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Title: Law/Legal Information/Weblogs - Vancouver Law Librarian Blog Legal information sources, blawgs, KM and other Web sites of Internet to lawyers, librarians and legal technology professionals. By Steve Matthews of Clark Wilson LLP. [Atom]
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Left_Hand_Path Articles on LHP from chaosmagic.com, along with related themes.

Auto_Theft_Training_Course "The Modern Forensic Approach To Auto Theft Investigation" Training course CD for auto theft and fraud investigation.

Nuttall_Encyclopædia_of_General_Knowledge__Cranmer,_Thomas Brief biographical entry, with links to related topics.

United_Nations_Institute_for_Disarmament_Research_(UNIDIR) An autonomous institute within the United Nations conducting research on disarmament and security with the aim of assisting the international community in their disarmament thinking, decisions and eff

Law_Links_|_Health_Links Updates on health-related issues from communications consultant Amy Campbell. [Atom]

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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93941262008-10-10T16:29:31.670-07:00Vancouver Law Librarian BlogPoints of interest to the West Coast Law Librarian. Highlighted sources on KM, Web Development, and Law Library Management. ... And hey, if it's got a Vancouver perspective, that'll work too. :-)Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comBlogger330125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-56079090380605447712008-10-06T12:43:00.013-07:002008-10-07T08:16:50.241-07:002008-10-07T08:16:50.241-07:00Randy McClanahan on Legal In-sourcingIn my world, there's nothing better than when a client writes something intellectually provocative. Not only does it make <a href="http://www.stemlegal.com/about-us/">my life at Stem</a> easier, but I get completely energized by it.<br /><br />Case in point this morning, <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/randy.php">Randy McClanahan</a> over at the <a href="http://www.contingentfeeblog.com/">Contingent Fee Business Litigation blog</a> used my <a href="http://www.stemlegal.com/strategyblog/2008/acc-value-challenge/">ACC value challenge</a> post as a jumping off point for his concept of <a href="http://www.contingentfeeblog.com/2008/10/articles/legal-insourcing/legal-insourcing-the-answer-to-the-value-challenge/">Legal In-sourcing</a>.<br /><br />The idea, or at least my understanding of it, is that rather than sending legal work off-shore to India or another country, or to outside firms with their <a href="http://www.contingentfeeblog.com/2008/10/articles/patent-litigation-1/breathtaking-indeed180000-starting-salaries-for-baby-lawyers/"><span style="font-style: italic;">'infrastructure'</span></a>, that companies with in-house legal departments <span style="font-style: italic;">take that work back in-house.</span> Back where legal staff have a substantial and vested interest in both work quality <span style="font-weight: bold;">and</span> in the final outcome.<br /><br />Randy's argument is that companies engaged in large-scale complex litigation often choose their service providers based on getting the right lead or trial lawyer. And that choice, he warns, can come with a heavy price tag -- a pyramid of hourly-billing lawyers and support staff that can skyrocket the cost of litigation.<br /><br />His alternative is the basis for a new service designed to help General Counsel manage in-house legal departments, and called appropriately <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/help.php">litigation in-sourcing</a>.<br /><br />The idea is that routine tasks such as document production, discovery, investigation, and research should be brought back inside the company. The law firm, in turn, works in an advisory role helping track the case throughout its life-span; and <span style="font-style: italic;">if</span> the file goes to court, the company has a <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/randy.php">trial lawyer</a> with 30 years experience ready and waiting.<br /><br />Especially during this tough economy, I think Randy and his partners at <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/">McClanahan Myers Espey</a> are in a good position to raise some eyebrows here. Given Randy's <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/randy.php">background</a>, I'd also say he has the big firm pedigree to garner some attention.<br /><br />I find this service, and <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/">MME</a> for that matter, fascinating on a number of levels. It's a slightly different take on value billing, especially when paired with the firm's heavy use of <a href="http://www.mmellp.com/contingency_fees.php">contingent fees</a>. It's also consistent with the firm's business model to create relationships where they share litigation risk with clients. And a big part of being in that 'risk-partner' role is matter management and minimizing expenditures.<br /><br />It's also tough to argue that work executed by in-house legal staff isn't a bit empowering. That work which remains closer to clients might receive a higher level of care.<br /><br />This is not to be critical of hourly or flat-fee billing. As I've said before, <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/09/01/the-economist-killable-hour/">billing choices are often situation dependent</a>. I can also see positives to legal outsourcing. <a href="http://www.prismlegal.com/index.php?option=content&amp;task=view&amp;id=28&amp;Itemid=39">Ron Friedmann's</a> recent breakdown on <a href="http://www.llrx.com/features/legaloutsourcingoptions.htm">the reasons and economics are persuasive</a>. More that I'm a big advocate of choice and innovation for legal services, and I have to admire that this service seems to expand both elements.<br /><br />The fact that it comes from a client? Simply makes for a better Monday...<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=7XrEM"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=7XrEM" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=YRY1m"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=YRY1m" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=H2Bmm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=H2Bmm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=fQzem"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=fQzem" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=n8QPM"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=n8QPM" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-20145916567208101872008-10-02T13:44:00.005-07:002008-10-02T14:20:27.718-07:002008-10-02T14:20:27.718-07:00Canada’s National Do Not Call Registry -- Back in Business?David Fraser over at the <a href="http://privacylawyer.ca/blog/">Canadian Privacy Law Blog</a> <a href="http://www.privacylawyer.ca/blog/2008/09/national-do-not-call-list-comes-online.html">notes</a> the much-anticipated <a href="http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/atom.xml/https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/index-eng">National Do Not Call Registry</a> went live this past Tuesday, in a post that links to prior blog commentary and essential resources on the topic. <br /><br />By all accounts, the vast majority of people trying to register that first day -- either on the website or via the 1-800 number -- were out of luck. The website crashed and callers were faced with multiple-hour waits, if they got through at all.<br /><br />Sounds familiarly like my iPhone purchase experience... but I digress...<br /><br />Of the downed service, <a href="http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080930/Donotcall_registry_080930/20080930?hub=TorontoHome">CRTC spokesman Denis Carmel said</a>, “We're victims of our own success”. On the other hand, <a href="http://www.financialpost.com/news/story.html?id=851194">Michael Geist called it</a>, “an inauspicious start, to say the least.”<br /><br />Fraser also mentions<a href="http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/atom.xml/https://ioptout.ca/"> iOptOut</a>, an initiative spearheaded by Geist, which allows “Canadians to create and manage a personal do-not-call list that begins where do-not-call list ends.” I haven't signed up with iOptOut yet, but it does sound intriguing.<br /><br />Both the Registry and iOptOut websites seem to be back up today, and with any luck, the rush is now over... While it remains to be seen just how many unsolicited phone calls will be blocked once a number is registered, I think I feel like most Canadians: finally having some options is a good thing.<br /><br />A spam free phone environment at supper time? I'm not getting my hopes up. I hear there might be some exception to the rules...<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=tci3M"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=tci3M" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=TWzBm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=TWzBm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=GZPKm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=GZPKm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=abDwm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=abDwm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=HP66M"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=HP66M" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-11644092883936450952008-10-01T15:32:00.006-07:002008-10-02T14:21:50.256-07:002008-10-02T14:21:50.256-07:00Quickscribe Manual Update for September<div class="post-body"> <div>The <a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Forest-Legislation-Manual#hc_top">BC Forest Legislation Manual</a> was the only Quickscribe update for September.<br /><br />Readers are also invited to track ongoing BC legislative changes, updated every few hours, over at <a href="http://www.bclegislation.ca/">BCLegislation.ca</a>. </div> </div><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=2QrMM"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=2QrMM" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=xSsBm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=xSsBm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=HkYSm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=HkYSm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=zdWcm"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=zdWcm" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=z6kkM"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=z6kkM" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-9202395016224504852008-09-26T12:25:00.012-07:002008-09-26T16:06:45.624-07:002008-09-26T16:06:45.624-07:00Electronic Resource Review Blog from Nina PlattI picked up on this <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/09/25/new-electronic-resource-review-blog-from-nina-platt/">from Slaw</a> a few days ago,when <a href="http://crosbygroup.ca/">Connie</a> rightly recognized that supporting fellow entrepreneurial librarians (anyone got a list?) is a good thing. So I'm happy to relay that Nina Platt, owner and principal at <a href="http://204.50.92.149/NinaPortal/Portal.aspx?lang=en-US">Nina Platt Consulting, Inc</a>., has another added another top-notch blog to her publishing network, <a href="http://electronicresourcereview.wordpress.com/">Electronic Resource Review</a>.<br /><br />Nina already has two very popular blogs, <a href="http://strategiclibrarian.com/">Strategic Librarian</a> and <a href="http://lawfirmintranet.com/">The Law Firm Intranet</a>. But in amidst her writing on marketing, strategy, and planning, she discovered there are certain topics she “just can’t leave alone.” She saw potential for Electronic Resource Review, whose tagline is “news about new and existing electronic resources worth knowing about". How's that for good news?<br /><br />Nina’s first couple of posts cover KM tools, company research services, and Google's recent <a href="http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/2008/09/googles-new-historical-treasure-trove.html">newspaper digitization project</a>. There won't be any shortage of material I imagine. The number of electronic resources available isn't exactly on a decline, and there seems to be a dearth of quality review websites, I think... So, go Nina! Well done. :)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=wHqeL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=wHqeL" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=EKF5l"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=EKF5l" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=Q8tHl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=Q8tHl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=hniZl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=hniZl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=fDidL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=fDidL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-1683994387719074942008-09-19T14:31:00.006-07:002008-09-22T09:28:33.013-07:002008-09-22T09:28:33.013-07:00Librarian Brand Management: Not Just for LawyersCBA <span style="font-style: italic;">National </span>editor-in-chief Jordan Furlong really struck a chord among lawyers and legal industry types with his recent Law21 post, “<a href="http://law21.ca/2008/09/18/we-are-all-solos/">We are all solos</a>”. A more detailed paper on these issues is in the works...<br /><br />His basic message to lawyers is this: you can’t rely on your firm or anyone else to care about and tend to your personal professional reputation. Adopting the hardworking, fend-for-yourself attitude of a sole practitioner is the only way of ensuring your personal brand and reputation have integrity and staying power.<br /><br />What makes this worth mentioning to those of us who <span style="font-style: italic;">support</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">the legal industry</span> is that <span style="font-weight: bold;">the advice goes for all of us</span>. Jordan’s post and the follow up discussion dovetail nicely with the topic of self-promotion for librarians, and especially for law librarians. We'd all do well to keep it in mind.<br /><br />Here's a simple question: are credibility and authority less important to a librarians as they are to lawyers? Sure, we’re not in the public eye in the same way. And we don't necessarily need to develop business (ok, well I do... but you get the drift) in the same ways as lawyers do. But at the end of the day, don’t we all want to be known for being good at our jobs? for being trustworthy and knowledgeable colleagues?<br /><br />SLA president Stephen Abram <a href="http://www.sirsidynix.com/Resources/Pdfs/Company/Abram/IOColumn_73.pdf">cuts right to the chase</a> in his “Info Tech” column in August’s issue of Information Outlook. He says, “Librarians cannot afford to be anonymous and generic… We need to state that we’re pretty good more often…. How can we expect to raise our professional profile if we don’t remove the cloak and shyness and head out into the big world of professional services?”<br /><br />He’s absolutely right. There has never been a riper time for information pros to get out there, take charge of, and promote their own reputations.<br /><br />Not everyone needs to be well-known, and not everyone aspires to be published or quoted or regarded as a leader. That's not what I'm talking about. But personal reputation <span style="font-weight: bold;">does matter</span>. When you’re thinking about a change of jobs, or asking for a raise, or trying for a promotion. And as long as the internet keeps increasing its role in our lives, at the very least, we should be aware of what our online reputations say about us. This should be a priority; at the collective, professional level, <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> at the individual, personal level.<br /><br />As I've said before, Librarians were <a href="http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/2006/07/largest-group-of-blogging.html">early adopters</a> and opened some big roads through blogging. But blogging, though effective, isn’t for everyone: it takes a certain amount of time and commitment. I get that. But there are plenty of other places and ways to engage the web. And Library professionals need to recognize they have a responsibility to make sure their personal identity is 1) well-maintained and 2) accurate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Your future employer is going to search your name.</span> Do you know what they're going to find? what that says about you? You should. And yes, if they find nothing, that says something too!<br /><br />So here's the take away: Plenty of our colleagues have found that they’re very comfortable (and even having fun!) on Twitter, charting their personal network on LinkedIn, or contributing to group blogs (e.g., <a href="http://www.vall.vancouver.bc.ca/blog">VALL Blog</a> and <a href="http://apps.edmontonlawlibraries.ca/blog/">ELLA Blog</a>). Are you social bookmarking? And if so, are you using the networking feature to establish connections with your colleagues? There's a <a href="http://lawlibraries.ning.com/">law library social network</a> over at Ning. Did you know that? Every one of these tools can pay dividends, and each in a slightly different way.<br /><br />Abram points out that there was a time when it was controversial for a firm librarian to have a business card. Now, as he asserts, that’s the bare minimum; and that “Our reputation will play out in the social web space as much as anywhere else. We need to get good at this.”<br /><br />Yes we do. The simple fact is: librarians need to create &amp; engage the online world in some capacity. Especially if you're under 50 (maybe under 60, for that matter). The benefits are good for the profession, and for individuals.<br /><br />I can't help but feel that those that don't, are going to pay a price.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=3nzTL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=3nzTL" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=xx0dl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=xx0dl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=HUxLl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=HUxLl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=3NV4l"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=3NV4l" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=VHTsL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=VHTsL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-15600867243889113342008-09-15T12:11:00.008-07:002008-09-16T08:36:30.157-07:002008-09-16T08:36:30.157-07:00Google's New "Historical Treasure Trove"Anyone who’s worked in a private law library has faced the daunting task of finding a needle in the haystack of old newspapers. It could be anything: an advertisement, photo, obituary, or some other item that never got indexed when being processed for microfilm or electronic database. In those situations, unless you have a very good idea of when the mystery item appeared, your chances of finding it are slim—pretty much your only option is to get up close and personal with the microfiche reader at the local library.<br /><br />So Google's <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/09/bringing-history-online-one-newspaper.html">announcement</a> that it will be digitizing archives of newspapers from around the globe is pretty cool. And not just just the articles, but also ads, headlines, and photos--in short, all that peripheral content from outside the day's story.<br /><br />There doesn’t appear to be a comprehensive list of newspapers participating, and coverage does seem a bit patchy still. But a few random searches pulled hits from the <a href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=source%3A%22vancouver+times%22&amp;btnG=Search+Archives&amp;num=10&amp;lr="><span style="font-style: italic;">Vancouver Times</span></a> from as far back as 1864, and the <a href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=source%3A%22vancouver+daily+post%22&amp;btnG=Search+Archives&amp;num=10&amp;lr="><span style="font-style: italic;">Vancouver Daily Post</span></a> from 1865. And on the proud Canadian front, the <a href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=source%3A%22quebec+Chronicle-Telegraph%22&amp;btnG=Search+Archives&amp;num=10&amp;lr="><span style="font-style: italic;">Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph</span></a> (according to Google, the oldest newspaper in North America) is also there, along with a <a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ELkMAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=y18DAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=4091,1553717&amp;dq=">1822 copy of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Montreal Herald</span></a>.<br /><br />The digitized content is easy to navigate: you can link right to an article or a specific issue of a newspaper. It also offers a fascinating glimpse into historical material that might not make the grade for a vetted history book ... see for instance, this invitation to a "<a href="http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ELkMAAAAIBAJ&amp;sjid=y18DAAAAIBAJ&amp;pg=4073%2C1554771">public and gratuitous lecture at the city tavern</a>"!<br /><br />The newly digitized content is available by searching the <a href="http://news.google.com/archivesearch">Google News Archive</a>, which yields results from a variety of sources, not just Google’s own collections. Some of these sources are free, while others do require a a pay-per-view subscription.<br /><br />And finally ... typical of the Google approach here... while the search interface is pretty simple up front, search control can be found under the hood -- use the <a href="http://news.google.ca/archivesearch/advanced_search?num=10&amp;hl=en">advanced search</a> for drilling down on language, source, date, price, etc., within the results.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=yM1vL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=yM1vL" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=82Rsl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=82Rsl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=RBtVl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=RBtVl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=zclMl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=zclMl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=ZRRML"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=ZRRML" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-26034372885760509182008-09-12T11:31:00.006-07:002008-09-12T11:57:51.365-07:002008-09-12T11:57:51.365-07:00The Thomas Cromwell Pages<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.slaw.ca/cromwell/"><img src="http://www.slaw.ca/wp-content/themes/slaw_2007/rotate/cromwell.png" alt="The Thomas Cromwell Pages" align="right" border="0" /></a>My friends over at Slaw (not me this time...) are up to their usual innovative tricks with the release of a new project, “<a href="http://www.slaw.ca/cromwell/">The Thomas Cromwell Pages</a>”.<br /><br />On September 5, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper <a href="http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=1&amp;id=2265">nominated</a> Mr. Justice Thomas A. Cromwell (currently of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal) to fill the vacancy on the <a href="http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/">SCC</a> bench. And since the <a href="http://www.fja.gc.ca/">Office of the Commissioner of Federal Judicial Affairs</a> hasn’t yet published a website for Justice Cromwell, who better to rummage up some information on the potential SCC judge than the bloggers of Slaw and their loyal readers?<br /><br />The Cromwell Pages includes links to online information (articles, news items, Cromwell's judgments &amp; publications, etc.) dealing with Justice Cromwell and the judicial selection process.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Want to get in the game?</span> There’s also a <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/cromwell/bookmarks">bookmarks page</a> that anyone can contribute to – and here’s where you come in. Simply save the relevant page in <a href="http://www.delicious.com/">Delicious</a>, tag it with “thecromwellpages”, and it will appear shortly in the Cromwell Pages list of bookmarks.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=jABVL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=jABVL" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=wAUMl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=wAUMl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=xMhyl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=xMhyl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=ulKOl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=ulKOl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=vQywL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=vQywL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-13396235067735472242008-09-05T13:04:00.003-07:002008-09-05T16:25:42.260-07:002008-09-05T16:25:42.260-07:005 Blogs 5 Blawgers RoundupHate to admit it but I spent some time reading the <a href="http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/2008/09/5-blogs-5-blawgers.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">5 blogs 5 blawgers</span></a> meme last night, and enjoyed a lot of the entries.<br /><br />In case you feel the same, here's a short list of the participants I could find so far...<a href="http://dominicjaar.blogspot.com/2008/09/5-blogs-5-blawgers.html"><br /></a><ul><li><a href="http://dominicjaar.blogspot.com/2008/09/5-blogs-5-blawgers.html">Dominic Jaar at Ledgit Consulting</a> (yes, that's new for Dominic!)<br /></li><li><a href="http://scoop.jdsupra.com/2008/09/articles/jd-supra-updates/tagged-five-blogs-five-blawgers/">Adrian Lurrsen at JD Supra</a></li><li><a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/09/04/5-blogs-5-blawgers/">Simon Fodden at Slaw</a></li><li><a href="http://www.inter-alia.net/comments.php?id=P4365_0_1_0">Tom Mighell at Inter Alia</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://susancartierliebel.typepad.com/build_a_solo_practice/2008/09/its-been-a-long.html">Susan Cartier Liebel at Build a Solo Practice LLC</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://law21.ca/2008/09/03/5-blogs-and-5-blawgers/">Jordan Furlong at Law21</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://charonqc.wordpress.com/2008/09/03/another-meme-but-an-interesting-one/">Charon QC</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://blawgreview.blogspot.com/2008/09/5-blogs-5-blawgers.html">Ed at Blawg Review</a> (the man that started it all)</li><li><a href="http://www.legaline.com/2008/09/tagged-by-5-blogs-5-blawgers-meme.html">Robert Ambrogi</a></li><li><a href="http://jurylaw.typepad.com/deliberations/2008/09/back-to-school.html">Anne Reed at Deliberations</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://healthblawg.typepad.com/healthblawg/2008/09/5-blogs-5-blawgers.html">David Harlow at Healthblawg</a></li><li><a href="http://mediationchannel.com/2008/09/03/5-blogs-and-5-blawgers/">Diane Levin at Mediation Channel</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://apublicdefender.com/2008/09/04/the-5-blogs-meme/">Gideon at a Public Defender</a></li><li><a href="http://nylawblog.typepad.com/suigeneris/2008/09/tagged--5-great.html">Nicole Black at Sui Generis</a> </li><li><a href="http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/2008/09/tagged-even-on-vacation.html">Ken Lammers at Crimlaw</a></li><li><a href="http://headoflegal.blogspot.com/2008/09/meme-tagged.html">Carl Gardner of Head of Legal Blog</a></li><li> <a href="http://pupillageandhowtogetit.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/interesting-non-law-blogs/" target="_blank">Simon Myerson QC of Pupillage and how to get it</a></li></ul>The <span style="font-style: italic;">grumpy list</span> entries from <a href="http://blog.simplejustice.us/2008/09/04/after-further-deliberations-ive-got-nothing.aspx?ref=rss">Scott Greenfield</a> and <a href="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ethicalesq/">David Giacalone</a> were worth a look. Very funny. :)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=WwD8L"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=WwD8L" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=P5x1l"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=P5x1l" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=nP0Wl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=nP0Wl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=TliWl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=TliWl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=eCpZL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=eCpZL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-82822172310380664292008-09-05T12:30:00.003-07:002008-09-05T12:44:22.319-07:002008-09-05T12:44:22.319-07:00Quickscribe Manual Updates for AugustA busy month over at <a href="http://www.quickscribe.bc.ca/">Quickscribe</a> for their legislative manuals. Updates in August included:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Motor-Vehicle-Legislation-Manual-Series">BC Motor Vehicle Legislation Update</a></li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Motor-Vehicle-Legislation-Manual-Series#hc_top">BC Transport Legislation Update</a></li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Motor-Vehicle-Legislation-Manual-Series#hc_top">Crown Counsel Motor Vehicle Legislation Update</a></li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Motor-Vehicle-Legislation-Manual-Series#hc_top">Provincial Court Motor Vehicle Legislation Update</a></li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/RCMP-Legislation-Manual">RCMP Legislation Update</a> </li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Family-Legislation-Manual">Provincial Court Family Legislation Update</a> </li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Family-Legislation-Manual">BC Family Legislation Update</a><br /></li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Business-Corporations-Legislation-Manual">BC Business Corporations Update</a></li></ul>Watch for more legislative changes updated within hours at <a href="http://www.bclegislation.ca/">BCLegislation.ca</a>!<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=q7h8L"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=q7h8L" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=GFIvl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=GFIvl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=EftUl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=EftUl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=MSLkl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=MSLkl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=ErjpL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=ErjpL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-24197974581229656592008-09-04T09:03:00.006-07:002008-09-04T11:12:57.892-07:002008-09-04T11:12:57.892-07:005 Blogs & 5 BlawgersWas tagged in <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/09/04/5-blogs-5-blawgers/">by Simon Fodden</a>... When it comes to memes I probably feel the same as most bloggers: a big time waster, but kind of fun. So ok... I'm in.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Here's the gist:</span> name 5 great non-law blogs, and then propagate the <strike>ponzi link scheme</strike> meme by tagging 5 other law blogs. Here's what I've got for my non-law list, with a short note on why I read them:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.rexblog.com/">RexBlog </a>- Rex Hammock is a web strategist, and a long-time web guy. I grabbed his feed after recognizing him from his early <a href="http://www.smallbusiness.com/">smallbusiness.com</a> days, which has since been turned into a wiki. Rex is very even handed when it comes to web trends, and as I've said here in the past, I'm not a black and white kind of guy. I like shades of grey. Rex reminds me not to get too excited or too negative. A healthy perspective.<br /></li><li><a href="http://tpwireservice.com/">TPwireservice</a> - TP, as in Tom Peters the business author. The service, not Tom likely, provides daily roundups of links to vetted business content. I read it because it points me in new directions, and because I like services where others do the sifting for me. (Kinda like we Librarians!)</li><li><a href="http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/index.php">Dave Weinberger</a> - I started reading Dave Weinberger because of <a href="http://www.cluetrain.com/">Cluetrain</a>, but these days, it's more for the nuggets about information behaviour and blogging style. Dave's a consistent blogger who leaves his personal print on everything he writes. A good example of how blunt, unappologetic, and (sometimes) funny works for blog commentary.<br /></li><li><a href="http://philbradley.typepad.com/phil_bradleys_weblog/">Phil Bradley</a> - Phil is a prolific writer &amp; blogging librarian; almost always on topics I have an interest in - search engine trends, web content &amp; design, and of course Libraries. You can get Phil's published content in numerous places, but I like the added personal touches on his blog.</li><li><a href="http://www.darcynorman.net/">D'Arcy Norman dot net</a> - D'Arcy uses many of the same interweb tools I do, but in the education space rather than the legal industry. I read for the new directions, and for his perspective on common challenges - eg. transitioning from techie code perspective to big picture thinking.<br /></li></ul>And for relay, I'm pointing to:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://scoop.jdsupra.com/">Adrian Lurrsen at JD Scoop</a></li><li><a href="http://lawpracticematters.com/">Erik Mazzone at Law Practice Matters</a></li><li><a href="http://www.thoughtfullaw.com/">Dave Bilinsky at Thoughtful Legal Managment</a></li><li><a href="http://goldenmarketing.typepad.com/weblog/">Michelle Golden at Golden Practices</a></li><li><a href="http://dominicjaar.blogspot.com/">Dominic Jaar at Wines and Information Management</a><br /></li></ul><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=CUyv8L"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=CUyv8L" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=o2sval"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=o2sval" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=eMyQEl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=eMyQEl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=2peX1l"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=2peX1l" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=74RDzL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=74RDzL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-83917040856607941382008-09-02T10:29:00.004-07:002008-09-02T15:52:20.774-07:002008-09-02T15:52:20.774-07:00CALL Employment Satisfaction SurveyI can't fill out <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=qJ5f6VKoZ5IHi9y_2fs8ulOA_3d_3d">this survey</a> as I no longer work in a Canadian law library, but <span style="font-weight: bold;">I wish I could</span>.<br /><br />If you are a member of <a href="http://www.callacbd.ca/">CALL</a>, please make me feel better by filling it out. Survey participation is a great way to contribute to the Associations you belong to.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=2uKzIL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=2uKzIL" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=gLRmVl"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=gLRmVl" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=sIbw3l"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=sIbw3l" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=zNNq4l"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=zNNq4l" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=H1qpyL"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=H1qpyL" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-24178624825314603342008-08-29T15:09:00.003-07:002008-09-02T12:14:02.216-07:002008-09-02T12:14:02.216-07:00VALL Celebrates 20 years!Members of the <a href="http://vall.vancouver.bc.ca/">Vancouver Association of Law Libraries</a> are getting set for a new VALL season which launches (and lunches) on Friday, September 19th. But did you know that this year marks the 20th Anniversary for VALL?<br /><br />According to our wonderful incoming President <a href="http://vall.vancouver.bc.ca/user/96">Wilma MacFarlane</a>, and according to our <a href="http://vall.vancouver.bc.ca/about">VALL history page</a>, it was February 1988 that seeds for VALL were set. So, this year we've decided to make it an anniversary year, and are looking to do some special things around the time of our Christmas social.<br /><br />There's also a very cool story about a related email exchange between Wilma and the Honourable Mr. Justice Marshall Rothstein; but I'll let Wilma tell it.... <span style="font-weight: bold;">at the VALL meeting on September 19th.</span> How's that for a teaser?<br /><br />I'll also blog about it after the VALL meeting. Right now, we're rallying the troops! Give me a <span style="font-weight: bold;">V</span>! give me a <span style="font-weight: bold;">A</span>! .... you get the idea. :)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=vWH8RK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=vWH8RK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=KfOp7k"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=KfOp7k" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=DCBjxk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=DCBjxk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=cahb4k"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=cahb4k" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=uxdrGK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=uxdrGK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-45150843613695570312008-08-13T10:01:00.002-07:002008-08-13T10:10:21.560-07:002008-08-13T10:10:21.560-07:00Vancouver Sun Covers the Legal WebA hat tip to <a href="http://wiselaw.blogspot.com/2008/08/secret-is-out.html">Garry Wise</a> because I didn't notice it earlier, but this past Monday the Vancouver Sun published a very flattering article on the influence of the legal web. See: <em><a href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=78d4ab4e-329f-4fc9-a420-9f39fd9628be">The Internet has become indispensible to the legal world</a></em>.<br /><br />Sun writer <b>Ian Mulgrew</b> had some nice words to say about a ton of different websites that many VLLB readers frequent on a daily basis; and even included a mention to Stem's <a href="http://www.lawblogs.ca">lawblogs.ca</a>. Feels like a bit of validation for the hard work many of us put into these resources!<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=vNCPxK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=vNCPxK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=SpzJGk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=SpzJGk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=wgSLvk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=wgSLvk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=WkpnIk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=WkpnIk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=LLxHpK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=LLxHpK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-80210492129417558442008-08-05T13:50:00.002-07:002008-08-05T14:43:58.619-07:002008-08-05T14:43:58.619-07:00Active CollectionsTo carry on with one of the thoughts I had <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/07/31/new-feed-mix-for-dui-law/">on Slaw last week</a>, I'm intrigued by the concept of building <span style="font-style: italic;">active collection</span>s. That is, rather than building content collections with static items, that a new (additional) form of collection development can exist that may be more suited to the dynamic nature of the web -- an idea I'd like to call an <span style="font-style: italic;">active collection</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Active collections</span> would focus on the publication source rather than the individual content item. Be that an industry association, some other authorizing body, or an individual content publisher such as a blogger. Source authority would be king. And that through mixing the output of these authority sources, and then filtering down for keyword concepts, that we may offer a better mousetrap for surveying the modern web.<br /><br />In recent years, I would argue, there has been a fundamental shift in the way we consume content. The process has become much less precise, with almost a serendipitous quality. When we consider the fact that web-publishing is so easy, and the quantity of commentary so great, <span style="font-style: italic;">our challenge is now two-fold</span>. It's not enough to simply craft collections, we now must offer methodologies (productized &amp; branded if possible) to cull through this vast commentary in an automated way. We need to do this not only for ourselves as Librarians and collection builders, but also for the clients we serve.<br /><br />And the way we do this is to re-focus ourselves on Publisher and Author authority. We evaluate entities on the various metrics available defining reputation, including many of the traditional authority metrics that Librarians have always used.<br /><br />In the past I've always used RSS as my tool of choice when describing the concepts of mixing and filtering; but obviously technologies change, and now I may just as well describe RSS as the tool of the moment. What's consistent is the idea of authority source outputs as a fundamental building block for collection development. RSS just happens to be the best current technology to access this entity publishing stream. Mix up the authorities into a giant cluster, and grind out to the desired level of subject specificity. Not that difficult of a concept really.<br /><br />And to that, I would like to welcome feedback from my fellow blogging librarians and library science academics. What do <span style="font-weight: bold;">you</span> think? Can collection development become productized? Do we have something to offer the dynamic web, and that may help the average web user <span style="font-weight: bold;">not be so overwhelmed</span>?<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=hKxTVK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=hKxTVK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=4m2nhk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=4m2nhk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=isDWtk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=isDWtk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=qj6wik"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=qj6wik" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=6I5BfK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=6I5BfK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-101721162698820312008-08-05T10:54:00.006-07:002008-08-05T11:12:09.740-07:002008-08-05T11:12:09.740-07:00Slaw No Longer Just ResearchAs Simon Fodden <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/08/05/an-expanding-slaw/">announced</a> this morning (ok, well it's morning on the west coast...) Slaw has not only expanded in its number of core contributors recently, but we've also made the decision to increase our topic coverage beyond the realm of legal research and information sources.<br /><br />The addition of the <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/07/29/these-are-the-daves/">Three Dave's</a> this past week was a bit of a new beginning for our group. Three years have passed and we're all looking to re-engage. It's not that legal research and the use of legal information isn't still important to us. And the fact that its something that all Slaw members have in common means that it will remain core to what we do... but, it was definitely time to recognize the slippery slope we've been heading down:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Slaw produces commentary on all things relevant to the legal industry with a uniquely Canadian spin. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br />Doesn't sound so bad. Does it?<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=YLo1AK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=YLo1AK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=INedlk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=INedlk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=po0QCk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=po0QCk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=OFz1sk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=OFz1sk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=nFIrFK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=nFIrFK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-80343024844384728282008-08-05T10:44:00.003-07:002008-08-05T10:54:08.975-07:002008-08-05T10:54:08.975-07:00Quickscribe Manual Updates for JulyQuickscribe Legislative manual updates during July:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Local-Government-Legislation-Manual">BC Local Government Legislation Update</a></li><li><a href="http://quickscribe.bc.ca/hardcopy/BC-Environment-Legislation-Manual">BC Environment Legislation Update</a></li></ul>More BC Legislation changes updated within hours at <a href="http://www.bclegislation.ca">BCLegislation.ca</a>!<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=mKQrtK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=mKQrtK" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=j7WkVk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=j7WkVk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=ycVe8k"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=ycVe8k" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=EetmRk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=EetmRk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=xelHcK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=xelHcK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-41936813299742914102008-07-30T13:42:00.001-07:002008-07-30T13:42:31.865-07:002008-07-30T13:42:31.865-07:00Alberta Municipal BylawsReleased today on the <a href="http://www.callacbd.ca/">CALL</a> listserv, Mary Hemmings, Assistant Director at the University of Calgary Law Library shared <a href="http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/bylaws/">the Alberta Bylaws Digitization Project</a>. A new collection providing access to historical Municipal Bylaws, available for both <a href="http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/bylaws/search.aspx">searching</a> and <a href="http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/bylaws/browse.aspx">browsing</a> (by year).<br /><br />The project, she adds, 'began on a modest scale in 2004 and is now picking up momentum'. The collection is highlighted as 'new' on the website.<br /><br />I've had nice things to say about Alberta's <a href="http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/">Our Future Our Past</a> website in the <a href="http://vancouverlawlib.blogspot.com/2005/08/historical-alberta-law-collection.html">past</a>, and still love the work they're producing. Archival capturing of bylaws allows for better research, documentation for municipal history, and comparisons of local government over time. Not always the makings of headline news, but important to the concept of legacy, and for future generations.<br /><br />You can visit <a href="http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/" target="_blank">www.ourfutureourpast.ca</a> and find a number of similar top-quality collections. It's a great model, and one that other provinces would do well to follow.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=iEjH1J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=iEjH1J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=KIcXsj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=KIcXsj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=ChibNj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=ChibNj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=VXZlij"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=VXZlij" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=BET7GK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=BET7GK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-36540265662420454432008-07-29T12:12:00.004-07:002008-07-29T12:26:22.964-07:002008-07-29T12:26:22.964-07:00The Dave's Debut at Slaw.caOur list of collaborators expanded at <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/">Slaw</a> today; and interestingly all go by the same name: <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/07/29/these-are-the-daves/">Dave</a>! Joing us at the Canadian legal blogging co-op are <a href="http://thoughtfullaw.com/?page_id=2">David Bilinsky</a>, <a href="http://canton.elegal.ca/profile.html">David Canton</a>, and <a href="http://privacylawyer.ca/contact.html">David Fraser</a>.<br /><br />Clipped from the welcome post...<br /><blockquote><p><a href="http://thoughtfullaw.com/?page_id=2">David Bilinsky</a> is the Practice Management Advisor and staff lawyer for the Law Society of British Columbia. His <a href="http://thoughtfullaw.com/?page_id=2">impressive CV</a> includes such items as being Chair of the Editorial Board for <a href="http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/">Law Practice Magazine</a>, published by the ABA; founding the <a href="http://www.pacificlegaltech.com/">Pacific Legal Technology Conference</a>; and being a former <a href="http://www.abanet.org/techshow/">ABA Techshow</a> Chair. David also blogs at <a href="http://thoughtfullaw.com/">Thoughtfullaw.com</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://privacylawyer.ca/contact.html">David Fraser</a> is the founder of the <a href="http://privacylawyer.ca/blog/">Canadian Privacy Law Blog</a>, and notably one of Canada’s first blogging lawyers. He is a member of the faculty of <a href="http://www.dal.ca/law">Dalhousie Law School</a>, where he teaches Internet and Media Law, Law and Technology, and Law and Policy for Electronic Commerce. We also are looking forward to seeing Mr. Fraser start blogging on topics outside of Privacy Law, to which we’re told to expect some controversy. Right David? ;)</p> <p><a href="http://canton.elegal.ca/profile.html">David Canton</a>, is a renowned Canadian technology blogger providing his commentary at <a href="http://canton.elegal.ca/">canton.elegal.ca</a>. David practices with <a href="http://www.harrisonpensa.com/our-legal-team/lawyer-profile.asp?id=4">Harrison Pensa in London Ontario</a>, where he is a business lawyer and trade-mark agent with a focus on technology issues and technology companies. David also writes a column for the <a href="http://canton.elegal.ca/tag/in-the-press/">London Free Press</a>, and has authored a book <a href="http://www.legallandmines.net/">Legal Landmines in E-Commerce</a>.</p></blockquote>I'm very excited to have these guys join our team over at Slaw. Each brings a wealth of history and knowledge, and an influx of <span style="font-style: italic;">new blood</span> can't hurt either. Welcome aboard gentlemen! :)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=2BQlfJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=2BQlfJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=fDRjej"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=fDRjej" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=zISH3j"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=zISH3j" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=GcLOQj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=GcLOQj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=7QLloK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=7QLloK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-26227124321317698272008-07-28T15:41:00.002-07:002008-07-28T15:53:06.055-07:002008-07-28T15:53:06.055-07:00Free Magazines at LegalPubs.caWe're starting the monetization experiment over at <a href="http://www.legalpubs.ca/">LegalPubs</a>, offering <a href="http://legalpubs.tradepub.com/">free magazines and white papers</a> in the right-hand sidebar.<br /><br />This has been done via an affiliate partnership with Tradepub.com, with whom I've had many years of past success, marketing these same offers via <a href="http://www.bpubs.com/free-magazine/subscriptions.htm">BPubs free magazines</a>. The subscriptions (usually one year in length) are legitimately free, with the user exchanging their demographic profile for the subscription. The magazines, in turn, are able to charge more for advertising because they have a documented profile of their user base.<br /><br />Please drop by if you get a chance!<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=oepW8J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=oepW8J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=F7UeEj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=F7UeEj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=3FGpbj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=3FGpbj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=u0oOUj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=u0oOUj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=lRa5rK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=lRa5rK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-54429649287600620722008-07-25T14:10:00.003-07:002008-07-25T14:23:54.586-07:002008-07-25T14:23:54.586-07:00New VALL Website is Now Up!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_GdMoWpKY1VA/SIpCB2gbyLI/AAAAAAAAADg/B-S5O-8qVUs/s1600-h/valllogo.png"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_GdMoWpKY1VA/SIpCB2gbyLI/AAAAAAAAADg/B-S5O-8qVUs/s400/valllogo.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227062917095737522" align="right" border="0" /></a>I'm happy to announce that the <a href="http://vall.vancouver.bc.ca/">new VALL website</a> , built on the <a href="http://dupal.org">Drupal</a> platform, is finally up!<br /><br />Reiterated from my <a href="http://vall.vancouver.bc.ca/node/53">welcome post</a>,<br /> <p></p><blockquote> A big thanks to the VALL website team - our long time webmaster <a href="http://www.vall.vancouver.bc.ca/user/4">Andy Froese</a>, our new webmaster <a href="http://www.vall.vancouver.bc.ca/user/2">Rob Golbeck</a>, and the exceptionally hard work of <a href="http://www.vall.vancouver.bc.ca/user/5">Susannah Tredwell</a>! (who painstakingly created accounts for everyone in the VALL membership)</blockquote><p></p><p>This is probably the last big piece of my <a href="http://vall.vancouver.bc.ca/user/1">VALL Presidency</a>, and something I really wanted to get accomplished. To say I'm proud would be an understatement. I am <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> proud of the work we did, and thankful for having such a fantastic team!!<br /></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=wJxaQJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=wJxaQJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=UZNYfj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=UZNYfj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=aQFkRj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=aQFkRj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=NAGHfj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=NAGHfj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=jRfSOK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=jRfSOK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-9200759192361094392008-07-25T13:54:00.003-07:002008-07-25T14:10:03.436-07:002008-07-25T14:10:03.436-07:00New PhotoMarking a moment here. I've finally ditched my four year old photo: here on the VLLB, on the <a href="http://vllblinks.blogspot.com/">linkblog</a>, on my <a href="http://www.stemlegal.com/steve-matthews/">Steve Matthews profile page</a> over at Stem, and the <a href="http://www.stemlegal.com/strategyblog/">Law Firm Web Strategy</a> blog.<br /><br />And for the fun of it, here's they are side-by-side:<br /><br /><img src="http://www.stemlegal.com/images/steve-matthewsold.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.stemlegal.com/images/steve-matthews.jpg" /><br />Steve (circa 2004) is 30 lbs heavier around the middle (yay!), and unfortunately also on the top (meh..) The bags under my eyes? consistent in both. ;)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=kVzsHJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=kVzsHJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=NB0Ugj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=NB0Ugj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=jH2TLj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=jH2TLj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=5bEMbj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=5bEMbj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=nqusBK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=nqusBK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-33527578731291211342008-07-22T11:40:00.003-07:002008-07-22T12:29:53.642-07:002008-07-22T12:29:53.642-07:00Plain Legal Language - A New Book & Interview with Cheryl Stephens<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_GdMoWpKY1VA/SIYxk_ohwWI/AAAAAAAAADE/iiIo0MaPoSY/s1600-h/PLLW_140px.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_GdMoWpKY1VA/SIYxk_ohwWI/AAAAAAAAADE/iiIo0MaPoSY/s400/PLLW_140px.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225918929236509026" border="0" /></a>Nothing should make one feel better than to promote a colleague who's written a new book. And along those lines, I offer my post today partly to congratulate, and partly to help promote, the launch of <a href="http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/stephens/">Cheryl Stephens</a>' new e-book <a href="http://www.plainlanguagelegalwriting.com/">Plain Language Legal Writing</a>; available for purchase <a href="http://www.lulu.com/content/1236368">at LuLu.com</a>.<br /><br />Cheryl Stephens, who some of you may know from <a href="http://plainlanguage.com/blog">Building Rapport, the plain language blog</a>, is a leader in the field of plain language communication, and provides training and workshops to clients all over North America.<br /><br />The following short interview discusses both Cheryl's approach to plain legal language, and a bit more about the book launch.<br /><br />--<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> Thanks Cheryl, I guess the best place to start is to find out exactly plain language is?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS:</span> Plain language is writing, or any language, that is clear and understandable, so that it’s easy for people to get — and use — information that is important to a person's life.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> What kind of information?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS: </span>Well, think of anyplace you’ve seen legalese in your own life: contracts, regulations, waiver forms and releases, even the agreement you have to sign whenever you install software or sign up for something online.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> You’re saying those things don’t have to be written in legalese. Are we going to lose something when it comes to more complex discourse?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS: </span>There is no reason that legal language — language regulating legal rights and duties — has to be incomprehensible. It can be made plain enough for its intended audience.<br /><br />Plain legal language is being written every day. Those who defend out-dated, poorly-written gibberish on the grounds of its complexity should be embarrased.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> So what's the process? What do lawyers to know to write in plain English?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS:</span> We have a process which takes into account the reader's interest, reading skill, and need for the information. It is an elaboration of the classical approach to writing effectively.<br /><br />By the way, we now talk about plain language instead of plain English, because the ideas apply to communication in any language. Whatever the language, the aim is clarity and usefulness of the information.<br /><br />In English, a number of shortcuts and guidelines have been developed to help the person who is not a writer by profession. Most of the US state laws requiring plain English set out some of these as requirements or measurements of plainness. In Canada, the laws tend to demand qualities like "clear" or "readable" and so on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> Ok, so explain more about the new book -- Plain Language Legal Writing -- How is it different, and why did you write it?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS:</span> A lot of books have been written about legal drafting — writing contracts or drafting laws. But I am addressing a more basic need. All lawyers need to be able to write clearly and plainly for clients and the public. They write letters, opinions… That’s what my book addresses.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> Explain the contest. What’s that all about?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS:</span> It’s a contest to rewrite a section of the U.S. Copyright Act — both to rewrite it as the law would look in plain English, and to write a clear explanation for the general public.<br /><br />I want to show the difference between legal drafting and legal writing. One task is to redraft the legislation in plain language, and that’s a specialized skill. Not every lawyer needs to know how to do that. But the other task, to explain the law in plain language — that’s a skill every lawyer does need.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SM:</span> And that’s what your new book is about?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CS:</span> Yes. I wanted to write a simple but complete guide for lawyers who want to make their writing clearer.<br /><br />--<br /><br />VLLB readers can visit <a href="http://plainlanguagelegalwriting.com/">PlainLanguageLegalWriting.com</a> to find out more about the book, and the <a href="http://www.plainlanguagelegalwriting.com/contest/">drafting contest</a>. A big congrats to Cheryl on the new book, and continued success to her in the future!<br /><br />Cheers!<br />Steve<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=OqDf9J"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=OqDf9J" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=A5QTNj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=A5QTNj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=y4yiPj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=y4yiPj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=q4nfrj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=q4nfrj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=atn5YK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=atn5YK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-60355046064597748902008-07-18T13:05:00.002-07:002008-07-18T21:31:09.886-07:002008-07-18T21:31:09.886-07:00Jaffe Associates White Paper on Web 2.0 and PR 2.0<a href="http://www.jdsupra.com/profile/JaffeAssociates/">Jaffe Associates</a> have produced a solid <a href="http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=62144ccc-cd7f-4517-a815-5c0fb3891d95">white paper on web 2.0 and PR 2.0 for the legal industry</a>; and, putting their practice where their advice is, have posted it to <a href="http://www.jdsupra.com/">legal document sharing service JD Supra</a>. Nice!<br /><br />Jaffe Associates are online at <a href="http://jaffeassociates.com/">jaffeassociates.com</a>, and have recently started <a href="http://jaffeassociates.com/blog/">blogging too</a>!<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=d1lKHJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=d1lKHJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=SLOglj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=SLOglj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=OdE4xj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=OdE4xj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=awfgHj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=awfgHj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=RhzD0K"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=RhzD0K" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-88705259025719402942008-07-10T21:12:00.003-07:002008-07-10T21:14:41.437-07:002008-07-10T21:14:41.437-07:00Slaw Turns 3The <a href="http://www.slaw.ca/2008/07/10/belated-happy-birthday-to-us/">Canadian legal blogging coop</a> turns three! Congrats to everyone. It's certainly been a ride! Hasn't it? :)<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=CTsIqJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=CTsIqJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=aiZkPj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=aiZkPj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=o0be9j"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=o0be9j" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=IzKq6j"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=IzKq6j" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=X1LDFK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=X1LDFK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9394126.post-17353907325684087032008-07-09T09:46:00.009-07:002008-07-09T11:26:21.472-07:002008-07-09T11:26:21.472-07:00Kevin O'Keefe Takes a Vacation! And Why I Won't BeStop the presses! <a href="http://www.lexblog.com/">Lawyer blog</a> evangelist Kevin O'Keefe is <a href="http://kevin.lexblog.com/2008/07/articles/cool-stuff/you-have-no-events-scheduled-today/">taking a vacation</a>! ... Hey Kevin, I thought you said that wasn't allowed? :) And that was a rhetorical question, of course. Kevin can save his comments or blogging for a couple weeks.<br /><br />I do think the gang at Lexblog should have a <span style="font-style: italic;">cat's away</span> challenge, and see who can do the best '<span style="font-weight: bold;">Fake Kevin</span>' blog post. In the same vein as the <a href="http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/">Fake Steve Jobs</a> - smeared with sarcasm, and with just enough truth to poke fun at the boss.<br /><br />On a more serious note ...<br /><br />The altering of vacations is a wake-up call for most business owners, myself included. I say <span style="font-style: italic;">altering</span>, because the two week-er is still a tough one to schedule. That doesn't mean down time isn't possible, but it often has to be taken in shorter blocks. My current strategy has been to extended a weekend; or to take the laptop with me, and to get my 'piece of mind' back by logging in periodically each day. But a complete shut-down style vacation? I still don't have that one figured out.<br /><br />I think most business owners, <a href="http://susancartierliebel.typepad.com/build_a_solo_practice/2008/07/how-can-a-solo.html">lawyers included</a>, consider the lack of vacations a worthy trade-off for doing something they love. But that doesn't mean it isn't a challenge. Even if you fully accept the idea that <a href="http://law21.ca/2008/04/04/theres-no-such-thing-as-worklife-balance/">there is no work-life balance</a>, and that life is more about finding the right <span style="font-style: italic;">blend </span>-- everyone, at some point, needs an extended period of down-time.<br /><br />Personally, I won't be taking a vacation this summer; for a number of reasons... First, <a href="http://www.stemlegal.com/">Stem</a> is closing in on its first year of operation, and honestly, I'm still pretty energized. The novelty hasn't worn off, and for now, figure I'd better use it to my advantage. I also have my first employee starting shortly, and am hoping this person will not only help easy my workload, but integrate into operations to the point where a semi digital-free vacation will be a <span style="font-style: italic;">future </span>possibility.<br /><br />I'm not discounting the value of a vacation, but like many things in life, think it requires planning. I'm also open to suggestions... If you have a personal strategy for vacations you'd like to share, please chime in.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=o1jYlJ"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=o1jYlJ" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=qXDCej"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=qXDCej" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=o5GBWj"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=o5GBWj" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=TW4M7j"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=TW4M7j" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?a=Qy4KCK"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/VancouverLawLibrarianBlog?i=Qy4KCK" border="0"></img></a> </div>Steve Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10091211427097898887noreply@blogger.com
 

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