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TECH SUPPORT rates, activity codes, etc. — and then audit bills to ensure guidelines are met. It was inevitable too that such services emerged. Corporate legal departments have long been frustrated by the vaga- ries of law firm billing. French knew this from working as general counsel at Wall Street firms in New York. Lawyers often keep sketchy notes on how they spend time, or they rely on memory to compile reports days or weeks later. For those and other reasons, they typically don't describe activities accurately enough or with sufficient detail. "If your job is oversight of your legal spend, how can you determine what is time appropriately spent if you don't have detailed, accurate reporting of that time?" says French. Most Legalbill clients establish guidelines that require lawyers to report in increments of as little as tenths of an hour and describe activities with sig- nificantly more detail than was their custom. 'Phone call with client, 15 HEWLETT-PACKARD MINI 5101 N etbooks have come a long way, baby. They are those teeny notebook PCs we fi rst wrote about here two years ago — an intriguing option for on-the-go lawyers who don't want to lug a full-size laptop but can't do all they need to on a BlackBerry. Hewlett-Packard's Mini 5101 ($530 to $700 MSRP) is the evolution of netbooks. It boasts grown-up features, yet it's still reasonably small — 26.2 x 1.80 x 2.32 cm (10.30 x 7.09 x 0.91 in.) and 1.20 kg (2.64 lbs). The 5101 has a 10.1-inch (diagonal) display (1024 x 600 pixels), not the 7-inch (or smaller) screens of early netbooks. The keyboard is about 87 per cent full size — big enough to touch type relatively comfortably. The 5101 also has a 160GB hard drive , not just fl ash memory for storage, and a full 1GB of fast memory. The processor is an 1.66 GHz Intel Atom (N280) that packs the power of a standard laptop from four or fi ve years ago. So it can easily handle low-end to mid-range computing tasks — web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and more. The 5101 also comes with a built-in Wi-Fi network adapter, wired Gigabit Ether- net port, and Bluetooth 2.0. Three USB 2.0 ports, an external VGA monitor port, and built-in 2.0 megapixel webcam round out an impressive roster of features. The only thing missing: an optical drive. The unit we tested ran Windows XP Home, though it also bore a sticker for Vista Basic. The new Windows 7 should also run on the 5101. The big problems with early netbooks were the small screens and undersized keyboards. They also ran Linux so they couldn't support standard productivity applica- tions such as Microsoft Offi ce. HP has solved these problems and quite elegantly. The keyboard in particular is impressive. The processor, slightly underpowered by today's standards, means the 5101 won't work for power users but is fi ne for average users. Electronic Documents Records Management, e-Discovery and Trial Editors: Bryan Finlay Q.C., Marie-Andrée Vermette and Michael Statham With contributions from: Caroline Abela, Steve Doak, Paul D. Guy, Nikiforos Iatrou, Stephanie L. Turnham, David Vitale and John Wilkinson Effectively navigate the legal challenges Electronic data is modifying how lawyers interact, changing how information is collected and used, and transforming the courtrooms. This in-depth resource examines and analyzes the issues relating to electronic documents, including: • the sources and types of electronic documents • records management policies • the legal framework governing e-discovery in Canada • the preservation, collection, processing, review and production of electronic documents • the use of electronic evidence at trial This dynamic and burgeoning aspect of legal practice is clarified and explained with extensive reference to relevant Canadian and U.S. authorities. Order your copy today! Looseleaf & binder • Approx. $210 • January 2010 • Releases invoiced separately (2/yr) P/C 0283030000 • ISSN 1920-1737 canadalawbook.ca MERGING TRADITION WITH TECHNOLOGY For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book is a Division of The Cartwright Group Ltd Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. 26 NO VEMBER / DECEMBER 2009 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com FINLAY_Electronic Documents (CL 1-3sq).indd 1 10/28/09 10:11:01 AM CL1109 minutes' becomes 'Phone call with cli- ent re: dismissal of motion, Jones v. Smith, 12 minutes.' They may also establish rosters of professionals approved to work on each matter or type of matter, and impose limits on the number of lawyers who can bill for the same activity in the same period. Molins calls this the "too- many-partners-in-a-room" provision. Firms sometimes pack meetings with legal talent in an honest attempt to provide optimal service. But inevitably only a few make substantive contribu- tions. "If there are three or four partners and three associates in the room and all seven are billing, that's just not appropri- ate," says Molins. So Lufthansa's guide- lines place limits on it. They also prohibit some types of expenses and disbursements — over- time for support staff, for example, and meals out and limousine rides home for lawyers working late. Legalbill uses its software to review bills against client guidelines and kick out instances of non-compliance — if a firm bills for a non-approved lawyer or disallowed expenses, or applies the Gadget Watch