Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Friday 2 March 2018
No art or wood paneling _ some law firms work in the cloud

By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG oneered the virtual model
AP Business Writer in the past decade and the
NEW YORK (AP) — There's idea is gaining momentum,
no wood paneling or plush says Marlene Laro, chief
carpet at Culhane Mead- operating officer at the Po-
ows — the law firm's 52 tomac Law Group, which is
attorneys practice out of based in Washington, D.C.,
their homes or rented work but has lawyers in 17 states.
spaces. Soaring legal fees are one
Culhane Meadows is one reason why.
of many law firms without "There's certainly a lot of
dedicated office space interest among general
that now operate virtu- counsels in major corpora-
ally using software, email, tions to reduce their legal
videoconferencing and spending and try some-
the internet to work and thing different," Laro says.
connect with clients. At- Like Culhane Meadows,
torneys at virtual firms say the 7-year-old Potomac
that without the trappings Law Group uses videocon-
and overhead of a tradi- ferencing, email and other
tional practice, they can services to communicate,
charge lower fees, work and lawyers rent office
for a variety of clients and space as needed.
have more say over their In this Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018, photo, Marlene Laro, partner and COO of Potomac Law Group, Attorneys are also interest-
poses for a portrait at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center where her firm
work/life balance. Practic- has a workspace in Washington. ed. At big firms with high
ing virtually can also mean Associated Press overhead, there is pres-
taking extra steps to ensure sure to work and bill for a
that communications of all those things as part of this want to pay ultra-high fees can gather, either them- minimum number of hours,
sorts remain confidential, virtual model, you can pass and much smaller business- selves or with clients, via making for extremely long
including working in spaces along that value to your cli- es. videoconferencing. workdays and workweeks
designed to protect clients' ents," says Haughian, who Culhane Meadows, whose When they need an in-per- and little personal time. At
privacy. works out of her home in attorneys are based in son meeting, they rent con- some virtual firms, including
Heather Clauson Haugh- Niceville, Florida. The hourly seven metropolitan areas, ference rooms. Potomac, attorneys have
ian, a managing partner at rates at Culhane Meadows was founded in 2013 by Law firms, especially very more autonomy to set fees
Culhane Meadows, doesn't are what a lawyer with four lawyers who had worked large ones, are known for and their hours.
miss the works of art, ma- or five years' experience at big traditional firms or adhering to traditional "It enables them to feel
hogany and high rents of would charge at a larger large corporations. The at- ways of working and have more comfortable with
traditional firms. firm. Clients include Fortune torneys, some of whom are been slow to adapt to new the way they're practicing
"When you take away all 100 companies that don't licensed in multiple states, technology. A few firms pi- law," Laro says. q

Site says YouTube dinged it for

slamming shooting survivors

lowing the Feb. 14 shooting show host who owns the violate its policies.
that left 17 dead. Among site, said in an interview. He Separately, online recom-
other videos it said were re- has called the 2012 massa- mendation platform Ta-
moved was one titled, "The cre at Sandy Hook Elemen- boola said Tuesday it had
Truth About Crisis Actors In tary School a hoax. "If you disabled use of its technol-
The Florida Shooting." want to live in communist ogy to serve ads to Infowars
The site said it also received China, we're almost there." via a third party distributor.
In this April 17, 2017, file photo, "Infowars" host Alex Jones arrives a strike, or warning, for ha- YouTube has had trouble Use of its technology to
at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas. rassment and bullying. It flagging inappropriate serve ads to Infowars was
Associated Press said a second strike that content and keeping the an "oversight" that was cor-
was assessed early Tuesday site a place where ad- rected "within hours" of be-
By RYAN NAKASHIMA site said. YouTube, which was removed hours later. vertisers feel comfortable ing notified by a reporter
AP Technology Writer is owned by Google, did According to YouTube spending money. Earlier for the ad-industry trade
Infowars, a conspiracy not respond to multiple re- policy, two strikes results in this month, it suspended publication Digiday earlier
website that suggested sur- quests for comment. the creator being unable all ads from videos of one this month, Taboola CEO
vivors of the Florida school Infowars said Tuesday it had to upload videos for two of its biggest stars, Logan Adam Singolda said by
shooting were coached on multiple videos removed weeks. Infowars continu- Paul, after he posted video email.
their pleas for gun control, from YouTube, including ously uploaded videos to showing a suicide victim Use of its technology on In-
said its video account was one in which host Owen its "Alex Jones Channel" in Japan and a later one fowars violated Taboola's
temporarily frozen by You- Shroyer alleged that Marjo- Tuesday. in which he used a Taser acceptable use policy,
Tube. ry Stoneman Douglas High "There's a major purge go- on a dead rat. YouTube which prohibits publishers
The suspension for harass- School student David Hogg ing on," Alex Jones, the also updated its policies from posting content that
ment and bullying was "can't remember his lines" well-known right-wing con- to toughen steps it would is "offensive," ''abusive," or
subsequently lifted, the during a TV interview fol- spiracy theorist and radio take against creators who "vulgar," he said.q