Legal Commentary

First stop, Tampa/St. Pete on a three-city sprint to visit some vendors, consultants, and board members -- and head to our final Group Game of the 2008 season next week in Anaheim.

My colleague Jai Wallace and I had the pleasure of spending time with LTN board member Cathy Paunov, and the First Couple of EDD (Shawnna and Robert Childress, she of Navigant Consulting and Women in E-Discovery, he of Wave Software). I was looking forward to hanging with Tim Nissen  from DocuLex but we had to settle for a nice long phone call when he had a last minute work emergency and couldn't join us at Tropicana Field.

The Childresses are two of the most enthusiastic people you could possibly meet. High school sweethearts, they now live outside of Orlando. Robert brought me up to speed on the latest adventures at Wave Software, and Shawnna gave me an update on the activites at Navigant and WIE, where she is is one of the leaders of the organization. We got into quite a spirited discussion of some of the issues that still face women -- and men -- who are trying to advance their careers in the e-discovery arena. One typical mistake that folks make is going to an interview without first Googling the company and doing due diligence in order to ace an interview.

Paunov still does her legal technology consulting and stays active within the ABA, but like an increasing number of Baby Boomers, she has started teaching. In her case, (and it's a fascinating but convoluted story), she now teaches social studies at Gaither High School -- which she obviously loves. She enthralled us with tails of her adventures in the school, which is located on the same highway as the Yankees' Legends Field (actually, now George Steinbrenner Field). She's a great storyteller -- no doubt the hallmark of a good teacher.

Last night, Rick Georges, St. Pete solo, blogger, and #1 Rays fan invited me up to his incredible seats in the upper deck just above the "L" in the Tropicana Field sign -- behind home plate. It was an enclave of season ticket holders, who tolerated my clothing (and occasional outbursts when A-Rod actually hit the ball). Rick has bought every baseball-related tech device known to man/womankind and faithfully scored the game on his PDA with amazing software. (I'll ask him the name of it and post it here).

He is a hoot, and full of energy and a walking baseball encyclopedia. We stopped by the Trop's Ted Williams museum, which was fascinating, and walked around the very family-friendly facility. Call me crazy, but just like Minnesota's dome, and despite the lousy "grass" -- there is a certain charm to the two domes. I love all the illustrations on the wall, and the big blow-up cow (but I sure could live without the cowbells... they are truly migraine inducing).

It's fun to spend time with the Floridians -- they just exude the proverbial joy de vivre (am I spelling that right?) -- And what better way to catch up on their latest tech developments than at a ballgame, right? Oh yeah, the 3rd place Yanks won both games. :)

Next stop, SF Bay Area, then da Halos!