General Legal News

Good article on the new Windows vista system from law.com. Vista is the successor to Windows XP, the PC operating system currently used by over 400 million people. After more than five years of intensive efforts, Windows Vista is finally complete. This new operating system is a major Windows update with lots of new functionality and features. The words Microsoft uses to present its new operating system are "Confident, Clear, Connected." It is a complex product and a big product, 50 million lines of code. It’s the first Windows version to provide developers with a major new programming model in ten years. This article looks at what is new about Vista, pros and cons of upgrading, hardware requirements and how this new operating system will impact the technology path of your office.

Good article about law firm web design by Jim Austin of The Legal Intelligencer. Some interesting highlights… Fewer firms are using "splash" pages — animated graphics or Flash presentations with little to no content. Splash pages increase download times, confuse search engines and can discourage visitors looking for content. Also, firms are moving away from tired legal clip art — columns, scales, briefcases, etc. The decrease in splash pages and big, boring graphics also lets firms make better use of the real estate on their home pages for constantly changing content, to highlight big news and upcoming events, and to tie print advertising campaigns to the firm’s Web site. "Lawyer bios are still the single most important part of a law firm site," Buchdahl said. He said he is particularly impressed with firms like Arent Fox, which has made of point of adding a "life beyond the law" section to lawyer biographies, outlining lawyers’ hobbies, interests and other details of the person behind the legal credentials.