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Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library

1019 Congress
Houston, Texas 77002
7137555183

Harris County Law Library

Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library

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Ex Libris Juris - HCLL Blog

Legal Tech Institute Legal Tech Collection

April 24, 2018 HarrisCounty LawLibrary

The Harris County Law Library's Legal Tech Collection is a growing library of print resources, located at the Reference Desk, that address tech topics relevant to to the practice of law. Books in the collection include several titles in the "One Hour" series. iPad in One Hour for Lawyers, Facebook in One Hour for Lawyers, and LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, are just a few of the available titles. Other books in the collection focus on encryption, digital privacy, e-discovery, social media, Adobe Acrobat, and how to use Google more effectively for legal research. 

One of the featured books in the collection is an updated edition of a popular publication from the ABA Law Practice Division -- The Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide: Critical Decisions Made Simple. The Law Library recently acquired the 11th edition (published in 2018), which, surprisingly, is a much slimmer volume than the 2016 edition that it will replace. At just under 200 pages, the 2018 edition is nonetheless chock full of useful content for any solo and small firm practitioners in need of guidance in selecting the best technology options for more efficient and effective legal work.

In the introduction to The 2018 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide, the authors explain that this year's edition is more narrowly focused on the core technologies of the law office. It is therefore more condensed and compact. Readers requested a book that presents just the essentials of law office technology, making it easier to use and to read. This feedback from readers demonstrates an important point -- that even the most tech savvy users of legal tech tools still like to consult print resources for guidance.

Our interactions with Law Library patrons certainly show a high demand for traditional books in print, which in turn motivated our decision to create a legal tech collection of print materials There are of course many excellent online resources including legal tech blogs, how-to videos on YouTube, recommendations via social media from colleagues and fellow users, vendor websites, and so much more, but many times a compact, single-volume handbook is just what a new tech user needs to get acquainted with an unfamiliar resource. In addition to our print resources, we link to several other useful digital legal tech resources via our Legal Tech Institute web pages, and, when consulted in tandem with our print resources, these online digital sources are also excellent tools for gaining a toehold in the sometimes overwhelming world of legal tech. 

In Featured Resources, Legal Tech Institute, Research Tips, Tech Tips, Tech Tuesday Tags Legal Tech

Access Digital Resources Remotely from the Texas State Law Library

April 10, 2018 HarrisCounty LawLibrary

It's National Library Week (April 8-14), and the Harris County Law Library is celebrating! We're tipping our hat to the Texas State Law Library in Austin whose digital resources are available to residents throughout the state free of charge! 

To enroll in Texas State Law Library's  "Research from Home" program, simply sign up for a library card on the Law Library's website. (New users will be authenticated using geolocation to confirm Texas residency.) 

Library accounts obtained via the TSLL online patron registration form will grant you access from home to selected library databases and the TSLL digital collection of more than 500 e-books and practice guides. (Some e-books are restricted and can only be checked out from home by government employees. The restricted titles are the Texas Litigation Guide, the Texas Transaction Guide, Collier on Bankruptcy, and Moore's Federal Practice.) Access to these resources will be permitted for a period of 6 months, with the option to re-enroll on the TSLL library card renewal page.

Join us celebrating National Library Week by registering for your Texas State Law Library remote access library card today! 

In Research Tips, Tech Tips, Tech Tuesday Tags Texas State Law Library, Digital Resources, National Library Week

New Video CLE from the Legal Tech Institute -- Legal Practice Technology

March 20, 2018 HarrisCounty LawLibrary

New Video CLE!

A new on-demand learning opportunity is available from the Harris County Law Library. Legal Practice Technology, presented by Emily W. Lawson (O'Quinn Law Library, University of Houston Law Center), is the latest addition to the Law Library's YouTube channel and Legal Technology Institute On-Demand CLE video collection. 

In this course, learn about trends in law practice technology, as well as techniques for staying up to date with the latest developments in tech. Learn about free and low-cost options, such as legal apps and software, that will assist you with tasks such as marketing, time management, information organization, and research. Information about how to research legal technology options is presented, along with recommendations for additional exploration. 

To access this and other on-demand legal tech courses, simply select the desired course topic, click the Play button, and learn! All LTI on-demand videos are accredited by the State Bar of Texas for a limited time. Watch the video and then report CLE credit at www.texasbar.com using the course number provided in the video.

While visiting the LTI pages on the Law Library's website, take a look at our Course Catalog to register for upcoming in-person learning opportunities, including the popular Hands-on Legal Tech Training courses, which are offered every Thursday afternoon at 2:00 pm in the Law Library's Legal Tech Lab. 

In Legal Tech Institute, Research Tips, Tech Tips, Tech Tuesday Tags Legal Tech, Law Practice

March Hands-on Legal Tech Training: Find & Format Legal Forms

February 27, 2018 HarrisCounty LawLibrary

In fall 2016, Harris County Law Library launched the Legal Tech Institute, an ongoing series of free learning opportunities focused on using technology for more efficient legal work. Now, as we approach the end of February, we're gearing up for the second installment of our latest LTI venture, Hands-on Legal Tech Training. On every Thursday afternoon in February, we offered a session called MS Word for Legal Work. It was a success! And we're excited to move ahead with the next installment of our Hand-on Legal Tech Training series.

Click the image to register. Earn 1 hour of free CLE credit for attending.

On Thursday, March 1st, at 2:00 pm, in the Law Library's Legal Tech Lab, we'll offer a program called Find & Format Legal Forms. Like all Hands-on Legal Tech programs, this course will be divided into three sections, each covering a different skill level. We will "Get Started" by presenting the types of forms available for legal work, along with tips for finding them using the free online resources and databases available in the Law Library. Next, we will "Level Up" by exploring more advanced strategies for navigating O'Connor's, Westlaw, and Lexis Advance to find the best forms for specific legal needs. Finally, we will "Go Pro." We'll address techniques for formatting the forms we find and for creating reusable templates for routine legal work. As always, we will leave time to answer your questions during our Q&A session at the end of the program. 

We hope you will join us at the March Hands-on Legal Tech training session, Find & Format Legal Forms. To register for this event and sign up to receive one hour of free CLE credit for attending the course, please visit the course catalog (or click on the image above) and select the date for the session that works best for you. 

In Legal Tech Institute, Tech Tuesday, Tech Tips Tags Technology, Legal Tech, Legal Forms, Microsoft Word

Software Solutions for Your Small Business or Law Practice

December 19, 2017 HarrisCounty LawLibrary

December is Small Business Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. All month long, we're featuring resources, tailored for solo and small firm attorneys, who own, operate, manage, or advise small businesses. 

Finding the best law practice management software to meet the needs of your small firm can be a challenge. There are many different options to choose from at a range of prices and levels of sophistication. The Legal Tech Institute at Harris County Law Library provides links to several law practice management software packages, along with a link to the American Bar Association Legal Technology Buyer's Guide. While we do not endorse any particular product or service, we do list a limited number of affordable options.

Features offered by the various programs are similar. In general, they offer functionality for client communications, billing and accounting, task management, document automation, time tracking, and calendaring. Comparing how the programs differ is key. The following are good questions to ask when deciding which law practice management software is best for you?

  • Is it a cloud based system? How much data storage is provided? Is access secure for you and your clients? 
  • Is there a mobile version for access on the go? How good is it? Does it provide access to all features or is it limited?
  • Does it integrate with any third-party programs such as Box, Dropbox, Fastcase, Google Drive, Office 365 or Quickbooks?

After exploring your options, contact the chosen providers to request a free trial and/or a guided demonstration. Then, let the software work for you. Using a law practice management program to automate routine tasks will boost your business, giving you more time to focus on serving your clients' needs. 

In Featured Resources, Legal Tech Institute, Legal Trends, Tech Tips, Tech Tuesday Tags Legal Tech, Small Business
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Ex Libris Juris - HCLL Blog RSS

What’s behind the name? “Ex Libris Juris” is Latin for “from the books of law” and much of the information here will relate to the legal information collected and curated by the Law Library. Additionally, “Ex Libris” has long appeared on bookplates – labels appearing inside the front cover of books – and has acquired the connoted meaning “from the library of” to show ownership of the book. Using this connotation, the phrase becomes “from the library of law” and better describes the posts about digital resources, event announcements, and research tips that will regularly appear here.

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