LAWTECH GURU BLOG by Jeff Beard

NY Times: Katrina Left a Legal System in Shambles

For those wondering just what Katrina has done to our legal system in its wake, the New York Times piece, "A Legal System in Shambles" chronicles the many legal problems caused by the devastation as well as the very human impact.

Update: Championed by Ross Kodner, and joined by many legal technology experts, vendors, and more, HelpKatrinaLawyers.org is now online. Ross describes it as a "Resource of volunteers for legal technology, practice management and disaster/data recovery for any law practice affected by Katrina".

The site describes in more detail the type of help they are marshaling across the legal market:

• Guidance regarding restoring backed up data, or recovering data from physically damaged computer systems or media


• Advice about temporarily practicing with either borrowed, rented or purchased new PC and voice systems


• Provide remote access to allow any lawyer who can get online to use well-known legal software to get their work out and contact clients and associates


• Provide sound longer-term focused guidance on replacing destroyed or damaged systems - but doing it the best way at fair prices, avoiding making costly mistakes