Showing posts with label law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label law. Show all posts

Tuesday 20 June 2017

Virtual teams and collaborative working #BIALL2017

I've now completed my first full week of truly remote working so am reasonably well equipped to comment on and consolidate the notes taken from the various relevant sessions. As usual BIALL had ensured that although there were topic overlaps, a different perspective was given by each expert. Eleanor Windsor from LibSource presented on 'Managing a successful virtual team', whilst the entire Vinge law firm library team came in to offer insight on working together in different offices. And finally a duo from the University of Law talked about collaborative working to reduce pressure on library services.

Thursday 24 September 2015

Should the law be used to stop 'Uberification'?

This is the fourth and final debate in this Thomson Reuters series. Having attended two of the others, they have offered an entertaining yet expert view into wide ranging topics such as Right to Be Forgotten, Corporate Crime, and Human Rights. All of these debates can be seen on YouTube and this one will no doubt go up soon. Whether the law should be used to stop 'uberification' was the final motion to be debated and promised to be controversial from the outset.

Friday 28 August 2015

The Murky Depths of the #DeepWeb

http://cats.lovetoknow.com/Taking_Care_of_Kittens
No kittens on the deep web
Inevitably the recent hacking of the Ashley Madison website has caused a vast avalanche of commentary, covering everything from users’ morality to company security. I maintain that although the fallout on people’s personal lives from the data dump is one thing, the hackers’ employment of the so-called ‘dark web’ to communicate their criminal acts needs further exploration. What do most people know about the dark web, why does it remain such a taboo, and what are the issues facing the authorities?

Thursday 30 April 2015

The Future of Law Again: #LexisNexis

LexisNexis is the in the business of tracking and working with the legal market because it recognises the huge potential for profit. Although lawyers still need primary material ‘the law’, publishers see the benefits of not only adding value to this raw material, but also developing efficiency driving tools. These rough notes came out of a Product Adoption Advisory Board meeting, and nothing here identifies anyone who came along.

The vision that LexisNexis has for the future of law is, for many places, already here. Lawyers can work flexibly with a virtual presence anywhere in the world, are able to communicate with clients over instant messaging services and collaborate with colleagues using the cloud. As they noted today, all legal requirements regarding confidentiality, data protection, and regulated industries are appropriately observed.

Tuesday 24 March 2015

Richard Susskind Lecture: The Future of Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Richard Susskind has been making predictions about the legal profession for some years now. However when you’re closely involved with the practice of law on a day to day basis, as many of us are, it is hard to see the dramatic changes that have taken place. This is especially true if you’re in one of the middling sort of law firms. The firms in the extreme size brackets have probably seen the most change; high street firms with funding issues and larger firms with the push for outsourcing, diversification and international growth. All of this has been well covered in the legal press so Susskind has turned his thoughts to the future of litigation, specifically.

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Musings on #3DPrinting

Art? Furniture? Protected?
There is no doubt that 3D printing will become ubiquitous as the technology improves and associated costs come down. It has the potential to change the world in many ways; from medical supplies and delivery, technology and repairs, fashion and wearables, to the protection of the environmental through resource efficient manufacturing. However if we were to use children as a gauge for future trends, then the present incorporation of 3D printing into the toy industry will ensure that even the youngest will be aware of 3D printing’s creative possibilities.

Thursday 19 February 2015

Don’t Free Citizens Need The Right To Be Forgotten?

Last night saw the inaugural debate of the new Legal Debate Series organised by Thomson Reuters. It was a timely discussion around the highly contentious issue of an individual's right to control their own digital footprint and legacy. On May 13 2014 the ECJ backed the 'Right to be forgotten' and ruled that individuals can request that Google and other search engines remove links to 'inadequate, irrelevant, or no longer relevant personal data'. The blurb continued, 'the implications for search engines, social media operators and in fact, any business with EU operations are huge'. Having already written about litigation and data protection, I was interested to hear if anything new could be brought to the debate.

Monday 9 February 2015

'Poky pigges and stynkynge makerels': Food standards and urban health in medieval England


  • The owner of a filthy bakery in Norwich has been fined after inspectors discovered mouse droppings, out of date meat, and grime caked on to the floors inside.
  • Loose rodent bait was found in the flour store, mould was seen growing on the ceiling, and a hole in the roof had been given a 'bodge job' repair - with a bucket used to catch the drips

I wouldn't normally start a post with a quote from the Daily Mail but it illustrates Professor Carole Rawcliffe's seminar on food standards and urban health in medieval England very well. Not only that but much of her archival research is Norfolk based so there is contiguity. There is a misconception that medieval cooks and food-sellers smothered their food with spices to disguise the taste of rotten meat or fish; Carole dismissed this out of hand. She was also scathing of the 1930s' William Edward Mead who said;

The helplessness of our ancestors in the presence of diseases now almost entirely extirpated in civilised communities by means of intelligence sanitation is indeed one of the most striking differences between mediaeval times and our own 

As she went on to explain, not only were there rules and regulations governing the cleanliness and freshness of food markets, but laws regarding weight and measures, all of which were enforced locally and efficiently. Punishments for selling bad meat or bread were extremely harsh - for reasons that I shall come on to. Not only that but designs for market locations and buildings were carefully considered so that they could be as hygienic as possible. Taken as a whole, and combined with the delightful modern bakery mentioned above, Mead's quote can be dispatched to historic oblivion.

Wednesday 21 January 2015

Data Protection and Access to Information: An IALS Lecture


I attended the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies 'Data Protection Act 1984, Freedom of Information Act 2000: thirty and fifteen years on – perspectives on the past and prospects for the future' yesterday evening. The talk, as you'd expect from a university event, was quite academic. I'm used to library/legal events where lawyers/PSLs offer practical solutions to difficult legislation, but it was interesting to hear a different take.

This lecture acknowledged the awkwardness of the various conventions, directives, acts etc., which go to make up the legislative framework of data protection/access to information. There were some interesting insights simply because (shock horror) I'm not aware of the history of data protection, and I had never thought about why 'freedom of information' was actually a complete misnomer. It should be 'a right to access administrative documents' legislation. 

Wednesday 31 December 2014

Bloggers Beware

Blogs and their related video based versions ‘vlogs’ remain a popular way for individuals, organisations, and companies to communicate with others. Blogs are often linked to other networks, such as Twitter or LinkedIn; new content can be promoted to followers and friends. It takes minimal effort to produce a professional looking blog and generate a number of regular readers.

The most popular platforms are WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr, and are designed to be easy to use. No programming or technical expertise is required. A variety of sophisticated applications known as ‘plug-ins’ can turn a blog into a shop front, an interactive company advert, a way for a school to reach out to alumni, or even a membership only discussion site. With over 42 million blogs on WordPress alone (2012 stats), the number of blogs available is staggering. Of course, only a tiny number are controversial or problematic but there are potential legal issues around inadvertent or intentional misuse.