of the calendaring applications I have used or reviewed – How do make a calendar program feature rich enough to meet the user’s needs without making the thing too difficult to learn in a timely way or too cumbersome to use.  It’s a problem affecting more than just calendar programs, to be sure.

Cozi manages to provide exactly the right amount and type of calendaring and “task management” features that a busy professional might want for their personal calendar in an easy-to-grasp, user-friendly way.  If you see a benefit in keeping better track of your personal commitments, Cozi is just the tool.

Below is a screenshot, offering just a glimpse of Cozi’s inviting design as well as its features and functionality:

Sample Cozi Calendar In Week View

If this was all Cozi Calendar did, one might find it hard to understand how it won the National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval – in 2008, 2009 and 2010 – or the National Parenting Publication’s Award Winner in 2010.  These are just a few of the accolades that Cozi Calendar has received from organizations and consumers alike because Cozi Calendar does offer so much more than the screenshot above conveys.

Cozi Calendar allows users to:

• View daily, weekly or monthly schedules, color-coded to family member;
• Have a weekly agenda sent to your inbox; reminders sent by text or email.  And, yes, there’s an app for it;
• Add appointments to your calendar quickly, such as school schedules, sporting activities and more;
• Create customized “to do” lists, such as grocery lists, that can be read over the phone to you or sent as texts to your mobile device or via email; and
• Assign task lists of repeating events, such as weekly chores for the kids, that help keep the family on track and organized.

With features like these, you agree Cozi Calendar is good.  But, great?  Still not so sure, huh?  Fortunately, I have saved three of its best features for last.  Pay attention class -

Unlike just about any other calendaring program, Cozi Calendar comes equipped with a feature it calls the Family Journal.  In actuality, because it can be private or shared, it works like a family blog – one that is easy enough for everyone to jot down something in writing and, if they like, upload a photo as well.

Cozi Calendar’s second, truly unique feature is its Screensaver Maker. Using either your My Pictures folder or any folder you designate, Cozi Calendar will assemble a collage of photos and arrange them in a neat way with upcoming appointments as a great screensaver.

The third feature that helps Cozi Calendar stand out from the crowd are the many truly helpful pre-made checklists, calendars and hints for the busy household.  There are checklists focusing on the kids and school, grocery shopping, and meal preparation.

For those of you with children, this is a wonderful addition to a calendaring program.  I know of one family law professional who examined Cozi Calendar, and was so impressed with the quality of many of these lists that she intended to make it a suggestion to some of her clients who struggle with time management and parenting skills.

Some of you might be saying, “That’s all fine and dandy, but I don’t want to have another, separate calendar to worry about.”  In my opinion, there are reasons why legal professionals ought to keep their personal and work calendars separate.   However, if you feel that it would be better for you to have your calendars connected in some way electronically – and you use Outlook or Google – Cozi syncs with Outlook and import/export with Google.  Syncing with Google is not presently an available feature.

For many of us, managing our work and personal commitments is challenging.  We are nearing the holidays when that challenge is doubly difficult.  For legal professionals, double that challenge yet again.  We shoulder heavy burdens when it comes to meeting our commitments.  It is important to have a system that stays on top of them.  Just don’t forget the importance of the commitments you have made that support your well-being and that of your loved ones.

Cozi Calendar can help.  Did I also happen to mention its price tag? $0.00.

UPDATE

11/9/2011 – This evening, I happened to stop by Cozi’s Facebook page and noticed that they have released their annual Christmas Countdown calendar.  This “calendar” is a downloadable list of common Christmas “to-do’s” that will further help to further ease your holiday stress.  Keep it comin’, Cozi!

Author’s Pledge:  I have no affiliation with Cozi Calendar or any person or entity associated with it.  I have sought nothing from any person or entity in exchange for writing this article, and expect to receive no remuneration from any person or entity as a result of writing this article.  This article is solely based on my own personal opinion about the product(s) or service(s) that are the subject of the article.  It is upon this basis that I recommend same to my readers and followers ≈ EGY, The Cyber-Esq.

Related articles

• Cozi Family Organizer Keeps Your Family Life in Sync on the Web and on Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry [App Of The Day] (lifehacker.com)
• Review: Cozi, A Free Online Family Calendar (cash-bandit.com)

Top 10 Best Jobs To Have As A “Legal Professional”

Image via Wikipedia

These days, the “legal profession” is a diverse group of individuals ranging from consultants of various kinds, paralegals, e-discovery experts and professionals skilled in tax and business law.  But, which careers are really hot!  The Top 10!  Here’s what one online college journal had to say recently:

1. Electronic Discovery Experts – Electronic discovery professionals (or, e-discovery experts) are legal professionals who use technology to identify, manage and preserve information that has been stored electronically. This electronically stored information (ESI) is then utilized in the litigation process. Thanks to the numerous changes that have recently been made within the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the need for qualified e-discovery professionals has grown significantly. In 2011, it is estimated to be a $21.8 billion industry, with demand for skilled professionals growing significantly.
2. Legal Nurse Consultant – Having an interest and skills in both law and medicine translates into a pretty lucrative future.  By advising attorneys about medical-related issues, you can earn up to $200 per hour. CareerBuilder.com lists legal nurse consulting as one of the top ten hot careers of 2009.
3. Litigation Support Consultant-Litigation Support Professional – As the legal technology field grows and becomes even more varied and complex, firms are no longer looking just to a general paralegal to handle the technological aspects of presenting large-scale cases.  Increasingly, they are looking to a hybrid profession that mixes part paralegal with part IT professional.  In this writer’s opinion, the only thing holding this new career from developing to its fullest potential is the lack of adequate tech training given to most paralegal in their general studies courses.
4. Paralegal – CNN.Money included the paralegal field as one of the top 20 jobs in the country. Due to the growing demand for qualified professionals to fill this positions and due to the growing responsibilities taken on by paralegals, salaries within the field are also growing, well ahead of many other professions.  Look for this profession to continue to diversify in ways analogous to the way nurses have in the medical field.
5. Trial Consultant – Trial consultants assist attorneys with many tasks during trial, drawing primarily upon skills in social sciences, psychology, sociology and the like.  They also use technology to some extent, often supervising the work of others on a trial team so that an attorney can focus solely on legal issues.
6. Mediator – Mediators, arbitrators and other resolution experts have enjoyed growth for well over ten years now.  Why?  Overall, the number of court cases that are actually litigated is quite low.  Most cases are settled prior to trial, and many with the help of a resolution expert.  As jurisdictions look for ways to eliminate or expedite trial matters – matters which are a drain on the time and resources of the court – look for more growth in this field.  In California, for example, there is now an expedited jury trial system for small-value civil matters.  I would not be surprised to see a new category or resolution experts who focus solely on such cases.  Similarly, as the filing limit for small claims cases increases, so will the complexity.  Thus, litigants will increasingly need assistance settling those cases.
7. Jury Consultant – Jury consultants help provide lawyers with insight into the behavior of jurors in order to help the attorney determine how to best craft an argument and present trial themes in order to persuade the jury in a certain direction. A jury consultant may also use empirical data about potential jurors in order to help the attorney select the best possible jurors for the trial. Successful jury consultants can earn six figure salaries and may earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for the work performed on a single big-money case.
8. Legal Secretary – Legal secretaries, which are also referred to as administrative assistants, are responsible for taking care of administrative duties such as answering phone calls, scheduling appointments and organizing files. As law office technology continues to advance, and paralegals take on more significant “attorney-like” duties, the responsibilities of legal secretaries have also continued to grow
9. Compliance Specialist – Compliance specialists ensure corporations and consulting firms are in compliance with government regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Thanks to the numerous regulations that have been recently added to federal law, the need for qualified compliance specialists continues to grow.  Look for substantial growth in areas such as health care, education, environmental and international trade concerns.
10. Court Reporter – Court reports, which are also referred to as stenographers, are responsible for recording speeches, court testimony, legal proceedings and statements by creating a verbatim written transcript of everything that is said. Court reporters must use special stenographic equipment in order to record over 200 words per minute. Since fewer people are choosing to enter this profession, employment opportunities are growing as well as salaries for qualified individuals.
11. Court Interpreters – To this list, I will add my own – #11.  From my observation, working in a jurisdiction where there is great diversity among litigants, the role of court interpreter has taken on increasing importance.  Many times, I have encouraged young students, in particular, who are bi-lingual to consider this very dynamic and well-compensated career choice.  Getting into the court interpreter profession is not easy, but those who do enter it find it quite rewarding.  As we continue to develop a global economy, I predict that court interpreters’ role will also diversify and include interpreting duties outside the formal court system.
    

Related articles

• So You Want to be a Paralegal? (careeroverview.com)
• Update to “What is a Paralegal Anyways”? (ryancclark.wordpress.com)
• Alternative Career Feature: Legal Technology Consultant (justbelowthelaw.com)