Dear Readers:

This week I am writing Openers from the American Bar Association's TechShow in Chicago . TechShow is the country's premiere law office technology conference and many of the top legal techies are here. This year I presented two programs. The first was entitled "Extranets for the Rest of Us." Extranets are basically systems that allow a law firm's clients to access information on their cases via a private access web site. Our firm has implemented just such a system and clients of Siskind, Susser, Haas & Devine can log into our system and see what is happening on their cases. That means our clients can find out about their cases 24 hours a day and the savings we achieve by not having to handle status updates personally means we can provide better service. I also told the audience about another feature we have in our system. As key events happen in a case, we can set up our system to automatically email clients so that it is not necessary to even remember to check the case management system. Next up for our extranet will be to allow clients to view key documents in their cases online, including BCIS notices and petition documents.

During TechShow I was pleasantly surprised to learn that our firm was also featured in a new book being published by the American Bar Association entitled THE LAWYERS GUIDE TO EXTRANETS, by Doug Simpson and Mark Tamminga. The book, which premiered at TechShow, devotes more than three pages to describing the extranet system I describe above.

The other topic on which I spoke was "Marketing on the Internet." I am the author of the new ABA book THE LAWYERS GUIDE TO MARKETING ON THE INTERNET, 2 Ed. and I presented with my co-author Rick Klau. We discussed the latest trends in web site marketing, more effectively using email, and how some of the newest Internet products can be incorporated into a law firm's marketing strategy. If you want to learn more about these subjects, my book can be purchased online at the ABA's web site www.lawpractice.org.

One of the stories we are covering this week is the first Congressional hearing on SEVIS since the program was implemented earlier this year. SEVIS is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and is intended to allow the government to more closely track F-1, M-1 and J-1 visa holders in the US. The program has been very controversial since Congress authorized its creation in 1996. The program was delayed several times, but after September 11th, the pressure on the government to get SEVIS in place was intense. And after seven years, we now have the system up and running. Now Congress wants to find out if SEVIS is really operating well and achieving its goals.

This week we include our regular features, including a Canadian Corner column written by our Toronto branch partner Leonard Pearl. We also include part 2 of our ABCs of Immigration on health-related grounds of inadmissibility.

In firm news, I am quoted in this morning's Times of India newspaper regarding the BCIS' "zero tolerance" policy that has been the rule since September 11th.  You can find the article online at http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=42301511.

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Regards,

Greg Siskind