The First Steps to Comply With M.G.L. c. 93H (The Data Privacy Act)

Have you taken the basic steps to comply with M.G.L. C. 93H and 201 CMR 17.00, the Data Privacy Act? We have posted a number of times on this subject, but I thought we could get back to the basics. So, let us start with defining what are we protecting? And, what are the initial steps we must take to comply? First, the Act requires that law offices protect the "personal information" (“PI”) of Massachusetts residents. PI is defined as a Massachusetts resident's first and last name in combination with any one or more of the following: (i) a social security number, (ii) a driver's license number or state issued identification card number, and (iii) a credit or debit card or other financial account number regardless of whether a PIN or security code is included. This personal information must be protected as pursuant to the standards mandated by the Act whether the PI is kept as a hard-copy document or an electronic document stored on a portable device or transmitted over the internet.

Ultimately, compliance with the regulations will be judged on a case by case basis, taking into consideration the size of the business, the resources available to the business, the amount of data stored by the business, and the need for privacy and security of the client/customer/employee data. If the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office believes that an entity did not comply with the security requirements it may seek injunctive relief and/or recover civil fines of up to $5,000.00, and attorneys' fees and costs. In addition to potential fines and costs any office found in non-compliance will suffer from distress of having to explain to its clients why it was not in compliance with a regulation that was intended to protect its clients’ confidential information. Such a failure would be an embarrassing failure for a law office.

Although the easiest way to comply with the Data Privacy Act is by limiting the amount of personal information gathered or that is kept as either a paper document or that is stored on portable electronic devices to carry protected data. However, this simple solution is probably not feasible for a modern law office. So, here are the first steps that a law firm should take to ensure compliance with the Act.

STEP ONE: CONDUCT AN AUDIT TO IDENTIFY PERSONAL INFORMATION

Compliance with the Act requires that each law office take action to secure protected data, both hard copy and electronic. An effective compliance plan will require that the law firm identify all records in its possession that contain personal information, both electronic and paper, and all portable electronic storage media, including laptops, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, etc., that contain personal information. In addition, the law firm must identify all third-party vendors that either hold or have access to protected data on behalf of the law firm. The process of identifying records which are protected by the regulations will give the law office a much better idea of the scope of work needed for compliance with the regulations. In addition, it will allow the firm to begin the second necessary step for compliance.

STEP TWO: CREATE A WRITTEN INFORMATION SECURITY PROGRAM

The firm must adopt a written policy of privacy and security practices, termed a "written information security program" (“WISP”) for handling protected data. A guide is available to help create a “written information security program” on the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business website, under the tab “For Business” tab and then look for “Identity Theft”. You can also find a compliance checklist to ensure that the WISP is fully compliant with the regulatory requirements. Your WISP will require the firm to set forth the reasonably foreseeable internal and external risks, the likelihood and potential damage from those threats, an evaluation of the sufficiency of existing policies to protect the confidential information, and a determination of how to minimize the risk consistent with the requirements of 201 CMR 17.00. In light of the flexibility provided within the regulations for companies of different sizes and facing different risks, there is no cut and paste WISP that will work for every law firm. Therefore, a law firm should anticipate that this step will be both time consuming, but once it is completed, a strong foundation will exist for future compliance efforts. It is important to note that the WISP will need to be reviewed annually to ensure that the risks have not changed and the security efforts are still effective. In addition, each firm also must realize that the WISP will require an evaluation of third-party service providers that may hold confidential information on behalf of the firm. Examples of third-party service providers would be a payroll company or IT consultant. Review the compliance checklist to ensure that you have included all critical aspects of the WISP.

It is not enough to simply create a WISP; you must now implement the WISP to protect all protected information contained in both hard documents and electronic data pursuant to the WISP. Now the firm will have to implement the appropriate measures to protect the data, and it must then make all employees aware of the written policy and train them on how to comply with the WISP. We will cover strategies for implementing appropriate security measures in the future.

PD-F This! Scanners Too: The Ne(xt) Order

The last time I actually posted to this blog (notice the liberal use of guest bloggers, which means I have been able to sleep more and to go to the gym more regularly, which means my mind is more sharply focused for when I do blog; see how this all works, and what I do for you?) , I considered a question that has been asked of us over and over again, it seems, of late: How do I access mentors? Well, this time around, I have discovered another frequently asked question, which has been, of late, general, as snow at Christmastime, all over Ireland: How do I do the scanning thing?

(So, maybe I’m just dense. Should more people be yelling at me more? I don’t know. (What?) But, here I am, with crazy blog fodder flying at me everydays, just assaulting me, and I’m just letting it ride. For months. Alas.)

Along with the mentoring query, this question of scanning, and all of the attendant sub-questions that respect scanning, has become the most frequently asked question that I do not yet have a pat and ready answer to. That means that, after I meet with clients, and shoot out a summary email of our meeting, I actually have to write my observations down anew every time, instead of just linking out to a blog post. Not. Cool. When you’re trying to work smarter, and not harder, you really do need stock answers to these sorts of most-often-asked questions.

So, here’s how you do the scanning thing:

First, quite obviously, you need a scanner. But, Which scanner? Well, we’ve written previously about a bundle package that we believe represents a nice value, if you’re not doing massive amounts of scanning. You can review our take on the Fujitsu ScanSnap-Adobe Acrobat bundle here. And, the answer to the first stage of this question is as alluded to above: How much scanning are you going to be doing? If you’re in a scanning-heavy practice, or can translate, in your mind, your paper-heavy practice to a scanning-heavy practice, you’ll need something with a good deal of horsepower, that’s capable of batch scanning larger numbers of pages at one time (the less feeding you’ll have to do). More horsepower usually equals a larger machine usually equals a pricier model. But, the space you’ll save and the efficiency advances you’ll make, when you move your paper documents online, are likely to be worth the cost outlay, unless you want a scanner with gold-leafing, or some other sort of crazy-old-rich-man bling. (Incidentally, if you're interested in the overarching concept of the "paperless office", we addressed that previously at the blog, as well, here, specifically.) Now, I can’t recommend any specific product purchase, because that depends entirely on your expected usage patterns, business needs and budget; however, I can recommend companies that have produced scanners that I have used effectively, or that have produced scanners that have been used effectively by people whose judgments I trust. For top-of-the-line scanners, I think that you’re looking at a few companies (not an exhaustive list), as follows: Fujistu, Kodak and HP. For the best bargains (i.e.--products that do all/most of what you need, for a reasonable price), try: Brother or Lexmark. If you want a scanner plus, you’re certainly welcome to purchase an all-in-one device, or a multifunction machine. Keep in mind, however, that the issue with those sorts of devices, although they will often represent an aggregate cost savings, is that they house all of their two or three or four functions within their circumspection, such that, if your fax machine’s broken, so’s your scanner. That, my friends, is a caveat. (And, these, my friends, are cavebats.) Now, if you don’t need something with lots of horsepower, or if you don’t need a traditional, heavy machine, you may consider a smaller, more portable scanning product. I’ve alluded above to our post covering the Fujitsu ScanSnaps, which come bundled with Adobe Acrobat. For remote scanning (i.e.--a scanner that you can take with you places, fairly easily), and for getting into a PDF converter system at the cost of a scanner alone, this deal is a boon. If you don’t like the Fujistu-Adobe bundle, you have an alternative: A number of Kodak’s small-form scanners are bundled with Nuance PDF products.

With the purchase of a computer system, we do not recommend buying an out-of-the-box product, because you need to establish that main system of your practice as a business machine, and must make sure that the specifications you acquire are fitted to your business purposes. However, the purchase of a scanner is a different matter. Generally, once you choose a model, it is what it is, and you are, necessarily, buying out-of-the-box. So, when you’ve “scan”ned the options (hahaha), and have decided to make a purchase, all you’ll need is the model number; and, you’ll find that, if you access comparison shopping discount sites (like NewEgg, Shopzilla or CTIStore), you’ll probably be able to find the best going price on the scanner of your dreams. (For more on discounts for attorneys, visit our previous blog post on that topic here. C’mon, just visit it. It’s lonely. When you get there, it’ll offer you some tapioca pudding and a foot rub--not necessarily in that order.)

When you’re purchasing a scanner, you’ll want something with the capability to OCR documents; or, you’ll want a software, included or purchased separately, that can OCR documents. OCR stands for “optical character recognition”. A scan without OCR is just a picture of the document, like a photo. Characters are not rendered. If you want to be able to edit, or otherwise manipulate, your documents, once they’re scanned, you’ll need to run OCR on them, either when you scan them, or after the fact. Without OCR, you won’t be able to create forms, and you won’t be able to convert scanned documents to Word for editing, by way of two, main, examples. This is largely getting to be a moot point, however, as most modern systems (of scanner/of PDF conversion software) include OCR capability. And, although the renderings of characters through OCR, in the past, has not always been exactly faithful, particularly with difficult-to-read or older documents, the truth of conversion becomes more and more effective with each passing year.

Now, once you have your documents scanned in, and OCR’d, you still need to be able to work with them, as PDFs, and in other formats. And, the way you accomplish that is through the use of a PDF conversion software, which has been the shadow figure of this post, lurking, as it has been, creepily, darkly, and . . . right behind you! (Well, not really; but, it sounded better written that way.) It’s not even worth scanning, frankly, to begin with, if you are not using a PDF conversion software, as well.

One preliminary that I would like to address immediately (at least, as “immediate” as the beginning of, like, the tenth paragraph of this post can be “immediate”), because I still get the question/become embroiled in the confusion, is to say that: When I am talking of a “PDF conversion program”, I am not talking about a “PDF reader program”. Anyone can view a PDF, most usually through Adobe’s Reader (Nuance has a reader now, too, though), and sometimes that PDF reader view will also allow you some ability to access PDF conversion tools, most often those features that the author of the PDF has given you access to . . . BUT, the PDF reader is not (I repeat: NOT) a PDF conversion software. The tools available on a PDF reader represent the absolute de minimis version of what you will find on a PDF conversion software. And, that, ladies and gentlemen, is why the reader is free.

PDF conversion systems, well beyond the PDF reader programs, generally provide a number of specific advantages. For one, PDF conversion softwares offer the ability to convert in and out of various document formats, through PDF. For another, a PDF document obviates formatting issues, for the most part, since PDF documents look the same across all platforms. The creation of a PDF document can remove metadata from the prior form (e.g.--the converting of a template Word document that has been reworked and reworked, can be refreshened, and can become a veritable blank slate, at least with respect to its foundation). PDF conversion systems can be used to create fillable forms. PDF conversion systems feature attorney-useful tools, as well, like Bates stamping, and more proactive metadata removal options. PDF conversion softwares can also provide you the ability to establish password protection for documents, and to apply underlying encryption, which can be a very important tool set, especially in Massachusetts, where the new state data privacy regulations require encryption for specific sets of sensitive data being sent wirelessly/saved to portable electronic devices. Additionally, as courts and administrative bodies move toward the submission of electronic, for paper, documents, the use of a PDF conversion system (and a recent version of same, to boot), will become more and more important.

In the above paragraph, I have been speaking very generally about the use of PDF conversion softwares. In point of fact, each system has its own features, which may or may not be coextensive with the above recitation, which begs the question: If all of these don’t do the same things, which of these is the best thing? Well, I do have a stock answer for that, that involves the olympic games, tangentially, or something like it. Let me just work up to remembering it. (Rubbing my temples vigorously.) (It’s really hot outside right now.):

Adobe’s Acrobat is the gold standard for PDF conversion. It is the most intuitive product, thus making it the easiest to use, perhaps even by definition. It’s got the most features, and the most useful features. It offers strong, and the-easiest-to-use, security options. The latest version of Acrobat features some nifty tools, including: PDF portfolio creation options; integration through Acrobat.com; Adobe Presenter built-in, for use with Powerpoint; and, etc. Additionally, Acrobat has the widest knowledgebase, including free information, about its product, which knowledgebase includes Rick Borstein’s excellent “Acrobat for Legal Professionals” blog, and books written exclusively for attorneys using Acrobat, including the ABA’s “The Lawyer's Guide to Adobe Acrobat”, currently in its third edition. For more on Adobe Acrobat, visit Beverly Michaelis’ “Oregon Law Practice Management” blog, at which she has a couple good posts covering Acrobat: “Acrobat Tips and Tricks from the Experts” and “Is Acrobat Really Necessary?” Acrobat’s latest version is 9, available in graded flavors of Standard, Pro and Pro Extended.

Nuance’s PDF Converter is the silver standard for PDF conversion. Its main features are basically co-extensive with Acrobat’s. It’s fairly intuitive, but not so much as Acrobat, and that includes for password security and encryption options. The latest version of PDF Converter (which could be more cleverly named, right? I suggest --the Dangerous Document Shifter (“DDS”)--, or something. No? Nah, you’re right. That’s terrible.) offers some nifty features, too, including: the ability to create PDF portfolios; “autopilot” batch processing; the ability to add and play Flash content; and, etc. Nuance PDF Converter, however, does not have anything near the knowledgebase available that Acrobat has, whether produced by the company, by private authors, or by the public. It just doesn’t have the same traction or popularity that Acrobat does; it may in time, but that time is not now. I also think that Nuance has attempted to package too many of its other products, to fold them into PDF Conveter, and to surround PDF Converter with them, to the point that it is difficult to tell where one program becomes and where the other ends, which ultimately means that each individual product becomes more difficult to use, and, probably, that you end up buying more crap than you need to. PDF Converter is currently in version 6, available in graded flavors of Converter, Professional and Enterprise.

With respect to pricing, it is the case that you pay for what you get. Acrobat is a better product; and, you’ll pay more for it. PDF Converter is an effective bargain product, and you’ll pay less for it than you would for Acrobat; but, if you can live with some workarounds, it should work nearly as well for you.

There are also cheap and free options, representing a bronze standard, below that of Acrobat and PDF Converter. The two versions of cheap/free PDF conversion softwares I most often recommend are CutePDF and PDF Forge. CutePDF offers a freeware version for simple PDF creation. The professional version, available for $50, provides more heft, and approaches the line of the Acrobat and Nuance standard products. Some of the features of the professional version include: forms tools; a typewriter feature; digital signature for PDF; and, etc. PDF Forge (just imagine Hephaestus hammering out PDF documents in his secret volcano lair, as you click to make him go faster) offers a free creator program that offers some bells and whistles, including: encryption options; digital signature for PDF; the ability to merge multiple files into a single PDF; and, etc. There are a number of other PDF converter systems available, and a quick Google search should provide you with an array of options.

I had initially concerned myself over writing a comparison between products, as I’ve never really done that before. Then I remembered that very few people read this blog anyway (Hi, Ma), and that none of these companies probably give half a crap about what I think. So that set my mind at ease. (Nah, just kidding. I was never really concerned.)

A Note for Mac Users. I’m no Mac expert. In fact, I’ve only used a Mac once, to check my email, and I didn’t like it. So that was that. And, don’t try to convince me otherwise. I’m not even sure that it’s technically “Mac” or “MAC”, and I think Steve Jobs is always squinting at me. However, in order to be fair to our Mac-using friends (and I am nothing if not fair), of which the numbers are always increasing, we (Rachel helped me, thank God) took a look after what Mac users might be able to expect out of PDF conversion programs. Well, there’s no easy way to say it, so I’m just going to come out and say it, but: the glass is rather half-full. PDF Forge is only supported on Windows; as is Cute PDF; as is Nuance PDF Converter. Adobe Acrobat will run on Macs (so there you go, you get the best one, Yeah!), though the product doesn’t review as well on Mac (admittedly, a small sample size) as it does on Windows (Ahhhh, No!). (Perhaps not surprisingly, the ScanSnaps, being bundled with Acrobat as they are, include a line for Mac users, the "M" series.) But, there are two more bits of good news. Every Mac offers PDF creation out of the print dialogue. And, if you’re using a Mac, there is a great resource out there that you should be accessing generally, as well as for information about Macs and PDF. As a Mac-using attorney, you can’t go wrong joining the Macs in the Law Office (MILO) Google Group. You must apply to the group for membership; but, they let me in as a lurker/learner, so their standards don’t appear to be high. I would imagine, as a real-life Mac user, you’d have an even easier time getting in. The discussions are extremely robust, with lots of users commenting on lots of topics. It’s just a great, modern, legal technology forum. A search for “PDF” in the MILO forum yields over 1,700 results.

Well, then . . . Release the Hounds!

. . .

Liner Notes

People talk about super groups; and VH1 even created an eponymous and horrible reality show based on the concept. (Incidentally, that reality show should have been called “(The Opposite of Super)group”, as it did feature a bunch of has-beens, and Ted Nugent, who, in the finale, I believe, killed and ate his bandmembers (and probably me, too, now for possibly calling him a has-been) like so many deer.)

So, what’s a real super group, then? Well, let’s set some ground rules. A super group can’t include individuals who became famous after their joining together as a group. (So, the Beatles aren’t a super group.) Neither is a super group a small, project-based entity. ( So, the Dirty Mac is not a super group. Neither is the collective that sang “We Are the World”.) So, my take on the super group is that it has a few more qualifiers, in addition to the above, implied ones: (1) you (pl.) gotta come out with a long-form album (no EPs, or singles); (2) you (pl.) have to have some kind of cohesion as a band; and, (3) you (pl.) gotta write some original material. Of course, the more originally famous the initial members, the more super the super group.

What are some examples of true super groups, then: Crosby Stills, Nash & (sometimes) Y(oung); Blind Faith; Hindu Love Gods--doesn’t fit the criteria, but I don’t care: Zevon’s the man; The Highwaymen; and, Damn Yankees.

Wait . . . Wait. I’m leaving one out.

Ah, yes. The sons of Charles Truscott Wilbury, Sr.: the Traveling Wilburys.

The Traveling Wilburys are, to my mind, without a doubt, the greatest super group ever. The lineup is just outrageous: George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, in the same band. Those are some big-timey resumes right there. George Harrison was the lead guitarist for the Beatles, and is a LOMAP blog favorite. Bob Dylan is the father of American songcraft. Roy Orbison was so damn soulful, people thought he was blind just because he wore sunglasses a lot. (And, he was one of my grandmother’s favorite sings, so that counts for something for me on a resonating and on a goosebumps-generating level.) Tom Petty is probably the all-time modern swamp rocker. Jeff Lynne was the lead singer of Electric Light Orchestra (you know them--seriously, don't bring me down, Brrrrrruuuuuuuuce); but, he is most notable for his work as a producer, including on comeback albums for fellow Wilburys George Harrison and Roy Orbison.

Although each member of the group lends his distinctive songwriting, musical and voice contribution to the Wilburys’ song catalogue (Harrison’s rising popcraft; Dylan sounds raspier than he ever has; Orbison’s operatic lack of vigor; Petty’s dragging, clacking vocals; that catchy Jeff Lynne-sound permeating all), they do, in fact, sound like a group, especially on their second album.

The Wilburys’ albums were recently remastered, and are now being sold, with bonus tracks included; but, back in the day, getting your hands on the Wilburys’ albums meant something, man. Back when I was in college, before the reissues, tracking down the two studio albums, Volume I and Volume III (Volume III was Volume II . . . oh, never mind . . . if you don’t know, you don’t know) was very difficult. Volume I was just still popular enough, and so you could find it in used record stores on tape. Only problem was, even then, tapes were moving out of vogue. So, when you found it on tape, you’d burn CD copies for your friends. Volume III was a rare find, however, because it met with less commercial success than its predecessor. I remember hitting up a long string of used record stores over several weekends before I uncovered a cassette copy of Volume III, beaten and sticky as it was. The fact that college kids, in the age of CDs, were scouring the record stores of greater Manchester, New Hampshire for dingy cassette versions of out-of-print albums that were released over a decade before shows you the sort of cache the Wilburys retained. In fact, it was one of the ways that you judged someone’s musical knowledge: If you didn't know Jeff Lynne was the fifth Wilbury, you were out. But, if you knew the Wilburys, and not in a poser-ish sort of way, you were cool to come by, and to provide much beer for my party, as well as, perhaps, a cheese wheel.

So let us sample from the trove.

Volume I was just a mammoth record, featuring big hits “Handle with Care” and “End of the Line”. But, some of the other songs on the record are tremendous, as well, if not getting the airplay of the above-referenced gems. “Dirty World” is probably one of my favorite songs of all-time--just a fun, jaunty pop song that is also well-written (a rare occurrence these days), and that includes an excellent cataloguing along the lines of a third-person love letter, and much double entendre. “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” is “the Dylan song” on the album, and speaks to the dangers present in and around Secaucus, New Jersey. “Last Night” is something of a cowboy's love story (or, at least, that’s how I always thought of it), with Petty and Orbison sharing the lead vocal. George Harrison’s “Heading for the Light” is the closest he gets to Krishna on these albums. I think.

As good as Volume I is, it still feels more like an uneasy collaboration, with a number of songs sounding very much like solo endeavors, injected into the album to fill what would have been more cohesively developed group-styled songs. Volume III, although less commercially successful, and, sadly, not including Roy Orbison, who had passed away before its recording, was more of a group effort, featuring songs that sounded more similar (call it the Tom Petty-Jeff Lynne sound also figuring prominently on Petty’s hugely successful debut solo album, Full Moon Fever, which had released the year before), including songs that sounded more like Traveling Wilburys songs than George Harrison songs, or Bob Dylan songs, or Roy Orbison songs. I think that Volume III is the better album. The one hit, “Wilbury Twist” is fun, and stars John Candy in the video; but, the remainder of the albums offers some much better tunes, including: “She’s My Baby”, “Inside Out”, “If You Belonged To Me”, “The Devil’s Been Busy”, “Poor House” and “Cool Dry Place”. Volume (II)I is a great listen, from beginning to end.

Beyond the canonical recordings, though, there are a great number of excellent bootleg and special collection numbers, including: Orbison warbling through “Heartbreak Radio” (just wait out the odd VHS overdub at the beginning of the YouTube clip, featuring Sean Young (aka Ray Finkle) and Pierce Brosnan)--it’s worth it), probably the most egregious album exclusion, and later appearing on Orbison’s posthumous King of Hearts album; a cover of Del Shannon’s “Runaway”; a cover of “Nobody’s Child”, for the Romanian Angel Appeal 1990 benefit album; “Border Line”; and, “Walk Away”, among others.

Doesn’t that make you want to dust off the old tape collection? It does me.

Rachel Willcox’s Spring Cleaning Guide, Part II: Your Computer

We’ve previously introduced you to our wonderful new administrative assistant, Rachel Willcox. It was only a matter of time before we forced her into writing blog posts for us, too.

This is Part II of II of Rachel’s “Spring Cleaning” series. Part I, covering cleaning out your email inbox, is available here.

. . .

There are precisely three things that are less enjoyable than cleaning up your computer files. One of them is writing about it (score.). Here’s the second. And, the third. But, you’re awesome, so you’re going to do it; and, we’re awesome, so we’re going to give you all the right moves to do it. Really, though, it’s not hard--and it will probably take less time than you expect.

There are four general sources of file surplus: old files you once created but don’t need anymore; programs you don’t use anymore, or never did; incidental and superfluous program files; and, malware.

So, What do you do?

Your Old Files . . . Weeding through these is probably the most cumbersome part of this whole undertaking. The most efficient way to start is with the three steps below:

(Oh, and while you’re at it--go through files that you’re responsible for on any shared drives, even though you may not have this kind of incentive to do so.)

(1) Start exploring. Right-click on “Start”, and choose “Explore”, to begin reviewing your documents.
(2) Begin reviewing the files in the program you use most often, or that you use to produce final versions of your work. This offers you a place to start, and will force you to figure out what types of files can be deleted, so that when you see related files in other programs, you will already have decided what to do with them. For example, if the majority of your work culminates in .pdf files of contracts, start there, and your cleaning will move faster and easier, as you come across the draft versions as Word documents, draft exhibits as Excel spreadsheets, etc.
(3) Sort by date. Assuming you are more likely to be able to delete older files, start with the older ones.
(4) Look for AutoSaved file duplicates (--thanks a bunch, Microsoft!--). You’ll know it’s a duplicate because they will seem the same; the duplicate file name will begin with the “~” symbol, and closely parallel the file name from there.

If you don’t already have a robustly organized system, with sub-folders and naming conventions, this exercise will illustrate why you’ll want to start creating the file system your file system could look like. And, you can start creating that ideal system simultaneously with your purge, or at the end of your purge. As you’re deleting, though, it does make sense to inventory your existing files, determining what new categories need to be made, what ones can be removed, merged, subdivided, etc. Then:

(1) Make sure every file belongs to a folder. You can rarely have too many folders; however, you can easily have too many uncategorized documents. Additionally, the former is an easier problem to remedy, should it arise.
(2) Develop easily identifiable file naming conventions. Be consistent. Rename old documents as necessary. For example, “[Date (in yyyymmdd format)][Topic] [Title]”.
(3) Avoid:
-“Miscellaneous” categories;
-Unclear &/or inconsistent abbreviations; and,
-Duplicates at any level (i.e.--at the file and folder levels).

After you’ve cleaned out your folders and files, remember that those old files are still on your computer. So, remember to empty your recycle bin once you’re done.

. . .

Now, since you’ve cleaned up your files and folders already, you might as well just press on, as follows:

Do your bookmarks/favorites in your web browser, too. Delete old ones, and create a standardized system, including folders, to organize the ones that you do keep.

Old programs you never use? Such an easy one: Use Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.

Temporary internet files, including browsing history and cookies, also don’t take much effort to clean up. Use Tools > Delete Browsing History, and make the appropriate selections.

Also, run Disk Cleanup, accessed via Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup, to keep your computer running efficiently.

Finally, get rid of malware. Telling you how to remove malware is outside of my comfort zone; but, it’s not outside the comfort zone of an eHow.com contributing author.

. . .

I know--that post was so good. I could get it published if I wanted to, I just don't, ‘cause that would, like, make it impure.

Guest Post: How to Set Up a Law Practice Website

We are fortunate to have yet another excellent guest post here at the LOMAP Blog, this one being tied in to a recent session of our marketing group webconference on this topic, which was led by the author of this post, Jack Cushman. Jack provides consulting services for appellate attorneys and complex litigation. He is a former clerk to Justice Margot Botsford of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. He is the publisher of Mass. Appellate Briefs, a monthly newsletter of cases accepted for argument at the Supreme Judicial Court. He has an additional interest in helping non-profits, and is committed to pro bono work within his practice.

We appreciate Jack’s submitting his take on the establishment of a law practice website, and hope that you find useful his robust review of that topic, appearing below.

. . .

Having a website today is as important as having a Yellow Pages listing was 20 years ago--even if your clients don’t find you that way, it’s one of the tools they’ll use to make sure that you’re legitimate. This blog post will tell you how to get up and running with a simple website, whatever your time and money limits.

The Basic Building Blocks of Any Website

Let’s start by covering the basic building blocks of every website out there, from the simplest site up to Amazon.com. If you’re not very technically inclined, don’t worry--you might not have to know all of this. You can hire someone else to do it, or you can use a “hosted CMS”, which we’ll get into below. In any event, this is a good way to understand some of the major concepts involved in website building.

Domain Name Registration

Domain name registration is the process of buying a domain name for your website. It’s what translates a domain name like “jackcushman.com” into an IP address, like “207.58.139.229”, that a computer can use to contact a web server.

It’s good to buy a straightforward, professional domain, like “SmithLaw.com”. Prefer .com; avoid .org, .net, .biz, .info, and so on. You can also have multiple, or extra domains that point to the same site, like “ImmigrationAppeals.com” or “BostonLawyer.com”--if no one else has gotten them first.

Domain name registration is as simple as going to a registration website (a “registrar”), telling them the domain you want, and providing your credit card information. It costs about $10/year.

It’s a good idea to register your domain right away, even if you’re not quite ready to put up a website. If you don’t own your domain yet, you should go get it right now. Really. I’ll wait . . .

There are, in fact, a number of options for registering your domain name, including: NameCheap; DynaDot; and, Moniker. GoDaddy is popular, but not recommended, just because the dollar or two per year you save isn’t worth the loss of customer service.

If you want to find out whether someone has already taken your brilliantly catchy idea, or if you can’t come up with a brilliantly catchy domain name on your own, there are some good search and brainstorming sites, including: InstantDomainSearch; NameStation; and, BustAName.

Web Hosting

The second basic building block of any website is a web server to host your files.

A web server is just a computer, somewhere out on the internet, with a reliable IP address. With the right software and internet connection, the computer you’re reading this on right now could be a web server. That’s much too much hassle, though. Instead, you’ll want to rent space on a server from a web host. At the low end, that costs about $5/month.

I can’t recommend a particular web host, but there are plenty of review sites out there with recommendations, including WebHostingReviews; BestHostRating; and, WebHostingTalk, the last of which is a forum.

You’ll want a web host that supports PHP and MySQL (practically all of them do), in case you decide to install WordPress.

Once you have a web host, you’ll have a place to copy HTML files so that they’ll get displayed to anyone who visits your domain name. That brings us to the third building block . . .

Website Design

The last building block of a website is the site itself--a bunch of text files and images in formats like HTML, CSS and Javascript. The grand mystery of the internet reduces to this: someone types in your domain name; it gets translated to the IP address of your web server; and, the text files are sent back from your web server to the user, and displayed in their browser.

You can see what the HTML files look like for any website by right-clicking and choosing “View Source”. Learning how to write those files is far beyond the scope of this blog post (we’ll talk about alternatives next); but, if you wanted to learn, W3Schools would be a good place to start.

Getting Your Website Online

So now you know what a website is; but, how do you create yours?

If you can afford it, the easiest way to make your website your own is to hire someone else to do it for you. What you’ll probably want them to give you is a customized version of WordPress, which began as blogging software, but has become something much more. With WordPress as your platform, your designer can give you exactly the look you want--but also let you edit the text and add pages yourself, without having to understand the design elements. A basic site will probably cost $1-2,000 (or more, or less, depending on the experience of the designer). If you don’t know anyone who does this kind of work, there are lots of local options at Craigslist Boston. Ask to see samples of the designer’s work, and find someone whose work you like.

If you can’t afford to hire a designer right now, WordPress is still a good option--if you have some computer skills. You’ll have to register your own domain name and find your own web host, and then follow the instructions at WordPress.org to install and customize the site yourself; but, WordPress offers thousands of pre-packaged themes submitted by users, so you’ll be able to find something that looks great, without doing a lot of extra work.

The last option is great if you don’t have a lot of money or a lot of time to learn technical skills right now: a hosted content management system (CMS). A hosted CMS is a website that lets you make a website, at your own domain name, without needing to learn web design. This option gives you less control over your site than WordPress does; but, it’s the easiest option available. Instead of renting space on a web host and uploading files, you’ll just create an account at a website, use a graphical tool to design your site, and instantly see it up and running. (Some hosts also provide the first step, offering to register a domain for you. Don’t do it! Register your domain yourself, so you can change providers later if you need to.)

A good, low-cost, hosted CMS is Yola--it’s free to start, and costs $30/year once you set it up to use a custom domain name and to not show ads. If you can afford a little more, SquareSpace will give you more control over the look and feel of your site, but costs $14/month.

Important Ancillary Considerations

Handling Email

Whether you use your own web host or a hosted CMS, you’ll need to be able to send email from you@yourdomain.com. (Sending email from you@gmail.com is just not professional.) Rather than running your own email system, I recommend using Google Apps for Business. Google Apps is a service that Google offers to businesses in order to let them use Gmail-style software to handle their internal email. (The “standard” version is free; versions with more features, of course, cost extra). By following Google’s instructions to set the “MX record” at your domain registrar, you can send and receive email at your domain using the familiar GMail web interface, or any desktop client.

How Should Your Website Look?

However you’re making your website, you’ll need to have some idea about how you want it to look. The best way to start is by searching out your competitors, and seeing what you like or dislike about their choices. What kinds of colors do they use? What kinds of images? What kinds of fonts?

If you’re hiring a web designer, that’s all you need to know. If you’re designing your website yourself, there are a few simple rules that will help make it look good:

-for Fonts: Keep it simple; pick one font, or one for headers and another for text.
-for Colors: Keep it simple; pick one main color, and maybe a contrasting color. Most text should be black on a white background.
-for Alignment: Be aware of how elements of the page align, and keep things aligned unless there’s a reason not to do so.
-for Spacing: Give your design room to breathe; don’t cram in more if less will do.
-for Contrast: Use font, alignment, color, and spacing to emphasize your key points.

You can certainly break any of the above rules; but, if you’re not sure what you’re doing, they’re a great place to start.

What Should Go On Your Website?

Your website is like your resume. Put in the time to get it right.

Here are some steps to decide what should go on it:

-What do your competitors do? Make a list of other sites advertising the same services. What do they put on their front page? What kind of pictures do they use? Do they use the first or third person? What kind of information do they include? How can you contact them? Do you trust them after reading their site?
-What do you want from your visitors? Think about what you want your site visitors to do--call you or email you? Sign up for your blog? Recommend you to friends? Everything on your site should be designed to serve some goal that you have previously established.
-What do your visitors want from you? Think about the “stories” of people visiting your site:

“I’m thinking of getting a divorce and I’m not sure what happens next.”
“Someone referred me to you and I want to check you out before I contact you.”
“I’m starting a business and I need to get incorporated without spending a lot of money.”

You will often have only a matter of seconds before visitors decide to give up and go somewhere else. Does your website help your visitors find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible?

Then Do It Again

Like your resume, your website is never done. Revisit it regularly to decide whether it still reflects who you are and your accomplishments. Does it compare well to your competitors’ websites? Does it resonate with your actual visitors, and convince them to do what you’re hoping they’ll do?

Remember: This Is Marketing

The steps above are “Marketing 101”. Any time you think about marketing, think about how it applies to your website; any time you work on your website, think about how it applies to your other marketing plans. Also, remember that your website is governed by the Massachusetts Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 7, pertaining to advertising, as well as the rules of any other jurisdiction(s) where you’re licensed to practice.

Making a website (especially if you’re just getting started) is a big job; but, it’s also a key part of establishing yourself in the field.

Good luck!

Rachel Willcox’s Spring Cleaning Guide, Part I: Your Inbox

We’ve previously introduced you to our wonderful new administrative assistant, Rachel Willcox. It was only a matter of time before we forced her into writing blog posts for us, too.

This is Part I of Rachel’s “Spring Cleaning” series. Part II to follow, next week.

. . .

I know you don’t want to do it. It’s worse than uphill wind sprints. Worse than taking this hit. Worse than thinking about this moment. Worse than trying to write a blog post that will inescapably be shamed by the sea of Jared’s wit in which it will live. (Editor’s Note: I feel like she’s giving me a run for my money, no?) But, do what I just did: inhale deeply and heed Nike’s timeless advice. And . . . Clean out your inbox. (And, maybe just keep it that way , too . . .)

Doing so will help you to assess each email as belonging to one of two categories: action and information. It will be most efficient to process all the emails of one category first, leaving the second category to be done later, uninterruptedly. It also makes the most sense to do it this way given the archiving you’ll be doing . . . but, we’ll get to that. Let’s address each broader category in turn:

Action emails. You have four options, and only four options: Delete; Delegate; Do; Defer. Sounds familiar, right?


Deleting is pretty easy—junk and other things that don’t matter anymore.

Delegating isn’t too bad either: forward it on, and delete it (you may want to hold onto it for informational purposes, though, in which case you may consider it now morphed into an information email that you’ll want to archive with the rest of that category).

Next is Doing. If whatever slight tendency to procrastinate that birthed your swollen inbox is materializing upon reading that word “procrastinate”, fear not. This one is easy too. If you can answer the email or do the task involved in a minute or two, do it. If not, it belongs to your last group . . .

Deferring just involves adding the email to a task list. In Outlook, this is as simple as dragging and dropping the email into the task pane, and then filling in your header fields fittingly: with due dates, reminders and progress details. Avoid using the generic “flag for follow-up” feature. That just makes more work for another day, when you try to figure out what kind of follow-up you had in mind when first you flagged it.

Now you might have a big task list. Sorry. I can’t help you with that. Or, maybe I can . . . by pimping out the ever-helpful (and in more ways than you could possibly imagine), services of LOMAP. Rodney and Jared are the best. (I know what you’re thinking. Don’t judge me. I have a job to keep.)

. . .

On to information emails, then?

This is all about archiving, which you should do in two ways: (1) saving emails (as .html’s or as documents), which represent important and/or significant amounts of information you are likely to reference later, as well; and (2) using your email server’s archiving feature for information that you’re just nervous about deleting. Some practice management software systems provide email archiving features, as well. We’ve written on this topic twice at the LOMAP Blog (for software and SaaS options and for an Outlook add-on).

Saving emails if you’re using Outlook, or creating Word documents for emails you access via a web browser, is, obviously, rote work. But, be careful. (You should be organized about this process, mostly because my next blog post is going to be about cleaning up your computer.) Title your file informatively (using some kind of standard filing convention--which you’ll hear more about later--and save the file in the folder of the project to which it relates. Otherwise, you might never find it again.

You won’t want to crowd your driver with separate documents for information you’ll probably never use, nor will you be able to fit these emails nicely, even, into a robustly designed computer filing system. So, that’s what archiving is for. It took me awhile before I discovered how easy and useful this is. Maybe that’s just the blonde hair. And, since some of you readers may share this stunning attribute, here’s the ever-simple lowdown for how to archive emails in Outlook:

-Use File > Archive.
-Select the appropriate date from the “Archive items older than” dropdown.
-(Now, here’s the part that won me over:) Click “Browse” under “Archive file” to rename and relocate your email archive document (Outlook creates a .pst file), within your own system. (This will make it easier to find and identify email archives and archived email.)

. . .

Naturally, all of the above is not something you want to do over and over again. Fortunately, I’ve got some ideas:

Check your email only periodically. Continually checking email while you are working on projects means that you won’t feel as though you have the time to deal with either the emails or the projects sufficiently or effectively. Depending on your needs and preferences, you may want to use time or quantity for your email usage metric. You are, after all, trying to create a process that works for you; otherwise , it won’t work, for you . . .

-Time. Conventional wisdom advises to check email three or four times daily. Of course, conventional wisdom doesn’t know your schedule, workload, or type of work, so just make a rule and stick to it.
-Quantity. If waiting for a certain amount of time to pass is just poorly-suited to the nature and volume of your work and/or messages that you receive, you may want to set a maximum number of messages for your inbox.
-Exceptions are Exceptions. There will be obvious exceptions to your created habit, e.g.--when an email related to the project you are working on arrives. So, in that instance: Check that one email, but leave the rest.

I’ve even got some more quick-fire tips than that:

Make Prompt Decisions. Refer to the instructions for deleting, delegating, doing, and deferring, above.

Create Rules in Outlook. This may be easier and more valuable (perhaps even most valuable) than you realize. The creation of Rules will allow you to expedite dealing with emails that share a similar nature. Create sub-folders in your inbox as necessary, in advance. Right-click on an email of the sort that you will want to apply a rule to, in order to set the appropriate conditions, and to direct it to an inbox sub-folder, or to your tasks. Microsoft offers guidance on managing email messages with rules, here.

Set AutoArchive in Outlook. Adjust the default settings for AutoArchiving according to your needs and preferences. You can change how often AutoArchive is run, how old items must be archived, and where archived items are saved. You can also set AutoArchive to delete old items. Use Tools > Options, select the “Other” tab and click the “AutoArchive” button.

Alright! Once you’re done, you’ve got the go-ahead to celebrate a little.

Mentor de Perseverance: Mountain Legs, for Pickin’

Since our establishment, in January 2010, of an end-monthly group meeting/presentation meant for and covering issues relevant to attorneys starting their own practices, I have been running up against the same question, over and over (and over) again. And, with the number of clients that we see and email and talk to over the course of time, my noticing of trends has become more like someone-has-just-beaten-me-most-vigoroulsy-about-the-head-and-face-with-a-pattern-so-obvious-and-apparent-that-I-should-have-noticed-it-earlier-and-might-have-done-so-had-I-not-been-so-busy-with-my-fantasy-baseball-team-at-the-time. But, it’s sticking now. Before I tell you what the question of the moment is (that is, if you can’t guess it from the title of this blog post, which you likely can), let me note that, if you found that last part about there being group meetings offered through LOMAP for attorneys starting their own practices (be those solo practices or small firms), and you want in, you can shoot me an email at jared@masslomap.org, and we’ll get you set up for the next one, if the setting up (of your law practice) is what you’re wanting to do. (Promotion of group meetings for start-up attorneys? Check.) The Question: How do I find mentors? How do I choose between the apparently equally delicious Subway Oven Roasted Chicken Breast and Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki footlongs, at only $5 each? (Promotion of Subway sandwich shops? Check. Oh, wait, sorry . . . Wrong Jared. Holy God: We were born two days apart. This just keeps getting worse.)

Back in February 2009, Rodney drafted a very astute post covering the importance, for starting attorneys, of finding mentors. That post is accessible here. Part of my answer to the mentor question is the submission of Rodney’s post, which I make available to everyone asking; I won’t recover the salient points of Rodney’s posting, although you can. In addition to providing some excellent basic information about the mentor relationship between new and seasoned attorneys, Rodney draws a distinction between access points for mentors by mentees (a foolish word, which I nonetheless like to use because it makes me think of manatees): those more traditional avenues, of in-person access, and those less traditional avenues, of general online (listserv-based and group-based aggregates included), and social media access. The latter portioning represents a new and powerful way to increase the circumference of your mentoring circle, and provides unprecedented opportunities to engage leaders in the profession and in the practice, areas (including practice management), of the profession. (For more on this topic, check out the “New Rules for Starting a Law Practice” episode of Rodney’s "UnBillable Hour" podcast, featuring a discussion on this very point as between Rodney and Erik Mazzone, of the North Carolina Bar Association’s Center for Practice Management.) The former is representative of an older school ideal, certainly at least as effective, involving handshakes, the treatments to lunch, informational meetings, organization joining and participating.

In either case, whether you’re seeking to access mentors online, or offline (or probably more effectively, as a combination of both), it’s never just a matter of snapping your fingers, and acquiring a listing of trusted advisors, necessarily someone else’s trusted advisors. It’s one thing to get someone’s name; it’s another thing to make that person remember your name. It’s one thing to get someone’s number or email; it’s another thing to make that person attached to that number or email want to take your call, or want to respond to your email. There is some legwork involved here. And, the cementing of a mentoring relationship involves the same sorts of actions you would apply for the cementing of any relationship. What you get out of a mentoring relationship, as is the case with many things, is directly proportional to what you put into it, in the end.

Although you can certainly use a service (like a bar association mentoring group, like those mentioned in Rodney’s earlier post on this topic), or someone else’s suggestion, to gain immediate access to mentors, you’ve got to work those relationships if you wish to fully realize their potential. My belief is that one of the best places to access mentors is through bar associations . . . but perhaps not through those established bar association mentor groups, at least exclusively. Bar association membership rolls are declining. That means that two important things happen for you: (1) Dues for bar associations are likely to decrease, or remain static = cost savings. (2) There are distinct opportunities existing within bar associations for young attorneys and for attorneys new to bar associations. So the thing to do is not to join a bar association and to fade into the background, because this modern experience represents one of the best opportunities for new attorneys to develop their professional reputations and to access mentors and referrals. Become involved and proactive as soon as possible, within sections, as a panel member for CLE programs, by writing for bar association journals, by forming committees, by volunteering for pro bono opportunities, and etc. There are a number of available opportunities within bar associations. And, plainly, you’re becoming involved not because you don’t have anything better to do, but for two distinct reasons: (1) for your own professional development and edification; (2) in order to display for the seasoned attorneys with whom you become involved, through your bar association participation, your acumen and initiative. And these are just the sorts of people, these seasoned attorneys participating in bar associations, whom you want to reach out to, because they are willing to help their fellow attorneys (Why else would they join a bar association?) and because they have the time to do so (Their practices are already established, and thriving, How else would they have time to participate in bar association activities?). This, of course, assumes that attorneys don’t put on shows for effect; and everyone knows that they don’t. And, so, part of this, as well, is bringing your hard work, that is so often, now, being shown off at your bar association, to bear on the planning process. What practice areas are you looking for advice in? Get involved in those sections. Who are the attorneys you want to get advice from? Establish your targets before you start, and then execute upon them. Carry through a trait of thoroughness in everything that you do, including in the whole process of creating around yourself a mentoring circle, and your efforts will pay off, if not immediately, at least later on, and probably handsomely, if you stay after it.

I use the term mentoring “circle” purposely. Enough times have attorneys asked me the singular question: How do I find a mentor? But, this involves more than just the finding of a single mentor, because: What if that singular mentor goes on vacation when you need help with a particularly thorny issue? What happens if that mentor shifts practice areas? What happens if that mentor picks up and moves out of state? You’re out of luck, that’s what; and the mentor spelunking process begins anew. . . . Unless you have been smart enough to gather around yourself a number of mentors, who can step in, as needed. (Think of yourself as being like that dude from “Entourage”, if you think that this isn’t cool enough as described. Nah, never mind that. You’re not the dude from “Entourage”.) If you’re precise enough about what you do, you may even be able to access mentors for particular purposes, e.g.--for your family law questions, for your tax questions, for your practice management questions, and so on. Think of it as unbundling the mentor relationship. You work within niches, apply the same thesis to your mentoring associations.

If you’re perhaps shy to go about this sort of wrangling, for fear, that the benefits are initially mostly in the other corner, remember that the relationship will not remain this way for all eternity--nothing ever does. Your mentors may help you now, but that doesn’t mean that they get nothing at all back out of it, whether in the near-term or in the long-term. Initially, it sort of looks impressive for these folks to be mentoring newer attorneys; it represents a growth spurt for their professional image, as well, of the sort centered around commentary, like: He must really know his stuff. People love to be looked upon as experts, and part of being a mentor is being recognized as an expert, in the eyes of at least one person. Furthermore, as you grow in expertise and acumen, those attorneys who have helped you along share something in the way of that prestige, and have also done something in the way of gaining your loyalty. It is not inconceivable that a mentoring relationship could develop into more, including referrals, job offers and even partnership offers. Neither is it inconceivable that your mentor may end up, one day, asking you some questions. Just realize that this is not a one way street, requiring a toll, in return for passage, of your constant obsequious behavior. You have something to offer, as well; and, while what your mentor has to offer diminishes in its return, what you have to offer becomes the speculative investment of your mentor.

In the final analysis, finding a mentor is much the same as marketing for clients or for referrals: You are establishing your reputation, and repetitively marketing your brand within a settled sphere, or spheres. Only, in this endeavor, your brand is the hard-working and potential-riddled young attorney, who will become expert over time, with the help of the right right hand men, and women.

. . .

Liner Notes

The previous part of this post has been brought to you by the letter “M”, for “mentor”. This segment of the post is brought to you by the letter “M”, for “mentor”. Oh, and, “music”, naturally.

In my last hack at Liner Notes, I referenced my developed interest in country music. I feel like you know me as the-dude-who-loves-non-disco-seventies-music; and, while that’s true, that’s certainly not the only place my interest lies. I dig at least a portion of just about every sort of musical genre.

And, when we’re talking about mentors and influences, they don’t get much older, in terms of popular music, than the founding fathers and mothers of country (The Carter Family) and modern country (Hank Williams). It always surprises me when I see just mammoth box sets for these artists available at pennies on the dollar for actual value. (I mean, I’ll take the discount, but still . . .) The Carter Family, much through the auspices of A.P. Carter, catalogued, and brought to a wide audience, a spectrum of American-a music, that otherwise might have been utterly lost. Maybelle Carter pioneered the “Carter Scratch”, essentially introducing the guitar as a lead element in modern music. (You're welcome, Jimmy Page.) The Carter Family was music royalty, to the extent that Johnny Cash, the man in black himself, himself was itching to get in. Hank Williams achieved broad popularity at the age of 25, but was dead within four years. Despite the limited space of time in which Hank had to achieve, his influence on modern country music cannot be overstated. Nearly every recognizable aspect of modern country music emanates from the progenitor. And, if that weren’t enough, Hank, Sr. sired Hank, Jr., who, in his turn, sired Hank, III, probably my favorite modern country singer, and a worthy successor to his grandfather, in more ways than music. (We’re Facebook friends, so I have to say that. No, seriously.)

(Enough of your babbling, Jared! Kick Out the Jams, already!)

Okay, Okay.

In chronological order, first the Carters, then the Hank (keeping in mind that originals are sometimes hard to come by):

“Angel Band” by The Carter Family

“Single Girl, Married Girl” by The Carter Family

“Wildwood Flower” by The Carter Family

“John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man” by The Carter Family

“Can the Circle Be Unbroken?” by The Carter Family

“Wabash Cannonball” by The Carter Family

“Keep on the Sunny Side” by The Carter Family

. . .

“Your Cheatin’ Heart” by Hank Williams

“Move It On Over” by Hank Williams

“I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” by Hank Williams

“Kaw-Liga” by Hank Williams (Yeah, try getting that on the radio in 2010.)

“Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams

“Honky Tonk Blues” by Hank Williams

“Honky Tonkin'” by Hank Williams

“Jambalaya (On the Bayou)” by Hank Williams

“Half As Much” by Hank Williams

And, those Hank Williams songs are exclusively taken from the “20 of Hank Williams’ Greatest Hits” album--you know, the one with the bust on the cover. (No, not that kind of bust.) I know it’s not “Eenie Meenie Miney Moe Lover”, but this is some pretty good stuff, right?

. . . Oh, sorry. That was the week before last’s rant, Wasn’t it? Am I starting to sound like a grumpy old man, or is it just me?

. . .

Liner Not

For those of you keeping track, I think this is my 100th post to the LOMAP Blog. What does that mean? Well, I think it means that there are a crap ton of posts that I don’t remember making.