by Brian Focht | Jan 15, 2015 | Law Firm Websites
Part 8 in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website.
When you search for something online, what makes you decide which link to click? A catchy name? A recognizable company? Your absolutely terrible lack of impulse control?
For most people, it’s about what appears first. In fact, a recent (massive) study on click-through-rates (aka CTR) put the issue in stark terms. Only about 5% of all users even clicked on a result appearing in the 2nd or 3rd page. On the other hand, nearly 70% of users clicked on a result in the top 5 listings on the first page.
The obvious takeaway: a better Google search rank is critical if you rely on business from the internet. Oh, and in case you haven’t been paying attention, that’s where people look for lawyers now.
So how do we do it? Well, a year-long study on Google search rank has these suggestions: (more…)
by Brian Focht | Jan 14, 2015 | eDiscovery
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?”
How many times have you heard that? Probably too many to remember. More importantly, probably too many for you to even really think about it anymore. Too frequently, it seems, we tend to forget about that middle part – telling the “whole truth.”
With physical evidence, usually what you see is what you get. Sure, you might want to know more about the evidence itself, but you can’t put a photograph on the stand and cross examine it. On the other hand, with a witness, no matter how much they testify, you just know there’s more. Even if the witness doesn’t realize it, they know more than they’re telling you.
In general, the concept of the “whole truth” is an elusive one. For social media evidence, the context of how, when, and where a person posted to their account may be more important than the contents of the post. Without that information, we’ll never be sure that we know the whole truth.
Fortunately, there is actually a place we can look – the metadata. Just how much information is contained in social media metadata? You’d be amazed… (more…)
by Brian Focht | Jan 7, 2015 | Best New Apps
A new year is upon us! As I write this, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is going strong in Las Vegas, and soon you’ll be hearing all about the devices, software, and other tech that will drive the future of our world! However, it’s also important to know about the present. What can you do NOW with the devices you have NOW. In other words, what are the best apps out there?
These are my Best New Apps for Lawyers – December 2014:
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by Brian Focht | Dec 16, 2014 | Knowledge Management for Lawyers
This post is the second in my continuing series “Knowledge Management for Lawyers”
Part 1: 7 Expensive Ways Lawyers Fail at Knowledge Management
Part 2: Track Your Results!
Part 3: Establish a Routine
The Knowledge Management Wheel
My first attempts to create what I now know as a Knowledge Management database of my practice of law were a failure. Not because I didn’t have some idea what I wanted to analyze. In fact, I knew exactly what I wanted to analyze – mediations. I had been in practice for about two years, working at firm in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, practicing primarily insurance defense.
I knew what metrics I wanted. I wanted to find out the tendencies of attorneys, mediators, and adjusters. I even knew how to do it. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty good with Microsoft Excel, and what I didn’t know could usually be found online. Or by calling my friend Neal Robbins, a man smarter than I am when it comes to Excel (among other things).
What I didn’t have was data. And it wasn’t because I hadn’t had enough mediations, it was because I hadn’t gotten in the habit of writing the information down. (more…)
by Brian Focht | Dec 10, 2014 | Social Media
Social media is always changing. Some might even argue that the essence of social media itself is change. That’s one of the things that makes it so difficult to predict from year to year.
At the beginning of 2014, Facebook was pronounced dead. Since then, Facebook has added 100 million active users. I wish my blog would “die” like that! So, clearly, making specific predictions isn’t that helpful. But recognizing trends, the direction that social media may be heading based on where it’s been, much more valuable.
Recently, Ryan Holmes, CEO of the social media company Hootsuite, published a list of 5 trends that will change how you use social media in 2015. But how do these social media trends affect the practice of law?
I’m so glad you asked.
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by Brian Focht | Dec 4, 2014 | Important Issues
Part 2 of 2 (See Part 1 here)
Fitbit is a neat little device for tracking your activity. Importantly, Fitbit (and similar devices) creates, and stores, data. A lot of data. About you. And that data is a tempting target in litigation. But be warned, the implications of using Fitbit data in court should terrify you!
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by Brian Focht | Dec 3, 2014 | Important Issues
As originally reported in The Atlantic, the first case using Fitbit data as evidence is currently underway in Canada. The plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit, a personal trainer, wants to use Fitbit data to support her case. The plaintiff believes that the Fitbit data shows that her physical activity level is lower than baseline for her age and profession.
However, instead of using the raw data, plaintiff has retained a data analytics company called Vivametrica to provide expert analysis. Using data collected from “industry and public research,” Vivametrica claims to be able to compare one person’s Fitbit data to the general population. It’s potentially game-changing evidence. It should be great. It’s not.
Fitbit is a neat little device for tracking your activity. Importantly, Fitbit (and similar devices) creates, and stores, data. A lot of data. About you. And that data is a tempting target in litigation. But be warned, the implications of using Fitbit data in court should terrify you!
(more…)
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