TechnoLawyer: Business Productivity/Word Processing

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a free remote access tool, document management software for small law firms, and a utility that converts PDF files into HTML and other formats. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

The Next Best Thing to a Transporter
By Dennis Kennedy

Lawyers increasingly work in settings away from the office, but need access to information on their office computers. Plus they occasionally need support or assistance from the IT department. Having access to all of your computer assets from wherever you are has become a priority for many lawyers. Since you can't have Scotty beam you back and forth as needed, the next best alternative is remote control software.

UltraVNC is a free software tool that enables you to display the screen of another computer on the screen of your computer over the Internet or a home of office network. You can then work on the other computer remotely, as if you were sitting in front of it.

You can use UltraVNC to access other computers, provide support and trouble-shooting, administer networks, give demos or presentations, and perform any number of other tasks remotely. You can also securely transfer files.

UltraVNC is an enhanced version of a popular open source program called VNC that has a long history. It runs on Windows systems. If you use its embedded Java viewer, you can use an Internet connection and a Web browser to view and transfer files from computers supporting Java (that means Mac OS and Linux). The Web browser capabilities also enable you to access a home or office computer from an Internet cafe or hotel room.

UltraVNC enhancements include a Video Mirror Driver to improve the speed and accuracy of screen updates and remote control. Although UltraVNC does not include encryption, plug-ins exist that can encrypt your communications. There is also a helpful text chat feature so you can communicate with the person at the other computer. UltraVNC is free.  Learn more about UltraVNC.

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Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming April 20, 2007 to Fat Friday: Dave Culbertson reviews and provides a comprehensive guide to getting started with the Fujitsu ScanSnap s500 in a law firm, Eli Nelson discusses the risks associated with clawbacks and sneak peaks during discovery, Joyce Glucksman reviews her Treo 650 after nine months of use, Andrew Shear reviews PasswordMaker, and Charles T. Lester, Jr. explains how to see a file's metadata using Windows Explorer. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming April 19,2007 to Answers to Questions: Andy Satori discusses the security risks involved with the Fast User Switching feature in Windows XP, Matt Baker shares how his firm has tried to speed up the network performance of PCLaw, Kerry Hubick reviews Microsoft Access and KnowledgeTree for document management, Samuel Mandel reviews his law firm's GBC binding machine, and Michael Winkelman reviews how he uses PaperPort for managing scanned documents. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers software that enhances and adds features to Outlook, integrated network security software, and an online client development application. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Take Client Development to a Higher Level
By Dennis Kennedy

Lawyers often focus on cases and matters. But before a case or matter comes into existence, you must deal with people — both existing and prospective clients. The traditional address book doesn't give you enough horsepower for sales, and high-end customer relationship management software is overkill for most law firms. So where do you turn?

37 Signals designed Highrise as a new Web-based approach to capture the middle ground between address books and the big CRM packages. The focus lies in giving you just the tools you need to manage people and projects and nothing more. With Highrise, you can share contacts, assign tasks based on those contacts, maintain a contact history, and, most importantly, group together related people, companies, notes, and other information in a "case," a term that should appeal to lawyers.

You can use Highrise for your own contacts or search for contacts across your firm. Highrise also helps you move from contact list to action. You can act on your contacts by setting follow-ups, calls, meetings, thank you notes, reminders, and more. Highrise can even send reminders to your mobile phone. You can log calls, conversations, email, and other communications with your contacts. You log email by simply forwarding or copying Highrise.

You can also mine new information from your contact lists. See all communications with a group of people. Build a list of all the experts on a given issue. Generate a list of your clients with whom you have not had contact in the last year. Etc.

Highrise comes from the same company that produces Basecamp, a popular online project management tool that we use to write this newsletter. Highrise is available in a free version with limits on the number of cases and people you can set up, and in five other versions ranging from $12 to $149 per month. SSL security kicks in at $49/month, which most law firms would probably deem necessary. Learn more about Highrise.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming April 12, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Leslie Shear shares how she managed case-related emails in Outlook and what has changed since switching to Apple Mail, Andy Satori explains the trouble with converting PDF to an editable format, Arthur Kamp reviews Worldox, Aaron Craft reviews several tools from Sysinternals including a disk-wiping utility, and Mina Diksies explains how to view two WordPerfect documents using dual monitors (one on each). Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

As you know, we often point to and analyze YouTube videos related to law practice. That's because we believe YouTube provides law firms with an unprecedented marketing opportunity — the ability to reach millions of consumers without having to pay an advertising fee. You do, of course, have to create a video and promote it, but that's a small expense by comparison. In fact, promoting a video might entail emailing the link to your clients and asking them to pass it along (you should also email us as our coverage often causes significant spikes in viewership).

Now, I'll readily admit that most law firms have never dabbled in video — except perhaps depositions. However, every law firm has considerable expertise in another medium — the written word.

For this reason, newly launched Scribd might prove even more powerful and far cheaper than YouTube.

Scribd is YouTube for documents. You simply upload a document in one of the supported formats after which Scribd indexes it and makes it available in several versions — PDF, Word, Plain Text, Flashpaper (for browser viewing) and MP3 (for listening).

Okay, let's get the obvious out of the way first in case it's not so obvious:

• You can use Scribd as a free document conversion tool, albeit with a limited number of file formats right now.

• You can use Scribd to convert documents into MP3 files that you can listen to while commuting, which means you can drive and bill. Ka-ching!

• You can use Scribd as a quick and dirty extranet for clients.

• Someday, I suspect Scribd will also perform free OCR.

That's all great and yes you can keep your documents private, thus using Scribd solely as a technology tool.

But I think Scribd might even have greater utility as a marketing tool — both for you personally and your firm.

Scribd probably already has a larger audience than your Web site does, and that gulf will no doubt widen now that Scribd has taken its first dose of venture capital.

Why not try uploading an article you've written to see what happens? For maximum impact, place it on your firm's letterhead and create a complete Scribd profile including a link to your firm's site. Also, don't forget to tag it with keywords that people will likely use in their searches.

To get started, allow Dennis Kennedy to lead the way as he often does. Check out Dennis' first Scribd upload — a collection of seven of his articles on e-discovery.

Also, I've also uploaded an essay I wrote in July 2002 entitled Jar Jar's Law. It compares the technology in Star Wars to that of our own world.

Tip: Upload your documents in PDF format for best results in Flashpaper (the browser viewer).

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming April 3, 2007 to TechnoFeature: Adobe Acrobat 8 looks tempting — but what can it do and how does it fit into your law practice? In this article, attorney Jeffrey Allen answers these questions and more. From general considerations such as the program's performance on different operating systems to specific capabilities such as Bates stamping and redaction, Jeffrey discusses what he likes best and what still needs work.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers an email archiving appliance, a Web-based time-billing solution, and a powerful desktop search tool. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

The Renaissance Man of Desktop Search Tools
By Dennis Kennedy

Lawyers spend an increasing amount of time searching. While cynics might quip that lawyers spend much of that time looking for misplaced files (both electronic and paper), even the most organized lawyers need to search their hard drives and networks as well as discovery documents — and the free desktop search tools often fall short.

ISYS Search Software's ISYS 8 moves law firms well beyond the realm of free desktop search tools into powerful and versatile search technology. ISYS 8 offers a wide array of tools that enable you to find the information you need fast whether it resides on your PC, a file server, or elsewhere on your local or wide area network.

ISYS 8 works with your unstructured data as it finds it, including email. In fact, it can index and search data in more than 200 file formats (including Office 2007) in 60 languages, and each index can accommodate up to 64 million documents. You do not have to prepare your data before indexing it. You can, however, select from a number of indexing options, and automate indexing with a scheduler. For example, you could have ISYS index your email and attachments every hour.

ISYS 8 gives you a wide range of search options from the familiar standard keyword search to Boolean operators to useful options like "Starts with" and "Sounds like." ISYS 8's "Intelligent Agent" can even automatically perform searches for you and notify you of new results. ISYS also uses "fuzzy logic" to help you find "mis-shaped" words from OCR scans and "Synonym Rings" enables you to engage in "concept searching" — finding documents that contain terms related to your search terms (e.g., nicknames, synonyms, etc.). For email and other structured files, you can search by fields such as TO, CC, and BCC.

In addition to fast and powerful search, ISYS enables you to navigate and work with your results in many helpful ways. You can search within your initial results, filter or automatically categorize results, highlight, group, or cluster hits, set views or previews, and hide results that do not matter to you. ISYS 8 has a "Did You Mean?" feature to suggest alternative search terms for you. You can annotate your results, print or extract them to a file, and even search metadata.

ISYS 8 boasts a number of new features that should prove quite helpful with many legal tasks. Regarding electronic discovery, the "Entities" feature can identify people, organizations, email addresses, and similar information in your search results and group the documents you find accordingly. For knowledge management, ISYS 8's new "Best Bets" feature enables you to designate model documents for certain search terms. And for large firms, "ISYS Federator" can synchronize indexes across the network and even across the globe so that everyone in the firm obtains the same search results.

ISYS 8 costs $1,000 for a network license plus $100 per seat with volume discounts available. Learn more about ISYS 8.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming March 29, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Nerino Petro and Edward Williams review their respective digital dictation recorders — the Philips Pocket Memo 9350 and the Olympus DS-4000, Paolo Broggi shares his tips for buying a new laptop, Thomas Stirewalt reviews dtSearch for document management, and Aaron Craft divulges the secret to a successful WordPerfect-to-Word switch. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming March 30, 2007 to Fat Friday: Carol Bratt explains everything you ever wanted to know about using Styles in Word, Diana Brodman Summers provides an update on her legal career since we profiled her techie-turned-solo story on TechnoLawyer Blog, Scott Bassett explains how to watch movies on your Treo 650, Grace Lidia Suarez discusses how she achieves as close to a paperless office as one can get, and Jed Berliner shares how he handles enclosure letters. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.