InsideLegal

Replacing Legal Market Trends with Real World Realities

Welcome to the 'new (ab)normal'! When is the last time you were glued to the TV, social ... pick your media to figure out what's next, not only in your own life but with the economy, your own businesses and anything and everything you care about? Oh yeah and there's the working from home 'thing', 24/7, with or without a proper place or space to call your office.

While we are all looking to survive the COVID-19 pandemic and somehow come out stronger on the other side, the reality of what the legal community is going through is as many commentators like to say "fluid", at best. In other words, we have no idea what's next or what we are supposed to do, how we are supposed to act, and how aggressive we should be about business as usual without coming off as annoyingly tone deaf.

I was recently invited by Qorus Software (producers of sales enablement/proposal/RFP automation technology) to address the "how the hell should we market right now, what's our reality and how does this match up with 2020 marketing trends and developments." We decided to host a "10 Marketing Trends and Realities" webinar to drill-down further and provide law firm marketers with some guidance (and a sanity check) as to what they could/should be doing during this crisis.

In addition to the webinar (which in exchange for some contact info you are free to access here), Qorus also produced an easy to follow and practical to use eBook: Adapting to Change: Definitive Guide to Law Firm Marketing in 2020. The eBook includes 8 practical tips on how legal marketers can seize the moment and put their best marketing foot forward. If you don't have time to download the webinar or the eBook, check out the 14-slide PDF (with all ten trends and realities) from the program.

Here are a few of the trends (and realities) that legal marketers should not only acknowledge but consider acting on now:

Client-centric marketing: This might be a no-brainer ... "all marketing should focus on clients", but you'd be surprised how many campaigns miss the mark. Check out any corporate legal survey and you'll quickly realize how much outside counsel DO NOT listen to client challenges and demands. The current crisis gives you a 'do-over' of sorts when it comes to revealing your authentic marketing self. Your clients are swimming with you in the deep end so why not work together to your collective advantage

Strategic content marketing is king: Content marketing is nothing new. Devising a clever strategy of how to leverage and amplify hard earned content is still novel and not the norm in legal marketing circles. Spend some energy on "marketing your marketing" with a 1-4-7 approach. Focus on one concept; develop four related content pieces such as newsletters, webinars, eBooks, and whitepapers; and chose seven distribution channels for your content including online, social, communal and direct. 

Community building ... the new black: Acquiring new customers is 6-7 times more expensive than marketing to an existing community base. These days, word-of-mouth means engaging through social platforms, sharing educational resources while introducing clients to your network of subject matter experts and influencers. Legal communities are out there and waiting with open arms. Check out ILTA, LMA, ALA, and ABA Law Practice for starters.

We will be sharing more legal marketing trends and realities in future posts gleaned from legal marketing and business development experts.

ILTA Member Law Firms Listed 96 Technology Consultants They've Worked With

In the 2015 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey we asked ILTA member law firms to list technology consultancies they work with. Given that 92% of respondents indicated using outside consultants, we anticipated an interesting, yet telling response pool.

The official question asked: "What national/international technology consultants have you worked with?" Note: This question addresses which consultancies ILTA member firms have worked with only. It is not an endorsement or ranking based on service or quality of experience.  

The open-ended question yielded mentions of 96 consultancies (all listed below), but these first four consultancies received the most mentions by far, at least 7 each. 

CDW  •  HBR Consulting  •  Kraft Kennedy  •  Project Leadership Associates

The remaining consultancies (in alphabetical order):

• Accenture  •  Accudata Systems  •  Acrowire  •  Adaptive Solutions  •  Advanced Legal Systems  •  Advisex  •  All Covered  •  Animate  •  Aurora Consulting  •  Aurora North Software  •  BlackBox  •  Chesapeake NetCraftsmen  •  Cisco  •  Compuquip Technologies  •  Computer Packages Inc.  •  Core BTS  •  Cornerstone IT  •  Datalink  •  Dell  •  Dimension Data  •  DTI Global  •  eDocs  •  EIM  •  Electronic Evolutions  •  Elegrity  •  En Pointe  •  Ethan Group  •  Fulcrum GT  •  GCS Technologies  •  GDT  •  HP  •  HP Autonomy  •  HQ Network Solutions  •  HSV Consulting Group  •  ICorp  •  IDS  •  Information Services Group  •  Innovative Computing Systems  •  Interlink Cloud Advisors  •  IPM  •  IronBrick  •  ISC Consulting  •  iTeknique  •  iVision  •  Keno Kozie  •  Kernek Consulting  •  Lloyd Group  •  LockNet  •  McGladrey  •  MCPc  •  MGNSYS  •  Microsoft  •  mindSHIFT  •  MNP  •  Negsa  •  NetGain  •  Netrix  •  NSG  •  Olikka  •  Onward Tech  •  Optimal Networks  •  Peer Integrations  •  PhillyCom  •  Presidio  •  PwC  •  QED Inc.  •  RBRO Solutions  •  Respond Communications Plus  •  Rightpoint  •  RKON Technologies  •  Sagiss  •  Savvy Training  •  SHI  •  Softchoice  •  Stratuspeer  •  SyCom Technologies  •  Synergy  •  Tech Heads  •  Techlaw  •  The Harding Group  •  Tier 4 Advisors  •  Tikit  •  tmg-emedia  •  Traveling Coaches  •  Vaits  •  Varrow  •  Vertigrate  •  VLCM  •  Vox Mobile  •  WAMS  •  Waypoint Business Solutions  •  Younts Consulting •

 

Which Consultants Are ILTA Members Working With?

On Monday, we released the 2013 ILTA/InsideLegal Technology Purchasing Survey which includes detailed technology budget data; updated information on firms’ social media and publication preferences; an in-depth look at tablet and mobile purchasing patterns; legal IT and Big Data trends, and expansive sections on current and future legal technology purchases ... 39 questions in total.

One of these questions we ask every year is "What technology consultants have you worked with?" Below is the list of write-in responses we received. NOTE: This is not an endorsement or ranking based on service but a list of consultancies that ILTA member have worked with.

This open-ended question yielded 125 unique responses but the consultancies listed below each received 3 or more mentions (in alphabetical order):

• All Covered
• CDW
• Dell
• EIM International
• HBR Consulting
• ICS
• IPM
• Kraft & Kennedy
• Microsoft
• mindShift Technologies
• Presidio
• Project Leadership Assoc.
• Tikit
• Traveling Coaches
• Younts Consulting

The following are mentioned as well (either one or two mentions):

A! Consulting Group · AAC Consulting · Abacus Consulting · Accudata · Adaptive Solutions · Aderant · ADV · Afinety · AOS 65 · AppSense · Aurora North Software · BEDROC · Bell · BluZebra Technologies · BMC Software · BurnsRed · Carousel Industries · Cisco · CIT · Cobb Technologies · Cody Latte · Compugen · Computer Patent Annunities North America · Comstar Technologies · Core BTS · Cornerstone IT · Corporate Technologies · CPT of South Florida · Data#3 · DataFusion · Datalink · Dataprise · Denali Advanced Integration · Dimension Data · DTI Global · Duff & Phelps · Electronic Evolutions · Elite · EMC · EPIC Information Solutions · eSentio Technologies · ettain group · Fireman & Co. · Freedom Solutions Group · GlassHouse Technologies · HP · HSV · iEnvision Technology · IMP Solutions · Integrated Management Services · Integrity IT · Intellicomp · Intelliteach · IS Outsource · ITLabs · iVision · IVOXY Consulting · Kaizen Technical Services · Keno Kozie Associates · Knowledge Partners International · LexisNexis · Lights-On Consulting · Livewire Technologies · Logicalis · LogicsOne · McLane Intelligent Solutions · MCPc · Meridian IT · Metafore · MicroPulse Technologies · Milyli · Navantis · NCR · NEC · OBT Consultanting Group · OnePath Systems (formerly Confiance) · Outsource Technologies Inc. · PayneGroup · Phoenix · Pragmatic Works · PricewaterhouseCoopers · Prism Consulting Group · PROLAN · Rapid7 · RBRO Consultants · Restech Information Services · Ron Friedman · Sage Solutions · Sarcom · Satori Group · Savvy Training · Sayers Technology · Softchoice · Source Consulting · Sparkhound · Structured Communications · Syndet Business Technologies · Synergy Global Solutions · Syscom Technologies · Technology Integration Group · Teklinks · Terremark · The Tech Info Group · Thomas Duryea Consulting · United Data Technologies · US Legal Support · William Ives Consulting · Wilson Legal Solutions · Workshare · Xiologix

 

 

College of Law Practice Management's 2012 Fellow Inductees

Congratulations to the College of Law Practice Management's (COLPM) 2012 Fellow inductees. If you aren't familiar with the COLPM, you should be. The COLPM is an organization "formed in 1994 to honor and recognize distinguished law practice management professionals, to set standards of achievement for others in the profession, and to fund and assist projects that enhance the highest quality of law practice management." Membership is restricted to Fellows who are nominated by their peers and meet the criteria (i.e., 10 years of service; high level of integrity; significant contributions to law practice management, etc.). 

Please welcome the 2012 COLPM Fellows (photos here): 

• Toby Brown, Director of Strategic Pricing & Analytics, Aiken Gump
• Jeff Carr, Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, FMC Technologies, Inc.
• Lisa Colpoys, Executive Director, Illinois Legal Aid Online
• Beth Cuzzone, Director of Client Service & Business Development, Goulston & Storrs, PC
• Robert Cohen, Executive Director, Legal Aid Society of Orange County, CA
• E. Leigh Dance, President, ELD International, Inc.
• Carolyn Elefant, Principal, Law Offices of Carolyn Elefant
• Susan Hackett, CEO, Legal Executive Leadership, LLC
• Luz Herrera, Assistant Professor of Law, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
• Matthew Homann, President and Founder, LexThink LLC
• Bonnie Hough, Supervising Attorney, Center for Families, Children & the Courts for the Judicial Council of California
• Patricia Lane, Director of Administrative Services, McKenna Long & Aldridge
• Beverly Loder, Director of Marketing, Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery LLP
• John Mayer, Executive Director, Center for Computer Assisted Legal Instruction
• Merry Neitlich, Founder Partner, Extreme Marketing
• Richard Nigon, Chief Financial Officer, Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi, LLP
• Lucian Pera, Partner, Adams and Reese
• Jim Sandman, President, Legal Services Corporation

Note: Our inaugural InsideLegal Thought Leaders Digest consisted of essays and articles all authored by COLPM Fellows covering law practice futures; legal education; workplace diversity; knowledge management; alternative business structures; legal technology; marketing; and pricing. 

"In Their Own Words": SharePoint Evangelist Richard Harbridge

In our last post, we covered our experience at the ILTA SharePoint Symposium held a couple of weeks ago. One of the highlights for us was the day one keynote, 'Future-Proofing Your SharePoint Strategy', delivered by Richard Harbridge, Senior SharePoint Evangelist with Allin Consulting. After the keynote, InsideLegal's Jobst Elster had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Richard and get his take on SharePoint for Legal and what major trends to look out for in the forseeable future. The 7 minute clip includes a summary of Richard's keynote, the challlenge of increasing SharePoint user adoption, and a keen focus on SharePoint trends including hiring top talent; leveraging the cloud; mobility and social media.     

 Download keynote presentation & SharePoint resources from Richard here

LegalTech New York 2012: Day Three Recap & Our LTNY Photo Album

InsideLegal's LTNY 2012 Album

LegalTech New York 2012 ... day three ... less meetings, less sessions, less time on the exhibit floor but not any less activity and the same high caliber of networking as earlier in the week. Wednesday started a bit slower with a lot less traffic in the Bridges Bar (8/8:30ish) surely due to late night vendor parties.

We kicked things off with a brief catch-up with Law Technology News technology editor Sean Doherty who seemed genuinely excited to be honing his focus on product reviews and 'under the hood' sort of tech reviews. Sean and his handful of freelancers are targeting an average of 1.5 reviews per week beyond the 'Testdrive' column which appears 6 times per year as part of LTN. While the reviews are a mixed bag, Sean mentioned looking at the vast array of practice management solutions as a next focus area.

Adriana Linares, our longtime friend and the most dynamic legal trainer we've seen, has announced the launch of the LawTech Training Center in Winter Park, FL (outside of  Orlando). Adriana has been working with law firms for more than 14 years and has created the LawTech Training Center to bring her services to law firms - from solos to large - in the Central Florida area. Part of Adriana's mission is to make people comfortable enough with their technology to let it work for them. As she says, "Training is the #1 reason for successful software implementations and the lack of it is the #1 reason for failure." If you are in need of training for yourself or your staff, don't hesitate to contact Adriana (who also offers webinar training) who covers Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, Email & Domain Management, as well as many legal software programs. Adriana also hosts both the Law Practice Management Job Board and the Legal Technology Job Board. 

Andy Adkins was attending LegalTech NY this year in a new role in...well, a long time. Last year, Andy joined Steptoe & Johnson, a law firm with over 200 attorneys, as CIO. We chated with Andy about his new role as 'purse string holder' for the firm's tech spend which lead to a conversation about relating IT 'pains' to staff and partners. Case in point, Andy who has been looking at new email archiving solutions, first had to relate the stroage 'problem' to his folks in terms they would understand: "When we were discussing the volume of space that email backup takes I used the following comparison- the entire printed collection of the U.S. Library of Congress is 10 terabytes, 1 Terabyte = 50,000 trees made into paper and printed, and our firm is currently at 2 terabytes and growing.

Prior to joining Steptoe, Andy's career spans more than two decades as a consultant, author and executive.  He was one of the first consultants in the country devoted solely to legal technology and specifically practice management solutions, helping law firms and governmental offices automate numerous processes. In 1997, Adkins established the Legal Technology Institute at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. 

Next, we met up with Ari Kaplan, legal speaker, author, and ghostwriter, who has spent the last year promoting this book, "Reinventing Professional Services: Building Your Business in the Digital Marketplace". Dubbed as the 'Tony Robbins' of legal, Kaplan excudes enthusiasm when discussing new business development for legal professionals, the relevance and use of social media as well as the value of personal interaction and follow-up. If you have not met Ari, check out his website or catch him at one of his many speaking gigs.

Coinciding with day 3 of LegalTech was the publication of KMWorld's February issue which included a feature on KM innovators in the legal field. We had a chance to chat with Bradford & Barthel's (B&B) Eric Hunter, one of three law firm leaders profiled, and past contributor to InsideLegal in the area of cloud computing, Google Apps deployment, and innovative KM via collaborative cloud deployments. We have been helping Eric and the firm publicize technology and change management innovations for the past few years and have seen interest in cloud and social media integration grow exponentially. What started as a legal 'interest' story has evolved into a business growth and client service story and caught the attention of non-legal publications such as KMWorld and others. This week, Eric was in New York to participate in ILTA's Advanced IT programming, co-presenting with several of his ILTA colleagues on 'Six Technologies You Should Know About'. 

Over lunch we met with Randi Mayes, Peggy Wechsler and TJ Johnson of ILTA. Their next event is ILTA INSIGHT UK that will take place in London, May 8-9. There is no registration cost for delegates from ILTA member law firms and law departments. This year's show is being expanded from one day to two and will be featuring a full exhibit hall being managed by LegalTech. Also, they are expanding their SharePoint Symposium, being held June 12-13, to have an exhibit hall as well (exhibit info here). This event will feature two days full of educational and networking opportunities for professionals working with SharePoint in their firms or law departments. 

We ended our afternoon once again roaming the vendor floor and chatting up several exhibitors. While the overall consensus was that traffic and technology interest was up this year, the inability to know precisely how many attendees make their way to LegalTech events has resulted in frustrated vendors and marketing executives. When exhibitors are paying a base price of $6,450 per booth - not to mention the thousands of dollars in event costs, travel and staffing - they have a right to know how many people are attending and most every other show discloses that information. This frustration beckons the question when (if ever) legal conference organizers will be held accountable for attendance numbers and other demographic statistics via a show audit.

Speaking of audits and accountability, InsideLegal has launched the 2012 Legal Vendor Marketing Survey aimed at providing legal marketing and spending benchmarks that are commonplace in other industries but that don't exist within the legal community. Knowing what vendors are spending on marketing and getting a better feel for what marketing strategies work and why is vital in developing a sound marketing effort. Our original survey (in 2008) received responses from 92 legal vendors and we'd love to exceed that this year. Everyone that completes the survey will receive the final results report as well as the results from the 2008 survey.

As we survive another Groundhog Day, we hope lots can be learned from the 31st LegalTech Conference. LegalTech NY 2013 will be held January 28-30. On to our event Ignite Law 2012 (now called LexThink.1) and ABA TECHSHOW 2012 ... 

Check out InsideLegal's other LegalTech NY 2012 posts:

LT NY preview (incl. exhibitor landscape)

LT NY Day 1 recap (incl. ILTA Advanced IT track coverage)

LT NY Day 2 recap (incl. ALM Blogger Brekafast 'blog role')

       

COLPM Futures Conference Heading to Chicago

The College of Law Practice Management (COLPM) is hosting their annual Futures Conference next week (October 28-29) at the Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago. The Futures Conference includes an interactive program featuring thought-provoking leaders who present on or facilitate discussions on the future of the legal profession and the resulting challenges to law firm leadership and management. The 2011 Futures Conference is co-chaired by COLPM Fellows Ron Staudt and David Hambourger and themed "Challenging the Law Practice Management Model". The conference is specifically designed to offer ideas that are meaningful to firms of all sizes, across all legal disciplines - "best practices in law firm management can be both universal and scalable."

Although InsideLegal has been a sponsor of the COLPM's InnovAction Awards for a few years now, we first attended the Futures Conference last year (an incredible event). We were the most impressed with the attendee list consisting of the 'who's who' of legal exchanging ideas about the future of the business of law globally. This conference is for law firm leaders, managing partners, executive directors, chief marketing officers, directors of professional development and law school deans and is open to non-COLPM members to attend. [I believe they still have a couple of spots left if you are interested in attending you can register here with InsideLegal rate of $395.]

The 2011 Futures Conference sessions include:

What is the Future of Price: Defining Value in Value Billing: The future demands that law firms and their clients put a value on the services lawyers provide. The great recession and its law profession aftermath are driving more and more clients to demand fixed fee arrangements to ensure certainty and reduce legal costs. Law firms and their clients struggle to find solid principles that define that value. Hear how clients define value when hiring a law firm and how firms define value. Help identify universal concepts that can measure value across boundaries. Help invent the language of value for law practice. Expect an interesting, lively and spirited exchange. Moderator: Ronald Staudt, Chicago-Kent College of Law; Toby Brown, Vinson & Elkins; Paul Lippe, Legal OnRamp, and Ellen Rosenthal, Pfizer

Law Factories vs. “Bet the Farm” Firms: Will law firms of the future need to segment clients in new ways? Might some firms focus on “industrialized” practices: hyper-efficient work using automation and low cost resources? Might others focus on “bet the farm” cases using mainly top legal talent? If the market does segment, will it do so by practice, by firm, by matter type or along some other dimension? Many factors could either drive or support this. Join us as we explore alternative business structures in the UK and beyond. Moderator: Ron Friedmann, Integreon and Toby Brown, Vinson & Elkins

Disruptive Technologies/Innovative Thinking: Theorists like Clayton Christensen and Richard Susskind remind us that technologies themselves are rarely disruptive; it’s the business innovations they enable. Yet it’s clear that aspects of today’s transformations in the legal services delivery system are being driven by the dramatic economies of advanced new technologies. What’s going on? What should we expect? Moderator: Marc Lauritsen, Capstone Practice Systems; Richard S. Granat, SmartLegalForms, Inc., and DirectLaw, Inc.; Maura R. Grossman, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and Kingsley Martin, KIIAC LLC

Law Practice Without Borders: The American legal market is by far the largest in the world, about $260 billion annually. But the future legal marketplace will be truly multinational, following the lead of an increasingly globalized economy. Already, the most innovative and dynamic developments in the legal sphere are taking place outside U.S. borders. This session explores the latest trends in key legal markets worldwide, including the UK, India and China. Moderator: Jordan Furlong, Edge International; Simon Chester, Heenan Blaikie, LLP; BieBie Que, Leximetrics, LLC; and Pamela Woldow, Edge International

Future View: Do You See What I See?: Where should we focus our attention? What have we already missed? How can we best prepare for “what’s next?” This panel will offer provocative prognostications on the law practice management landscape from a number of perspectives and market segments. Moderator: Sally Fiona King, SNR Denton; Ross Fishman, Ross Fishman Marketing; Dave Hambourger, Seyfarth Shaw LLP; Chris Murray, Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. and Chris Petrini-Poli, HBR Consulting

Innovation, With Velocity: The pace of change in the legal marketplace during the last several years has been unprecedented. This session explores what innovation is and is not. What are the barriers to innovation in law firms and how can we overcome them? Learn how your firm can install a sustainable, systemic innovation initiative. Session leaders: Tom Clay, Altman Weil, Inc. and Raymond Bayley, Novus Law

Serving the Profession Today and Tomorrow: The College has an action agenda to “…make a difference, and use the talent, skill and experience of the Fellows to improve the profession.” Since 2009, the College has partnered with the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to participate in regular program performance visits designed to observe and improve the operations of legal aid organizations it funds. Over lunch Fellows who have volunteered their consulting expertise to this effort will describe their experiences. LSC executives will map out the state of the need and identify opportunities for College efforts to meet some of the need. All Fellows are encouraged to offer opinions and ideas on how the College could improve the future of the delivery of justice. 

As the Legal Tech World Turns...

One of my favorite things about the legal tech community is the people, and in particular, the consultants. This is a little different than what we usually cover, but recently a few long-time industry leaders have had some exciting news so we thought we'd pass it on...

Andy Adkins 

When I first started in the industry in 1999, one of the first consultants I heard about was Andy Adkins. After more than two decades as a dedicated legal technology consultant, Andy “retired” in June 2010 as the President of the Legal Technology Institute at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Andy was going to continue to do a little consulting, but try not to stay too busy. We should have known that wouldn't last! A couple of weeks ago, Andy became the new CIO of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, a firm with about 210 attorneys and 600+ users. On top of that, he and his wife Becky have bought a new house and moved from Gainesville, FL to Bridgeport, WV - as he says moving from two seasons in Florida (green and brown) to four seasons. 

Matt Homann

Matt Homann is a legal innovation consultant, the Founder of LexThink, my co-producer on the Ignite Law events, the award winning blogger of the [non]billable hour, and the most talented, creative meeting facilitator I know or have worked with. Within the last two weeks, he's also added Husband to that list and married Jessica Prince (now Homann). For the last week, they have been making their way around Alaska, Vancouver and Seattle on their honeymoon and now are heading back to St. Louis to move into a new home. I originally met Jessica when she accompanied Matt on a trip to meet with us in Atlanta when Matt and I were first planning Ignite Law 2010. After an hour, we could tell she was perfect for Matt. Congratulations to you both!

 

Ross Kodner

As I mentioned above, Andy was one of two consultants I first heard about and met when I started in legal in 1999 - the other was Ross Kodner. Ross is the President of MicroLaw, a legal technology consultancy, which is celebrating it's 26th anniversary this year, and presents on legal technology at conferences all over the world. In 2003, I began co-producing the Annual Consultants and Technologists Dinner with Ross. We produced the event, which became known as "The Dinner", each year in Chicago bringing together a group of legal industry leaders for networking and industry awards. Well, now Ross has announced another event - his engagement to his high school sweetheart, Lisa. Next they will be setting the date - congratulations!

2011 InnovAction Award Winners Announced

The College of Law Practice Management today announced the recipients of the 2011 InnovAction Awards. The global law firm of Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP joins two law schools, The University of Miami School of Law and the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, as recipients of the coveted 2011 InnovAction Awards.   

For the seventh straight year, the InnovAction Awards have recognized outstanding innovation in the delivery of legal services demonstrating to the legal community what can happen when passionate professionals, with big ideas and strong convictions, resolve to create effective change.

“The five InnovAction judges were greatly impressed by the groundbreaking ideas in the submissions from law firms, law schools and companies in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom,” said Jordan Furlong, Partner with Edge International and chair of the 2011 awards program. “The winning entries exemplify how bold ideas and innovation can be implemented and shared among various stakeholders including lawyers, their clients, academics, prospective law students and legal administrators.” 

Here are the 2011 InnovAction Award-winning entries:

• Berwin Leighton Paisner, LLP (BLP) was selected for their Lawyers On Demand (LOD) initiative which began in 2007 after BLP observed two important issues affecting the UK Legal market: (1) legal services clients are wanting to find a way to stretch their budgets further and (2) many lawyers are looking for greater flexibility and autonomy in their work. BLP created LOD to address these issues. LOD challenged the traditional models of legal service delivery and brought talented freelance lawyers to work directly with clients. LOD lawyers work at the client office or their home office but are nevertheless vetted and supported by BLP know-how and resources, making the LOD service unique in the market. LOD began as a pilot in 2007 with eight lawyers. Since then, it has increased ten-fold in size and gained a fantastic list of clients.

• The University of Toronto Faculty of Law was selected for its Internationally Trained Lawyers Program (ITLP). When immigrating to Canada, one of the biggest challenges internationally-trained lawyers (ITLs) face is the lack of access to opportunities to receive practical, hands-on experience in the Canadian legal environment, particularly during the lengthy accreditation and licensing process. In recognizing the limited opportunities for ITLs, the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law created a bridging program for ITLs who wish to practice law in Ontario. The ITLP is a comprehensive 10-month program to help participants obtain their license and secure full-time professional employment. The program includes intensive academic, cultural fluency and career development classroom sessions, designed to support international lawyers.

• The University of Miami School of Law in partnership with five other law schools received an InnovAction Award for their LawWithoutWalls initiative. LawWithoutWalls is a part-virtual, collaborative academic model that unites students, faculty, practitioners, and entrepreneurs from around the world to innovate legal education and practice. It’s designed to help those engaged in the education and practice of law to embrace the impact of our changing world.  LawWithoutWalls exemplifies what 21^st century education can be. Students are not educated on-line in the same old way. Instead, technology is utilized to create an entirely new educational experience, a platform for interdisciplinary interchange and community.

The awards will be presented on Friday, October 28, at a special session during the 2011 Futures Conference, held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the College of Law Practice Management in Chicago, IL.

Read the full press release here.

InsideLegal Likes... Tom Mighell's 'iPad 4 Lawyers'

Recently, legal technologist extraordinaireTom Mighell authored a book entitled "iPad in One Hour for Lawyers" (published by ABA) and an accompanying blog entitled iPad 4 Lawyers. Although I'm not an attorney, iPad 4 Lawyers has become one of my favorite sites to assist with selecting apps, helfpul tips and tricks and in general improving how I incorporate my iPad into my work day. The most recent posts on the blog cover options for hosting meetings from your iPad; handling zip files; encrypting your backups and managing files.

Attorney or not, the blog and the book are definitely recommended for anyone new to the iPad or anyone who wants to learn to use it more efficiently.

You can also follow Tom on twitter (@TomMighell) and subscribe to Tom's podcast with Dennis Kennedy - The Kennedy-Mighell Report.