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International Edition

The domain game

In June 2008 the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced a process for applying for new generic top-level domains (gTLDs). A TLD is the last part of an internet domain name; that is, the letters that follow the final dot of any domain name, including .uk, .com, .net and .org.Alongside the TLDs we have all grown familiar with, consumers and businesses will need to be aware of potentially hundreds of new suffixes. Law firms will need to be up to speed with the applications process for and the implications of the new gTLDs before this raft of new domains is introduced. Companies may well need to adapt their clients' domain name strategies in order to protect their online brands from being compromised or diluted by opportunists wishing to profit from making speculative registrations
6 minute read

International Edition

It's automatic, baby

As 2009 ushers in new regulations as part of the Legal Services Act (LSA) 2007 to support multidisciplinary partnerships and firm-based regulations, understandably there is apprehension among some segments of the industry in terms of its implications for law firms. However, regulation is the catalyst for change, which, if dealt with in the right spirit, is usually for the better. In the current economic climate, the LSA is a positive development for the UK's legal sector. For instance, it will allow law firms to receive inward investment from other sources including national and international businesses.
5 minute read

International Edition

Filing error

The practise of law around the world is at a tipping point, driven by the technology revolution. While US legal teams appear to be more concerned about the reality of growing volumes of electronically stored information (ESI), the UK's primary concern appears to be the lack of training in legal trends.
6 minute read

International Edition

Gauging the net worth

There is a tendency to talk up the career benefits of online social networking. In this parallel universe, anyone serious about getting on in life has hundreds of career-enhancing Facebook contacts who they regale daily with tales from their carefully-tended blogs. This, supposedly, generates waves of business opportunities, coupled with many wonderful nights out, as boundaries between business and pleasure blur. The tech-savvy associate then completes their triumphant march to partnership with an ease unimaginable in the pre-internet age.This doesn't actually happen, right? While lawyers have been among the most enthusiastic social users of online networking - as illustrated by Allen & Overy's much-mocked ban in 2007 on staff using Facebook - it remains a rarity for the profession to use such tools to further their career.
8 minute read

International Edition

Confidence in IT teams takes a hit

As belt-tightening across the legal profession notches up another level it is not surprising that IT departments have joined the list of casualties as a result of cutbacks.Legal Week Intelligence's fourth annual Information Technology Survey shows lawyers' confidence in their IT departments dipping for the third successive year, with just 11 of the 42 different categories seeing improved grades this year. At the report's launch earlier this month, delegates lucky enough to have signed off systems upgrades in last year's budgets breathed a sigh of relief as they listened to their counterparts' problems after orders to reign in costs for the foreseeable future. While the general sentiment was that projects that would lead to rapid, demonstrable cost savings would still get signed off, the majority of equipment and software upgrades were likely to be put on hold.
4 minute read

International Edition

Online advertising: Getting the balance of privacy right

Online advertising comes in many guises: ads on search engine results pages, banner ads and email marketing, including spam, to name a few. For most people advertising is part and parcel of their online experience: sometimes useful, sometimes irritating, but perhaps most often ignored. However, there have been significant developments in online advertising recently which are causing debate among privacy professionals - particularly relating to behavioural or personalised internet advertising. Should those of us who are concerned about privacy really be cautious about embracing these new technologies?
5 minute read

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Legal Speak is a weekly podcast that makes sense of what’s happening in the legal industry.

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