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LegalTech West Coast 2011 Advanced IT Best Practices May 17, 2011

LegalTech West Coast 2011 Advanced IT Best Practices May 17, 2011. Presenters: James McKenna, Morrison & Foerster LLP Rachelle Rennagel, Sheppard Mullin Erica Greathouse, Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP. Outline.

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LegalTech West Coast 2011 Advanced IT Best Practices May 17, 2011

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  1. LegalTech West Coast 2011Advanced IT Best PracticesMay 17, 2011 Presenters: James McKenna, Morrison & Foerster LLP Rachelle Rennagel, Sheppard Mullin Erica Greathouse, Cox, Castle & Nicholson LLP

  2. Outline • Keeping up with Mobility – remote access trends, the battle between privacy and convenience • In the Cloud – dealing with data wherever it resides • The Flexible Workplace – access anywhere, anytime by anyone?

  3. Mobility (Remote Access) Technology Facts Timekeepers may need to bill more now than they have in the past People frequently work on matters that literally span the globe At the end of the day, no pun intended, people like working from home • Once confined by dial-up • Broadband made it better • Lighter notebooks fueled the fire • People are used to security • Tablets may be the next big thing

  4. 2009 Remote Access Usage

  5. 2010 Remote Access Usage

  6. The Trend?

  7. Expected Usage

  8. Surprise Usage

  9. Mobility (Privacy vs. Convenience) Private Information, right? “I want it now and I accept” Many applications are specifically designed to copy your information to someone else’s database Changing privacy settings can be difficult; possibly not able to be undone Implications of a global privacy setting change Does the cloud ever forget? • Credit Card • Medical • Client Contacts • Phone Numbers • Addresses • Procedural documents • Escalation paths

  10. The “Cloud” • “There’s not really anything white or fluffy about it.” Michal Manos, former GM of Microsoft data-center services

  11. Cloud – some thoughts* • “Cloud Computing, of course I know what that is. It is a place you techies go after smoking too much illegal substance.” (Fund Manager Investor) • “Cloud Computing, yes this is the latest technical advancement that will become the new black hole into which so much of our cash goes.” (CEO Investment Bank) * Taken from “Using the Public Cloud to Reduce Cost” presentation by Morgan Hill Consultants Ltd given at the Cloud Computing Seminar in Cambridge, Feb 1, 2011

  12. Cloud or Not? • ASP • SaaS (Salesforce) • IaaS (Amazon Web) • PaaS (GoogleApps)

  13. Your Head’s Already in the Cloud! • Use MobileMe? Use Drop Box? • Ever Bank On-Line? • Existing law firm services • E-discovery • Extranets • Archives

  14. Cloud for Legal - Is it Ethical? • Red herring? • Rule 1.6 ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct • A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent or the disclose is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation • Comment 16: A lawyer must act competently to safeguard information relating to the representation of a client against inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure • Reasonableness standard

  15. Cloud for Legal – Benefits? • CAPex v. OPex • Easier market entry • Address generational issues • Ease of Access • Ease of Maintenance

  16. Cloud for Legal - More Secure? • Not all clouds are created equal • Be aware of your limits – get help

  17. Clouds Attacking Clouds Sony attached by anonymous intruder from Amazon EC2 “This episode will cause … companies to rethink what data to put on the cloud and force companies to potentially double what they spend on application security[.] . . . I think this reminds companies that things that make them great need to stay under their control.” Sony Shows Amazon Cloud’s Hacker Appeal, Galante, Kharif and Alpeyev, Bloomberg, May 16, 2011, quoting Murray Jennex, associate professor at San Diego State University who specializes in computer system security.

  18. Cloud for Legal – Is it Green?

  19. Cloud for Legal – Is it Green? “The cloud . . . consumes 1 to 2 percent of the world’s electricity.” Jonathan Koomey, a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory quoted in 2009 New York Times article.

  20. Out of Sight, Out of Mind • “Much of the daily material of our lives is now dematerialized and outsourced to far-flung, unseen networks.” Data Center Overload, Tom Vanderbilt, New York Times, June 14, 2009

  21. Flexibility

  22. Flexibility Flexible Workplace Is Good for Workers1 • Across all worker age groups, flexible work ranks third as “important for happiness on the job” • Office workers studied felt work interfered with personal and family life after only 38 hours/week • Telecommuting workers with flexible schedules worked 57 hours/week before feeling conflict • Flexibility is key • Telecommuting isn’t enough • Choosing where and when to work is what allows workers to work more hours without feeling burdened 1 Results-Based Management: The Key to Unlocking Talent, Increasing Productivity; A Prerequisite for Workshifting Initiatives, Kate Lister & Tom Harnish, Telework Research Network, September 2010

  23. Flexibility Community Benefits • Reduces greenhouse gases, petroleum usage, oil dependency • Reduces highway congestion, traffic accidents, highway maintenance costs • Brings employment to geographically “undesirable” areas • Allows workers to live where they like, even if no nearby employers • Workers can be productive when ill, without spreading disease to coworkers

  24. Flexibility Work-life Benefits • Saves time otherwise spent traveling to office • More time spent working, or more time “living” • Saves time spent in office “drive-bys” and water-cooler chat • Remote participants can keep meetings more focused • Saves money on transportation, clothing

  25. Flexibility Think about the billable model • Demands of law practices used to mean 6 or even 7 long days/week in the office • Advantages: • Highly visible to “powers that be” • Well-developed and cohesive firm culture “in the trenches” • Turnaround time pre-computer, fax, FedEx, email • Disadvantages: • Commuting weekdays AND weekends • No dinners with family, missed soccer games and dance recitals • Resulting family and professional strain “price of success”

  26. Flexibility • Remote access options response to new demands • Attorneys could be home for dinner and finish work after kids were in bed • Initially just RDP • Add VPN, Citrix, BlackBerry • Advantage: Emulate in-office experience • Disadvantage: Users may not install or configure properly • Web-enabled versions of applications, cloud-resident apps • Advantage: Little installation or configuration • Disadvantage: Interface may differ significantly from in-office • iP Phone emulators eliminate one of the last barriers

  27. Flexibility • Families expect presence and participation • Clients expect near-instant response and constant availability • Management may have “out of sight, out of mind” attitude or distrust “absent” workforce • Firm culture and cohesion can suffer lack of personal interaction • For larger firms, do KM systems take the place of personal interaction, mentoring? • What do small and mid-size firms do?

  28. Flexibility • Home offices and portable or handheld devices blur or eliminate boundary between work and personal life • “Choosing where and when to work” can be “never not working” • “BlackBerry Prayer” • Spouses and children may not understand or respect time devoted to work • “Always on but present” may create different familial strain

  29. Flexibility • Proliferation of devices used to connect constantly challenge IT • Accurately assess security • Mechanical function • How to deliver real access via every desired device? • Corporate model of “you want it, you figure it out” doesn’t work in legal • Small and mid-size firms want same offerings as larger firms, but often resist appropriate staffing • Timekeepers whose hours are all over the map may expect same from IT

  30. Flexibility • “Always on” offers obvious benefits to client relationship, but do clients suffer? • Is research quality reduced by compressed timeframe, or does superior availability of research tools trump that? • Is quality legal thought compromised by compressed timeframe? • Is burnout accelerated by “always on” expectations?

  31. Q & A

  32. Good Questions • Keeping up with mobility, what the remote access trends tell us and the battle of privacy vs. convenience (Jim takes the lead on this one) • Mobility:  Why don’t firms spend more money and resources on supporting and providing PDAs for everyone? • Remote Access:  Is Remote Access the solution?  At what point does it not work?  Can you fix what does not work about Remote Access? • Privacy vs. Convenience:  Nothing is private anymore, why should I care? • We’re already in the Cloud – dealing with data wherever it resides(Rachelle) • Tell me why the cloud is not just the latest legal vertical fad? • The Flexible Workplace – access anywhere anytime by anyone (Erica) • Is the Flexible workplace better?  It’s great for the individual, do clients benefit? • TJ, we understand you work remotely? If so, what’s it like? • TJ shares the good, the bad, and the ugly.

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