The Kennedy-Mighell Report

LinkedIn had a major interface overhaul in 2013. With so many changes to the graphics, connection management, and new ways for lawyers to take advantage of this important tool, the ABA just released a second edition of LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers. Authors Dennis Kennedy and Allison Shields monitored the developments and began conducting new experiments to uncover new ways to utilize lawyers’ top social media platform. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss how LinkedIn has changed, its continuing importance for lawyers, and practical ways lawyers can enhance the benefits of the LinkedIn platform. The second half of the episode will cover Tom’s upcoming trip to China and what security precautions travelers should take to protect their data. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The legal education system has been in question lately. President Obama has weighed in on shortening law school from three to two years. Others argue that the students need more time to include specialty courses such as law practice management (LPM) and legal tech into the curriculum. On this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the legal education debate, whether LPM and legal tech should be added to the course load, and how to best take advantage of a legal education. The second half of the show will cover the end of Windows XP and users’ options when looking for a new operating system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘Tis the season for new technology. Starting with smart phones, we have the two new iPhones, the Nokia Lumia, and the Google Moto X. In only the start of the season, there are more announcements, including new smart watches and tablets, in the works. On this edition of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell will review some of the newly released technology, talk about what will work best for lawyers, and what we should expect to see in the upcoming releases. In the second half of the show your hosts will honor the 15th anniversary of CaseMap, a LexisNexis case-management software made specifically for litigators. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The end of summer marks the release of two legal-tech surveys that create the benchmark for solos and firms on legal technology practices and spending. The ILTA / InsideLegal Technology Survey and the ABA Legal Technology Survey Report define key trends and give lawyers a look at the current state of legal technology. On this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the highlights and conclusions of each survey and what they mean for today's and tomorrow’s legal technology trends. The second half of the show will cover personal branding and how it has turned into meaning much more than just active social media channels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if your smartphone or tablet could serve as your personal assistant? Considering the capabilities of Siri and Google Now, like making a restaurant reservation, scheduling a meeting, sending an email, it’s an option to consider. On this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the digital versions of personal assistants, their current capabilities and what the future might hold for the Apple and Google tools, and whether a digital-virtual-personal assistant is the next big thing. On the second half of the show, your hosts will cover Blackberry’s recent announcement that they are looking for a buyer, and what might be the death of a much-utilized tool in the legal industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For many years, lawyers have chased after the holy grail of the paperless office. While the basic techniques and strategies have largely stayed the same and the technology and tools have gotten better, most lawyers and firms have not attained the elusive goal of a “paperless” office. Is the goal simply unachievable or is it just too hard to execute on what it takes to achieve the goal? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the history and current state of paperless office efforts, approaches that might (or might not) work for you, and whether the end of paper is within sight. The second half of the episode will cover Georgetown University's new "Iron Tech" Contest where students create a new application, platform, or system to improve access to justice and/or legal representation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Casey Flaherty, corporate counsel at Kia Motors America, has gotten a lot of attention recently with a basic technology competency audit he administers to outside law firms and the failing grades lawyers at those firms have received. There has always been an ongoing conversation of what basic technology skills lawyers need. The ABA’s Ethics 2020 recommendation that a basic knowledge of common software techniques be a part of the definition of “competence,” has also shined the spotlight on this issue. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss Flaherty’s technology audit approach, the responses it has prompted, and how this may or may not change the ways lawyers deal with technology skills. The second half of the episode will cover Apple’s much-rumored “iWatch” and the future of watch technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After much anticipation, Google Reader has left the webosphere. Users have until July 15th to grab their data from the app and find a replacement. So, what’s next? On this edition of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell will discuss news-reader app options and the future of RSS feeds. In the second half of the episode your hosts ask whether Google Search is still the best search engine. Dare they suggest that users divert from the Google conglomerate? Tune in to find out. Thanks to our sponsor, Transporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this edition of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss encryption. The recent news coverage of the NSA surveillance has everyone talking about who can access their data, and this is especially relevant to practicing attorneys, who have to consider both their own data as well as that of their clients. According to your hosts, 30% of lawyers are using encryption to secure files and only 24% are using it to send email. This poses the question: Has the time for lawyers using encryption arrived? The second segment of the show will talk about Tom’s switch from the iPhone to the Android smartphone. Learn how and why he made the decision to make the change and his review, so far. Special thanks to our sponsor, Transporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What started as a way to backup our hard drives is moving to how we access, what feels like, everything on our computers. On this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell will discuss the new trend of software by subscription. Instead of paying for an updated version of a new software product, companies are offering a monthly subscription which will immediately grant users access to the newest version via the cloud. Adobe and Microsoft are just two of the recent examples of vendors switching to this model. With so many lawyers and law firms using old versions of standard software, how will they react to this new system? The second portion of the show will cover the new service Google Takeout, which provides an easy way to extract your data from online-Google apps like Google Reader, Google Circles, and more. Whether you know it or not, seems like everything is stored online nowadays. Tune in to The Kennedy Mighell Report to keep up with Internet technology and the cloud. Special thanks to our sponsor, Transporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices