TechnoLawyer

Originally published in the May 25, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Maybe it's still spring where you work, but Gadsden, Alabama lawyer Clark Stewart already feels the summer heat so he has decamped to his lake house with his family for some fishing and 7 and 7s. Unfortunately, emergencies are inevitable for criminal defense lawyers like Clark. Instead of using his Windows laptop to handle the paperwork that arises, Clark would prefer to use his iPad. So we sent him the Apple Wireless Keyboard, and Clark download the new CloudOn app, which provides iPad users with Microsoft Office. Can this combination replace your Windows laptop? Read Clark's review in this issue of SmallLaw to find out. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for an overview of Microsoft's Office 365 by SmallLaw columnist Ben Schorr.

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Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the November 1, 2012 issue of LitigationWorld: You've just added the last period to the last sentence in your brief. Time for a fist pump? No but feel to grab a snack. You still have a lot of work tonight. Effective briefs share a common trait — extensive editing. In this issue of LitigationWorld, Seattle litigator Kim Gunning provides a concise but informative checklist for editing legal briefs to perfection. Kim's checklist starts with the "forest" and works its way to the "trees." By the time you finish editing, your brief will sparkle, impressing your client and the judge. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for everything litigators need to know about body language.

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All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the October 25, 2012 issue of LitigationWorld: In brief writing, small mistakes such as failing to define an abbreviation, inconsistent capitalization, etc. inevitably occur. Intelligent Editing's PerfectIt Pro 2.0 combs through your Word documents to help you find and correct these and other errors. We asked Charlotte real estate lawyer Richard Belthoff Jr. to test PerfectIt Pro for this issue of LitigationWorld, figuring that if it can handle his 35,000 word commercial leases it can handle anything in the litigation realm. Read his review to find out how well PerfectIt Pro performed. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for tips on creating supplemental juror questionnaires.

How to Receive LitigationWorld
All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the October 22, 2012 issue of LitigationWorld: Congratulations! After reading ediscovery consultant Tom O'Connor's final Ediscovery 101 installment in this issue of LitigationWorld, you will possess more technical mastery of this topic than the average litigator. In closing out this series, Tom points to helpful resources, identifies caveats, and imparts some wisdom gained from his experience working on cases large and small. Now that you've got the knowledge, take the ediscovery bull by the horns on your next case and make Tom proud. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for apps and uses for your iPad in litigation practice.

How to Receive LitigationWorld
All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the October 11, 2012 issue of LitigationWorld: Computer assisted review (a.k.a. predictive coding) promises to make document review — the most dreaded and expensive component of many lawsuits — a breeze and even fun. In this issue of LitigationWorld, litigator and ediscovery consultant Bruce Olson reviews one of the leading tools in this emerging field — kCura's Relativity Assisted Review (free for Relativity licensees). Bruce walks you through the functionality, provides some best practices he learned while testing the software (including the composition of the ideal review team), and most importantly rates the product and bestows a TechnoScore. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for advice from high profile litigator David Boies on preparing CEOs for cross examination.

How to Receive LitigationWorld
All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the October 8, 2012 issue of LitigationWorld: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Even if you can't name the author or novel, you probably recognize that introductory sentence. Given the power of introductions, your briefs should always include one. In this issue of LitigationWorld, Seattle litigator Kim Gunning provides five tips for introductions, including examples and what to avoid. Charles Dickens would approve. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for an analysis of two recent cases with opposite holdings on the discovery of social media.

How to Receive LitigationWorld
All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the May 24, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Time flies when you're busy at work, which makes it all the more difficult to accurately capture and bill. Maybe someday we can build a time machine and persuade Reginald Heber Smith not to invent the billable hour. Until then, the most promising technology is automatic or passive time capture. In this issue of SmallLaw, estate planning lawyer Chandra Lewnau reviews the new version of the most actively developed and well-known of these tools — Chrometa 2012. Chandra has become a senior product reviewer for SmallLaw because of her thoroughness. True to form, her review leave no feature unexplored. As an added bonus, below the review you'll find a response from Chrometa. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for advice on how solos and small law firms can compete against LegalZoom now that we have more insight from its recent IPO filing.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the May 23, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Raise your hand if you have never sent an email message you regretted a few minutes later. Just as I suspected, I see no hands raised. Welcome to the club. In this issue of SmallLaw, law firm technology consultant and Microsoft Office expert Ben Schorr explains how to eliminate email mishaps from this point forward — or as Ben charactrizes it, unring the email bell. Just follow Ben's advice for Outlook, which takes just a few minutes minutes to implement, and you'll gain the ability to recall any email message you send (other email programs may offer a similar feature). Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a review of WordPerfect Office X6.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the May 11, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: In the entertaining book, "Inside Apple," Adam Lashinky describes the NSA-like secrecy policies at Apple. It's unlikely anyone at Apple uses Dropbox or USB flash drives. But the iTwin might make the cut. Today, New Jersey lawyer Edward Zohn, SmallLaw's senior product reviewer, evaluates the iTwin, a remote access device that Ed describes as an "endless hard drive cable." As usual, Ed used the iTwin for about a month in his own small law firm before penning this review. He not only discusses its features in detail, including security, but compares it to alternatives such as cloud storage, portable storage, remote control, and virtual private networks. If you still don't have an ideal remote access solution, read Ed's review and share it with your colleagues. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for five secrets to winning over a company seeking outside counsel.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the May 10, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Mulder and Sculley have long since retired, but one of the great mysteries of our time has nonetheless been solved. Much like Deep Throat, Google itself recently unveiled its long-rumored Google Drive. In this issue of SmallLaw, cloud application expert and law practice advisor Erik Mazzone reviews Google Drive from the small law firm perspective. Erik analyzes Google Drive's storage, pricing, desktop and mobile functionality, web interface, feature set, and security. In short, it's the most comprehensive review of Google Drive not only among legal publications but among all publications. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for 10 tips on how to write articles for client development.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.