Criss & Kraft Launches New Website

Congratulations to David Criss and Heather Kraft on the completion of their new Website. The site incorporates new attorney photography as well as a brand new firm logo. The firm offers representation to clients seeking help with Family Law, Wills, Probate and Estate Planning, Elder Law, Professional Board Representation, Nonsubscriber representation, and Wrongful Foreclosures.

Visit http://www.crisskraft.com/ to visit David and Heather's new site.

Prominent Dallas Trial Attorney Publishes Monarch Butterfly Book

Renowned Dallas attorney Windle Turley has found a way to share his interest of the Monarch Butterfly. For several years Windle has traveled to the mountains of Mexico to photograph these amazing creatures. Now hundreds of his photos are published in a new book, The Amazing Monarch; The Secret Wintering Grounds of an Endangered Butterfly.

I can say, first hand, the pictures are truly beautiful. The book would make a handsome addition to anyone's collection.

Proceeds of book sales will be donated to the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center. Another good reason to purchase this wonderful book. Click here for more information on Windle's new book and how to order.

Lisa McKnight Launches New Family Law Website

Congratulations to Lisa McKnight on the launch of her new Website - http://www.lisamcknight.com

The new level 2 site covers Lisa's main practice areas: Divorce and Property Division, Contested Child Support, and Custody and Support Modifications.

Did you know? Lisa is a Board-Certified Family Law Specialist and is the daughter of famed Dallas divorce attorney Mary McKnight.

Findlaw Buys Super Lawyers

On Monday, FindLaw announced their purchase of Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers is the leading brand in lawyer ratings for consumers - the business is unparalleled in online and print distribution, and offers unique, high-value advertising opportunities for law firms. I work with a number of Dallas attorneys that have been recognized as Super Lawyers in the past:

Fred Adams Ted Anderson, Angeline Bain , John Barr, Michaek Bassett, Rob Crain, Mark Donheiser, Michael Dorey, Knox Fitzpatrick, Diana Friedman, Thomas Goranson, Michael Guajardo, Dan Hagood, Randy Isenberg, Julie Johnson, Stephen Key, David Kleiman, Paula Larsen, Brian Lidji, Rebecca Manuel, Ed Mason, Randal Mathis, Patrick McLain, Mike Price, Holly Schymik, Toby Shook, Bob Smith, Barry Sorrels, Robert Sullivan, John Teakell, Mark Ticer, Gary Udashen, Robert Udashen, Mike Uhl,

Super Lawyers creates and distributes an annual listing of outstanding U.S. lawyers by state and practice area, reaching 11 million consumers via inserts in leading city and regional magazines, as well as online. Super Lawyers will be part of the Thomson Reuters, Legal, Business of Law group, which offers lawyer marketing and client development tools, and includes the FindLaw and Hubbard One businesses. The Super Lawyers business will be led by Vice President and General Manager Barb McGivern.Super Lawyers employs a rigorous selection process - one that has been recognized by bar associations and courts across the country for its credibility and sophistication. It combines peer nominations and evaluations with third-party research. Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.

Gagnon, Peacock & Shanklin Launches new patent focused Website

Congratulations to Gagnon, Peacock & Shanklin on their new intellectual property Website. The site is focused on the firm's patent, trademark and copyright practice.

The template incorporates the same design that was created for the firm's main site.

Sorrels | Udashen | Anton Launches New Criminal Defense Website

Congratulations to the Sorrels Udashen Anton Law Firm on the launch of their beautiful new Website: http://www.sualaw.com/

The firm handles all areas of criminal defense including white collar crimes, state crimes and appeals.

Custom photography incorporated into the flash along with eye catching tag lines makes the site a real head turner.

Louis Cole Launches New Business and Commercial Real Estate Website

Congratulations to Louis Cole on the launch of his new Website! Designer Sandra Forslund artistically combined a beautiful gold skyline that compliments the navy background.


Louis handles all types of business law. From entity formation to mergers and acquisitions, Louis has over 30 years experience. His work also includes real estate transactions, contracts, and landlord-tenant disputes.

Intellectual Property Firm Klemchuk Kubasta is looking for a Business Development Manager

Click here to submit your resume or inquiry

Electronic Evidence in Truck Accident Cases

Article provided by Crain Lewis, LLP
Visit us at http://pi.dfwattorneys.com/

Thanks to emerging technology, attorneys increasingly have access to more and more evidence that may help to prove their clients' cases. As litigation techniques evolve with the available technology, computerized dispatch records, cell phone forensics, GPS technology and computer animations make it possible for attorneys to better investigate their cases and better represent their clients at trial.

Digital data has already begun to affect truck accident litigation. For instance, federal motor carrier safety laws regulate the hours of service for all commercial truck drivers. Truck drivers, however, sometimes falsify logs, so that they can travel more miles and for more hours in a day than would be allowed. The end result of this is that drivers are at times not where they report to be. What happens if a truck driver is involved in an accident, but claims he was somewhere else entirely when it happened?

The chances of getting away with such a claim are significantly less now than they used to be. Today, GPS technology used by trucking companies, security cameras on the street and cell phone records all can be used to verify a drivers location. This is just one of the many potential uses of emerging technology in litigation.

Electronic Logbooks

A lively debate is going on within the trucking industry about replacing paper logbooks with electronic ones. This debate pits smaller trucking companies against the larger carriers.

The larger carriers tend to favor a government-mandated transition to electronic logbooks. In part, this is because the larger carriers suspect that many of the smaller carriers are more likely than their bigger competitors to falsify driver logs. Federal regulations limit drivers to 11 hours driven per day, and use of electronic logbooks would make lack of compliance with that standard -- and the resulting driver fatigue -- tougher to conceal.

Smaller trucking companies and independent truckers are generally opposed to more government regulation. They are concerned that electronic onboard recorders (EOBR) would add costs without necessarily improving public safety.
Even if the government does not move quickly to require onboard recorders, change is coming. As more companies make the transition to electronic logs, more evidence will be available for plaintiff's attorneys to obtain through discovery.

Cell Phone Forensics

Cell phone records can be used in court to show exactly where someone was and whom they were talking with at a particular time. Given the nature of cell phone technology -- in which the signal is constantly being routed to the nearest cell tower -- someone's location can be pinpointed very closely. And there will also be a record of who was on the other end of the conversation.

Cell phone forensics allows one to use these records to get at the truth of what happened. If a truck driver recorded in a paper log a check-in at a motel for the night at a certain time, cell phone records could show the trucker was actually still on the road, talking with someone on the phone. Some cell phones now come with GPS technology, which allows for locations to be pinpointed even more precisely.

Generating Records, 24 Hours a Day

Sophisticated software now exists to assign drivers, tractors, trailers and cargo to each load carried. To keep the wheels of commerce running, electronic transponders installed in commercial vehicles enable drivers to deliver at any time without a human worker present to open the gates or sign for the goods. Security cameras supply a second level of documentation for the arrival and delivery data.

Data from these computerized dispatch and delivery programs can help a plaintiff's attorney make the case for liability against a trucking company. For example, the data might show that the driver did not spend the standard amount of time at the loading dock before leaving with a new load. This may be evidence that the truck wasn't loaded properly.

Computer Simulations at Trial

Law is a profession in which traditions are valued, but legal procedures must also evolve with the times. The use of computer simulations at trial is one example. Using computer simulations at trial is often the best way to tell a plaintiff's story to the jury.

One aspect of this is accident reconstruction and visibility studies. By the time a truck accident case is ready for trial, the accident scene has usually been considerably altered. A computer simulation allows for a clear consideration of the causal factors, in a way juries can understand. Courts are inclined to permit this, as long as witness testimony shows that the scene depicted in the simulation is substantially similar to the accident scene at the time the accident occurred.
Technological change is a given, and creative plaintiff's attorneys are finding new ways to use it to tell their clients' stories.

Article provided by Crain Lewis, LLP
Visit us at http://pi.dfwattorneys.com/