Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is an independent nonprofit organization, established by Congress in 1974, to provide financial support for civil legal aid to low-income individuals. Every year since 2000, the LSC has sponsored the Technology Initiative Grants (TIG) Conference which has awarded more than 600 grants, totaling $57 million, to civil legal aid organizations across the country. The 17th Annual TIG Conference is being held in San Antonio this week, January 11-13. For the first time, the LSC will live-stream several sessions of the conference via Facebook Live. To view these sessions, visit LSC's Facebook page during the conference. Share what you learn via Twitter using the hashtag #LSCTIG.
Data Privacy and Information Security Law Exhibit
National Data Privacy Day, observed annually on January 28th, commemorates the 1981 signing of Convention 108, the first legally binding international treaty dealing with privacy and data protection. The Law Library is recognizing this event all month long with an exhibit, Data Privacy and Information Security Law, which will be on display in the Law Library lobby until January 31st.
Among the items featured in the exhibit are books from the Law Library's collection:
- Locked Down: Practical Information Security for Lawyers and Encryption Made Simple for Lawyers address the need for attorneys to protect their clients' data from security breaches, especially in the age of cloud storage, ransomware, and widespread information-sharing across potentially unsecured networks.
- Wiretapping & Eavesdropping: Surveillance in the Internet Age, a 4-volume loose leaf service, includes chapters on computer evidence, Internet technology, and the Fourth Amendment. Relevant federal and state laws regarding digital communications and surveillance in the information age are also discussed. The Wiretap Act (18 USC §2510) and the Stored Communications Act (18 USCA § 2701-2712) are just two examples, both of which were cited in a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case, Robert C. Konop v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. (302 F. 3d 868), which is also highlighted in the Law Library's exhibit.
Free CLE from the Legal Tech Institute
The Legal Tech Institute at the Harris County Law Library will host two free CLEs in January. To register, visit the Course Calendar on the Legal Tech Institute website.
Join us on Thursday, January 12, 12pm to 1pm for a Vendor Visit from our Westlaw representative who will discuss Legislative and Statutory Resources available for free on the Law Library’s Westlaw computers. Texas attorneys can earn 1.0 hour CLE credit.
Join us on Thursday, January 19, 12pm to 1pm for a CLE Replay – Word for Lawyers and Other Law Types. Watch a recording of our Legal Tech Institute CLE from November to earn CLE credit if you missed the live event. Law librarians who taught the live class will also be on hand to help troubleshoot issues with legal drafting and editing in Microsoft Word, so bring your questions and documents (note: please, do not show us confidential documents…). Please note: you can only receive credit for viewing a CLE Replay if you did not attend the live presentation.
You can also watch past CLEs anytime on the Legal Tech Institute On-demand Learning webpage. CLE credit is available in Texas for the video up to a year after the live event for anyone who was unable to attend.
Free CLE - Microsoft Word for Lawyers and Other Law Types
A new CLE video is now available from the Legal Tech Institute at the Harris County Law Library. Microsoft Word for Lawyers and Other Law Types covers standard features in the most widely-used word processing software that can make drafting, editing, and collaboration more efficient for any legal practice. Individuals performing their own legal work will also find practical tips on how to use Word for preparing documents and converting to PDF for efiling. The live program was well-attended and earned a 4.8 star rating.
As with all training from the Legal Tech Institute at the Harris County Law Library, this CLE is free and available to everyone. Visit the LTI On-demand Learning page to view Word for Lawyers and other videos today!
Microsoft Excel for Lawyers: Potential Pitfalls and the Promises of Proficiency
Several Tech Tuesday blog posts have provided tips for using Microsoft Word in the practice of law. Today's tech tip focuses on Excel, another popular program in the Microsoft Office suite.
Excel is a data management tool used for organizing, calculating, graphing, and sharing tabular information. The importance of developing proficiency in the use of Excel cannot be overstated. Knowing how to manipulate spreadsheets is just as important as properly formatting a written document, and without a firm understanding of how Excel works, embarrassing and potentially costly errors can result. Consider the following:
When Barclays sent over its offer to buy up Lehman Brothers in the immediate wake of the firm's September 2008 collapse, it did so with an Excel spreadsheet. The makers of the spreadsheet, which detailed Lehman's assets and what Barclays was willing to buy, hid, rather than deleted, nearly 200 cells. But when a junior law associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton converted the Excel file to a PDF and e-mailed it over to the bankruptcy court, the hidden parts of the spreadsheet reappeared. The result: Along with the parts of Lehman Barclays wanted, the British bank was also forced to swallow losses on an additional 179 toxic deals it never intended to buy.
-- From Stephen Gandel, writing in Fortune magazine, April 17, 2013
This cautionary tale is just one example of how Excel has been used improperly, with very negative consequences. This is obviously a mistake of greater magnitude than most attorneys encounter on an average day, but nonetheless, it does illustrate the perils of using software improperly.
If you're interested in learning how to use Excel in the practice of law, keep an eye on the LTI Course Catalog to find out when the Harris County Law Library will offer a CLE program on Excel for Lawyers. In the meantime, visit the website of Excel Esquire, where you will learn many practical tips for generating Bates numbers, using pivot tables, sorting metadata, and much more.