Sources of Emergency Info in Harris County

Map of areas in Houston under boil water notice on Feb. 28, 2020. Click to visit the information Page from ReadyHarris.org

Last week, a 96-inch-diameter water pipe was damaged on the East side of Houston causing water pressure to drop throughout the nation’s fourth most-populous city. Without water pressure, restrooms and fire sprinklers in many public buildings were compromised, and a boil notice was issued for Houston and surrounding municipalities. It was an acute example of a time when access to government information becomes critical for the health and safety of millions of people in a very short period of time, which makes now a good time to provide a list of sources of local government information in times of emergency:

Offices of Emergency Management

Both Harris County and the City of Houston have offices of emergency management that disseminate information online about incidents, road and service closures, and cleanup assistance programs:

• Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management

  • ReadyHarris.org

  • Twitter: @ReadyHarris

• Houston Office of Emergency Management

  • HoustonOEM.org

  • Twitter: @HoustonOEM

Emergency Alerts

You can receive alerts via text, email, and phone from Harris County and the City of Houston. Sign up and management alert settings at:

• Harris County Emergency Alerts: ReadyHarris.org

• Houston Emergency Alerts: houstonemergency.org/alerts/

Traffic and Road Hazard Information

Information about hazardous driving conditions and road closures are available from Houston Transtar at https://www.houstontranstar.org/

Court and Related Office Closures

There are several types of courts in Harris County, which post closure information to different websites depending on court type. Additionally, the appellate, district, and county courts have clerks’ offices that post court closure information. Find useful resources here:

• 1st and 14th Texas Courts of Appeals: Twitter: @TxCourts

• Harris County District Courts (including civil, family, juvenile, and criminal-felony): https://www.justex.net/

  • Harris County District Clerk: https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com

• Harris County Courts (including Civil and Criminal Courts at Law and Probate Courts): http://ccl.hctx.net/

  • Harris County Clerk: https://www.cclerk.hctx.net/

• Harris County Justice of the Peace Courts: jp.hctx.net

• City of Houston Municipal Courts: https://www.houstontx.gov/courts/

Legal Tech Institute Publishes 2020 Course Catalog

The Harris County Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute published the 2020 Course Catalog for its Hands-On Legal Tech Training Program. Four new sessions, including “Microsoft PowerPoint for Legal Work” and “Basic Automation for Lawyers,” debut in the new Catalog. In total, nine sessions will be offered on rotation every Thursday at 2 p.m. in the Legal Tech Lab at the Law Library.

“Since the Law Library joined our Office, we have worked to make it a destination where all residents of Harris County can connect with their government and access legal information,” Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan said. “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the free educational programs at the Law Library and to never hesitate to ask to use ‘our’ resources – they are your resources.”

More than 250 people attended programs from the Legal Tech Institute in 2019, which was double the number who attended in 2018. Training sessions are free and open to all, and most carry free continuing legal education credit for Texas attorneys courtesy of the CLE Committee for the Office of Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney.

“Finding adequate legal tech training opportunities can be difficult for both attorneys and self-represented litigants,” said Legal Tech Institute Director Joe Lawson. “As a public law library, our mission is to eliminate barriers to accessing legal information. Offering these free, hands-on training opportunities to all is a big step in the right direction.”

Visit the Legal Tech Institute website at www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/tech to download a copy of the Course Catalog and to register for an upcoming training session. Anyone who is unable to register on the website can find assistance Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Law Library’s reference desk, located at 1019 Congress Street, 1st floor, Houston, Texas 77002, or by phone at (713)755-5183.

About the Harris County Law Library

The Harris County Law Library opened in 1915 and has continued to serve Harris County’s legal information needs for more than a century. After joining the Office of Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney, in 2011, the Law Library greatly expanded its technology offerings and educational opportunities. Ryan’s support for the revitalization of the Law Library was recognized by the American Association of Law Libraries in 2016 when he was named the Law Library Advocate of the Year. The Law Library is open to the public Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit www.harriscountylawlibrary.org for more information.

Nostalgia for Windows 7 Can Put Law Firm Cybersecurity at Risk

Microsoft has announced it will no longer support Windows 7 beginning January 14, 2020. So, what does that mean? Will all machines running Windows 7 turn into pumpkins at midnight? No. The practical effect is that those computers will no longer receive security updates, which help prevent cyber criminals from exploiting known weaknesses in the operating system. For those of us who procrastinate when it comes to software updates… you know who you are… we know that the computers will keep working, but it’s not recommended. While the consequences for everyone, including the possibility of identity theft and equipment failures, should be enough to encourage anyone to stay up to date, the consequences for the legal community can be even more severe.

Why Legal Professionals Should Take This Seriously

Lawyers and law firms, in particular, have an interest in keeping cyber criminals and other bad actors at bay. As noted in a recent Texas Bar CLE ethics article titled “Managing Your Firm’s Cybersecurity Risks: The Intersection of Cybersecurity and Lawyer Ethics” PDF, attorneys must protect the digital data of their firm and their clients under a duty that arises from a matrix of federal and state law, court rules, rules of professional responsibility, and terms of representation negotiated with their clients. A recent article in the NYSBA Journal titled “Why Lawyers Should Take the Windows 7 End-of-Support Seriously” details how cyber criminals use operating system end-of-support events as an opening to exploit law firm security. The author drives the point home with an example of legal liability under HIPAA that stemmed from a failure to update computers running Windows XP well after support ended in 2014.

What Do We Do?

The ABA Cybersecurity Handbook contains wide-ranging advice on protecting firm and client data for practices of all sizes. For small firms, the Handbook authors suggest keeping an inventory of all software installed on all computers on the firm’s network, and a log of all security updates and patches applied to each. The authors further note that while keeping such records may seem like a daunting task, especially for solo practitioners who may not have dedicated IT staff, the prospect of facing a cyber incident without the information should serve as sufficient motivation to get going.

Further Reading/Viewing

• PDF Shawn E. Tuma, Cybersecurity for Your Law Firm: Data Security and Data Encryption, Essentials of Business Law: Four Modules for a Robust Practice, State Bar of Texas CLE Coursebook.

• On-Demand Video CLE from the Harris County Law Library: Practical Cybersecurity for Lawyers

An Object Lesson in Maximizing Productvity with Microsoft Office

Do you struggle to keep up with innovations in legal tech? Is a simplified media diet something you crave? Let the Harris County Law Library help you more efficiently track the latest trends in legal tech, while making the most of a powerful Microsoft Office product in the process. Learn to use more of the tools at your disposal, in an efficient and productive manner, to get the greatest benefit for yourself and your clients.

Most of us are unaware of the many features that make Microsoft Office products so versatile. Indeed, MS Office is the one-man band of software applications, but most of us do not play all — or even most — of its many instruments. For instance, did you know that Outlook comes equipped with its own RSS Folder? The RSS feed is not a new technology. This we acknowledge. However, using a content aggregator that’s already baked in to an application you access every day may just be novel (for a large number of Outlook users), and it’s smart!

Perhaps you already use an RSS feed to manage your media consumption, or perhaps you rely on Facebook and Twitter to get the scoop on what’s new in legal tech. Either way, you’re making an effort to consolidate your content. However, each of these information management solutions has its limitations. Social media feeds can be unreliable and full of distractions. News aggregators, such as Feedly and Flipboard (or the dearly departed Google Reader) can be terrific, but they must be accessed via individual apps. What if the updates on all the news sites you follow could be delivered directly to your Microsoft Outlook mailbox, allowing you to access your email and customized news feeds via one entry point? With a bit of tweaking, your wish can come true. Here’s how!

For more tips for the beginner, intermediate, and advanced user of MS Office, register to attend one of our CLE classes offered by the Law Library’s Legal Tech Institute. Microsoft Office applications are the focus of the following classes, which you can read about in the LTI Course Catalog.

• Find and Format Legal Forms (Next Offered: November 14)

• Microsoft Excel for Legal Work (Next offered: Deccember 5)

• Microsoft Word for Legal Work (Next Offered: 2020)

Learn To Excel at Microsoft Excel

The Harris County Law Library Legal Tech Institute is offering a hands-on CLE learning opportunity this Thursday afternoon at 2:00pm. The course is Excel for Legal Work, and it has quickly become one of the most popular classes we offer, so don’t hesitate to register today while seats are still available.

Why is it important for lawyers and self-represented litigants to learn about Excel? For starters, the potential for embarrassing and costly errors in compiling, manipulating, and presenting data is enormous. Cautionary tales abound about the spreadsheet blunders committed by major business and financial players, including, for example, Lehman Bros., Fannie Mae, and the London Olympics Committee. Simple clerical mistakes or incorrect cut-and-paste actions can have serious consequences, impacting the reputation, credibility, and bottom line of those who commit them.

For lawyers the risk is just as great, and the consequences are equally harmful. By maintaining an awareness of the risks and benefits associated with using technology in the practice of law (See: ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.1, Comment 8 and the Texas Supreme Court Order that added the rule to the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct in February 2019) and by developing one’s tech proficiency over time through CLE opportunities like those offered by the Legal Tech Institute at Harris County Law Library, solo and small firm practitioners can develop the skills they need to minimize the dangers of tech flubs, while maximizing efficiency and productivity for the benefit of those they serve.

Additional Reading from Ex Libris Juris:

• Microsoft Excel For Lawyers: Potential Pitfalls and the Promises of Proficiency

• How to Master Microsoft Excel