November 5, 2009
In a response to the video posted on the Legal Currents blog (see previous post), Bob has further clarified the context of his comments, and elaborated on his position on the SLAW blog. Here are some highlights:
- When I referred to those who are devoted to making the law freely available to everyone as heroes, I meant it. My remarks were not intended to be dismissive. They were informal, unscripted and glib, but not dismissive. But I do not think that the free systems will challenge the proprietary ones in the United States as the centers of legal research for lawyers in the foreseeable future.
- Certain research sources become accepted as reliable. Professional researchers trust them. The users do not question them cricially, they just rely on them. Think of Shepards Citators in the old days or the amalgam of official print reports of judicial opinions and the National Reporter System in print that ruled in the latter part of the 20th Century.
- The day may come when the free systems will combine with sophisticated search engines and become that elusive “Tinkerbell” being granted status as an authority that is implicitly relied upon without question. But that day is not yet here. The free sites have value and I truly admire those who work to make them a reality.
November 5, 2009
Highlights on overall information from Associated Press:
- Third-quarter net income tumbled 60 percent from a year ago, as revenue in its legal and market divisions fell.
- The company earned $162 million, or 19 cents per share, in the three months ended Sept. 30. That’s down from $404 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.
- Earnings slipped to 43 cents per share from 47 cents a share a year ago. Analysts had expected 40 cents per share.
- Revenue declined 4 percent to $3.22 billion, in part because of unfavorable foreign exchange rates.
Specifically regarding Legal from the Thomson Reuters Press Release:
- Revenues were down 1%. Solid growth in subscription businesses led by Westlaw, Find Law and international units was offset by continued weakness in non-subscription services including Print, Ancillary, Enterprise software, Consulting Services and Trademarks. As in the second quarter, small law firms and government units were the fastest growing customer segments.
- Operating profit declined 5%, with the related margin decreasing 100 basis points, due primarily to the mix of revenues, partially offset by cost controls and the benefits of efficiency initiatives.
November 2, 2009
A recent post featuring a video of Bob Berring discussing free legal information on the Thomson Reuters blog has stirred up debate in the comments. Charges by Carl Malamud that Bob is a “paid spokesman” for West ignited the comments, and prompted this response from Bob:
- I am troubled by the comments impugning my ethics and moral bona fides. The statements are false. I am not a spokesperson for West, nor was I compensated for my remarks. They were made as part of video tribute being put together for the 2009 AALL meeting. The beauty of being an old, tenured professor is that one can say just what one means. And I did. You might contend that I am off base, but I say what I believe to be true. The issues are worth discussing. Ad hominen attacks don’t add much to that discussion.
The result: an offer from Ed Walters to hold a ’summit’ in Washington, DC to discuss the issues. I hope that they post a video of that meeting!
October 19, 2009
Using human attorney editors to create Westlaw case Headnotes and the Digest system has been the norm for over 100 years, but is it better than the Lexis computer-created headnotes and taxonomy? This question has long been discussed, but hasn’t really been investigated until now. Susan Nevelow-Mart has begun researching and writing an article, and her draft has been posted on the SSRN. It is most intriguing and I am looking forward to the final version.
October 6, 2009
We’ve been hearing about Bloomberg Law (BLAW) for quite sometime…well it is finally here and I am most intrigued! As soon as training sessions are available, I will learn all I can and report back here on the findings. Stay tuned for more information!
Link to Bloomberg Law web site
Link to product brochure
October 5, 2009
For the third year in a row, law librarians are an active part of IPLMW festivities. This year, check out a great article from Monice Kaczorowski and Holly Pinto published in the IPLMW magazine. Additionally, librarian Sarah Mauldin will take part in a free webinar tomorrow on inter-generational issues in the legal workplace.
September 27, 2009
The legal profession has been slow to adopt many Web 2.0 technologies, but we are getting there. A recent survey by CCH found that:
- 59% use Web 2.0 technology at least once per week – most use it for professional purposes
- 54% of social media usage is for professional research
- 72% of professionals value information from peers as much as something published in a book
In 2008, the ABA Legal Technology Report wasn’t so promising (see Web 2.0 Still a No-go), but the complete 2009 Survey was recently released, and there have been some big changes:
- When asked whether their firms maintain a presence in an online community/social network such as Facebook, LinkedIn, LawLink, or Legal OnRamp, overall twelve percent (12%) of respondents report affirmatively, up from 4% in the 2008 survey
- When asked whether they personally maintain a presence in an online community/social network such as Facebook, LinkedIn, LawLink, or Legal OnRamp, overall, 43% of respondents answered affirmatively, almost three times the percentage (15%) in the 2008 survey
We still have a long way to go, but I think that most in the profession are open to learning more about new technologies that will improve their practice and service to clients. I recently showed my Google Reader to an attorney who confessed that he did not know what I meant when I asked him about receiving information via an RSS feed. Once I showed it to him and explained how it would help cut down on email, he was hooked.
Hat tip to explodedlibrary bunker.
September 21, 2009
Sarah Clark Kavanagh will be speaking at the September 23 meeting of the Orange County Chapter of the ALA. The group has opened its doors to all of those in firm management, and not just administrators. To make reservations, click here.
September 18, 2009
It’s been a couple of weeks since the 2009 survey was released, and the results have been on my mind. Here are some of my thoughts:
- Budgets for resources have shrunk 46%. This is no surprise to any of us, but, the survey also mentions that 43% of respondents report that their budgets are larger. I wonder what those librarians are doing to secure increases in this economy?
- 62% of respondents said that the library is their firm’s main source for marketing research, which is a good thing in my opinion. The more the library can support internal “customers” the better. However, tracking the results of these efforts and making sure that the library is recognized can be difficult. As a library director mentions in the article “90% of my own work is public relations.” I couldn’t agree more, and believe that library director is the “head cheerleader” and nothing else is as important.
- Lexis or Westlaw? This year, 31% of firms said that they intended to move to a single-vendor strategy versus just 12% last year. Is this surprising? No, not really, as these two services usually combine for more than half of the library budget. Additionally, the commoditization of primary law and the growth of small specialty providers has significantly changed the market.
- Average yearly librarian billable hours are up from 300 to 350, however, it doesn’t seem like this was a factor in saving jobs, as staff counts are down for 57% of respondents. Should librarians seek to increase their billable hours? I’m not sure. While there are direct benefits to billing out librarian time, the question really is: How can the value of the library staff be communicated outside of the “billable hour”?
- Firms are starting to use technology to organize and deliver content in new ways. I wonder why this is occurring now? I have a feeling that the concept of “information overload” has finally caught up with many firms, and there is a realization that investment in information infrastructures is not just “nice to have,” but necessary.
