A project that shows innovation in action

Peter Jackson, chief scientist and vice president, Thomson Reuters, participated in a panel discussion at the SIAA NetGain Conference in San Francisco.

The topic was innovation and the challenges facing information companies in the digital age and amid the rise of social media.

Jackson, who is on the NetGain Steering Committee, discussed some of what Thomson Reuters has been working on, including the Reuters Insider multimedia project. Jackson’s team is involved in finding new ways to index video online and make it searchable, providing more insight and context to the end-user.

According to Jackson, the project is in beta and close to official release. He says it required new ways of thinking by his teams, and new uses for existing patented technology that’s already fueling many customer applications within the legal business.

In this video interview after the session, Jackson talked about the conference, the innovative work at Thomson Reuters and also provides more specifics on his team’s work on Reuters Insider:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Software industry learns to lead

The attendees here at the SIIA NetGain Conference in San Francisco are from a variety of businesses, from startups to major corporations.

They come to SIIA events to learn what their colleagues and competitors are doing to deliver content and information, and gain new insight on the new tools and business practices as Ed Keating, the vice president of the Content Division of the SIIA, explains:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Get your head in the clouds

Cloud computing is a concept and a reality embraced by many businesses dealing with data. The idea that digital information lives “in the clouds” means many businesses can cut their operating costs, no matter what industry they are in.

In a panel discussion about cloud computing here at the SIIA NetGain Conference, Larry Schwartz explained how his company, Newstex, relies on Amazon to be the cloud for video hosting among other services.

Schwartz, who is on the Steering Committee for the NetGain Conference, has some advice for businesses thinking about getting on a cloud in this video interview, and further explains how his company is doing it:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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First iPhone app from Thomson Reuters

Sometimes innovation starts with a trip to a bar.

Literally.

While winding down at the end of a day of recruiting new talent for West at Michigan State University last October, Dan Bennett and Jay Peyer started talking about the kinds of iPhone and iPod touch applications they could create.

Little did they know that conversation would put them on a path to develop the first Thomson Reuters app for the popular Apple mobile devices.

Today their creation, a Black’s Law Dictionary app, is officially for sale on iTunes.

The app features the 8th edition of the relied-upon and respected dictionary, edited by Bryan A. Garner. Black’s is considered by many attorneys, legal professionals and law students to be the most citable and credible legal dictionary. And a mobile version just made sense, to provide easy access to its legal terms and phrases and embedded audio of that information which does not require an Internet connection.

The process to create the Black’s Law Dictionary app allowed Bennett, a senior director in New Product Technology at West, and Peyer, a senior software engineer in Application Technology, to break new ground.

In this video interview, they explain how they made it happen:

The Black’s Law Dictionary app from Thomson Reuters is available for purchase on the App Store in Apple’s iTunes for $49.99.

Even Garner, himself very much a fan of books, is excited to see Black’s Law on the iPhone.

“The idea that you can have a very full, elaborate, complex and richly textured book like Black’s available at your fingertips is fantastic,” Garner says. “I myself am stubbornly in favor of print sources, but I like to watch my daughters use their iPhones. And I know that there’s another generation of people who really prefer the electronic medium at their fingertips.”

While Black’s Law Dictionary is the first iPhone application from Thomson Reuters, there’s more in the queue. We’ll keep you posted as more apps are launched.

More coverage:
ABAJournal.com

Robert Ambrogi’s LawSites

iPhone J.D.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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One year later: Thomson Reuters, Legal

Today we’re marking the anniversary of Thomson’s acquisition of Reuters, and the launch of the Thomson Reuters brand across the company.

In this video, Peter Warwick, president and CEO, Thomson Reuters, Legal and members of his executive team talk about what we’ve achieved in the business in the last year, and what opportunities lie ahead:

Posted by John Shaughnessy, senior director, Corporate Communications, Thomson Reuters

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ABA TECHSHOW delivers value

ABA TECHSHOW, presented by the ABA’s Law Practice Management Section (LPM), just marked its 23rd year. The event in Chicago is billed as “the world’s premier legal technology CLE conference and expo,” with three days of educational sessions in legal technology and networking for legal professionals.

Several of our colleagues within the legal businesses of Thomson Reuters were on hand and we did some video interviews with a few of them on April 3, the last day of the show, to get a sense of what they were hearing from customers.

Sean Carter, field technology manager for West, discusses a presentation he gave on delivering value and using technology wisely to improve efficiency and workflow in this video interview:

We also talked with Jill Dabrowski, a product developer at West, who discussed the importance of understanding chronology and timelines for attorneys – especially litigators.

Knowing when things happened or what’s happening next is important- not only in managing a case, but also versions of documents and overall workflow. Here’s Jill’s interview about West Case Timeline:

And, Donna Weinberg, product specialist at West, told us about LiveNote and Case Notebook and the positive response from attendees about the products. Watch her overview of the features of Case Notebook in this interview:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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More marketing insight from the LMA Conference

We want to point you again to the Hubbard One Blog for some great insight we gathered at last week’s Legal Marketing Association (LMA) Conference through some video interviews:

Jonathan Fitzgarrald, chief marketing officer at Greenberg Glusker, talks about how the tough economic times can be beneficial for legal marketers.

Maureen Leuenberger, senior director, Consulting & Services for Hubbard One, discusses the benefits of the company’s client support services to help firms be more efficient and effective in their marketing efforts.

Adam Severson, director of business development, Dorsey & Whitney LLP, told us how his firm gains greater insight into its relationships with clients and people within the firm.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Do what you should have been doing

How do legal marketers take advantage of a down economy? Jim Durham says nothing’s changed. “Do what you should have been doing,” he says. And, if you know the threats to your business, says Durham, you should be finding out what the opportunities are.

We did a video interview with Durham at the LMA Conference. He is the chief marketing and business development officer at McGuire Woods LLP:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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More videos from LMA posted on Hubbard One blog

You can see more of the videos we shot at the LMA Conference by checking them out through the Hubbard One Blog, or below. Here are three of them:

Jason Parkman, vice president and general manager, Hubbard One, talks about his session at LMA titled “Knowing Your Clients: A New Era of Client Service”.

Preston McKenzie, vice president and general manager, Client Development, Thomson Reuters, discusses his session titled “The Right Information at the Right Time: Tools for Today’s Rainmakers”.

Patrick Fuller, senior business development consultant, Hubbard One, previewed a session he will be a panelist on, on Friday, titled “Mission: Possible 2″.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Client development on display at ABA Techshow

We’ve moved on to the ABA Techshow at the Chicago Hilton. And it’s clear that the client development businesses of Thomson Reuters are showcasing their technology and tools at Techshow.

Preston McKenzie, vice president and general manager of Client Development for Thomson Reuters, explains in this video interview why it’s a good time to learn more about the benefits of these businesses:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Social media lessons for legal marketers

Jayne Navarre knows a lot about social media and its impact on law firms.

As the owner of her own consulting firm, LawGravity, a blogger at the Virtual Marketing Officer and The Legal Watercooler, and a user of Twitter (@jaynenavarre), she lives on the Web, stressing the online aspects of marketing communications to legal professionals.

At the LMA Conference, Navarre presented a session about social computing titled “We’re Connected. Now What?” that discusses social media for lawyers and how it can impact their success, and the success of their clients.

In a video interview for WestBlog, Navarre explores why some law firms tend to have concerns about their lawyers being bloggers and using social networking sites, instead of focusing on how they can use the sites to share their expertise:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Trends to help legal marketers capture more attention

Jay Berkowitz has built his business in Boca Raton, Florida helping businesses of all kinds navigate the ins and outs of getting attention on the Web. His company is Ten Golden Rules, and he is the author of a book based on that name, The Ten Golden Rules of Online Marketing.

At the LMA Conference this morning, Berkowitz gave a presentation about some of his favorite Web 2.0 tools and tactics, but with a legal industry bent.

We asked him how legal professionals stack up to his clients in other industries:

Berkovitz is on Twitter as @jayberkowitz.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Legal marketing is about the ideas

We caught up with Heather Morse Milligan at the LMA Conference. She’s the director of marketing at Barger & Wolen LLP. We asked her to weigh in on the impact of the economy on the work of law firm marketers in this video interview:

Heather Morse Milligan has a blog, The Legal Watercooler. You also can find her on Twitter as @heathermilligan.

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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President of LMA stresses the need for community

Jennifer Manton, chief marketing officer at Loeb & Loeb LLP, also is the current president of the Legal Marketing Association and has been active with the LMA for several years.

In a video interview, Manton stresses the community aspect of the LMA Conference and how the desire to network sets the attendees, and their work within the legal profession, apart:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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Getting to the “what” of the LMA Conference

As we’ve pointed out this week, the theme of the LMA Conference is “Change … Now What?”

We talked with two members of the LMA Conference Committee to get their perspectives on how attendees can maximize their time here and put into practice what they hear and learn.

Jeanne Hammerstrom is co-chair of the conference and the chief marketing officer at Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP. She told us about some of the opportunities for the attendees at LMA, in this video interview:

We also talked with Doug Hoover, a consultant at Hildebrandt, part of Thomson Reuters, who served with Hammerstrom on the 2009 LMA Conference Committee. Hoover said the firms that sent people to the LMA Conference will be better off because of it:

Posted by Kevin Hunt, senior communications specialist, Thomson Reuters

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