Law Technology

Legal Technology Loses an Icon: R.I.P. John Lederer

By Ross

In Wisconsin, John Lederer was a legend in the world of legal technology - and an unsung hero outside of the state. Among many accomplishments in his life, John was the driving force behind the Uniform Citation movement in the 80’s and early’s 90’s. The reason you can site to online legal research is because of John H. Lederer.

I?m terribly saddened by John’s all too soon passing on March 12th.  John was both a good friend and a wonderful verbal sparring partner. I fondly remember 1980’s vintage legal tech listserve debates on supremely geeky topics like:

• RAID arrays and their usefulness
• Document management systems v. the Clarion database and home-made software
• Why lawyers should write using the UNIX utility “vi” instead of WordPerfect

And so many more. John was a shining light in the world of Wisconsin legal technology. As I said earlier, he was *THE* leader behind the Uniform Citation Movement that has made a positive difference for ALL lawyers everywhere. He was the second leader of the State Bar of Wisconsin Technology Resource Committee (now defunct, but which was partly responsible for the Wisconsin Bar getting an early national reputation as being tech-forward.

And most important, he just an all-around incredibly decent person and a joy to be around. I?ll never forget his laugh and his mischievous smile. Some wonderful memories of John are here thanks to friend Bob Hagness for this link.

John, may you never be caught in an endless loop, and may your journey be Blue Screen-free. You will sorely be missed my friend.

Full post as published by Ross Ipsa Loquitur on March 25, 2009 (boomark / email).