TechnoLawyer: Business Productivity/Word Processing

Coming August 3, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Tim Schober explains how he uses Word's built-in document assembly features, Peter Pike reviews his experience with Amicus Attorney's Outlook integration for e-mail, Cynthia Zook discusses how WordPerfect X3 handles metadata, Miriam Jacobson reviews RTG Software as an alternative to QuickBooks and Timeslips (plus we provide links to some very helpful articles on time-billing solutions), and Jed Berliner explains how to scan multiple documents into one PDF file with a ScanSnap. In addition, this issue features links to 5 additional Posts in the TechnoLawyer Archive. Don't miss this issue.

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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 July 27, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Richard Hutchins compares the HP LaserJet 3015 multi-function printer and its recent replacement (3050) against the Xerox Documate 510, Sandip Sett reviews his fifteen years using QuickBooks (plus the importance of upgrading), Michael Cone reviews Dragon Naturally Speaking Standard for lawyers, Dan Marcum discusses outline numbering in Word and offers up several helpful resources for those who want to learn more, and Corey Rich reviews his HP LaserJet 1012s and shares his stance on used versus new printers. 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 a powerful cost recovery system, a budget PDF creation tool, and a document management system for solos and other individual users. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Teach Your Accounting System How to Count
By Dennis Kennedy
Since Lex Systems introduced The Count cost recovery system in the early 1980s, it claims that it has found only three firms in which the staff kept accurate manual records for more than 33% of the copies made for clients. If you work at a firm that charges for photocopies, faxes, prints, telephone calls, etc., that statistic should give you pause about what costs you don't recover.

The Count interfaces with your current accounting system, capturing and transferring the usage data and transaction records you specify. It also provides reports to help you manage the process. The Count works on any available PC and your existing network so you need not purchase any proprietary equipment.

Lex Systems customizes The Count to conform with your firm's procedures and security requirements, making it easy to set up. Even better, Lex Systems guarantees that The Count will earn your firm a profit.

If you change equipment, procedures, or software, Lex Systems takes care of the necessary upgrades, usually at no extra cost.

The Count has successfully integrated with virtually every legal accounting program, including Juris, Tabs3, Timeslips, Thomson Elite and Omega Legal to name a few.

Lex Systems creates your system the way you specify. Everything, including customization, installation, support, and certain equipment, is included in a single annual license fee based upon usage. Costs are based on your individual requirements. If Lex Systems does not successfully implement The Count for you, your firm owes Lex Systems nothing.

Learn more about The Count.

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.

Lamont Harris, Review: Canon DR-2580C Scanner

TechnoLawyer member Edward J. Quinlan asks:
"We are a small five lawyer firm which uses a Microsoft based network, Windows XP and is trying to make more effective use of technology. We have a single page document /photo  scanner from HP which reportedly causes more problems when we try to scan documents than its worth. We are looking for a reliable multi-page scanner which will scan documents and photos without the need to make formatting corrections and adjustments. In fact a major client is now requesting that we scan and electronically send documents in a format that cannot be changed so as to prevent tampering with the records. Also any recommendations concerning separate software (if any) which will make the process smoother would be welcome."

We recently purchased a Canon DR-2580C for our 4-lawyer office.  It comes with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, and will scan up to 25 sheets per minute.  Duplex scanning is supported.  There is an optional flat-bed scanning attachment.  Without the flat-bed attachment the footprint is very small.  One of the best features is that it comes bundled with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard.  So far we have been very satisfied.

J. Lamont Harris
Henthorn, Harris & Weliever
Crawfordsville, IN
www.henthornlaw.com

[Publisher's Note: Learn more about the Canon DR-2580C. — Sara Skiff]

About Answers to Questions
Posts like the one above appear exclusively in Answers to Questions, 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. You can subscribe here.

Coming July 20, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Lynda LaPan offers up an incredibly detailed Word v. WordPerfect Post rivaling D. Paul Dalton's from last week, Caren Schwartz reviews QuickBooks for law firm billing, Larry Lucht compares the Professional versus Legal editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Robert Browning reviews his experience with several HP LaserJet printers, including his new 1320s, and Bryan Sims directs CaseMap users to a helpful online resource for templates and tips. 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 a service that can prove the sending, receipt, and content of an e-mail message, an online backup and document management tool, and an e-mail add-on that can convert attachments into secure PDF files. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Proving You Sent that E-Mail Message
By Dennis Kennedy
"But I never got your e-mail!" "That's not what your e-mail said!" "You never gave me that advice!" With today's overly-aggressive spam filters — not to mention less than honest adversaries and even clients — you need a simple and secure way to confirm and archive legal advice and other information sent via e-mail.

In technical terms, law firms realize they may need to show proof of sending, proof of delivery, and even proof of content (it's easy to edit an e-mail message after receipt) for important e-mail messages to prevent disputes.

The Registered E-mail® System available from BlumbergExcelsior offers a solution to protect senders of email, and it works whether or not the recipient has enrolled in the System. The service generates and returns a "Registered Receipt™" to the sender. All information necessary to verify the Registered Receipt™ and to reconstruct its original content is embedded within the receipt itself.

Each receipt contains an audit trail of information, including recipients and their email addresses as well as their e-mail servers and client programs. Receipts also contain a "digital fingerprint" — the time delivered, received, and opened, a copy of the original message with any attachments, and other information about the transmittal. These Registered Receipts conform to statutory requirements and prove both delivery and content. The Registered E-mail® System does not store any e-mail with a third party, making it truly secure.

You buy the service on a per use basis (starting at 79 cents per use) with stamp-like package plans available in which you can pre-pay for a pack of Registered E-mail® units for use by anyone within your firm. A free trial enables you to send 10 e-mail messages at no charge.

Learn more about the Registered E-mail® System.

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 July 11, 2006 and July 18, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Most law offices use word processing software and a practice or case management system (CMS) separately. With your word processor (Word or WordPerfect), you store documents in a tree of document folders named after clients and matters. Meanwhile, your CMS separately stores these document names and other information about clients and matters. In this two-part article, technology consultant Wells H. Anderson shares his top ten tips for integrating these powerful law office programs. Let Wells help your firm avoid the common pitfalls and find the keys to creating a profitable system for producing, storing, and using automated documents.

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.

Coming July 13, 2006 to Answers to Questions: D. Paul Dalton contributes possibly the most comprehensive Post to date on the Word v. WordPerfect debate, Jo Ann Lovingood reviews her experience with ProLaw over the past nine years, Pam Rolph offers some advice for those considering the jump to a paperless office, Douglas Thomas shares his experience with laser printers while dispensing some purchasing wisdom, and Bonnie Sue Goodman discusses paying electronic filing fees with a trust account debit card. 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 a low-cost online emporium for printer labels, a speakerphone for your PC, and and a USB 2 WiFi adapter. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Label This One a "Bargain"
By Dennis Kennedy
No matter how far we might have come on the road to the electronic office, the fact remains that law firms use a lot of labels — for mailing, shipping, filing and many other purposes. In fact, a trip to a law firm's supply room can give you an education in the many varieties of labels available today and a historical tour of the firm's past labels. The cost of all those labels add up to real dollars. And finding the labels you want at a big box office supply store can prove difficult.

Worldlabel.com enables you to shop online for the labels you need and save a lot of money and time in the process. Worldlabel.com is a label manufacturer that eliminates the middleman's mark-up and ships directly to the user. Bargains anyone? Its Web site claims savings ranging from 25% to 90% over the big box stores.

Worldlabel.com offers more than 50 sizes of labels for laser and inkjet printing, available in 18 different materials and several colors. Need Avery labels? Check Wordlabel.com's handy Avery cross reference chart. As a manufacturer, it can also make custom labels for you.

Law firms often want to use label templates. Worldlabel.com offers free downloads of label templates in Word and PDF formats. It also recently published a collection of label templates in the Opendocument format, which has obtained ISO approval and is gaining acceptance around the world.

Worldlabel.com also has a customer support team with experience in inkjet and laser printers to answer your specific questions. 

Learn more about Worldlabel.com.

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 June 30, 2006 to Fat Friday: Nerino Petro reviews his experience using the Hitachi Travelstar notebook upgrade kit, James Sayre reviews outlining tools Treepad and Keynote, and Rick Cloud discusses his method for keeping track of file creation dates. In addition, this issue features links to 10 additional Posts in the TechnoLawyer Archive. 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.