African Law Library: New free-access-to-law service for Africa

African Law Library , a new free-access-to-law service for African countries and multinational organizations, launched with an event in Addis Ababa on 28 November 2013, according to AfricaLII.

According to the service’s Website, African Law Library is produced by the African Innovation Foundation and the Global Ethics Network for Applied Ethics (Globalethics.net), which issued a press release describing the launch.

Here is a description of the service, from the service’s “Vision” page:

The African Online Library on Law and Governance (the African Law Library) is an innovative online portal available free of charge to all those interested in African law and governance. The Library was initiated in 2012 by Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, a successful international entrepreneur from Angola and Switzerland, and Founder of the African Innovation Foundation.

Vision

The African Law Library aims to be the leading, innovative online portal for African law and governance, and to improve access to modern and customary law texts, and to other legal documents and secondary sources in the continent of Africa.

Mission

The African Law Library focuses on visibility, access, knowledge, education and consolidation of the systems of law existing in African countries. It does this by putting online downloadable, printable, multilingual-legal texts, selected court decisions and secondary literature for free. [...]

According to AfricanLII, the service links to documents published by the African Legal Information Institute.

In addition to legal resources from African nations, the service appears to provide access to legal resources from five African multinational organizations.

The service also accepts submissions from the public and plans to host research working groups.

HT @AfricanLII

Filed under: Applications, Technology developments Tagged: African Innovation Foundation, African Law Library, African Online Library on Law and Governance, Court decisions, Court information systems, Free access to law, Global Ethics Network for Applied Ethics, Jean-Claude Bastos de Morais, Judicial decisions, Legal databases, Legal information systems, Legislative information systems, Public access to legal information



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/african-law-library-new-free-access-to-law-service-for-africa/

Szőke et al.: Versioned linking of semantic enrichment of legal documents

Dr. Ákos Szőke , András Förhécz , Gábor Kőrösi, and György Strausz have published Versioned linking of semantic enrichment of legal documents , forthcoming in Artificial Intelligence and Law .

Here is the abstract:

Regulations affect every aspect of our lives. Compliance with the regulations impacts citizens and businesses similarly: they have to find their rights and obligations in the complex legal environment. The situation is more complex when languages and time versions of regulations should be considered. To propose a solution to these demands, we present a semantic enrichment approach which aims at (1) decreasing the ambiguousness of legal texts, (2) increasing the probability of finding the relevant legal materials, and (3) utilizing the application of legal reasoners. Our approach is also implemented both as a service for citizens and businesses and as a modeling environment for legal drafters. To evaluate the usefulness of the approach, a case study was carried out in a large organization and applied to corporate regulations and Hungarian laws. The results suggest this approach can support the previous aims.

The research project referred to in the article appears to be Emerald.

Filed under: Applications, Articles and papers, Case studies, Research findings, Technology developments, Technology tools Tagged: András Förhécz, Artificial intelligence and law, Ákos Szőke, CEN Metalex, Corporate compliance information systems, Corporate law information systems, EMERALD, FRBR, Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records, Gábor Kőrösi, György Strausz, Legal compliance systems, Legal drafting systems, Legal information retrieval, Legal knowledge representation, Legal Linked Data, Legal metadata, Legal reasoners, Legal semantic web, Legal structural metadata, Legal XML, Legislative information systems, Linked Data and law, MetaLex, Reducing ambiguity of legal language, Regulatory compliance systems, Regulatory information systems, Semantic annotation of legal documents, Semantic enrichment of legal texts, Semantic Web and law, Version control of legal documents



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/szoke-et-al-versioned-linking-of-semantic-enrichment-of-legal-documents/

Novario: Cyberspace, Surveillance and Law: A legal informatics perspective

Dr. Filippo Novario of Città Studi Biella S.p.A., has published Cyberspace, Surveillance and Law: a legal informatics perspective , European Journal of Law and Technology , 4(2) (2013).

Here is the abstract:

Nowadays, cyberspace is where a large amount of our social life takes place. Its social impact involves the necessity of surveillance, just as much as it is needed in what can be defined as the ‘real’ world. Surveillance techniques are made up of network monitoring through software that allow the acquisition and analysis of digital elements. These tools can allow a clear vision of the electronic communications that have crossed the cyberspace. These software allow the observation of contents in real time and the storage of data in databases for its examination afterwards. Data is bound to its properties and related information and can be a target for digital forensic acquisition using computer forensic techniques – the discipline for the acquisition, custody and analysis of data for judiciary purposes – so that it can be used as evidence in court.

The impact of this type of technology on cyberspace monitoring is significant. Whoever organizes surveillance activities has all the data from the whole of cyberspace at his disposal, together with their properties, in a database that can be queried and exploited for its filing properties. The impact on web users is also considerable and full of problematic issues. The influence of these technologies on the delicate equilibrium between surveillance needs and fundamental human rights is unavoidably high, particularly regarding online privacy rights. The problematic issues can be analyzed and resolved using legal informatics solutions aimed at balancing technique and law in a way that does not pervert one of the two in favor of the other. The issue must be faced based on the rule of technical experience that ‘it’s not the software that can be legal or not, it’s all about how it’s used’. It is a rule that says that these kinds of software cannot and must not be put under accusation: They are developed for a precise purpose that they perfectly fulfill. The technical configuration, influenced by the user’s will and purposes, could instead be a topic for discussion. As with any software, these tools also have to be installed and configured, according to the user’s needs, in this specific case the police force’s needs. The fact that even only some cyberspace areas can be monitored requires decisions that fall into in the technical-juridical field and that have to be taken before the tool’s installation. This decision-making moment is the real fulcrum of the informatics law issue: How can cyberspace surveillance be organized so that it can be effective for the police authorities, yet at the same time protect users? The solution to this problem lies in legal informatics: Best Practices need to be developed, with juridical techniques regarding the selection of the best option, transparency and ethics of cyberspace surveillance activities.

Filed under: Applications, Articles and papers, Policy debates, Technology developments Tagged: EJLT, European Journal of Law and Technology, Filippo Novario, Privacy law information systems, Surveillance information systems



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/novario-cyberspace-surveillance-and-law-a-legal-informatics-perspective/

Bercow: Designing a Parliament for the 21st Century

John Bercow, Speaker of the UK House of Commons, gave a speech entitled Designing a Parliament for the 21st Century , 27 November 2013, at the Hansard Society in London.

Click here for the full text of the speech.

The Twitter hashtag for the event was #eparliament

Click here for archived Twitter tweets from the event, in .csv format.

Here is a summary:

In a speech to the Hansard Society at 8:00pm this evening, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt Hon John Bercow MP, will explore further modernisation of the House of Commons and British democracy to meet the demands of the digital era and modern citizens, and announce a new Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy.

In the speech the Speaker calls for the creation of “a Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy,” and he describes “digital democracy” as follows:

Digital democracy will have some universal features but others which vary nation by nation. It is yet another change which pushes against formality and for flexibility. Its elements might include online voting, e-dialogue between representatives and those represented, increased interconnectedness between the functions of representation, scrutiny and legislation, multiple concepts of what is a constituency, flexibility about what is debated when and how, and a much more intense pace for invention and adaptation. What we are talking about here is nothing less than a Parliament version 2.0.

Puffles has written a post about the speech: Towards a 21st Century Parliament

Filed under: Applications, Policy Materials, Technology developments, Tweet archives Tagged: Citizens online legal communication, Citizens' legal communication, Citizens' legislative communication, Citizens' online legislative communication, Citizens' participation in lawmaking, Commission on Digital Democracy, eparliament, evoting, John Bercow, Legal communication, Legislative communication, Legislative information systems, Online legislative communication, Online voting, Parliament 2.0, Speaker’s Commission on Digital Democracy, UK Commission on Digital Democracy, UK Parliament



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/bercow-designing-a-parliament-for-the-21st-century/

Legal informatics, data, and communication at WFD 2013: World Forum for Democracy

Several of the presentations and some of the discussion at WFD 2013: World Forum for Democracy concerned legal informatics, data, or communication.

The conference was held 27-29 November 2013 in Strasbourg.

Click here for the conference program.

The programs that focused on legal informatics, data, or communication included:

• Lab 1: Liquid Democracy


• Lab 2: Online Petitions


• Lab 6: Crowdsourcing in Policy and Law Making


• Lab 7: Open Parliament


• Lab 8: Virtual Agora


• Lab 10: Cyber Deliberation


• Lab 11: Direct Democracy


• Lab 15: Digital Local Democracy

Click here for videos of many of the programs.

Click here for a video interview with Marci Harris of POPVOX, concerning her presentation at Lab 7, Open Parliament .

The Twitter hashtag for the event was #coe_wfd

Click here for archived Twitter tweets from the event, in .csv format.

Filed under: Applications, Conference resources, Policy debates, Presentations, Research findings, Technology developments, Technology tools, Tweet archives, Videos Tagged: #coe_wfd, Ballot initiatives, Citizens' legal decisionmaking, Citizens' participation in lawmaking, Crowdsourced lawmaking, Crowdsourced legislative drafting, Direct democracy, epetition systems, epetitions, Fork the Law, Legal deliberation, Legislative information systems, Liquid democracy, Online legal deliberation, Open legal data, Open legislative data, Open parliamentary data, POPVOX, Referenda, WFD, WFD 2013, World Forum for Democracy



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/legal-informatics-data-and-communication-at-wfd-2013-world-forum-for-democracy/

Goyal: CBA Futures Twitter Chats on Law Practice, Technology, and Access to Justice

Monica N. Goyal, J.D., M.Sc., of Aluvion Law, recently organized a series of Twitter chats on legal innovation, as part of the Canadian Bar Association’s CBA Legal Futures Initiative.

Two of these chats dealt with legal technology:

• Technology and Law’s Future , held 19 November 2013. Click here for a storify of this chat.


• Access to Justice: Courts and Technology , held 26 November 2013. Click here for a storify of this chat.

The Twitter hashtag for both of these chats was #cbafutureschat

Click here for archived Twitter tweets from both of these chats, in .csv format.

Filed under: Applications, Online discussions, Policy debates, Technology developments, Technology tools, Tweet archives Tagged: #cbafutureschat, Access to justice, Big data and law, Canadian Bar Association, CBA Legal Futures Initiative, ecourts, Innovation in law practice, Law practice innovation, Law practice technology, Legal information services for self-represented litigants, Monica Goyal, Monica N Goyal, Online dispute resolution, Richard Susskind, Self represented litigants, Technology for access to justice, Technology for self represented litigants



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/goyal-cba-futures-twitter-chats-on-law-practice-technology-and-access-to-justice/

What's the True Impact of the Nuclear Option on Judicial Nominees?

Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate invoked the so-called "nuclear option," killing the ability of senators to stall voting on presidential nominees via the filibuster. Some have called the move a "power grab" by Democrats, and a "court-packing plan." Others...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/whats-the-true-impact-of-de-filibustering-judicial-nominees.html

Student technology projects from Chicago-Kent College of Law Justice and Technology Practicum Fall 2013

I’ve posted a storify of Twitter tweets from yesterday’s demonstrations of student access-to-justice technology projects, from this semester’s Justice and Technology Practicum at Chicago-Kent College of Law , directed by Professor Ronald Staudt .

Most tweets in the storify are by John Mayer of CALI.

Click here for the course description.

Most of the projects use A2JAuthor document assembly software.

Filed under: Applications, Technology developments, Technology tools Tagged: A2J Author, Access to justice, Chicago-Kent College of Law, Court technology, John Mayer, Justice and Technology Practicum, Ronald Staudt, Technology for access to justice, Technology for pro se litigants, Technology for self represented litigants



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/student-technology-projects-from-chicago-kent-college-of-law-justice-and-technology-practicum-fall-2013/

Abstracts from Cyberspace 13 Conference: Legal Informatics Stream

Here are abstracts of the three papers presented at the Legal Informatics Stream of the Cyberspace 13 Conference, held 22-23 November 2013 in Brno:

Dr Tomasz Bekrycht: Communications Models in Law. Abstract:

Communication processes can be generally described with the use of two models. The first one adopts cybernetic perspective, while the second one adopts social perspective. Cybernetic perspective leads to transmission conception of communication whereas the social one to convergent concept of it. Both communication models are deeply present in the legal discourses, i.e. in lawmaking discourse and discourse of application. The paper describes the position of the above-mentioned models in these discourses applying P. Nonet’s and P. Selznick’s dynamic models of law and lawmaking.

Bogdan Czejdo: Ontology-based Text Processing in Cyberspace. Abstract:

The abundance of documents in Cyberspace makes it increasingly likely that the precise information the user needs or wants is available. One of the application areas of Cyberspace text processing is to provide assistance to lawyers by automatically analyzing unstructured legal data describing cases, statues, and regulations and supporting domain-oriented legal case analysis. Typical information extraction techniques are keyword/category based. This presentation will describe an approach to text mining that uses the combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques for identification of relevant concepts and relationships. The selected concepts and relationships are extracted in the process guided by ontologies and by Cyberspace documents for the domain of interest. In this presentation we address the problem of text mining in Cyberspace, and simultaneously creating annotations in documents, graphical representation of concepts and their relationships and integration of new extracted knowledge with the current ontology. We examine an automated mechanism for pull and push functions for the documents. The pull function allows users to access the information contained in the documents based on their queries. The push function alerts users to the presence of new documents based on ontology-defined triggers. The described approach is highly modular and parametric giving the human a tool to adjust quickly to text mining in a dynamically changing environment.

Zsolt Ződi: Analysis of Citations within Hungarian Judicial Decisions. Abstract:

For a long time there is an ongoing debate on the Hungarian (and on the continental) legal system’s shift towards a “precedential” character. Some say, the continental, and the common law systems are converging, because the previous is increasingly relying on cases, while, within the latter the importance of statute law is growing. One of the most spectacular, and measurable indicator of the “precedential character” could be the large (and growing in time) number of citations to other precedents within the judicial decisions. The importance of these citations is so huge, that for the easy handling of these, the so-called “citators” were developed at the end of the 19th century in the U.S. These citators are registering all the citations of a particular judicial decision within subsequently published other decisions. Between Sept 2012 and Sept 2013 I have led a research of which aim was to analyze the citation patterns, within the official database of judicial decisions of the Hungarian Courts (http://www.birosag.hu/ugyfelkapcsolati-portal/anonim-hatarozatok-tara). The primary goal of the research was to verify (or falsify) the “precedential character” of the Hungarian judicial practice. We used two methods. The first was, that we counted and analyzed those features of these patterns with computer, which can be processed without the understanding of the wider context. With this, amongst others, we could get the answer for the following questions. What is the average citation frequency within the database? Which courts and court branches are citing more decisions, than others? What are the most popular precedents, and precedents types? The second method was, that with a representative sampling we have chosen 500 decisions, read them, and recorded some criteria in a database. This part of the research we hoped to give answers for the following questions: are judges using “real” precedent methods, like distinguishing and overruling? What are the most “precedent-intensive” legal topics? What kind of argumentative patterns are attached to the citations? In my paper I will show the results of the research.

For full text of papers, please contact the authors.

Click here for the full conference program.

Filed under: Abstracts, Articles and papers, Conference papers, Research findings Tagged: Annotation of legal texts, Automatic annotation of legal texts, Communication about the application of law, Cybernetic model of legal communication, Cyberspace 13 Conference, Cyberspace Conference, Empirical methods in legal communication studies, Empirical methods in legal informatics, Lawmaking communication, Lawmaking discourse, Legal argumentation, Legal citation analysis, Legal communication, Legal knowledge representation, Legal ontologies, Legal precedent, Legal text annotation, Legal text extraction, Legal text mining, Legal text processing, Legislators' communication, Legislators' legal communication, Philip Selznick, Philippe Nonet, Social model of legal communication



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/abstracts-from-cyberspace-13-conference-legal-informatics-stream/

Mill: New alert service for U.S. federal court decisions, through Scout

A new, free, alert service for U.S. federal court decisions is now available through Scout , developed by Eric Mill of the Sunlight Foundation.

The service uses data from the CourtListener API , produced by Professor Dr. Brian Carver and Michael Lissner of the Free Law Project.

HT @FreeLawProject

Filed under: Applications, Technology developments, Technology tools Tagged: Alert services for court decisions, Alert services for judicial decisions, APIs for court decisions, APIs for judicial decisions, Brian Carver, Court decisions, Court information systems, CourtListener, CourtListener API, Eric Mill, Free access to law, Free Law Project, Free Law Project API, Judicial decisions, Judicial information systems, Legal alert services, Legal APIs, Michael Lissner, Open legal data, Public access to legal information, Scout



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/mill-new-alert-service-for-u-s-federal-court-decisions-through-scout/

Poulin: “Free access to law” and “Open Data” – Similarities and Differences

Slides are available of Professor Dr. Daniel Poulin ‘s presentation entitled “Free access to law” and “Open Data” – Similarities and Differences , given 19 November 2013 as part of the AustLII Research Seminars, at the AustLII offices at the University of Technology, Sydney.

Here is the abstract:

This presentation will compare “Free access to law” with “Open Data” approaches, bringing out their similarities and differences. It will consider the development of the Free Access to Law Movement (FALM) over the last decade since the adoption of the Montreal Declaration on Free Access to Law, and the extent to which various of the FALM members embody these differing approaches.

Filed under: Applications, Presentations, Slides Tagged: AustLII, AustLII Research Seminars, Daniel Poulin, Free access to law, Free access to law movement, Legal information institutes, Montreal Declaration on free access to law, Open legal data, Public access to legal information



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/poulin-free-access-to-law-and-open-data-similarities-and-differences/

5 Things To Be Thankful For This Year

What do you have to be thankful for this year? With Thanksgiving almost quite literally just around the corner, this is a good question to ask for all. Especially as hardworking attorneys, sometimes we need a little perspective and reminder...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/5-things-to-be-thankful-for-this-year.html

One More Worst Lawyer Commercial: Law Firm Uses Racist Caricature

We've seen plenty, and we do mean plenty, of bad lawyer commercials, from rapping attorneys to two guys stuck in a 90s music video. This one, however, just took the title of worst, and it's not just bad, it's actually...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/worst-lawyer-commercial-law-firm-uses-racist-caricature.html

Thanksgiving Prep: Get Ready for the Long Weekend

Thanksgiving, is quite possibly the best holiday ever. It has little to do with personal beliefs, and everything to do with stuffing your face. What's not to like? As you get ready for the weekend of all weekends, make sure you...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/thanksgiving-prep-get-ready-for-the-long-weekend.html

Legal Open Document Hackathon, Bologna: 10 December 2013

A Legal Open Document Hackathon will be held 10 December 2013 at CIRSFID, University of Bologna, and also at sites elsewhere in Europe and in Latin America and the U.S.

The event is being organized by Professor Dr. Monica Palmirani .

Here is a partial description:

[...] The hackathon is divided in three groups:

(A) AKOMA NTOSO group with the following objectives:

1. To test Akoma Ntoso language respect different set of documents, different countries and levels:

- bill of the Senate/Chamber

- decree of the Government Ministries

- bill/act of the Italian Regions (Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio)

- bill/act of Local Municipalities

- regulations from Government Agencies (e.g. Data Protection Agency)

2. Use different tools for helping the mark-up.

3. At the end we want to compare statistics about number of documents marked-up, tags and attribute used, list of them with figures.

(L) LegalRuleML group with the following objectives:

1. Take some Akoma Ntoso documents and to model legal rules in LegalRuleML in order to test the language.

2. Use different tools, including NLP, for helping the mark-up.

3. Test the integration between legal source of the original documents and the legal rules modelling.

4. Reasoning with LegalRuleML.

(V) Visualization of legal open document with the following objectives:

1. Rendering of the Akoma Ntoso or/and LegalRuleML document for multi-channels.

2. Smart visualization for managing the complexity of the legal system.

3. Automatic semantic classification, Point-in-time, comparison table, navigation among versions, other visualizations that could help the legal end-user to use the huge amount of legal open document. [...]

For more details, please see the event’s Website.

Filed under: Applications, Hackathons, Hacking, Technology developments Tagged: #LegalHack, AKOMA NTOSO, Legal hackathon, Legal hacking, Legal hacking events, Legal natural language processing, Legal Open Document Hackathon, LegalRuleML, Legislative data, Legislative information systems, Monica Palmirani, Natural language processing and law, Natural language processing and legal texts, Open legal data, Open legal documents, Open legislative data, Visualization of legal information, Visualization of legal open documents



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/legal-open-document-hackathon-bologna-10-december-2013/

Boer and van Engers: Agile: A problem-based model of regulatory policy making

Dr. Alexander Boer and Professor Dr. Tom van Engers of the Leibniz Center for Law have published Agile: a problem-based model of regulatory policy making , forthcoming in Artificial Intelligence and Law .

Here is the abstract:

We understand regulatory policy problems against the backdrop of existing implementations of a regulatory framework. There are argument schemes for proposing a policy and for criticising a proposal, rooted in a shared understanding that there is an existing regulatory framework which is implemented in social structures in society, yet has problems. The problems with the existing implementations may be attributed either to those implementations or to the constraints imposed by the regulatory framework. In this paper we propose that calls for change of regulatory policy, and case-based and statistical evidence produced in support of policy proposals, are based in model-based problem solving activities. This perspective suggests schemes for a good argument pro or cona policy proposal, while avoiding the problem of backing up claims and evidence on the policy level with a conjectural deep model of the policy domain.

Filed under: Applications, Articles and papers Tagged: AGILE, Alexander Boer, Artificial intelligence and law, Legal argument schemes, Modeling policy making as problem solving, Modeling regulatory change, Modeling regulatory change as problem solving, Modeling regulatory policy making, Modeling the regulatory process, Modeling the regulatory process as problem solving, Policy modeling, Problem solving models of policy, Problem solving models of policy making, Problem solving models of regulation, Problem-solving models of law, Regulatory argument schemes, Regulatory information systems, Tom van Engers



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/boer-and-van-engers-agile-a-problem-based-model-of-regulatory-policy-making/

Legal informatics, design, or communication papers at ICML 2014

Several papers on legal informatics, design, or communication are scheduled to be presented at ICML 2014: Internationale Konferenz zum Multisensorischen Recht = International Conference on Multisensory Law, to be held 27-28 January 2014 at the University of Zurich:

• Helena Haapio, Michael Curtotti, & Stefania Passera: Making the Meaning of Contracts Visible: Automating Contract Visualization


• Gerhard Buurman: Understanding Your Legal Design, Designing Your Understanding of Law: A Cognitive Aesthetic Approach to Visual Law


• Monica Broome: Nonverbal Communication Skills for Lawyers


• Soile Pohjonen: Changing Mindsets in Public Procurement with Visualization


• Michał Dudek: Representing Legal Permissions with Pictograms and Ideograms


• Cearbhall O’Meadhra: How Multisensory Law Might Benefit from Multisensory Design


• Rob Waller: Layered Typographic Formats for Legislation


• Miriam Aziz: Multi-Sensorizing Legal Communication through Dance


• Mateusz Stępień: How the Pictorial Character of Chinese Language Affects Legal Meaning

For abstracts or full text of papers, please contact the authors.

Click here for the complete program.

The conference is being organized by Professor Dr. Colette R. Brunschwig.

HT Helena Haapio

Filed under: Applications, Articles and papers, Conference papers, Conference resources, Technology developments Tagged: Automated visualization of contract information, Automated visualization of legal information, Colette Brunschwig, Colette R. Brunschwig, Contract information systems, Contract law information systems, Copyright law information systems, Dance as legal communication, Government contract information systems, Helena Haapio, ICML, ICML 2014, International Conference on Multisensory Law, Internationale Konferenz zum Multisensorischen Recht, Legal communication, Legal communication conferences, Legal design, Legal design conferences, Legal informatics conferences, Legal typography, Legislative information systems, Multisensory legal communication, Stefania Passera, Visualization of contracts, Visualization of copyright information, Visualization of legal information, Visualization of licensing information



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/legal-informatics-design-or-communication-papers-at-icml-2014/

Legal projects at DREAMer Hackathon

At least three law-related projects were worked on at DREAMer Hackathon, held 22 November 2013 in Mountain View, California, USA.

Some of the projects are described here.

The Twitter hashtag for the event was #DREAMerhack

Click here for archived Twitter tweets from #DREAMerhack, in .csv format.

Here are the law-related projects we were able to identify (If you know of others, please feel free to describe them in the comments to this post):

Push4Reform . Description (from FWD.us):

Team Members: Luis Aguilar, Falls Church, VA | Justino Mora, Los Angeles, CA | Kent Tam, Los Angeles, CA

[...] We’re an All-in-One Organizer Tool/App that allows community members to be more directly involved in the push for immigration reform. App will give info about your member of Congress: where they stand on immigration reform, provide updates on important actions, allow people to call/email their rep.

#Undoculife . Description (from FWD.us):

Team Members: Erick Garcia, Mesa, AZ | Celso Mireles, Phoenix, AZ | Carlos Vargas, New York, NY

,…] #Undoculife serves to educate the undocumented immigrant community about their rights in a virtual world with real life scenarios.

NoblePaths . Description (by Jennifer Martinez):

Noble Paths lets people share their experiences with the long process of applying for green cards and citizenship on an interactive Web timeline.

I think Margaret Hagan was on the team working on NoblePaths.

Vindu Goel has published an article about the event in the New York Times .

Jennifer Martinez has published an article about the event in The Hill .

Filed under: Applications, Hackathons, Hacking, Technology developments, Tweet archives Tagged: #DREAMerhack, #LegalHack, DREAMer Hackathon, Fwd.us, Immigration law information systems, Law games, Legal compliance information systems, Legal games, Legal hackathons, Legal hacking, Legal hacking events, Legislative communication systems, Legislative information systems, Margaret Hagan, NoblePaths, Push4Reform, Undoculife



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/legal-projects-worked-on-at-dreamer-hackathon/

Office Furniture: Expensive, Weird, Ergonomic and Functional

Is there such a thing as office furniture porn? Food porn is a thing (safe for work, non-sexual Wikipedia link). People flick through dozens of pictures of beautifully-presented meals, but oddly enough, there are no recipes, cooking, or eating. They...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/office-furniture-expensive-weird-ergonomic-and-functional.html

Legal Communication Papers @ NCA 2013

Many papers on legal communication were presented at NCA 2013: The 99th Annual Convention of the National Communication Association , held November 21-24, 2013 in Washington, DC, USA. Here is a list of those I could identify. For abstracts and full text, please contact the authors. (If you know of other papers on legal communication presented at NCA 2013, please feel free to identify them in the comments to this post. Click here for the complete NCA 2013 program.)

• Jennifer Adams, DePauw University: Defensive Stories: A Comparative Narrative Analysis of Court Statements by Eugene V. Debs and Scott Nearing in Criminal Sedition Trials, 1918


• Pat Arneson, Duquesne University: ‘Give ’Em Hell Harry’: Free Speech, Executive Order 9981, and Desegregation of the Military


• Danielle Baxter, Indiana University: Bearing Citizenship: The Mission to Familiarize Immigrants’ Rights


• Shelby Bell, University of Minnesota: Traditions of Hermeneutic Rhetoric in the Law: An Analysis of Justice Holmes “The Path of the Law” and the Legal Community


• Michael J. Bergmaier, Penn State University: “The End of an Era”: The Rhetorical Force of Loving v. Virginia


• Jaclyn Bissell, University of Maryland, College Park: Connecting the Presidency and the Court: Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Supreme Court Appointments as Rhetorical Action


• Mary A. Bock, University of Texas: Connecting Photography and Justice: Police Witnessing Projects


• K.C. Councilor, University of Wisconsin, Madison: From Ancient Human Remains to Modern Speaking Subject: The Kennewick Man as Witness in the Case for Claiming the Past


• Dale Cyphert, University of Northern Iowa: Prepared to Die for Truth: Mandela’s Rhetorical Embodiment at Rivonia


• Thomas Czarples, Penn State University: Constructing the Deliberating Subject Through Celebrity and Coherence: A Contrast of the Former and Current Washington State Juror Orientation Videos


• Aaron M. Dimock, Minnesota State University, Mankato: Changing Connections and Changing Meanings: War in the Drone Age


• Erin Donovan et al., University of Texas, Austin: An Experimental Test of Medical Disclosure and Consent Documentation: Assessing Patient Comprehension, Self-Efficacy, and Uncertainty


• Eric Paul Engel, University of New Hampshire (Chair): Convene, Commune, Connect, Coordinate: A Panel Discussion on the Application of CMM (the Coordinated Management of Meaning) in the Context of Law


• Eric Paul Engel, University of New Hampshire (Chair): Toward a More Civil Union: Connecting Communication, Ethics, and Professionalism in the Practice of Law


• Sarah K. Fields, University of Colorado, Denver: “The Best Thing to Ever Happen”: The Discourse of Title IX’s 40th Anniversary in Non-Sport Media


• Jessica Furgerson, Ohio University: Contraception and the Court: Stasiastic Inquiry of the Arguments Advanced in Griswold, Eisenstadt, and Carey


• Adam J. Gaffey, Black Hills State University: The Text as a Living Process: Frederick Douglass, August First, and the Memory of the Emancipation Proclamation


• John Gastil, Penn State University, Katherine R. Knobloch, Colorado State University, Dan Kahan, Yale University, and Don Braman, George Washington University: Deliberation across Cultural Cognitive Divides: A Study of Cultural Bias in Public Forums


• Chelsea Graham, University of Kansas: Connections to the Past, for the Future: John F. Lacey and Early Rhetorics of Conservation and Preservation in the United States


• Stephen Haas and Sarah Whitton, University of Cincinnati: The Significance of Living Together and Importance of Marriage in Same-Sex Couples


• Karen L. Hartman, California State University, Stanislaus: “Title IX needed now more than ever”: Discourses surrounding a key gender equity law


• Ruth L. Hickerson and Karen Tracy, University of Colorado, Boulder: Storied-Arguments and Societal Change: The Case of Legislative Hearings about Marriage Laws


• Abbie Hodgson, University of Kansas: Courts Constituting Citizenship: A Rhetorical Analysis of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission


• Sarah J. Jackson, Northeastern University: Defining Women in Need: VAWA Identity Politics


• Justin Killian, Hamline University: Vote No: Minnesota and Marriage


• Katherine R. Knobloch, Colorado State University: Connecting Micro-Deliberation to Government Decision Making: Institutionalizing the Oregon CIR


• Anne Kretsinger-Harries, Penn State University: America Weighs In: The Rhetorical Aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education


• Kenneth Lythgoe, University of Wisconsin, Madison: Sleight of Hand: Michigan’s Anti-Bullying Law, (Un)acceptable Exceptions, and the Reversal of Policymaking Rhetoric


• Ryan Malphurs and Kevin-Khristian Cosgriff-Hernandez, Tara Trask & Associates: Supreme Advocacy: A Discussion with Supreme Court Advocates and Reporters


• Paul McKean, University of Illinois: The Inter-Branch Rhetoric of Lyndon Johnson’s Freedom of Information Act Signing Statement


• Sara L. McKinnon, University of Wisconsin, Madison: Excavating the Sex/Gender/Sexuality Matrix in US Asylum Law


• Robert Mills, Northwestern University: Law and the Sublime Figure of Terror: Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project


• Robert Mills, Northwestern University: Waiting Before the Law: The Performance of Argument at the Supreme Court


• Kevin Musgrave, University of Wisconsin, Madison: Examining public argument in New York Times coverage of Citizens United


• Molly Niesen, Eastern Illinois University: From Gray Panther to National Nanny: The Kidvid Crusade and the Eclipse of the FTC, 1977–1980


• Gregory Paul, Kansas State University: Comparing Justice Attitudes and Practices of Restorative Justice Facilitators and the Public


• Gregory Paul, Kansas State University and Linda L. Putnam, University of California, Santa Barbara: Whose Justice? Identifying Legalistic, Restorative, and Retributive Justice Paradigms in the Workplace


• Robert Richards and John Gastil, Penn State University: Legislation by Amateurs: The Role of Legal Details and Knowledge in Initiative Deliberation


• Jonathan P. Rossing, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis: Equal Opportunity Offenders: When Legal Discourse Goes Popular


• Jennifer Sandoval, University of Central Florida: Labor Pains: Assisted Reproductive Technology Legislation in India


• Jennifer A. Scarduzio, Lamar University: Confronting Homelessness at Work: The Public Spectacle of Courtroom Arraignments


• Edward Schiappa, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: The Supreme Court ruling on DOMA and Prop 8: A Panel Discussion


• Susan A. Sci, Regis University, and Darrin Hicks, University of Denver: Flesh/Machine/Inference


• Nick J. Sciullo, Georgia State University: A Rhetoric of Prisons and Profits: The Debate Surrounding Arizona’s SB 1070


• Nick J. Sciullo, Georgia State University: The Whole Story: Bringing Facts Back to Legal Research through the Saga of Attorney General Marc Dann


• Carolyn Shue et al., Ball State University: Health Care Reform: Understanding Individuals’ Attitudes and Information Sources


• Stephen Smith, University of Arkansas: ‘A Mockery of Our Bill of Rights’: Harry Truman and the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950


• Amy Stockhausen, University of Utah: Hacktivist Culture and the Violence of Law


• Katie Margavio Striley, Ohio University: The Discursive Formation of Corporate Personhood in Santa Clara v. The Southern Pacific Railroad: A Historiography of the Case that Changed the World


• Michael Tannebaum, Georgia State University: Adoption of an “Arizona-style” immigration law: Examining media portrayal of Georgia’s anti-illegal immigration bill


• Andrea J. Terry, Texas A&M University: A Pentad of Problems: Mexican Citizenship, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and H.R. 202


• Lou Davidson Tillson, Murray State University (Chair): Can We All Fit in the Back of the Bus? Rhetorical Power, Ideographs and the Connections of Marginalized Groups Through the Lens of “Separate but Equal”


• Tuula-Riitta Valikoski and Sanna Ala-Kortesmaa, University of Tampere: Communicational orientations of prosecutors in a trial


• Thomas Vaughn, Arkansas Tech University: They Came from Above: Cloaking Technophobia in the Rhetoric of Civil Liberties in Rand Paul’s Filibuster


• Mary Lynn L. Veden, University of Arkansas: Degenerate Justice and Evolutionary Progress: The Legal Polemic of Roscoe Pound’s 1906 Address to the American Bar Association


• Mary Lynn L. Veden, University of Arkansas: “Down the Rabbit Hole”: Rand Paul’s Re/construction of Due Process and Natural Rights


• Mary Lynn L. Veden, University of Arkansas: Removing the nuisance: The rhetorical silencing of prisoner legal petitions


• Ruth Wagoner, Bellarmine University: Inventing Stories in Opening Statements


• Naomi Warren, University of Southern California: Kicking and Screaming: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 Enters the Twenty-First Century


• Carolyn Rosas Webber, Kent State University, Stark: Doing the Job in Pleasantville: The Particularity of Whiteness in a County Juvenile Court


• Jason G. Williamson, University of Georgia: Disconnecting Rights: Arguments of Dissociation in Justifications of Obama’s Drone Policy


• Robert Yale, University of Dallas, Pamela Morris, University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, and Benjamin T. Russell, Purdue University: Relationship between Argument Strength, Juror Verdicts, and Verdict Confidence: A Test of the Perceived Argument Strength Scale


• Anna Marjorie Young, Pacific Lutheran University, and Jeremiah Hickey, St. John’s University: Beyond Supreme: Retired Justices as Public Intellectuals

Filed under: Articles and papers, Conference papers, Research findings Tagged: Judges' legal communication, Judicial communication, Lawyers' communication, Lawyers' legal communication, Legal communication, Legal rhetoric, Legislative communication, National Communication Association Annual Convention, NCA, NCA 2013, Trial communication



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/legal-communication-papers-nca-2013/

5 People Skills You Need to Succeed at Your Firm

Do you have the right people skills you need to succeed at your firm? Because sometimes, lawyers are not the most personable. Maybe you're a superstar in the courtroom or when discussing matters that you know like the back of...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/5-people-skills-you-need-at-your-firm.html

Senate Goes Nuclear; Judicial Vacancies Will Soon be Filled

Well, the filibuster option is now dead, at least somewhat. Cue the fears, justified or not, of the tyranny of the majority. In the short term, expect the much-debated three vacancies on the D.C. Circuit, as well as the hundreds...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/senate-goes-nuclear-judicial-vacancies-will-soon-be-filled.html

Guy Gets $550 for Sexual Harassment. Lawyers Get $350k.

Who says law is no longer lucrative? A guy gets sexually harassed by his female boss. She sends him vulgar texts, including one about banana "Luv cake" which involved milk jugs and is far too gloriously offensive to repeat here....



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/guy-gets-550-for-sexual-harassment-lawyers-get-350k.html

Personal Injury Videos: Should You Use Them?

Have you ever thought about using the services of a video production company -- not to make a cheesy lawyer TV ad -- but to create personal injury videos for use in legal proceedings? The videos, which are typically used...



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/personal-injury-videos-should-you-use-them.html

OECD studies on the influence of technology on judicial performance

Two recent studies by the OECD provide evidence of the influence of technology on judicial performance in civil cases ; both studies are linked and summarized at: Judicial performance and its determinants: a cross-country perspective .

Here are excerpts:

[...] The responsiveness of judges’ productivity to a 10% increase in the ICT budget share increases with computer literacy [...]

What are the main factors associated with trial length?

[...] On the supply side, some potential influencing factors are: the quantity and quality of financial and human resources devoted to justice; the efficiency of the production process as influenced, among other things, by the degree of task specialisation, the use of techniques for the efficient management of cases, and the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT); and the governance structure of the courts including the structure of incentives for judges and judicial staff. [...]

Factors associated with shorter trial length include larger shares of the justice budget devoted to court computerisation, the active management of the progress of cases by courts, the systematic production of statistics at the court level, the existence of specialised commercial courts and systems of court governance in which the chief judge has broader managerial responsibilities [...]

Investments in court computerisation are related with higher productivity of judges (measured as cases solved per judge), especially in countries where computer literacy is widespread facilitating the take-up of ICT-based opportunities. [...]

Larger shares of the justice budget devoted to computerisation are associated with better judicial performance

[...] Systems devoting a larger share of the justice budget to ICT investment display on average shorter trial length, as well as higher productivity of judges (number of cases disposed of by each judge). The link with productivity is stronger when computer literacy is widespread in the population, ensuring a better take-up of ICT-based facilities: moving from a share of people with basic computer skills of 33% to one of 54%, the responsiveness of judges’ productivity to investment in informatisation increases by four times. Thus, investments in computerisation and policies aimed at spreading out computer skills would seem to be complementary vis-à-vis this measure of justice productivity. [...]

For more details, please see the complete reports.

HT @RichardMoorhead

Filed under: Policy Materials, Reports, Research findings Tagged: Court information systems, Court technology, Empirical studies of civil justice, Empirical studies of civil litigation, Empirical studies of judges' use of technology, Empirical studies of justice administration, Giustizia civile: come promuoverne l’efficienza?, Influence of technology on civil justice, Influence of technology on judges' productivity, Influence of technology on judicial performance, Influence of technology on judicial productivity, Influence of technology on trial length, Judges' use of technology, Judicial information systems, Judicial performance and its determinants: a cross-country perspective, Judicial technology, OECD, Technology and judges' productivity, What makes civil justice effective?



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/19/oecd-studies-on-the-influence-of-technology-on-judicial-performance/

Law Office Ergonomics: Tips for Staying Pain-Free

As lawyers, we spend most of our days sitting at a desk, working on a computer. And while our ever-expanding concern over our ever-expanding "office chair ass" is legitimate, there are more important things at stake -- like our health....



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via Strategist http://blogs.findlaw.com/strategist/2013/11/law-office-ergonomics-tips-for-staying-pain-free.html

Hands-On-Law: Making Immigration User-Friendly, a legal design event held 15-16 November 2013

Hands-On-Law: Making Immigration User-Friendly , a legal “design sprint,” was held 15-16 November 2013 at Stanford d.school.

The event was organized by the Program for Legal Technology and Design, led by Dr. Margaret Hagan and Dr. Ron Dolin.

Click here for a storify of the event.

The Twitter hashtag for the event was #lawbydesign

Click here for the “Hands-On-Law Immigration Prep Page,” a set of resources related to the event.

Here is a description of the event:

[...] a Hands-On-Law weekend, where we build legal tools for people to get legal tasks done.

Our first session will focus on challenges of immigration — in particular of foreign students in the US, on F1 & J1 visas. [...]

We are looking for participants who want to work in a collaborative environment — on design, development, and legal content — to get robust prototypes built in a quick sprint. You don’t have to be an expert — just willing to work & interested in building new products to solve people’s problems. [...]

For more information, please see the event’s Website.

HT @margarethagan and Richard Granat

Filed under: Applications, Design events, Workshop Tagged: Designing immigration documents, Designing legal documents, Hands-On-Law, Hands-On-Law events, Hands-On-Law weekends, Immigration law information systems, Legal communication, Legal design, Legal design events, Legal design sprints, Legal design workshops, Making Immigration User-Friendly, Margaret Hagan, Program for Legal Technology and Design, Ron Dolin



via Legal Informatics Blog http://legalinformatics.wordpress.com/2013/11/17/hands-on-law-making-immigration-user-friendly-a-legal-design-event-held-15-16-november-2013/