TechnoLawyer

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers ediscovery processing and review software (see article below), a digital recorder, an office suite for iPad compatible with Microsoft Office, an iPad task management app, and a secure online message service. Don't miss the next issue.

A Single Software Universe for Your Discovery Tasks

Like the TV show Fringe, ediscovery seems to take place in (at least) two parallel universes. Ediscovery service providers and internal litigation support teams use one or more products to cull duplicate and irrelevant documents from raw electronic discovery material. Then they load the remaining documents into an entirely different product for review by litigation teams. This split software universe results in more complexity — multiple vendors, dual learning curves, file format incompatibilities, and data lost, misplaced, or mislabeled when moving among programs. Not to mention the likelihood of higher costs, which you may find increasingly difficult to pass along to penny pinching clients. A new version of an ediscovery product aims to bring these two universes together.

NeedleFinder 4.3 … in One Sentence
Equivalent DATA's NeedleFinder 4.3 is a cloud-based integrated "end to end" system for ediscovery processing and document review.

The Killer Feature
NeedleFinder moves discovery material through a two-step process of initial culling and preparation (commonly referred to as "processing") followed by review. In other words, it eliminates the need to create a load file because all the discovery data remains in the same system.

When you've culled the documents down to a review set, a single click on the "Send Documents to Review" button moves them to the Review module of the system. You also use NeedleFinder to produce documents for opposing counsel and set aside privileged documents. NeedleFinder accommodates native files, or you can use common image formats such as PDF and TIFF.

Other Notable Features
The father of the iPod Jon Rubinstein dissed the idea of integrating an iPod into what became the iPhone before leaving Apple in 2006, saying "Is there a toaster that also knows how to brew coffee?" History has proved him wrong about integrated products. NeedleFinder seeks to offer the same functionality as single-function competitors.

For example, the new version of NeedleFinder offers a more robust Analysis module for initial processing. The search and culling tools use information extracted from document metadata to expedite the process of eliminating irrelevant and setting aside privileged documents. NeedleFinder includes a tool that enables you to view all document custodians' direct or indirect email threads. You can include or remove duplicate documents, attachments, and email threads.

NeedleFinder's Review module includes the expected panoply of tools. You can apply Bates stamps and issue tags, redact, and filter documents by custodian, date range, file type, search terms, tags, document status, and more. You can save searches for upcoming depositions and other routine tasks.

In additional to these core functions, the Review module also includes features that facilitate team document review such as creating document review batches, setting priorities, and assigning documents to individual reviewers or groups. You can also set documents as public or private, and designate functionality at the reviewer level, as well as monitor reviewer productivity, including documents per hour, hours logged, and documents reviewed.

What Else Should You Know?
If your client also has paper documents, Equivalent DATA can scan them for you and place them into your NeedleFinder account, which takes the one-stop-shopping concept even further. NeedleFinder works in all modern web browsers. The company offers pay-as-you-go pricing. Learn more about NeedleFinder 4.3.

How to Receive TL NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TL NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The newsletter's innovative articles enable lawyers and law office administrators to quickly understand the function of a product, and zero in on its most important features. The TL NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on February 28, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Vivian Manning is a rare breed. A lawyer for more than a decade at the same firm, she then switched gears to became her firm's IT Manager. Vivian was looking forward to taking a little more time off than usual until her firm's managing partner agreed to merge with another slightly smaller firm. Today in BigLaw, Vivian kicks off a series of columns in which she'll take you inside her firm's merger, especially the technology component. We're thrilled that Vivian agreed to share her experience. This first installment features the backstory, initial considerations, and a clever psychological pre-merger tip. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (subscribers only) for a report from Apple itself about the latest large firm to equip its lawyers with iPads.

INSIDE A LAW FIRM MERGER PART 1: BACKGROUND, INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS, AND A CLEVER PSYCHOLOGICAL TIP

Last autumn the law firm where I'd practiced law since 1989, later taking on the position of IT Manager in 2000, merged with another law firm in our city of about 150,000. Managing the technology aspects of a law firm merger was not how I envisioned sliding toward my approaching retirement years. I was thinking more along the lines of reducing some management responsibilities in favor of more time on the golf course, in the garden and tanning my tonsils in warmer, sunnier climes. Alas, it was not to be. Law firm mergers are not conducive to a relaxed schedule.

Today in BigLaw, I kick off a series of columns in which I take you inside our merger, particularly the technology aspects. With all the M&A activity among law firms lately, I hope this series of columns proves helpful. If you've gone through this process yourself, please reply and share your own tips.

The Pre-Merger Firms

When I started with Burgar Rowe in 1989, our legal team consisted of 6 partners, 1 counsel and 1 associate (me). Over the years we grew to 11 partners, 3 counsel, 10 associates, and a paralegal. We expanded in the usual manner, through the lateral hiring of associates, but also by bringing in sole practitioners. The law firm we merged with, Purser Dooley Cockburn Smith, was itself the result of an earlier merger of two smaller local firms. Overnight, on October 1, 2011, we grew from 23 lawyers to 37 lawyers and from approximately 65 people in 2 offices to 105 people in 3 offices. To say this near-overnight growth challenged our Technology Department would be an understatement of massive proportions.

The Merger Decision

The talks leading up to the merger decision focused mainly on the suitability of the firms joining together — primarily because of their complementary practice areas and their perceived common cultures. The partners in each firm had long and positive professional relationships with each other so in that sense, the decision to merge was an easy one, even though such a momentous decision is never easily reached.

Once the decision to merge was made, the fun began. In hindsight, the decision to merge was the easy part. Making it happen would be an entirely different animal and far from easy. While many aspects of the merger were beyond the purview of the Technology Department, law firm technology does manage to touch on nearly every aspect of firm life, so my team's role in the merger process would proves a crucial one.

Initial Considerations

We found ourselves in the middle of a process we had never before experienced. Bringing in sole practitioners over the years was no substitute for managing and implementing a full-blown merger. Bringing aboard a sole practitioner is geared toward enveloping them and their staff with our existing firm's technology, which never required much in the way of absorbing anything other than their data onto our network, along with necessary training. The merger was nothing like that.

Right away the importance of managing expectations rose to the surface as a primary concern. The merger would get all our attention, but we didn't have any real prior experience. A few things were bound to go less than smoothly along the way, despite our best efforts. It was important everyone understood and accepted that (including us).

One of my mantras over the next few months (in addition to the always valuable "This too shall pass") became — "Sometimes there is no perfect, or right, choice. We just have to make a choice and live with the consequences." We had to recognize and convey to everyone involved that not only would some decisions be made that, in hindsight, weren't optimal, but that some decisions might be the best we could make given the circumstances we faced. With that understanding in place, we moved to the next phase — making our lists and checking them twice (or two hundred times).

At the top of my list? Stop referring to each of the firms by their pre-merger names. At the initial planning stages of the merger we weren't even close to a new firm name, but still it felt wrong to continue to refer to the old names. The merger decision had been made even though it wouldn't take effect for months. We needed to divorce ourselves psychologically from thoughts of "us" and "them" to assign equal weight to each side of the technology merger equation. If we continued to refer to each firm by name, I was concerned that we would continue to identify more with one firm than the other.

Identifying the firms by their street address seemed easiest — so Burgar Rowe became "The Mulcaster Office" and Purser Dooley became "The Ferris Lane Office." This may sound like an insignificant point but changing our mindset made clear to everyone (and ourselves) that my department was treating the firms equally.

The Master Merger Checklist

Now that we had mentally prepared ourselves by accepting the imperfect future of the coming merger, and had "renamed" the firms in our own minds, we commenced our analysis. How much were the firms alike technologically and how much were they different? Which technology policies and procedures would be adopted by which firm? Which network would be adopted? Which software would be used? How would the firm networks connect?

The questions and issues were endless. Unfortunately our time frame was not. In my next installment — compiling the merger checklist.

How to Receive BigLaw
Given the fragmentation in the legal industry, the world's largest law firms have achieved unprecedented success for which they don't receive enough credit. Given the size of the global economy, these firms still have tremendous growth potential. Written by large firm insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, this newsletter unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology to help large law firms (and midsize firms with growth aspirations) succeed on an even grander scale. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 17, 2012 in our free BigLaw newsletter. Instead of reading BigLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Many people know Jeff Richardson as the award-winning blogger behind iPhone J.D, a web site for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad. However, few people realize he's a partner at an AmLaw 200 firm. We asked Jeff if he'd like to write a monthly column specifically for those in midsize and large firms. In today's issue of BigLaw, Jeff kicks off his new beat by tackling a question on the minds of many managing partners — should you buy an iPad for every lawyer in your firm, or at least support attorney-purchased iPads? Jeff's advice may surprise you. Also, don't miss the BigLaw Pick of the Week (subscribers only) for a look inside a large firm spinoff that abandoned the billable hour among other time-honored traditions.

SHOULD LARGE LAW FIRMS BUY AND SUPPORT IPADS?

Some large law firms have received publicity for buying iPads for all of their attorneys. For example, as I reported on iPhone J.D. last year, Bassford Remele, a litigation law firm in Minneapolis, gave iPads to each of its 50 attorneys. Similarly, as reported here in BigLaw, Proskauer Rose made iPads available to its 700 lawyers. The list goes on — Holland & Knight gave iPads to all of its associates, while Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler gave its associates a $675 Apple gift card to cover the cost of an iPad. Should your law firm join this trend?

iPads Are Incredibly Useful Tools for Lawyers

iPad-related announcements generate buzz because the iPad is hottest gadget for lawyers today. For example, members of the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) recently named the tablet the most exciting technology or trend in law firms today. And for now at least, "tablet" essentially means iPad. According to a survey conducted by the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center in early 2011, 90% of attorneys who use a tablet use an iPad. Just because the iPad is buzzworthy doesn't mean it is a mere passing fad. In fact, according to at least one analyst, it potentially represents an inflection point in computer history.

Instead of carrying multiple, heavy binders to court with pleadings and cases, you can carry a thin and light iPad with every document saved as a searchable PDF file organized into folders using an app such as GoodReader (the best $4.99 that any attorney can spend on an app). It's easy and unobtrusive to carry that iPad to the podium or to the bench, an advantage over a laptop.

Similarly, an iPad is often more than sufficient for business travel because it can handle email (using the built-in Mail app), simple document editing (using a third party app such as the $9.99 Documents to Go app), and web access (using the built-in Safari app).

Admittedly, some tasks still require a computer such as a PC-only program for which there is not yet an iPad equivalent (e.g., some document management systems, client relationship management systems, sophisticated redlining software, etc.). However, even in these circumstances you can often use a remote access app on the iPad such as the free Citrix Receiver app or the free LogMeIn app). Indeed, any attorney with an iPad will probably want to take the iPad when traveling anyway, even if just for entertainment purposes such as reading an ebook, browsing a magazine, watching a movie, or conducting a videochat with a spouse and/or children.

Thus, the question is not whether to take an iPad or a laptop, but instead whether the extra cost, inconvenience, and weight of a laptop is worth it when the iPad will be along for the trip anyway.

Deciding Whether to Pay for iPads

Of course, just because a tool is useful doesn't mean that law firms need to pay for it. All large law firms pay for their attorneys' computers, which deprives your lawyers of choice, except perhaps for laptop versus desktop. Also, law firms typically don't allow the installation of unauthorized software such as games on firm-owned equipment.

As useful as an iPad is for work, it is also a personal device with undeniable entertainment value. Any attorney using an iPad will have a personal iTunes App Store account, making it easy to install third party apps. The iPad may have the ability to replace a laptop computer, but its personal nature it makes it similar to a smartphone.

One possibility is for your firm to let attorneys choose between a firm-purchased laptop, or a firm-purchased desktop plus a firm-purchased iPad. After all, a business-class laptop running Windows 7 costs about $1,500, while a similarly-configured desktop PC costs well under $1,000, a difference sufficient to pay for an iPad.

The problem with this strategy is that almost every attorney will experience situations in which they need a laptop when on the road or even just at home over the weekend. Remote access apps like Citrix and LogMeIn are powerful, but sometimes you need a larger screen and mouse to accomplish certain tasks. Indeed, new computer purchasing decisions often occur in the context of new associates who lack the experience to understand what they are giving up by not opting for a laptop.

Our Firm's (Current) iPad Policy

Admittedly, I have a clear bias here. As a New Orleans attorney who lived through Hurricane Katrina, and a member of a law firm with offices along the Gulf Coast, I place a strong emphasis on the ability of our lawyers to pick up their computer and continue being productive in another location with little prior notice.

But many large firms don't have as high a risk profile as ours, at least regarding natural disasters. If you already use desktop computers — perhaps because everyone uses a centrally-managed desktop environment such as one offered by Citrix — then the desktop plus iPad option may make more sense for you.

One size fits all doesn't work for solo practices let alone large, complex organizations like ours. Thus, I can't make a single recommendation as to whether we should all follow Proskauer Rose. Circumstances and firm cultures vary too much. The decisions that your firm has made regarding smartphones may offer the best model for your approach to iPads. Do you pay for devices, just pay monthly data and/or voice fees, etc.?

In my own firm (of about 300 attorneys), we have not purchased iPads for every attorney. We have not felt a need to do so because so many of them have already purchased one on their own, which eliminates problems with attorneys putting personal data on firm-owned equipment, and has the advantage of letting each attorney decide which model they want. For example, the main justification for a 64 GB or even 32 GB iPad is to store lots of personal movies, photographs, and graphics-intensive games. As for connectivity, some lawyers may want an iPad with AT&T or Verizon service whereas others may need only WiFi.

More Importantly, Embrace and Support iPads

While I don't have a one-size-fits-all policy on buying iPads, I do have one specific recommendation for every large law firm — actively support iPad use. Make at least one member of your IT staff an iPad professional with the ability to help new iPad owners get connected to email, contacts, and calendars. This person should also be ready to recommend and help troubleshoot problems with iPad apps.

Additionally, consider having this person (or an "expert attorney" in your firm) hold training sessions on how to effectively use in iPad in law practice. To this end, in next month's BigLaw column, I'll recommend the iPad apps that large law firms should support and encourage their lawyers to use.

iPads are already amazingly useful in the practice of law. By actively supporting iPad use, you can encourage and assist your attorneys with making the most of the iPad.

How to Receive BigLaw
Given the fragmentation in the legal industry, the world's largest law firms have achieved unprecedented success for which they don't receive enough credit. Given the size of the global economy, these firms still have tremendous growth potential. Written by large firm insiders, corporate counsel, and other industry experts, this newsletter unearths best practices in leadership, marketing, strategy, and technology to help large law firms (and midsize firms with growth aspirations) succeed on an even grander scale. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to LitigationWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 86 articles from the past two weeks worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our LitigationWorld Pick of the Week.

Text Message Preservation

Is Social Media Disrupting Your Trials?

The Practitioner's Role in Ediscovery 2.0

The Fabric of Inadequate Search and Spoliation Allegations

Congratulations to Barry Murphy of eDiscovery Journal on winning our LitigationWorld Pick of the Week award: A Roundup of the Major Players in Ediscovery Software

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. You'll also receive in-depth litigation product reviews as well as links to the most noteworthy articles in other online litigation publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Neil Squillante, Post-Purchase Extended Warranties (Rich Mini, Poor Mini)

Erin Byington, Review: iPhone 4S

Sanjay Singh, How Outlook's AutoFill Really Works Plus Alternatives

Andrew Weltchek, Review of Ruby Receptionists

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. You'll no doubt enjoy it because of its mix of interesting topics and genuinely useful knowledge, including brutally honest product reviews and informative how-tos. The Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Fred Kruck, Review of QuickFile and Worldox for Managing Email and Documents

Allen Landerman, Tip: How to Use Acrobat, Word, or WordPerfect for Bates Stamps

Charles Nadler, Review: Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 10

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive TL Answers
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In TL Answers, TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers. This newsletter's popularity stems from the relevance of the questions and answers to virtually everyone in the legal profession. The TL Answers newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 93 articles from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week.

Create an Action in Acrobat to Create PDF/A Documents

Should You Ditch Verizon?

Why Billion-Dollar Firms Fail, and How to Avoid Their Fate

Pressing the Flesh Still Works

Congratulations to Jeff Krause of Jeff Krause's Practice Management Blog on winning our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award: Legal Technology Guru Reviews the Perfect Task Manager

Don't miss today's issue or any future issues of BlawgWorld.

How to Receive BlawgWorld
Our newsletters provide the most comprehensive coverage of legal technology, practice management, and law firm marketing, but not the only coverage. BlawgWorld enables you to stay on top of all the noteworthy articles (and podcasts) published online without having to hire a research assistant. Even when you're busy, you won't want to miss each issue's Pick of the Week. The BlawgWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Allison Shields, Tip: How to Save and Insert Frequently-Used Text in Outlook Messages

Tom Raftery, How I Use Three Monitors in My Law Practice

Sarah Middleton, One Key Advantage of a Document Management System

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive TL Answers
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In TL Answers, TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers. This newsletter's popularity stems from the relevance of the questions and answers to virtually everyone in the legal profession. The TL Answers newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers new PDF software with word processor-like features (see article below), an iPad case that's also a keyboard, an Outlook add-on for printing email, a browser-based practice management system, and a private group messaging application. Don't miss the next issue.

PDF Software With the DNA of a Word Processor

People who buy or lease a new car typically fall into one of three groups. Some stick with the same brand and model, albeit the new version. Others remain faithful to the brand, but either downgrade or upgrade the model. And a third group of people completely switch gears (pun intended). This third group is surprisingly large because of the intense competition in the automobile industry coupled with the changing desires and needs of people. The market for PDF software has become similar since the PDF format became an open standard. One of the major players that caters to the legal market just shipped a new version of its PDF software.

PDF Converter 8 … in One Sentence
Released yesterday, Nuance's PDF Converter 8 is PDF software with legal-specific features.

The Killer Feature
The PDF format rules the legal world for exchanging and storing documents precisely because of its greatest weakness. It's not easy to edit PDF files. While you can make small changes here and there, major changes such as adding a new paragraph typically require revisiting the original document and then creating a new PDF version.

Nuance has essentially baked a word processor into PDF Converter 8. In fact, it goes beyond a word processor in some respects. The new "Advance Edit" technology converts your PDF file into a fully editable document. Thus, if you add a paragraph, everything else in the document moves down like in a word processor — but the document remains a PDF file. Also, the new "PDF Collaboration" feature enables two or more people to edit (and annotate) the same PDF file simultaneously.

Other Notable Features
Taking advantage of its market leadership in speech recognition technology, Nuance has built Dragon Dictation into PDF Converter, enabling you to edit documents and create annotations using your voice.

The new Reduce File Size feature creates smaller PDF files — helpful when efiling documents with courts that impose file size restrictions. You'll also find improved tools for forms, signatures, stamps, PDF portfolios, and PDF/A, and a new fax via email feature.

You can choose from two versions of PDF Converter — Professional and Enterprise. The Enterprise version integrates with LexisNexis CaseMap as well as with popular document management systems such as Autonomy, NetDocuments, OpenText, SharePoint, and Worldox. Both versions integrate with Microsoft Office, including the ability to preview PDF attachments in Outlook.

What Else Should You Know?
PDF Converter Professional costs $99.99. The Enterprise version costs $149.99. Both run on Windows. Learn more about PDF Converter 8.

How to Receive TL NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TL NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The newsletter's innovative articles enable lawyers and law office administrators to quickly understand the function of a product, and zero in on its most important features. The TL NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 101 articles from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week.

Review of Symphony for Scanning Documents Into Worldox

Your Law Firm: There's an App for That

Lessons for Small Law Firms From the Dewey Collapse

New Book by SmallLaw Columnist Oginski on Video Marketing

Congratulations to Jeff Richardson of iPhone J.D. on winning our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award: Review of Lawyers's New iPad-Only Ebook on Going Paperless

Today's issue also contains links to every article in the May 2012 issue of Law Practice Today. Don't miss today's issue or any future issues of BlawgWorld.

How to Receive BlawgWorld
Our newsletters provide the most comprehensive coverage of legal technology, practice management, and law firm marketing, but not the only coverage. BlawgWorld enables you to stay on top of all the noteworthy articles (and podcasts) published online without having to hire a research assistant. Even when you're busy, you won't want to miss each issue's Pick of the Week. The BlawgWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.