Kennedy Mighell Report

The Internet of Things explains the virtual representation of objects on the web — like turning your car’s AC on from a smartphone app. Is it possible that soon the internet will be able to control our daily lives, down to resetting our alarm based on the train schedule we take to commute to work? Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell talk about the possibilities and implications of the internet of things in our daily lives and in the legal field. The second portion of the show explains The Human Genome Project, and what Kennedy learned after sending in his DNA.

There’s an app for everything. As we all discover how effectively we can use apps to connect with social media, as our work task managers, to find user-friendly news, and much more, they begin to accumulate on our smartphones and devices. Our hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell share tips on how to organize those apps to be the most efficient, aesthetically pleasing, and space conserving - making room for more apps. We will also learn how to sync all of their devices so that we always have access to our apps. The second portion of the show will discuss the pros and cons of having an iPad, an iPad Mini, or how to utilize both. And stay tuned until the end to hear each host’s tech tip, one will surely save you some time on your computer.

These days, the camera in your pocket (your smartphone camera) is powerful enough to meet all of your 'good-enough' photo needs. So what are the pros and cons as well as legal precedents involved with opting for your smartphone the next time you need to take a photo? What are the evidence handling and discovery implications? In this episode, Dennis and Tom share their experience with digital photography, smartphone cameras and applications to manage these files. In the second half of the show, our hosts suggest reaching for your tablet if you're looking for better ways to present and also offer some great general tips on presenting PowerPoint and Keynote slideshows.

There seems to be a resurgence in law-related blogging. But which blogs will have a significant impact on your practice this year? In this episode Dennis and Tom discuss recently-published lists of notable blogs, briefly chat about Dennis’s own “Blawggie Awards” and share their recommended blogs, why they enjoy them and how they might affect your practice. Dennis and Tom will also share their own, personal technology resolutions for 2013 and as always, give their parting shots… that one tip, website or observation you can start using immediately after this podcast.

Lawyers are known as notorious late adopters of technology. Is that a fair characterization? Of course it is. What makes lawyers so cautious about new technologies? Will lawyers always be late adopters? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss some recent experiences that have reinforced the idea that lawyers are late adopters, the reasons people do and do not adopt new technologies, and practical ways for lawyers to think about moving to new technologies.

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about what many see as Apple’s stumble with its maps application in iOS 6. Bryan Wolfe on AppAdvice.com recently asked "Did I Miss The Memo From Apple Making Us All Beta Testers?" From operating systems to software to apps to web services, we often find that new products and services don’t’ quite feel finished. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss changing expectations in a world of fast and frequent software releases and updates, the challenge for lawyers wanting stability with their technology, and ways to cope with what feels like living in a giant public beta test.

We hear a lot of stories about lawyers using (and not using) technology. It’s always been difficult to get good data on what is actually happening in the ground. The release of results from two major annual surveys about the use of technology by lawyers gives us some data to assess trends and draw conclusions. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell take a look at highlights of the 2012 ILTA / Inside Legal Technology Purchase Survey and the 2012 Legal Technology Survey Report from the ABA’s Legal Technology Resource Center, the trends the surveys show, and some practical implications of the survey results.

Lawyers consistently tell us that LinkedIn is the social media platform that makes the most sense for lawyers and other legal professionals. They like the professional and business focus of LinkedIn as compared to the "personal" focus of Facebook and other platforms. However, lawyers also always tell us that they wish they could use LinkedIn better than they do now. In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell and special guest Allison Shields discuss the new book, LinkedIn in One Hour for Lawyers, how lawyers can make better use of LinkedIn, and some practical tips lawyers and others can implement right away with LinkedIn.

As rumors of a game-changing new Apple TV begin to swirl, we wonder whether technology will start to change the way we watch television. Or maybe it already has. Does technology always need to have "productive" uses? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell turn to a "non-serious" technology topic for the end of summer, explore ways technology, especially tablets, can enhance your TV viewing experience, and find some surprisingly serious conclusions about where technology is taking us.

Have you ever wanted one action on the Web automatically trigger another action? For example, if you post a tweet, it automatically becomes a LinkedIn or Facebook update or if you star a blog post in Google Reader, it automatically gets added to your Evernote account. IFTTT (If This, Than That) is a web service does exactly that. In this episode of the Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss web automation and IFTTT, how it might make your life a little easier, and the role this type of service might play for the busy lawyer.

While Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter draw the lion’s share of social media attention, there are many other social media platforms available to lawyers. Tumblr, Pinterest and Foursquare are just a few of the alternatives. How can you evaluate which of these tools might be worthy of your time and effort? On The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell survey the lesser-traveled landscapes of the social media world, identify some tools that might make sense to some lawyers in some scenarios, and speculate about the future of specialized social media tools.

For many years, we used email and listservs for private and public discussions. Today, the last thing we want to do is add a high-volume email list to our overloaded email inboxes. Yet, we still have the need for discussions of all kinds. What are good ways to have discussions using technology today? In this episode of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss today’s options for discussions, how to select the right forum for discussions, and whether we can improve the quality of the discussions we have with others.

We can find almost anything on the Internet, but retrieving the results at a later date isn’t as easy. Are there ways to “harvest” the web so we can find and read relevant research at a later time? Kennedy-Mighell Report hosts Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell, answer this question by sharing ways to save and keep track of web research, the resources for reading web findings later or offline, and whether techniques like capturing a blog post on a Kindle or iPad really help us with the problem of information overload.

Good password practices are essential in a world where major compromises are common. So how do you create, use and protect strong passwords for all of your accounts? Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell, the hosts of The Kennedy-Mighell Report, take a look at the current state of passwords, give recommendations on password management, and share some simple approaches to dealing with today’s password requirements.

Everywhere we go, we see lawyers using iPads. But what are they using them for? There are thousands of Apps available for the iPad - so many that it's hard to know where to begin. Fortunately, Tom Mighell has written a new book called, iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the importance of iPad apps for effective use of iPads, Tom's book, and their favorite iPad Apps for lawyers and others.

Many lawyers say they are "good lawyers," while knowing very little about legal technology. So does that statement really compute in this technology driven world? Recent discussions about possible changes to ethical rules include requirements that lawyers stay up-to-date on technology. Explore the intersection of technology, law practice and ethical rules, along with the implications for lawyers with Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell on this Kennedy-Mighell Report.

With so much of your key information and assets migrating online, it’s a challenge to remember all your passwords and accounts. So just imagine the headaches your spouse or family will have trying to figure it all out once you pass away. On this Kennedy-Mighell Report, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss how to prepare your “digital estate” before death or incapacity. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

There’s no doubt the net is going more and more mobile. In fact, Facebook recently revealed about half of its 800 million users access their accounts through their smartphones. So what are the implications of this move to mobile for the standard law firm website? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the impact of mobile devices on web design, the web design movement known as Mobile First, and what you can do to optimize your website for the mobile era. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Twenty years ago, lawyers were debating whether to use email in their practices. It's now impossible to imagine lawyers practicing without using email. Studies indicate that eight trillion text messages were sent in 2011. Will we see texts and IMs becoming as integral to law practice as email has become? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the growing use of texts and IMs by everyone, how these technologies are starting to play a role in the everyday practice of law, and how lawyers should prepare for the use of these technologies in the future. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Each Spring, ABA TECHSHOW takes center stage as one of the premier legal technology conferences. While there is great value in attending legal tech conferences, all lawyers can benefit simply by seeing what's on the TECHSHOW agenda. Organizers put a lot of thought into their agendas, so we can all learn where to put our technology focus by seeing what topics these shows cover. Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell use TECHSHOW 2012 as an example of how to assess your current technological agenda, talk about the major topics being covered at TECHSHOW, and suggest ways you can use the TECHSHOW topic list to set your technology priorities for 2012. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Apple just announced the newest version of the iPad, setting the Internet abuzz with anticipation and speculation. Is this next big thing? More importantly, must this be your next tech purchase? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the new iPad announcement and reactions, what the new iPad brings to the table, and whether lawyers should expect to see a new iPad in their possibly post-PC futures. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Has it really been three years since the introduction of Windows 7? Surveys indicate that Windows XP users still outnumber Windows 7 users. Recent announcements indicate that we'll be seeing both Windows 8 and a new Mac OSX update called Mountain Lion in 2012. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell take a look at what we have now learned about operating system updates, the current state of operating systems, and what our future operating systems might look like. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Google's new "Search Plus Your World" represents a new direction in Internet search where social elements become part of our search results. Bringing our social media world into search results indicates both the growing importance of social media and the need to find new ways to get relevant results. Can we make use of what our friends and connections find on the web to get us better search results? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell take a look at Search Plus Your World, whether bringing social into search might help us, and whether this approach might work for you. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

The big story at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show was "ultrabooks." This new category of computer stole the thunder, at least for a few days, from tablet computers. Should lawyers be considering ultrabooks in 2012? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell take a look at the new world of ultrabooks, whether tablet computers like the iPad are taking over the computer market, and what it all means for traditional notebook computers and desktop PCs.After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

People are collaborating more than ever before. There are more collaboration tools and technologies than ever before. Yet, the actual adoption of collaboration tools seems to lag behind the wish to use collaboration tools. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the gap between tools and people in collaboration, the common challenges faced when implementing collaboration tools, especially ones used by lawyers, and their best recommendations for improving the adoption of collaboration tools and technologies in 2012. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

What kind of year was 2011 for legal tech? What were the big developments and trends that you need to know? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell pay tribute to ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption" and adopt its format for a fast-paced and fun discussion of what transpired in legal technology in 2011. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Many social media users have been surprised recently by changes to the design and user interface of the web pages and apps they have been accustomed to using with these services. These changes have been happening for quite a while, but this round of revision seems to have created a backlash from longtime users. Are these kinds of changes fair or foul? In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss recent interface modifications by Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others, the response to these changes and the rollout of the changes, and the implications for users as rely more and more on cloud services. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

'Tis the season for gift-giving. And the season for technology gift lists. The latest technology is always a great present - especially for lawyers. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell roll out their own technology gift guide for lawyers, give some of their favorite buying tips, and give you plenty of suggestions for your own wish list! After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.

Forty-eight hours of video is added to YouTube every minute. Second graders make professional-quality movies using inexpensive cameras and standard software. It's no surprise that lawyers are tentatively beginning to think about using video in connection with their practices. In this episode, Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell discuss the growing use of video by lawyers, survey the tools for creating and distributing videos, and share some observations and tips about lawyers jumping into the world of video. After you listen, be sure to check out Tom & Dennis’ co-blog and book by the same name, The Lawyers Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies.