Law firm Web sites adding video

The appetite for online video continue to increase. An estimated 74% of Internet users in the United States are watching videos online every day (comScore/May 2008).

While the vast majority of that traffic - 38% - is on YouTube/Google, there’s no doubt that the improvements in how video can be delivered on the Web also has increased viewership of video on media, business and personal Web sites.

FindLaw.com now produces video for law firms, which is then housed on the Web sites for those firms to help them promote their expertise to customers growing more accustomed to watching and responding to video on the Web.

Here’s a link to a video and some Web sites that highlight some examples of Findlaw’s video services for law firms.

FindLaw research shows that when choosing a lawyer online, consumers visit an average of 4.8 Web sites before making a decision. That drops to 1.8 sites when the site contains a video.

Here’s a closer look at how FindLaw produces its videos. And, more information on its video services.

A news release about FindLaw’s video capabilities has more information.

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Minnesota Governor helps open new data center

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty visited West’s Eagan, Minnesota campus on Thursday, May 22.

(Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, left, and Peter Warwick, president and CEO of the North American Legal Division of Thomson Reuters.)

At a short outdoor event with West employees, Pawlenty helped celebrate the opening of the third data center on the campus. This 80,000 square foot data center went online in March, and supports online services for more than 15 Thomson Reuters businesses. During his remarks, Pawlenty praised West and Thomson Reuters for its commitment to innovation and the expertise of its employees in Eagan, around the United States and around the world.

Here’s a short video clip on our YouTube channel, featuring Governor Pawlenty:

 

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FindLaw.com poll interview

A FindLaw.com survey on political opinion polls was featured on KOMO 1000 News Radio in Seattle.

The station interviewed Leonard Lee about the survey. The discussion touched on the highlights of the survey, which asked if voters pay attention to political polls and if the polls influence their vote on election day.

Leonard also is featured in a Westcast podcast about the survey.

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New data center in Eagan

Today, Thomson Reuters will officially open a new data center on the campus of West’s headquarters in Eagan, Minnesota.

It’s the third data center onsite, supporting customers of Thomson Reuters around the world who access databases Westlaw, Checkpoint and other Thomson Reuters services in every moment of every day.

An article in today’s St. Paul Pioneer Press has more information.

Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is scheduled to be among the guests for a ceremony this afternoon. We’ll recap the event here on WestBlog.

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Do you pay attention to the polls?

The next presidential election in the United States is now just about six months away. Of course, the law plays a pivotal role in the planning, execution and implementation of the election day choice by voters.

A new national survey by FindLaw.com sheds some new light on what Americans think about the political opinion polls in the months, weeks and days before election day.

Among the findings, only 11% feel poll results are either extremely accurate or very accurate, while 57% feel that they are somewhat accurate.

83% of Amercians asked in the FindLaw.com survey said political opinion polls have little or no influence on how they will vote.

More information about the survey also is available in a news release on FindLaw.com. A Westcast podcast also highlights the key findings in the Findlaw survey.

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Legal aspects of online video

Rodney Smolla, dean of Washington and Lee School of Law, recently wrote a white paper for West about the increase in user-generated online video and the legal implications.

The white paper also led us to spend some time with him recording a Westcast podcast on the topic.

It’s all connected to Viacom’s lawsuit against Google, claiming violation of copyright in clips posted to YouTube.

“This is the mother of all copyright suits and the implications are staggering,” Smolla told us on Westcast. “Both sides have some very strong legal arguments, there are billions of dollars at stake and I’d be a fool to guess who’s going to win.”

Smolla’s white paper is titled “The Billion-Dollar Battle Between Viacom and Google: Commercialization of User-Generated Content and Copyright Protections Afforded to Parody.”

It can be accessed on the West Web site. The Westcast podcast with Smolla is here. A news release includes more information.

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Expert advice for using expert witnesses

Expert testimony plays a huge role in many cases and courtrooms every day. With so much at stake, lawyers need to know how to choose and expert, manage what they present in the courtroom and cross-examine the experts for the other side.

Check out a Westcast podcast on this topic, based on a book from West, “Expert Witnesses in Civil Trials, Effective Preparation and Presentation, 2007-2008 ed.”

Attorneys Walter R. Lancaster and Damian D. Capozzola co-authored the book. In our podcast, they share their unique insights into this important area. More information about the book is available in this news release.

Listen to podcast (mp3)

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Garner interviewed about legal writing

Bryan Garner, editor of Black’s Law Dictionary and co-author of the new book from West with United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, is featured in an article in The National Law Journal.

(Photo credit: LawProse.org)

Among the topics covered in the interview with Leigh Jones, Garner talks about the influence of technology in attorney writing.

Garner also recorded a Westcast audio podcast about his new book with Scalia, which is available here.

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More Web coverage for Scalia

We’re continuing to track the Web coverage of United State Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia’s recent interviews related to the West book “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges” that Scalia co-authored with Bryan Garner.

New posts are at the Wall Street Journal Law Blog, Law.com, Slate.com’s Convictions blog and the Sophistic Miltonian Serbonian Blog.

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BusinessWeek profiles Thomson Reuters

An article in the latest BusinessWeek provides a closer look at the new Thomson Reuters and how the company was formed.

“Media Giant or Media Muddle?” includes analysis of the impact and potential of the new company and mentions West’s expertise as the market-leading legal research provider.

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Scalia on “Tim Russert”

NBC’s Tim Russert interviewed United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the MSNBC program, “Tim Russert.”

The interview covered the book that Scalia co-authored for West titled, “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges,” as well as Scalia’s family and career.

The transcript is available on the MSNBC Web site. 

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Justice Scalia on C-SPAN

(Image courtesy: C-SPAN)

United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, co-author of the West book “Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges,” continues to talk to the media about the book and his career.

Justice Scalia appeared with Brian Lamb on “Q&A” on C-SPAN over the weekend. Watch the video or read the transcript.

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Inside look at FindLaw

FindLaw, a business within Thomson Reuters, is featured in the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.

Chris Kibarian, president and general manager of FindLaw, was interviewed recently for the article. It highlights how the company helps law firms reach clients through a specialized directory on FindLaw.com, creates Web sites for law firms and now produces video for those sites.

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Find Westcast on iTunes

iTunes makes it easy to find, listen and subscribe to our Westcast podcast, whether you have an iPod or just listen to podcasts at your desk or at home.

To find Westcast, start by getting onto the main iTunes Music Store page and typing “westcast” into the search box in the upper right of that page, like this:

After that, you’ll see the results page for your search which includes artists, albums, podcasts and iTunesU.

Look for the Westcast logo under the podcasts category heading and click on it. That will take you to the Westcast page:

 

 Couldn’t be any easier. Enjoy the Westcast podcast!

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Prenup survey

With the summer wedding season on the way, a recent survey by West about prenuptial agreements  is worth noting.

41% of Americans told us they might sign a prenuptial, or postnuptial agreement, if their spouse asked them to.

Here’s a graphic and the news release for the survey. 

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