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Looking for more and better qualified clients than your current client development strategy is producing? Search engines like Google and Yahoo! have pulled ahead of the printed Yellow Pages as the leading source for local business information. Three out of four Americans now use the Internet on a regular basis. Join a free webcast next Thursday, November 12, to learn how your firm can create an effective Web presence.

The one-hour webcast will show you how to develop your firm's Web site into a valuable marketing tool that will drive more well qualified clients to your firm. Topics to be covered include:

• How consumers are searching for legal help on the Internet
• How to identify and leverage critical components of a Web site
• An evaluation of the different marketing options available and their return on investment

Two highly qualified speakers will provide their insights and practical examples on how to maximize your firm's marketing efforts:

• Caroline Curry Lewis of The Brad Hendricks Law Firm in Little Rock, AR
• Kevin McDugle, a FindLaw Senior Client Development Consultant in Tulsa, OK

"The Basics of Marketing Your Firm Online" is a FREE one-hour webcast and will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2009.

It will be accessible from any computer with internet access.

Register here for the 12PM EST/11AM CST/ 10AM MST/ 9AM PST time slot.
Register here for the 4PM EST/3PM CST/ 2PM MST/ 1PM PST time slot.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has set forth draft proposed rules regarding net neutrality.  But may have already read about that in our recent post on the subject of open internet.  

And now, you want to know...exactly what are potential new rules are on the table.  Wonder no more.  Below is excerpt from a recent FCC press release outlining the proposed rules.

Now, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may not be looking to become the next viral video sensation, or be pining to find itself the subject of a social media campaign, or even long to be the most-queried term on search engines...but it definitely wants a place at the broadband table.

And it may have solidified its spot this week.

The FCC recently approved a notice of proposed rule making on net neutrality.  And whether you are new to the concept of "open internet" or are a seasoned veteran, here are the nuts and bolts on net neutrality, the FCC, and what could be in store for law firms and consumers in the future.

What is net neutrality?

Hint: it is not the US.  Our Nordic friends in Finland will have no internet connectivity excuses in responding to emails and social media musings.  And that's thanks to a national law passed in Finland this week  mandating that every Finnish citizen have access to broadband internet.

It's not a big leap for the nation with a population hovering over 5 million, a reported 95% of Finnish folks already have robust internet access.  But the law aims to ensure that even rural regions of the country gain access.

The homework has been turned in.   The book has been read.  An apology has been issued.  The amount has been negotiated.  And the matter is settled...for now. 

Plaintiffs-Michigan high school student Justin Gawronski and California resident Antoine Bruguier--settled their claims for violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, breach of contract, trespass of chattels, and conversion for Amazon's deletion of works including George Orwell's 1984 from their Kindle accounts.

Jurors empaneled for a trial typically are instructed by the judge not to do anything on their own to learn about the facts and circumstances of the case outside of the courtroom.  This traditionally has meant that they should not talk to people with knowledge of the case, they should not visit the scene of the events at issue, and they should try to avoid any television or any newspaper coverage of the trial.  But in the new Internet age, it appears that judges have to be even more specific in their admonitions to jurors.

We live in a world where we can find out almost anything from the Internet by the simple movement of our fingers on relatively tiny devices.  In just a matter of seconds, from practically any location, jurors can seek information relating to parties, witnesses and the issues at stake in a given trial.  This, of course, can taint the jurors such that they would not be deliberating in the case based only on the facts presented to them at trial.

FindLaw columnist Eric Sinrod writes regularly in this section on legal developments surrounding technology and the internet.

Do you feel like your online life is moving ahead somewhat out of control at warp speed? Well, according to the third annual Speed Matters survey by the Communications Worker of America (CWA), we need to pick up the pace of the Internet here in the United States. Indeed, the CWA concludes that speed of the Internet in the US is continuing to fall behind other countries.

The most recent speedmatters.org survey for 2009 indicates that the average download speed in the US is 5.1 megabits per second (mbps), with the average upload speed being 1.1 mbps. These speeds are only slightly higher than in 2008. But more importantly, according to the CWA, at the current rate it would take the US 15 years to catch up to a country like South Korea.

Well, Technologist reader, we thought you would like to know that the federal government is weighing in on the best practices for citing and hyperlinking internet materials in court opinions.

It began as a pilot project conducted by circuit libraries and organized by the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management (CACM).  The pilot project involved observing and noting how webpages were cited in opinions over a six-month period and resulted in a body of "suggested practices" for courts across the country.

Law firms big and small are using dynamic, interactive such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with the public.  Here is rundown of recent social networking tech news that your firm should be aware of.

• Facebook did some back-to-school shopping this week, grabbing up the 12-member company FriendFeed for $50 million.  And to further primp and preen for the new school year, it also starting testing out "Facebook Lite"--a streamlined, Twitter-like feed for microblogging. 

1984 is back and making up for lost time.  

A public and self-critical apology may have smoothed ruffled feathers for the vast majority of Kindle users who purchased e-books of George Orwell's classic novels 1984 and Animal Farm; however, it was not enough for two readers who recently filed a class action suit against Amazon for the abrupt removal of the books from their Kindle accounts and as well from the accounts of any users who purchased one or both of the e-books.

As covered earlier, Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos recently apologized publicly for the removal of the e-books from users' Kindle accounts.  However, for Antoine Bruguier of California and high school student Justin Gawronski from Michigan, the apology fell short of perceived justice.  Their complaint sets forth six causes of action including a claim for conduct violating Amazon's own Terms of Use, which promises buyers a "non-exclusive right to keep a permanent copy..." of the e-book upon purchase.  Also cited in the lawsuit is a claim for breach of contract, another for violation of property rights claiming trespass and conversion, as well as a couple of claims for violation of state and federal codes guarding against computer abuse.