Featured Podcast: If You Can't Afford a Lawyer

On occasion, the Tech Tuesday blog post has focused on podcasts of interest to the legal community. One such podcast, a production of The Center for Investigative Reporting, is worth special mention. This award-winning program is called Reveal. It is broadcast on a number of public radio stations across the nation, but the entire archive of programs can be streamed online.

Ex Libris Juris featured an episode of Reveal in a previous entry last fall, and in today's blog post, the Law Library is recommending another, especially for those interested in access to justice issues. If You Can't Afford a Lawyer is an examination of one man's efforts to change the justice system in New Orleans, where he, Derwyn Bunton, is the Chief Public Defender. His unique approach to instigating change has gotten quite bit of attention, generating controversy and criticism as well as support. Listen to this thought-provoking podcast to consider the challenges of providing legal representation on a limited budget in a high-crime city. For more law- and legal tech-related podcasts and other media, visit our list of LTI Legal Links on the Legal Tech Institute webpage.

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 - 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.

Legal Tech Startups and Access to Justice

In the fall of 2015, at the urging of Justice Nathan Hecht, the Supreme Court of Texas assembled a 19-member Commission to Expand Civil Legal Services to the public. Earlier this month, the Commission released its report and recommended eight initiatives for opening access to the justice system for low- and middle-income Texans.

Increased funding for public law libraries and amendments to ethics rules that would allow lawyers more freedom in providing additional services via limited scope representation are just two of the initiatives recommended by the Commission. Promoting technologies that facilitate access to affordable legal counsel is another. Legal tech solutions have proven to be an effective remedy to the shortage of affordable legal representation. Supporting and endorsing legal tech startups, particularly those that address niche concerns for self-represented litigants, is an excellent way to help "modest means" individuals participate in the legal process. 

Legal technology entrepreneurs have been pioneers in developing apps and other do-it-yourself tools to help close the justice gap. One such tool is Upsolve, a software program developed by a small group of legal tech pioneers to improve consumer access to Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. It is just one example of the many new legal tech startups that assist consumers with legal problems. This and other programs like it are increasingly becoming an effective option for bridging the justice gap and providing better access to the legal system. As more tech savvy individuals move into the legal arena, and as more lawyers learn how to code, the development of additional apps and other self-help legal tools will undoubtedly expand options for those who would otherwise not have access to the justice system.