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Attorney
By
Attorney
Career Profiles of the Profession
Who?
Name:
James I. Keane
jik@jkeane.com
What?
Primary Practice Area & Subspecialty Fields:
Consulting in law and technology: litigation support; case management systems, eFiling.
When?
In Practice Area:
Since 1976.
In the Legal Profession:
Since 1970.
Where?
Employer:
JKeane.Pro
Website:
http://www.jkeane.com
Size/Sector:
Private
City/State:
North Potomac, MD
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Law School:
Georgetown University Law Center,
J.D., 1970.
Other Post-Graduate Education:
University of Virginia, 1966-1967
National Defense Fellowship in Cultural History (Focus on impact of revolution on cultures and the history of science & technology).
Undergraduate School/Degree:
Marquette University,
B.A., magna cum laude, 1966.
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Why?
Pluses/Challenges of Practice Area:
Constantly on the cutting edge; able to create totally new solutions that have never existed to deploy technology in the aid of litigation. My career allowed me to work on a series of mega cases that most lawyers might never see in a lifetime or if they handled one it would bury them in paper.
Core Skills/Key Knowledge Needed in Your Practice Area:
Functional knowledge of litigation tasks and the ability to translate them into automated solutions. Need to speak tech techs and trial lingo with trial lawyers. These translation skills come from LISTENING.
Advice to Lawyers and Law Students Interested in Your Practice Area:
It’s hard to apply technology to a process you don’t understand. If you haven’t prepared and conducted a deposition or trial, it is hard to comprehend the incredible pressure and the subtlety of the legal process. If you are thinking about this field, some hands-on work in the legal problem solving with take you a long way over a pure technologist who has never felt the blast furnace of a contested negotiation or a trial.
How?
Career Path to Current Position:
Started as litigator in a small criminal defense boutique near the university of Maryland. My trial and appellate work helped me land a job as an Assistant Attorney General of and a special prosecutor for political corruption during the state investigation of the Agnew administration in Maryland. Tried to hire Aspens System Corporation to build a litigation support database for nursing home litigation; they ended up hiring me to be a trial lawyer in residence to help with the design of their first litigation support system. Recruited by Coopers & Lybrand to help them start their Litigation Services Group for litigation information systems and expert witness services. Started my own consultancy in 1985, but took a year off from1999-2000 to start an eFiling dot.com called JusticeLink. When it merged with CourtLink I returned to consulting.
Influences and Mentors:
Hon. J. Dudley Digges, who hired me in law school to be his speech writer while he was President of the Maryland Bar Association. I clerked for him while he was the Chief Judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit (Southern Maryland) and then an Associate Justice on the Maryland Court of Appeal. Great experience from a great man.
Suggested Reading About Your Practice Area:
Litigation Support Systems: An Attorney’s Guide, 2nd Edition by Keane and Staudt (Judge Digges advised me to become the leading expert in a cutting edge field and write the treatise).
Job Search Techniques Used in Finding Your Position(s):
ABA Committee work and speaking opportunities have given me unparalleled exposure to referrals and business opportunities. It’s never direct; a fellow speaker may be asked for an expert. Suddenly I get a call and a job.
Bar Affiliations and Activities:
ABA Law Practice Management Section: Co-Chair Task Force on eLawyering;
Maryland State Bar Association: Chair, Committee on Technology;
American Corporate Counsel Association.
Recent Professional Publications:
"Electronic Filing of Court Documents, Myths an d Real Experiences," eFile Report, Glasser Legal Works, Nov. 2000.
Recent Professional Presentations:
ABA TechShow: March 2001, Business & Technology Court: A New Wave or a Perfect Storm?
Memorable Career Moment:
Chairing the ABA 2001 London Plenary Program "Wiring the Legal Profession in the 21st Century."
Intriguing Interests:
Windsurfing, Astronomy; ArcheoAstronomy.
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