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Technically speaking, Olson is ahead of the curve

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//June 9, 2011//

Technically speaking, Olson is ahead of the curve

By: Jack Zemlicka, [email protected]//June 9, 2011//

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Bruce Olson
Bruce Olson

Bruce Olson constantly is on the cutting edge of legal technology.

From the latest methods of preserving critical emails on a company laptop, to case management programs that streamline litigation, the founder of ONLAW Trial Technologies LLC in Appleton always is looking to technology for the best ways to save lawyers time.

A litigator for nearly three decades, Olson began consulting full-time in 2009 and is a regular speaker at legal technology shows throughout the county.

He also co-wrote “Electronic Evidence and Discovery Handbook: Forms, Checklists and Guidelines,” published by the American Bar Association’s Law Practice Management Section.

While attorneys gradually have embraced the use of technology in practice, Olson said it still was a work in progress. But when he asks who is using document management software at conferences, the number of hands raised is on the increase, which is a good sign, Olson said.

He took time to inject some technical insight into this week’s Asked & Answered.

Wisconsin Law Journal: If you could develop one CLE course for credit, what would it be about?

Olson: “Working with Electronic Evidence: Computer Forensics, E-Discovery and Litigation Technologies.” It would serve as a much needed introduction and overview to all phases of electronic litigation, something that too many lawyers still know little to nothing about.

WLJ: What was your least favorite course in law school and why?

Olson: Debtor Creditor Relations. It was an elective I should have skipped since it had nothing to do with my anticipated, and ultimate, career as a litigator. I found the topic deadly boring even though I had a great teacher.

WLJ: What do you consider your biggest achievement to date and why?

Olson: My biggest achievement to date has been raising three terrific daughters, and bringing them successfully to the point that they each have started their own wonderful families. Any career-based accomplishments pale in comparison to the satisfaction that my family has provided me over the years.

WLJ: What is the one luxury item you cannot live without?

Olson: My iPad 2.

WLJ: What is one thing attorneys should know that they won’t learn in law school?

Olson: How to work with an electronic database program.

WLJ: What is the first concert you went to?

Olson: What a blast from the past. A friend took me to see Paul Revere and the Raiders for his birthday party when we were in fourth grade.

WLJ: If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?

Olson: Howard Carter, discoverer of King Tut’s Tomb. As a kid, for many years, I wanted to be an Egyptologist. Even now, if I could spend a day working as an archeologist in Egypt it would be a great thrill.

WLJ: What is your motto?

Olson: Change is Good!

WLJ: What is your favorite movie about lawyers or the law and why?

Olson: A Few Good Men. Why? Jack Nicholson at his best.

WLJ: If you hadn’t become a lawyer, what career would you have chosen?

Olson: Based on what I know today, software designer of trial and litigation support applications. At the time I started, however, word processors hadn’t even hit the market so that wasn’t an option. Law seemed the only option.

Jack Zemlicka can be reached at [email protected]

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