So far, I think the iPhone was a great decision and change from my Treo 650.

The biggest improvement? Web browsing and anu Google based product. On the Treo, I could access the web, but it really was “emergency only” necessity browsing. It just wasn’t fun.

The iPhone is actually pleasurable for net browsing.

Ok, the touch screen typing is a tough adjustment, but the auto correct works very well and that makes up.

I’ll continue this post in the morning.

Chris Nichols

I’m always second guessing myself on when a minor becomes an adult and how that figures into Statute Of Limitations. In NC, a minor’s statute of limitations does not begin until their 18th birthday, and then runs for the same number of years an adult would enjoy. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule.

In NC, the general statute of limitations for personal injury is three years.

Here is the birthday calculator.

_______________

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

Below are a few suggestions on ways to do this:

Easiest: Buy Adobe Acrobat Pro 8.0. It will “install” a little icon in your Word tool bar that allows you to “instantly” convert and document to PDF. Acrobat is also VERY useful if you scan a lot of documents and it is really easy to redact documents, add Bates stamps, etc. If you buy it online, “Google” “Acrobat Pro rebate discount” and you will probably find a “code” to enter into the Adobe site. I saved $125 this way. It’s retailing for $449 for one computer. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/

Free: There are a lot of free downloadable programs that will convert documents to pdf files.

Here is one that comes well rated and is a safe download from www.cnet.comPrimoPDF

The biggest drawback with some of these programs is that they don’t have a lot of ways to “manipulate” your pdf files. For example, Adobe allows you to “extract” one page out of a stack of 100. Or “insert” one page. Things like that. But this one is a pretty decent way to get things into pdf format. There are other programs, but this one gets high ratings.

Mostly Easy and Free

Get www.openoffice.org. This software is just like Word, it is free, and it automatically converts to Adobe with a single Icon. Or, you can keep using Word, save your file, open it in OpenOffice, and then save as pdf. 

I’m cheap, but I do enjoy using the Adobe. You can also scan directly into Acrobat.

______________

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

The NC Lien Manual is now on the shelves, the one I edited and wrote chapters for and that was published by the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers and Lexis. Before you think that I’m pitching my own product, you should know that 100% of proceeds go to NCATL to further the fight for people’s rights, not to me!

Here is the link to check it out: NC LIEN MANUAL

Here is what Lexis says:

The new software has it’s own icon on the Home page, and you can use it without the stylus. You get the visual map, and can even look at the Satellite view if you want. In many ways it reminds me of the interface for Google Earth, the sytem being used by TV stations and downloadable here: www.earth.google.com

The new features are free and download in a few seconds from your phone. To download Google Maps for the smart phone, simply go to www.google.com/gmmon your Treo web browser.

To read more about the features go to Treo Central.

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

You don’t have to look very far on the Web to find websites devoted to eliminating your right to recover fair and just compensation for the carelessness of another individual. Websites like Overlawyered try to convince everyone that almost every law suit filed is frivolous, and that every jury verdict is pushing the insurance industry and businesses toward bankruptcy.

The Tortellini, “Bites of Law and Politics, with sauce”

Finally, a new website, The Tortellini , has been started by Stephanie Mencimer, a contributing editor of the Washington Monthly and a former investigative reporter for the Washington Post.

The Tortellini does a great job of debunking the myths of tort reform, and also highlights some of the personal injury lawsuits filed by the mostly Republican members of Congress who, in their “jobs” are constantly trying to eliminate the rights of other citizens to seek fair compensation. Looks like these tort-reformers have no problem filing lawsuits when they think they have been injured. Check out her section on Hypocrites.

Mercimer looks at the false propaganda and quickly and efficiently shreds it, revealing the truth behind the fiction of a “tort crisis” in America. I encourage every consumer lawyer with a Blog or a Website to link to The Tortellini. 

— Chris Nichols
Link to Nichols Law Firm Website

NC Lawyers Weekly is reporting a recent business court decision by Judge Tennille in the matter ofChemcraft Holdings Corporation v. Shayba (North Carolina Lawyers Weekly No. 06-15-1115, 10 pages) where the Judge disqualified counsel for a prty due to a conflict of interest arising out of email messages.

You can read the full story here, at NC Lawyers Weekly.

The Basic Facts

Without getting all caught up in too much detail, here is what happened. Lawyer A was contacted by a potential client and was faxed some documents. After reviewing those documents, that lawyer declined the case but tried to refer the potential client to another lawyer, Lawyer B. Lawyer A emailed Lawyer B a quick email and attached the previously faxed documents to the email. The attachments contained attorney client privileged material, summaries of contacts between the adverse parties, and documents analyzing litigation strategies.

Lawyer B read the email but did not open the attachments. Sometime later, Lawyer B was hired by the opposing party. The first party opposed his appearance in the case and filed a grievance as well as a motion to disqualify.

Judge Tenille say Email = Snail Mail

While the actual facts of the case were disputed, Judge Tenille said that even if Lawyer B did not open the attachments, the lawyer was still disqualified because of conflict of interest under ethics Rule 1.18.

Judge Tenille found that:

• Lawyer B had a duty to read the email and the attachments
• Lawyer B had NOT violated any ethics rules
• Lawyer B has a duty to not reveal information learned in a “consultation”
• The action gave an “appearance of impropriety”
• Lawyer B should be disqualified under the “significant harm” standard

Nothing New Here

I think Judge Tenille made the correct decision, probably. I agree that email and snail mail are basically the same thing. There is no real difference between Lawyer B receiving a cover letter that says “This client may contact you and I’ve enclosed three sensitive documents for your review” and receiving the email. 

Taken a step further, this is no different than receiving a phone call, listening to the potential client describe the facts of the case, and then declining representation. This happens to family law lawyers all of the time, and so they use their staff to carefully screen calls to avoid “pre-emptory” disqualification.

I think the ruling might have been different if the email had come directly from the client and had been unsolicited by Attorney B. There are clients out there that “mass email” questions to lawyers. If this happens, the best thing is to ignore the email and delete it. Also, if Attorney B had sent an email back to the client, saying, “I have not opened the attachments and I can not represent you” then I think Attorney B might have been allowed to stay in the case.

Chris Nichols
Nichols Law Firm Website

My current computer tends to bog down a bit when I have 15 windows open on my two separate 21 inch monitors and I’m editing a video to burn to DVD for a mediation, using VOIP with video camera, answering emails, composing text, running a spreadsheet in the background, and having my customized case management software accepting scanned documents. Whew…

I’m one of those people that always researches things to the point of driving myself insane (when it is something like cars and computers, not law!). So my buddy is doing the tough work and I’m nodding my head a lot. He designs microchips or something even more complicated than that, so I have full faith in his understanding.

Anyhow, when we started pricing components and talking about the price “breaks” he sent me a link to a $10,000 computer system.  For that kind of money, I’d want it to drive me to work and give me a massage, but hey, that’s me.

Check out the Tom’s $10,000 computer system. If you want to order one, I’d be happy to be the middle man for my normal commission…

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrailLaw.com

The Pre-Emptive Conflict Strike

This is a most common problem for family law lawyers, especially in smaller towns. What usually happens is that a couple breaks up, and one spouse knows there are only a handful of lawyers in town that practice family law. That one (vindictive) spouse then tries to contact and discuss his/her case with every lawyer in town, intending, of course, to hire only one of them. If he/she actually gets in touch with the other lawyers and tells them confidential matters, chances are that those lawyers can no longer represent the other spouse due to a conflict of interest.

Email Complicates Things

In the “good old days” before email and the internet, lawyers protected themselves and their clients from “conflicts” by either not answering the phone, or by screening callers through staff. Another method was to actually talk with the person, but carefully control the flow of information so as to not receive any “confidential” information until such time as the lawyer actually wants to represent the client.

If a lawyer has an internet site, along with an email address, the mode of communication has changed. A potential client could send a very long email containing confidential matters to the “target” lawyer, and when the lawyer opens the email, voila, instant conflict.

Great Article on the Subject

I found a great article on the subject by a law professor at Mercer named Professor David Hricik. Professor Hrick analyzes ethics opinions and offers good suggestions for law firms to protect themselves and their clients form problems arising from email conflicts.

You can read his article here.

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw..com

Link: The Cyberlaw Encyclopedia version 2.0.

Welcome to Alan Gahtan’s Cyberlaw Encyclopedia ™ The I.T., I.P. and Electronic Commerce Legal Portal(tm)

-Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

You can view Professor Linder’s website here: Famous Trials – UMKC School of Law – Prof. Douglas Linder.

Would John Brown have fled in a white SUV?

Linder teaches a class on “Famous Trials” in his law school and has had his class materials “on line” since 1996. I don’t recall ever having any “cool” classes like this at Wake Forest Law School. I think he has done a great job of collecting the “best of” list of trials that shaped our world and our courts. From the simply “sexy”, like Charles Manson and OJ Simpson, to the political and social watershed cases, like the Scopes Monkey Trial and The Trial Of John Brown.

Warning: You may lose time here

Professor Linder has provided great resource material for each trial, including time-lines, historical accounts, transcripts, and appellate decisions. It is easy to “lose yourself” for a few hours on this site, so you have been warned. Linder also has some neat “personal stuff” linked to famous trials, like his personal political views and his feelings about pies (yes, as in fruit). I like a guy that puts it out there and stands by his own gut. Given that he’s been at this since at least 1996 (which makes him a pioneer in using the Internet in law, simply because most lawyers lag about half a decade behind the real technology world), he has good insight in what to do, and what not to do with the Internet. Thanks Prof. L!

-Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

Still in Beta

I tried to make a post, and after composing it, and hitting send, everything disappeared except the tags and the heading. No body. Very frustrating.

Legal Soapbox is still in beta testing, so I’m sure this problem will get resolved. My profile there can be found here, along with my empty post!

A free part of a larger legal resource

Legal Soapbox is part of Attorney Pages, which is an advertising forum for lawyers. I’m not a huge fan of some of the lawyer services like this because I disagree with the way they attempt to look “neutral” when all they are doing is promoting the lawyers that paid for the ad. On the other hand, the Free Advise pages do provide a good forum for people to get free legal advice. I’ve posted a few times there, and got scolded for actually identifying who I was, and that I was a lawyer. It was sort of strange, but whatever, it is their website.

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

I’m trying out a new feature my hosting service, TypePad, is offering: mobile blogging.

By using my Treo 650 smart phone, I can post directly to my blog over the cell phone’s Internet connection.

I took the above photo of my desk top screen with my phone and then simply clicked on the blog icon on the Treo.

Since this Blog is mostly legal issues, I don’t think I’ll be posting much from my phone, but it will be something to do while I’m sitting in airports or waiting for calendar call.

Aside from the carpal tunnel one gets from the tiny key pad, the interface works well (we’ll see if this makes it through the cell towers to the actual Internet). I’m hitting send on the phone at 5:28.

-Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

_____________

This is being typed on my desktop computer:

Update,5:29 pm: It worked! Transmission (uploading) only took about 20 seconds and I watched in amazement as the new post magically appeared on my computer monitor. Of course, now I’m going to have to go back and clean up the typos that I always get on my little phone keyboard, but this is a very cool feature. I’m sure that people that have Blogs that are “culture” oriented may have more reason to post “instant” photos and blog entries, but I can think of a few uses for the lawyer on the go.

• Mobile Storage: Because TypePad allows me to set up multiple blogs, I have one that is password protected that I use mostly as a way to “store” things that I might need to get to from a remote location. For example, I keep legal forms stored there that I might access from another computer if for some reason I can’t get into my own system. Also, fueled by a healthy case of computer storage paranoia, I keep these documents stored “off-site” in the servers of Typepad. Thus, if the proverbial meteorite falls on my office and incinerates all of my computer and storage equipment, I’ll still be able to get access to the files that I have stored on TypePad (right before the giant dust cloud obliterates the sun and we enter into a new Ice Age). I could use the mobile blogging software to “instantly” store photographs I take while on the road, so that if just a small meteor hits my smart phone, my photos are safely tucked away at TypePad’s facility.
• The mobile blog entry would also enable me to easily share information over my “secure” blog with my office while I’m on the road. Same idea as above, but with added users able to access the information.
• On the off chance that I stumble across something truly earth shattering, I can “instantly” post it to the public blog, NCTrialLawBlog so all of you can be the first to see what I’ve discovered. Given that I don’t seem to get myself in too many strange places, the chances of this happening are low, but you never know. Maybe I’ll catch one of my three least favorite insurance companies trying to give out $500 “final settlement” checks at the scene of an accident while the injured drivers are still stuck in the burning wreckage.

My only complaint about the software is that I cant put “tags” on the posts from the cell phone. TypPad even says that the phone software is not supposed to “replace” the desk top. I know that’s a minor thing, and posting to a web site from a phone is a minor miracle in itself, but hey, you don’t get what you want unless you ask for it, right?

Anyone else using this for something useful in their life or law office (notice that the two are distinct entities?)

-Chris Nichols

Anyhow, here is a neat little internet tool, a “date calculator.” Simply insert the start date and the end date, and the computer counts the days. I’m sure some of you “rain man” types can do it in your head, but this thing saves a lot of headaches and you don’t have to keep reciting that poem, “30 days hath September, April June, and ….”

Now we can get the good news or the bad news faster.

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

I am trying to find a way to take forms in pdf format off the net and make them fillable. If I downloaded and learned to use openoffice, would that work?

My response:

There are different software programs that can do this. For example, Adobe Acrobat (not reader) has a function that allows for .pdf files to turn into forms. But you have to buy the program.

Here is a really cheap/free way that mostly works. I did this with the AOC forms I use a lot, like summons and Civil Action Cover sheets. For instructions, click below:

Open the .pdf file. Use the little camera Icon to copy the entire page (one page at a time). PASTE that page into a Word document or into a Open Office Document, and it will come in as a “photo” or “picture”.

Right click on the picture and open the picture editor. Use the function that shows a picture of a dog over text. Select the function that says “through” meaning the text shows “though” the picture. 

Now you have basically made the copied .pdf picture into a background picture, and you can type over the picture, like in the old days with typewriters. You may want to adjust the margins of the word document to their very minimum margins, and make sure you expand the “picture” to the widest margins for better resolution. I copy and past page by page because it makes Word behave better. If you have problems, right click on the “photo” and make sure you send it to the “back” . It also helps to type a few words on the page before you “paste” the “photo”/pdf.

It takes a little practice, but once you get the spaces lines up, it works.

I’ve attached a Word version of one of my cover sheets so you can see how it works. If you want to get tricky, you can use Word’s “form” tool to insert fillable spaces that really turn the Word document into a true “form”. This word document has fillable spaces and non-fillable. To “lock” the form so only the fillable spaces can be changed, click on the “lock” picture on the forms tool bar. To get that toolbar to display, select it under the “tools” pulldown under Forms toolbar.

I think Word is better for this than OpenOffice, but once you make it in Word, Open office can transform it into a .pdf and then you can edit directly in Open office. By the way, almost all the menus in OpenOffice are the same as in Word. There is very little learning curve. In fact, the few differences are ones that IMHO are more intuitive, like having the page format function under “format” pull down, not under “file” pulldown (never understood that).

Seems there must be a better way, which might include scanning the document into an OCR (optical character recognition) format.

And my solution is if you don’t want to spend the money on software.

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

TREO 650 is old reliable

One of the main things is that I decided was that of all of my “stuff”, my Palm Treo 650 smartphone is by far my most useful gadget. While I had my laptop with me on the plane and during layovers, I consistently turned to the Treo to check my emails and my voice mails. The lap top is great if you get stuck for four hours somewhere and can find a strong WiFi signal, but the Treo was just so much quicker and easier that when I had five minutes to myself, I would monitor my emails and make a few quick responses, even if only to say “hey, let me get back to you in a day or two.”

So how did my new video set up (JVC 30 GB hard drive camera and Nikon 6 mp digital camera) work? Keep reading………

Why I love the Treo 650

In short, what’s great about the TREO is that it is fast. I thought about booting up the laptop, but it takes about 5 minutes to get it all up and running, and that’s if the WiFi detects quickly. Also, you have to think about your battery, or find an outlet. It cracks me up to see all the folks with laptops hiding in the corners plugged into available outlets.

I used the Treo a lot for emails while sitting on the plane, waiting to take off or gating. I didn’t have to struggle with a bag under my seat and of course, I didn’t need a WiFi signal. When they made the announcement to shut off all electronic devices, I pushed on the button and that was that.

This is the first time I’ve been away for several days that I really never felt like I left the office and I’m totally caught up on “contacts” before I get back. Of course, there are other things to do, but that’s the nature of being gone for a few days.

JVC Everio GZ-MG30

I brought my new hard drive camera with me to pick up some video of interviews that I was doing. This camera is incredibly small and light. The technology inside is borrowed from the I-Pod and allows the camera to capture 7+ hours of video (in Jpg2 format) without having to download the footage to your computer. A lot of reviews “panned” this camera (pun intended) because the video was not the best quality so they rated the camera as “mediocre”. Well, for my purposes (shooting people sitting in chairs talking) the video quality was just fine. 

Here is why I like this camera: first, you don’t have to mess around with tapes or DVD’s (that only hold 30 mins). You simply shoot and pray that what you are shooting does not take more than 7 hours.(that’s for your own sanity) Then you hook up the camera to your PC with a USB cable and download. The download is FAST, something like 15 times faster than the “real-time” downloads of other video cameras. It’s more like loading a software disk in terms of time to download. A minute or two. There is a software interface, but you don’t have to use it. You can simply open the camera’s HD as a “mass-storage device” and pick which clips you want.

The editing software is easy to use, and even on my first try I was able to quickly take some interview footage, edit it down, integrate digital still photos from my Nikon, make some on-screen “boards” to introduce subjects, overlay a voice track where needed, and then burn it to a DVD.

When I burned the DVD on the included software, I set it up just like the DVD’s you watch at home. There is a main menu. There are “scene” selections that show the first image (and name it) from the scene. Some options even allow the “scene selection” menu to have moving clips for the icons, if you want.

So so far, not complaints. I’m going to experiment a little with using the camera for web broadcasting as if it has a video capture mode that holds 30 hours of footage (Yikes!). If it is an intuitive interface, you may soon see this Blog have a “video blog” section.

Nikon CoolPix 6 Digital Camera

I love love love this Nikon Camera. I won the camera in a “pull a card out of a hat” contest at the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers summer convention. I never win anything in drawings! Thanks to Thomson West for the prize! Thomson West, through Findlaw, also hosts my website: www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

Here is what I love about the Nikon Quickpix camera:

• First, it is very small. It is actually smaller than my Treo 650. It’s skinnier than a pack of cigarettes and only slightly wider.
• Fantastic photos that are so rich that you can enlarge and crop them a lot.
• Very simple to use (all the reviews criticize not have more “features” and settings for the camera, but realistically, how many of us really mess with Fstop and Exposure settings?)
• VIDEO capabilities. The camera records high resolution Quicktime movies. Just put it on your laptop (it reads as a mass-storage device through the USB 2.0 connection)and hit the Icon and Quicktime opens and plays the footage. Great for those moments when you don’t want to drag around the big video camera.
• Cheap memory cards. Uses the standard SD card that fits into my Treo 650. I just bought one card at Staples for $29.00 for a 1G card. That 1G card holds about 600 photos or 4 hours of video or something crazy like that. Card’s full? Erase some photos or pop in another.
• Killer batteries. The battery time on the rechargeable battery is quite long. I did an “all day” photo shoot and never had a battery problem. Of course, just slap it into the cradle for an hour or so and you are good to go again.

There are a whole bunch of other techy features, but for the basic “shoot a picture of a broken bumper” the camera is wonderful. They sell for about $350 on the Internet, or, you can just put your business card in a hat! I highly recommend this camera if you are looking for an easily portable camera.

TIP: Buy one of the small portable tripods. The one I have is by Sunpak, and I got it at Best Buy for $16.00.

It is cheap and uses telescoping aluminum legs for support. It is a very useful way to carry the camera around because you can hold the legs together and use it for a “unipole” support, or spread them out. I often wind up bracing them against my chest to hold the very small camera steady.

Chris Nichols
www.NicholsTrialLaw.com

So that’s my technorati profile. Let’s see if this works. Anyone else have experience doing all of this registration stuff? If so, I’d love to talk with you.

Chris