The South Carolina Bar Convention was held January 21 – 24, at Kiawah Island Golf Resort. My favorite part, as always, was the Technology seminar on Thursday afternoon. The Tech seminar has become something of a tradition at the Convention. Over the years, we’ve been honored to have some top-notch national speakers from the world of legal technology. Past speakers have included Ross Kodner, Sharon Nelson and John Simek, Craig Ball, Walt Mossberg, Jim Calloway, and more. This year, Convention attendees were wowed by Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch, of Internet for Lawyers.

Mark and Carole are nationally known and respected “cybersleuths.”  Mark’s background is in business, the entertainment industry and technology; Carole’s is in law and library science. Together they have created Internet for Lawyers, through which they speak, write,  and assist lawyers with finding the electronic “smoking gun.” Their current book, The Cybersleuth’s Guide to the Internet, will be joined soon by two new books for the ABA Law Practice Management Section – Find Info Like a Pro, vol. I, will debut at ABA TECHSHOW in March.

The session was fast, funny, and informative. Mark and Carole really know their stuff. I learned many things I didn’t know about research on the Internet. Judging from the comments from the lawyers attending, I wasn’t alone. In three hours, we covered everything from how to investigate people and companies using free web sites, to some great tips on software and web sites most lawyers have, but aren’t using as well as they should. I know it will be hard to top this year’s program. I’ll be looking hard for next year’s speakers when I attend ABA TECHSHOW in March.