I’ve written about Andy Hines, Futurist Professor from the University of Houston, before on this blog, but I just watched his TedXHouston video on what it is like to be a professional Futurist. The talk really caught my attention around the 6:55 portion where Andy starts delving into understanding how new ideas and change
The Tragedy of the Library, Information and Music Commons
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| Image [cc] jessamyn |
There is a theme that I hear from interviews of today’s struggling musicians, “I really wish we had been making music in the 90’s.” The idea behind that, although it might be like that Utopian 1950’s United States that never really existed, is that there was a time when people bought music, record
Law Firm Culture and the Drive to Avoid Accountability
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| Image [cc] miss_rogue |
After listening to a panel of managing partners at the College of Law Practice Management’s Futures Conference on law firm culture, my thinking on the subject of culture and accountability came into focus. Culture (such as it is) drives decision making in firms. This is the case since firms make so many decision based
Don't Be A One-Armed Zombie
My wife works for Lighthouse International, a terrific non-profit dedicated to empowering people who are blind and visually impaired. Last week we attended an “experience” developed in partnership with the Lighthouse. Dialog in the Dark is called an exhibition, and is produced by the company that produced the Bodies Exhibition, but calling it
Two Bombshells From Foley & Lardner: Records Dept Outsourced; Lexis-Only Shop
Above The Law received an internal memo from Foley & Lardner’s CEO, Jay Rothman dated back on August 6th that announced the Foley’s Records Department would be outsourced to Williams Lea, a business process outsourcing company. To those inside the world of law firm records departments, this may or may not be a surprise
Social Media in the Enterprise: Why Change Alone Won't Change a Thing
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| Image [cc] David Armano |
An article on SearchCIO-Midmarket caught my attention yesterday that discussed the problems of simply throwing in a Social Media platform on the Enterprise System, and expecting the employees to simply adapt it as they have in their personal lives. Author Karen Goulart specifically calls out Pollyannish CIO’s who seem to think
Dear ABA, Lead
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| Image [cc] p_a_h |
After last week’s flurry of press on ABA House of Delegates votes, I saw a theme emerge. The votes were on everything from the use of technology, to non-lawyer ownership, to law school accreditation standards. The ABA is in a unique position to lead the legal profession, but watching the outcomes
Postcard From the Law Firm of Whitestar, Titanic, and Iceberg LLP
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[Note: Here’s a guest post from someone riding the BigLaw Cruise ship of Whitestar, Titantic, and Iceberg LLP… enjoy, and we’ll all meet over at the bar when you’re through reading it. -GL]
In the rest of the world it’s August 2012, but at my firm it’s April 1912. You see, I
The Legal Profession's No-Win Scenario
For those of a certain age, the phrase “I read it for the articles” will resonate. Well … I was reading Above The Law this week and stumbled on a substantive article (since I read it for the substantive articles) on law schools. It was actually a thoughtful piece on how ABA accrediting standards have
Law Librarians: New Future as Individuals and as a Profession
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| Image [cc] San Mateo County Library |
Librarians, both as individuals, and as a profession, are constantly navigating the tidal shifts of how information is consumed in the age of the Internet. Whether it is understanding ways to disintermediate resources so that the librarian is no longer a gatekeeper to that resource, but rather a promoter of getting