Articles Posted in June, 2006

MS Word Headers and Footers: There is a Rule that says, “It will take you longer to format a document than it will take you to write it.” It is a counter-intuitive rule, not unlike the Rule that says, “The shorter the footnote, the longer it will take to research the original documentation,” that we all faced for the first time in law school (except for history majors who probably learned it as undergraduates). I Heart Tech comes to the rescue once again for those of us who pine for our lost WordPerfect (and Pine for that matter – at least for those of us who lived and loved in a DOS world long ago). See the June 26th post at I Heart Tech for a pithy lesson on MS Word Headers and Footers. Other places will attempt the same, here, and here.

Prison Report: “Confronting Confinement,” a report from the Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons can be found here.

Law Firm Web Site 101: If you are thinking about setting up a web site for your law firm, here are a couple of good places to begin reading about the process. “Setting Up Shop: Choosing a Web Host and Registering Your Domain” and “How to Select a Website Designer,” both written by Frederick L. Faulkner IV, webmaster to the ABA.

Veterans Data Security Breach: If you or your clients are veterans and received The Letter (and do check with your clients to make sure they recognized the significance of The Letter), remember to check this web site (from the firstgov.gov site) on a regular basis. Credit monitoring will be offered, but do not look for details before August on how to sign up for it.

Contract Lawyering: Kathy Foldes, Contract Lawyer and Trial Consultant, has a great article on how contract lawyering changed and enhanced her career and her personal life. You can find it in the June 2006 issue of In Sight, from the Oregon Attorney Assistance Program.

Ken Thomson Has Died: This won’t mean much except to law librarians and a few others. Ken Thomson owned Westlaw (try typing westlaw.com – sigh) and, more to the point, Thomson West Group. Jeremy Blaschman (aka Anonymous Lawyer – at the risk of dire consequences, I admit that I have loved AL from the start – it’s incredibly funny) blogs on Thomson’s death, in his June 13th posting, and has links to a couple of stories.

More on Lawyer Blogs: Katie Lane, assistant county attorney with the Multnomah County Attorney’s Office has written, “Why You Should Care About Blogs,” in the latest (June 2006) OSB Oregon Civil Rights Newsletter. This current issue isn’t yet online.

Blog Defamation Laws Needed?: Edward Fadeley, former Oregon Supreme Court associate justice, wrote in Sunday’s (June 18th, 2006) Oregonian, an article titled, “We Need Laws Against Blog Defamation.” You can find it through OregonLive, a difficult task indeed, but your persistance may pay off. You might try their Search entry point as an alternative. Good luck.

Lawyer Appreciation Day (downtown Portland only): On June 22nd, the downtown Portland No Fish Go Fish cart (at 5th and Yamhill, next to the Pioneer Courthouse) will have its Lawyer Appreciation Day and lawyers and support staff can have a free lunch (up to $5 worth). Either get there early or take a friend or a book; it’s a popular cart on normal days and on this day the regulars line up so you could wait 20 minutes, more or less. (And don’t forget to tip – John earns it the hard way.) I do not work downtown, but when I get there always try to pick up some of their dal (lentil) soup and a cream cheese “Fish.” Doesn’t anyone outside downtown appreciate lawyers? See here and here.

Congressional Preemption of State Law: This was linked to from beSpacific. It’s a searchable database.