Preview: ABA Techshow 2017

The ABA Techshow 2017: Conference & Expo will kick off on March 15th in Chicago. The three days that follow will be packed with programs and presentations -- even a hackathon! -- that run the gamut of all things legal tech: cybersecurity, e-discovery, artificial intelligence, automation, mobile apps, the blockchain, and so much more.

Legal innovation and the business of law will take center stage as a panel of keynote speakers, representing the biggest names in legal disruption, assemble for a wide-ranging, open discussion. They will explore the conflict and compatibility of the legal profession's foundational values and the potential opportunities of using technology to benefit attorneys and clients.

Collect and Curate Content with Read It Later Apps

How do you save online content for later retrieval? Do you bookmark the webpage or article that you plan to visit or read again? Bookmarks are good tools for maintaining a directory of frequently accessed websites within your browser, but when you bookmark a page, you are simply creating an anchor, a digital marker for each site you visit on a regular basis. This can be a useful tool indeed, but it offers no value-added features such as tagging, note-taking, or highlighting. Instead, try using a "read it later" app or browser extension such as Pocket, Instapaper, or GoogleKeep. All three offer additional features that browser bookmarks do not. For a good review of three of the most popular apps, see this article in PC World.

In addition to Pocket and Instapaper referenced above, PC World also mentions Facebook Save, a read it later tool built right into the popular social media platform, which allows you store content, discovered via your Facebook newsfeed, for access at a later date. All of these tools are useful, and each has features that provide an advantage over the others. Compare what each has to offer, and decide for yourself which application works best for you!

National African American History Month: Justice Thurgood Marshall Digital Exhibit

In 1925, the historian, Carter G. Woodson, called for a week-long celebration to recognize the contributions of African Americans in the development of our country. Negro History Week was celebrated for the first time 1926 and expanded to a full month in 1976, the year of our nation's sesquicentennial. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Many notable African Americans have played a role in shaping the law and achieving civil rights. With this exhibit, we honor perhaps the most influential African American lawyer in U.S. history and the first African American to rise to the bench of the U.S. Supreme Court -- Justice Thurgood Marshall.   

An exhibit commemorating the extraordinary life of Justice Marshall, will be on display in the Law Library lobby throughout the month, and a digital exhibit, the subject of today's Tech Tuesday blog post, is available on the Law Library's website. For additional digital resources celebrating African American history and the remarkable life of Justice Thurgood Marshall, please visit the following sites:

Biography.com -- Thurgood Marshall: A Justice for All (VIDEO)

Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

Data Privacy Awareness

Friday, January 28th is Data Privacy Day, an international effort overseen by the National Cyber Security Alliance that calls attention to the importance of privacy and protecting personal information. Data Privacy Day began in the United States and Canada in January in 2008, but its origins date back to 1981. On January 28 of that year, the member States of the Council of Europe signed the first international treaty, Convention 108, to address data and data protection. We at the Harris County Law library are observing Data Privacy Day with an exhibit called Data Privacy and Information Security Law. The exhibit will be on display in the Law Library lobby until January 31st.

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.