Publications
 
Bullet 2006 Legal IT Integration Survey Results
 

In 2005, Askew Network Solutions conducted the first Legal IT Integration Survey. That report provided new insight into the experiences, challenges and goals of legal IT organizations. This year, the survey has been improved and expanded in several ways. First, Thomson Elite has joined as a co-sponsor, providing logistical, analytical and execution support for the project. Additionally, the scope of the survey has been expanded to include a broad set of covered topics and questions.

Many of the key findings in this report will surprise few observers. Several restate and reinforce the results of the 2005 report. IT organizations still face the same fundamental challenges with respect to managing and connecting their legal IT ecosystems. Firms are still
working to better connect their infrastructure in order to better support business process efficiency. And they still struggle with limitations in application functionality and resource constraints.

However, the 2006 survey reveals several new legal IT priorities and indicates a growing trend towards prioritizing integration and security management across firm application portfolios.. Download the 2006 Legal IT Integration Survey here (PDF)

   
Bullet Software Strategies with OSS
  Of all the IT decisions firms make, those regarding software easily have the greatest effect, positive or negative, on the organization.

While the portfolio of applications tends to be nearly identical among firms (e.g., accounting, document management, word processor, etc.), the particular software packages used to provide those services vary.

Perceived business needs dictate which particular pieces of software are needed. The software, in turn, dictates the kinds of systems and processes necessary to support it and, ultimately, the hardware, personnel, time and space required. More... (PDF)
   
Bullet Legal IT Integration
 

Legal IT Integration Survey Results - August 22, 2005
by Jerry Askew, ILTA Associate Member

No one can dispute the fact that IT infrastructure and specialized legal software applications have streamlined and vastly improved the practice of law. However, as the scope and scale of legal software grows, so does the quantity of data and information in legal environments. And while digital technology has improved the productivity of timekeepers and support staff, it has also created new challenges for IT and data management within most firms.

In modern legal environments, people, applications and data are all interrelated, forming an intricate, interdependent ecosystem. These environments continue to grow in complexity as firms move aggressively to take advantage of emerging technologies such as portals and Voice over IP (VoIP). Additionally, the consumers of technology within the organization are becoming more technology savvy, demanding more capability and performance from new and old tools alike. Dowload the 2005 Legal IT Integration Survey here

   
Portal Provisioning
 

Managing User Accounts and Matter Workspaces
by Jerry Askew, ILTA Associate Member

Provisioning — the process of creating and managing user accounts and matter workspaces
— is an important consideration in developing a portal or extranet strategy for your firm.
Reliable and consistent provisioning is necessary if the portal is to become a valued
part of your firm’s service offerings More...

   
Network Intrusion Detection Part I
 

Best of Breed Protection with Snort
by Jerry Askew, Associate Member of ILTA

Change is the only constant, and this adage is nowhere better exemplified than in the area of network security. While security exploits are increasing in number at a mind-boggling rate, their level of sophistication is increasing at an even more alarming rate. Even as the
outside environment of cyberspace becomes increasingly hostile, traditional perimeter defenses are being weakened by VPNs, wireless technologies, remote access and mobile clients. Unfettered by the confluence of risks, business continues its relentless march toward
increased reliance on technology — and it is your job to keep it all secure. More... (HTML)

   
Bullet Network Intrusion Detection Part II
 

Network Intrusion Detection
Best of Breed Protection with SNORT

Implementing Snort
Snort can be readily implemented with the help of a special Linux distribution named Sentinix (http://www.sentinix.org). Wait a minute, you ask, Linux? Isn’t that complicated? All my systems are Microsoft! The short answer – yes. Snort should indeed be implemented using Linux. The Sentinix distribution makes this an easy and painless process – much easier than
configuring a Windows server and installing Snort. Snort sensors should be viewed as appliances (like a router or a UPS) and as such, do not need to integrate with your server infrastructure. In fact, you probably have other network appliances running on some version of Linux. One last consideration is if your intrusion detection system is on the same platform as the rest of your systems, it may become compromised along with your other systems in the event of a
successful intrusion. More... (HTML OR PDF)

   
Web-Bugs May Create Confidentiality Concerns
 

Do you know where your documents have been today? What if you could? More importantly, what if someone else was able to find out where your documents have been? A new technology exploit can do just that - and it promises to make "metadata" look like child's play.

Imagine for a moment that you are working on a highly confidential securities deal. In preparation for closing the deal, you pull up several forms, make the necessary changes and then e-mail the documents to your client for review. You didn't really think about where your forms came from - you just pulled them in from a similar deal that one of your partners did last month. What you didn't realize is that, somewhere in the documents' past, someone planted a web-bug inside one or more of the documents. The web-bug's job is to report back to its owner whenever the document is opened. When your client opens the document, the owner of the bug will be notified within a few seconds. In the case of your securities deal, the bug's owner will soon be on the phone with their stockbroker. More...

 
 
 
"Jerry understands the business and process issues associated with managing data in a legal environment like no one else. He's a pleasure to work with, a trusted partner, and an asset to us and our customers."
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