Firms like Winnipeg’s Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP that have been using digital, networked dictation for a few years may wonder why any law firm would continue to do it the old way — or, indeed, how it survived before installing its Olympus DS-5000 transcription management system in 2006.

 

Cloud computing in the legal industry, almost from the get-go, came under, well, a cloud. Is the sketchy reputation deserved?

 

As electronic discovery in Canada evolves roughly in parallel with the U.S., if not at a slower pace, many law firms and corporate legal departments here are beginning to bump up against a decision point that more of their U.S. counterparts have already confronted: outsource or “insource.”

 

Five years ago, the legal department at Lufthansa German Airlines started using Legalbill, a software-based audit and compliance service. Legalbill helps companies monitor — and control — legal spending.

A few months ago when a Canadian research group exposed the GhostNet, a brazen cyber-espionage network, the story briefly made headlines. Most of us marvelled at the ingenuity and nefariousness of the alleged perpetrator, the Chinese government.

 

Alarm bells have been going off for years now, warning litigators they need to get up to speed on e-discovery, and fast.

If you’re a business generalist or in-house counsel, you likely wouldn’t try to complete a multimillion-dollar real estate transaction without benefit of counsel specialized in such work. So why would you think of flying solo on a blockbuster deal to acquire vital information technology services for your client or company?

A few years ago, blawging — blogging by lawyers — was almost unheard of. Now dozens are doing it in Canada; scores, possibly hundreds, are doing it in the U.S. Whether you should be doing it too is a discussion for another column. Here I tackle the question: which Canadian blawgs should I be reading?

A change is coming. If your firm works for large or medium-sized corporate clients, chances are some will soon be demanding that you submit bills electronically - if they haven't started already. It's called e-billing, and it's the way of the future.

 

Electronic legal bills provide legal departments with access to a wealth of spending information.