Lawyers have always needed to understand a little Latin (everything from amicus curiae to ultra vires). Now there is a new language tripping off the tongue: its roots stem from the world of information technology.

One of the most important terms to learn is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). Its origins are a little obscure — some say it stands for really simple syndication; others rich site summary — but either way it spells convenience and easy access for busy lawyers and their clients.

"RSS is all about getting the news to you as opposed to getting yourself to the news," explained Dominic Jaar, chief executive officer of Ledjit Consulting Inc., an e-discovery firm headquartered in Montreal.

That reversal of roles is effortless today. All that is required is an RSS reader, available from mainstream Internet icons like Google and Yahoo! Then lawyers simply subscribe to the RSS feeds that interest them the most.

"It’s really easy. It’s just like an e-mail," said David Fraser, an associate with McInnes Cooper in Halifax. "Three to five years ago it was more complicated. You used to have to install software on your computer. [Now] you can organize your RSS feeds just like you organize folders."

The ease of use is complemented by the benefits of use. "The key advantages as I see it are the ability to aggregate information in one place and the speed at which the information can be corralled and reviewed without a lot of hassle," said Michael Fitzgibbon, a partner in Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s Labour and Employment group in Toronto.

"The updated information is pushed to you," he noted, "rather than your having to go out and search for the information."

RSS offers lawyers and their firms two important options. First, said Fraser, it can be used to reach out to clients both to sustain and build a practice. Second, he added, it can provide a quick and simple way to get current, relevant information.

On the client side, said Sean Robichaud, a criminal defence lawyer in Toronto, "RSS allows lawyers and firms to keep the interested parties current with recent and ongoing developments within the practice while at the same time not inundating clients or markets with mass emails, pamphlets, or other promotion that some may consider unwanted solicitation."

In addition, he pointed out, "RSS is as current as the author allows, even to the point of real time, thereby demonstrating to potential clients that the firm or lawyer is actively engaged and current in the area of practice that they are seeking counsel for."

For example, noted Ted Tjaden, national director of knowledge management with McMillan LLP in Toronto, "Many lawyers are realizing that establishing and maintaining a good quality blog is a good way to get their name out in the industry and establish their reputation." RSS enables clients and prospective clients to receive updates easily.

For lawyers themselves, RSS feeds can save time and more time. "Lawyers normally have a specialty area and need to know when new issues and decisions emerge," said Jaar. "You can find out right away by creating an RSS feed from key websites, or wait a month."

Speed is one advantage; another is organization. "The volume of information that lawyers are required to process and the speed at which this information comes at us makes the job of keeping up to date pretty daunting," said Fitzgibbon. "So finding a means of corralling the information into a workable bundle to be reviewed on a periodic basis is critically important to our own development and to the quality of advice that we can provide to our clients."

There are downsides, of course. If you are providing the RSS feed, then you need to provide information that is current and relevant. "Running an RSS feed and having followers requires dedication to ensuring that it does not become stale, which will quickly cause disinterest in your readers and potential clients," said Robichaud. 

"One must also be very conscious that postings comply with a number of copyright laws as well as law society regulations," he added. "Senior oversight is necessary as younger counsel or students may not have an appreciation of a particular posting’s impropriety for a variety of reasons."  

As a user of RSS feeds, lawyers also have to be careful about having too much of a good thing. "There’s a propensity to want to ‘follow it all,’ and you subscribe to hundreds of RSS feeds such that the volume of information becomes intimidating and the advantages are lost," said Fitzgibbon.

Indeed, said Fraser, "you need to manage this…You need to cull feeds regularly."

Disadvantages aside, the move to RSS is here and lawyers are moving with the times, although perhaps more slowly than some other professions. "I would say lawyers below 30 will be familiar with RSS feeds. [But] your main lawyer probably has no idea what this is," said Jaar.

Ignorance is no longer bliss. "I think most lawyers were slow off the mark a few years ago to use RSS feeds effectively; however, as blogging has become more commonplace, and as we see an increase in the amount of useful content, I think we are seeing lawyers increasingly use RSS in their daily work life," said Tjaden.

As do their clients. In fact, for many people, their browsing habits are changing in the wake of RSS. "If you’re not providing information through that channel, you’re losing the people who would otherwise be coming to your website," said Fraser. "RSS has become standard. Once CNN and The Times of London do it, you should be too."