There was a record number of Stevie Award nominations this year, with more than 3,200 submissions from public, private, for-profit and non-profit organizations for consideration in a wide variety of categories. Finalists were chosen by more than 140 business professionals nationwide during preliminary judging in April and May. More than 150 members of nine specialized judging committees will determine Stevie Award placements from among the finalists during the final judging, which will take place May 13-24.

“We are thrilled to be selected as a Stevie Award finalist for the You VS campaign, which focused on helping our customers better understand our end-to-end Enterprise Business Management Solution,” said Elisabet Hardy, vice president, Product Management, Thomson Reuters Elite. “This campaign introduced the new array of products, requested by our customers, which are now encompassed in our complete Enterprise Business Management Solution, which runs all operational aspects of a firm.”

Sabrina Wainio, director, Global Marketing, Thomson Reuters Elite, went on to say that the You VS campaign reintroduced the array of capabilities now incorporated into the Elite Enterprise Business Management Solution, which offers workflow capabilities from business development to risk management to client and matter management, as well as financial management.

“Recognition for an innovative idea that truly benefits and speaks to our customers is a real highlight for us,” she said.

Read the full press release on thomsonreuters.com.

Case Notebook pulls essential case information together in one place, including documents, briefs, transcripts, pleadings, key facts, legal research and more. Case Notebook 3.5 features enhanced integration with other key tools that litigators frequently use. For example, clips from scanned documents can be easily converted and sent to the users’ word processor, where they can work with the text or use features such as “Insert Flags & Links” from Drafting Assistant to assess the authorities cited in an opposing party’s brief. In addition, document lists can now be saved as .csv files for fast creation of exhibit lists. And there is now enhanced integration with SharePoint and other intranet portals.

Drafting Assistant – Litigation brings legal and case-related information and innovative drafting tools into the user’s existing word processor for fast, efficient creation of key legal documents. The new Authority Compiler feature in Drafting Assistant – Litigation allows users to automatically append the cited cases, statutes and other authority to briefs. It allows users to quickly download and compile the brief, with hyperlinks directly to the appended cases and statutes. Authorities are automatically pulled from WestlawNext and appended to the document, which users can opt to receive in PDF format. The Authority Compiler produces formatted e-documents that can be easily shared with clients, co-counsel, opposition, judges, clerks and others. In addition, a new Unified Install feature provides a faster, more customizable installation of Drafting Assistant – Litigation.

Case Notebook and Drafting Assistant – Litigation are part of a comprehensive set of integrated workflow tools, services and content from Thomson Reuters that help attorneys be more productive at each stage of a matter and more efficient in creating superior work product.

To read the full press release, visit the Thomson Reuters Press Room. To learn more about Hosted Practice Technology, visit legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com

In a new digital edition now available, you can learn more about these winning customers and their stories. The 2012 Pro Bono Super Lawyers Digital Edition is distributed to all attorneys nationwide who were selected to a 2013 Super Lawyers or Rising Stars list as well as their firms. A brief description of each of the winners is included below, check out the new digital edition for more details.

Steven M. Lieberman, Attorney; Rothwell, Figg, Ernst & Manbeck, P.C.; Washington, DC
Worked to uphold the protection of voting rights of all religious voters and expanded voter participation in all District of Columbia special elections, among many other efforts.

Pearl Law Group, Law Firm; San Francisco, CA
Obtained a visitor visa for an elderly Chinese woman to see her grandchild for the first time; helped an Indian spiritual leader and healer to enter the US to conduct healing workshops; and helped a father of two young children who suffers from immune system disorders successfully avoid deportation.

J. Robert Linneman, Attorney; Santen & Hughes; Cincinnati, OH
Fought to defend the civil rights of the protestors involved in the Occupy Cincinnati movement.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Law Firm; Washington, DC
Helped secure a landmark decision for seven Somali plaintiffs who brought claims of extrajudicial killing, torture, and war crimes against General Ali Samantar.

West Virginia University College of Law – Clinical Law Program; Morgantown, WV
Enabled students to gain experience in multiple practice areas through the Immigration Clinic as well as the Veterans’ Assistance Project.

Jennifer Cunha, Law Student; University of Wisconsin Law School; Madison, WI
Served as president of Legal Assistance for Disaster Relief, assisting public interest attorneys in post-disaster areas, and expanded and supported the law school’s Pro Bono Program.

Pittsburgh Pro Bono Partnership, Collaboration; Pittsburgh, PA
Provided direct legal service to needy families and individuals within the Pittsburgh community through its collaboration of 34 law firms and legal departments.

Several interesting factors are converging in the U.S. economy. One unfortunate trend has been the escalating rate of long-term unemployment among seasoned workers, including many former senior managers who lost their jobs during the Great Recession and have been unable to find new work in spite of often herculean efforts. Another development has been the steady and impressive growth in the purchase of small businesses in the U.S. While researching for a new book, Buying a Business: What You Need to Know, that was just released by Aspatore, we learned that while U.S. GDP grew 1.7 percent in 2011, the number of small businesses that were purchased grew 3.3 percent over that same period. Maybe the best move for long-term seasoned executives and managers is to stop beating their heads against the wall trying to get others to notice them and start taking a hard look at business ownership as a viable and exciting new path.

Sure, there are good and real reasons for pining for a return to Corporate America. These senior managers used to enjoy great pay and benefits and status in their industry and communities and many of them probably gave little or no thought to giving that up and going out on their own. In fact, they were usually too busy to think about anything other than the project that their bosses had put in front of them. But, all that has changed—probably for good—and now these unemployed senior managers are becoming anxious to get going once again. In most cases they’ve run a small business already, albeit as part of a larger enterprise, and all they need is the confidence to take on the challenge and guidance on how to make the deal happen. In our book, we discuss all aspects of the purchase process; however, we think that the coverage of due diligence and learning how to manage the human assets that will come with the business is particularly valuable and can contribute to an efficient and successful negotiation, purchase and launch process. The timing has never been better as business owners unable to find buyers willing to pay fair value during bad times are now realizing that they can make a sale on terms they can live with as the economy begins to turn up.

High court’s hospital merger ruling could spur antitrust challenges
A ruling this year by the Supreme Court in a hospital merger case could embolden federal regulators to bring more antitrust challenges against healthcare deals

Apple defeats publisher in IP case backed by lawsuit-funding firm
A small book publisher backed by a litigation-funding firm has lost a lawsuit against the technology giant alleging it infringed its “ibooks” trademark.

Prior bundling case emerges as key point in Cablevision-Viacom row
In its motion to dismiss, Viacom accuses the cable giant of making arguments contradicting those in a similar case that both companies successfully persuaded the courts to toss.

John Paulson hedge fund puts hotel unit in bankruptcy to escape lawsuit
The billionaire investor is trying to thwart a claims by a lender that it is owed tens of millions of dollars related to the recent sale of several luxury resorts.

U.S. charges eight in $45 mln cyber crime scheme
Prosecutors described the crime as one of the biggest bank heists in history.

Divided court tosses stock manipulation claims against investor
Investor Isaac Dweck had been accused of helping brokerage A.R. Baron defraud customers. The dismissal of the claims against him drew a sharp dissent from one of the judges.

For more legal news, check out Thomson Reuters News & Insight.

After noticing a lack of computer programming classes in schools, a group of Thomson Reuters technologists organized a series of classes for children of employees. The volunteers developed their own curriculum, served as instructors, and held classes on Saturday mornings.

The students learned the basics of the Python or Java languages. In doing so, they got first-hand experience in the computer coding intricacies that power the smartphones, computers and video games that many of them use every day. For some, this introduction to the world of programming could spark an interest that might one day lead to a career in technology.

COO of Technology Rick King awarded certificates to the students on the final day of classes to mark their achievements. King, who encouraged the employee volunteers in their efforts, recently blogged about the classes, which have stirred similar interest in other Thomson Reuters locations.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press took notice of the classes, and ran a story in their Sunday edition. The story noted that while more than 1.4 million computer jobs will need to be filled by 2020, fewer than one in ten schools currently offer programming classes.

Watch a video here of students commenting on the coding classes.

Those who follow politics are probably familiar with TheUpTake.org, which bills itself as a “citizen-fueled news” site. The site originated in 2007 as an experiment to see how technology could impact coverage of the Republican National Convention, which was held in St. Paul in 2008.

While it is quite common today to record video from smart phones and other mobile devices, it was almost unheard of 2008. So when The UpTake had average citizens recording raw, unedited footage on the streets outside the Republican National Convention, the world was able to witness first-hand what the major TV networks either wouldn’t or couldn’t show because they were barricaded behind heavy security.

The UpTake’s profile increased dramatically during the 2008 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, between Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman, and democratic challenger, Al Franken. The Uptake provided full coverage of the recount process, winning accolades and citations from fellow news blogs, local Minnesota news outlets, and even national publications such as the Huffington Post. Nearly 10,000 people were watching the live feed on any given day.

On January 5, 2009, when the final batch of absentee ballots in the recount were opened, checked, sorted, and counted, The UpTake broadcast the process live via streaming video on TheUpTake.org. Its initial count for DFL candidate Al Franken‘s lead after the absentee ballots were sorted aloud was 223; the number appeared on breaking reports on other websites.

And little did they know then, but The UpTake was ahead of the game when it came to technology. By using a little-known platform called Twitter, they beat the major networks when it came to reporting a story. Crowds could self-report on what was happening by linking to a live Twitter feed on The UpTake’s homepage (or use previously recorded footage, which was also housed on TheUpTake.org).

This kind of “citizen journalism,” as it is often referred to, proved to be so successful that The UpTake continued on. According to McIntee, the site is all about transparency. “People call it citizen journalism but I prefer to call it journalism that is sourced by ordinary citizens. We really do care about the truth. We are a news organization and not just there to make a partisan point. We use volunteer input and labor to make the site work.”

According to McIntee, almost all the legislative videos that the Minneapolis Star Tribune put out last year were produced by The UpTake. “We have media partners throughout the country that pick up our videos,” he said. “We do more live media coverage of the legislature than anyone else in the state.”

And The UpTake is still using Twitter. Since sorting through all those hours of video can be time-intensive, especially for media organizations who might not have the resources, The UpTake has developed a tool utilizing Twitter that can help in identifying important moments in any event (government or otherwise) and turn them into video clips that can be shared. It’s the first step in their plan to make video more usable, searchable and meaningful. This tool essentially turns Tweets into edit points in a video. It works with most video editing programs and it has been instrumental in The UpTake’s ability to quickly comb through 16 or more hours of Minnesota legislative video a day and identify key moments.

To learn more about The UpTake, visit www.TheUpTake.org.

PMI is a composite index of law firm market performance using real-time data drawn from major law firms in the United States and key international markets. Demand for law firm services weakened in the first quarter, although law firms saw some success in restraining costs.

“The first quarter turned in a fairly weak performance across the board,” said Mark Medice, program director of Peer Monitor. “Even some of the practices that had been relatively strong recently, such as transactional practices, have gotten off to a weak start in the first quarter. However, a more positive development is that firms are showing increasing success in controlling costs. Firms are focusing on improving efficiency, which is helping support profitability. In addition, it will leave firms well positioned to make significant gains if demand improves through the remainder of the year.”

PMI is produced by the Hildebrandt Institute, part of Thomson Reuters.

For more information about the PMI and to review the latest PMI report, visit http://peermonitor.thomsonreuters.com. To read the full press release, visit the Thomson Reuters Press Room.

“Everyone is just really, really excited for the future,” said Nelson. “Once we’ve seen all the products and solutions that Thomson Reuters has, and the way they can fit with Practical Law, everyone is chomping at the bit to get started and bring these solutions to the market and really supercharge what we’ve been doing all these years.”

Watch the full video below: