From Sam Glover:

After a four-day jury trial, we (co-counsel Ben Crow and I) prevailed on claims for conversion and damage to property under Minnesota Statute § 504B.271 and obtained an award of $49,058.00 for damage to property, emotional distress, and punitive damages for our clients.

(more…)

Today Sam Glover was elected Secretary of the MSBA Practice Management and Marketing Section. The section administers the solosmall e-mail list and hosts a series of monthly webcast seminars with MCLE. We have plans to expand the influence and offerings to add value for section members and bar members generally.

The description from Minnesota CLE:

Tech Tuesday: Free and Open-Source Software for Running the Whole Law Office
Presented by Presented by Samuel Glover; moderated by Todd Scott and Peter Berge

Tuesday, March 18, 2008, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CST
1.0 law office management credit
Tuition: $75

Part of the ongoing “Tech Tuesday” webcast series, streaming the third Tuesday of most months.

The standard commercial software for running a law office is by no means cheap. There are, however, alternatives. In this Tech Tuesday webcast, attorney Sam Glover, the author of the SoloSmallTech.com blog, will talk about free and open-source alternatives to standard operating systems and office suite, calendar, tickler, and file management applications. His conclusion, surprising to some, is that free and open-source software has progressed to the point that it competes toe-to-toe with its commercial counterparts and meets all the requirements for electronic filing with the courts.

Presented by Sam Glover, Samuel J. Glover & Assoc., Minneapolis; moderated by Todd C. Scott, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual, Minneapolis, and Peter H. Berge, Minnesota CLE, St. Paul.

Register Now for Free and Open-Source Software for Running the Whole Law Office

Minnlawpedia is a wiki where lawyers and non-lawyers can build a reference database for all users of Minnesota courts. We hope it will grow into a place where legal consumers can get a “translation” of the impenetrable thicket of laws and procedures that are the legal system.

For example, the Minnlawpedia article for answer explains that an answer must be in writing, that it must be served on the opposing lawyer, and that one is due even if the lawsuit has not been filed with the court.

But as you can see, Minnlawpedia is very new and needs contributors. Anyone can contribute by editing existing articles and creating new ones. There is no need to register. As an incentive to contribute, we will add a “featured link” to your website if you meaningfully contribute to 10% of the articles on Minnlawpedia. Right now, the wiki is very small, so a meaningful contribution to only one article will earn a featured link. Obviously, it will be harder to earn a featured link as the wiki grows, but the value of those links will also increase with the traffic.

We get a lot of requests from people who are looking for answers to specific legal questions about their situation, who have questions about our forms, or who need other legal advice. Of course, legal issues are rarely simple, so we often spend significant time addressing those issues even when they appear simple. Even a question about how to fill out a form usually leads to more questions about the case.

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