Mississippi
Technology Super Session
Why We're Doing
This
When Hurricane Katrina’ 140 mph winds and 25 foot storm surge
struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast, it affected the practice of
law from the Alabama to Louisiana borders. All 90 miles of the
Mississippi Gulf Coast were impacted.
Mississippi’s gulf coast includes three counties—from west to
east, they are Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties. These 3
counties include 10 towns all of which had some lawyer
population. Lawyers in Waveland, Bay St Louis. Pass Christian,
Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Spring, Gautier, Moss Point
and Pascagoula suffered damage to their offices. Many lost their
offices and everything in them.
State and federal courts on the Coast closed for Katrina and
have not reopened as of this date. Just under 900 lawyers lived
and practiced in the three gulf coast counties. Their clients
both large and small have been devastated by Katrina. Commerce
on the gulf coast is minimum at best. The justice system is
presently not functioning on the Mississippi gulf coast. If
commerce is to get back to normal, lawyers on the coast will
have to be open and operating to assist in the many, many legal
issues that have and will continue to arise out of Katrina.
Given this situation, what can we do? I've spent quite a bit
of time in the gulf coast region since Katrina and while in New Orleans,
I met with members of the La Bar
Technology Committee as well as local attorneys and business
owners and they all reiterated the need for an ongoing presence
to assist attorneys in their use of technology.
Ernie Svenson,
Chair of the LA Tech Committee, said
that the biggest need is to “show people technology”. He stated
that most small firms and solos are rebuilding their practice
and need information on what technology to purchase and
implement.
LPM stalwart
Jim Calloway, who along with
JR Phelps of the
Florida Bar, made a joint presentation to both the Miss and La
bar in October of 2005, made the same point. “We need to show
people technology not just talk about it” said Jim. “ Be sure to
get vendors down there showing how to actually use their
programs.”
To that end, we have begun planning a technology “super
session” to be held the 2nd of November in Jackson, Mississippi.
This event will have both seminars on technology
implementation as well as free software for all the attendees.
It is entirely supported by
vendor donations and will be free to
all members of the Mississippi Bar.
The seminar topics
are geared at a practical level of "what do you need” and will
include hands-on application workshops, primers on low cost
office technology, litigation support essentials, the wireless
law office, and a pragmatic “50 Tips for Lawyers” session.
These sessions are being led by well known national legal
consultants who are donating their time including such
luminaries as Ernest Svenson, owner of
ErnietheAttorney.net;
Ross Kodner, President of
MicroLaw; Andy Adkins, Director of the
University of Florida Law School Legal Technology Institute; and
Jim Calloway of the
Oklahoma Bar (both former Chairs of the
ABA
TECHSHOW).
In addition to
these educational sessions, the lunch keynote will be given by
Monica Bay, Editor-in-Chief of
Law Technology News and the Editorial Director of
Law Firm
Inc. and
Small Firm Business magazines.
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