This and That in Court Tech - June, 2012

News about Oregon's eCourts project, a new blog by ProBono.net, LawTech Camp 2012, New Mexico's website attack, Password security, and an excellent change management article.

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Oregon Begins eCourt Implementation

From Oregon Public Broadcasing news on June 8, 2012.

"This week, the Oregon Judicial Department quietly rolled out a pilot project intended to change how Oregonians interact with the justice system. The eCourts initiative will allow anyone with an Internet connection to get information on any case in the state court system."

The article highlights the differences between the new and old CMS as well as Judge John L. Collins' use of their new touch screen interface on the bench.

Connecting Justice Communities Blog Started

Our good friends at Pro Bono Net announced the launch of our new blog, Connecting Justice Communities.  The announcement stated: "We'll be posting about the intersection of legal services and technology, as well as the broader issue of access to legal services for those who can't afford a lawyer.  Current posts include an interview with Leah Margulies, Project Director of LawHelp/NY, coverage of CitizenshipWorks' Webby Award for Best Law Site, and reflections on the Nonprofit Technology Conference."

Check it out at: http://www.connectingjusticecommunities.com/ 

LawTech Camp 2012

For a quick view of new and exciting legal technology thinking check out LawTech Camp 2012.  The conference website states:

"lawTechCamp is a BarCamp-style community UnConference for new media and technology enthusiasts and legal professionals including bloggers, twitters, legal-technology lawyers, social networkers, and those curious about new media and the law. Anyone with an interest in technology, law, and innovation--especially in the wake of UK deregulation--will want to attend. lawTechCamp is not just for lawyers. It is also for students and the public. For example, students from the Michigan State Law - Westminster Law 21st Century Law Practice Summer Program will be in attendance."

Check out the schedule and participants at: http://lawtechcamplondon.com/

Thanks again to Rob Richards at LegalInformatics Blog for this.

New Mexico Courts Website Hacked

In an article posted by the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper website on May 31, 2012:

"A group calling itself the LatinHackTeam gained access Wednesday night to a server that hosts the public interface portion of a website that contains New Mexico court documents.
The group temporarily replaced the home page of the nmcourts.gov website with a black page featuring yellow and white writing. The state also owns the nmcourts.com website, which redirects traffic to the main page.
Nothing in the internal databases kept by the Administrative Office of the Courts was access or altered, said Steve Prisoc, the chief information officer."

Password Security

As a result of the recent LinkedIn social media service password theft, we have received several questions regarding steps that can be taken to improve security.  While this is a massive subject, we might point out A few good articles on the subject are:

• ITworld Article - How Long Would it Take to Crack My Password? 
• Krebs On Security - How Companies Can Beef Up Password Security
• MacWorld article - How to Use Your iPad Securely 
• And a very interesting Microsoft Security "poster" (suitable for printing and framing)

Excellent Change Management Article

And last, a recommended article regarding IT Change Management was posted on the cioinsight.com website on June 6, 2012 by Dan Roberts. He notes that there are "four secrets to success; commitment, community, clarity, and communication.  It is a short article and well worth the time to read it.