Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers document comparison and collaboration software (see article below), a new Web site for staying on top of SEC EDGAR filings, a SharePoint-based document management system for law firms, a time-tracking iPad app, and a free online service for managing BlackBerry smartphones. Don't miss the next issue.
Take Microsoft Office to New Heights
I recently joked to a friend that banks have to send you a letter if they change a comma in their terms of service, but social networks can launch a new feature that compromises your privacy without so much as a peep. All kidding aside, even lowly commas are important in complex legal documents. Accordingly, practicing law without document comparison and control software is risky business. Even before Microsoft shut down its legal sales division a few weeks ago, it never took the legal industry all that seriously. Perhaps Microsoft Word isn't the ideal legal solution for document comparison and control.
Workshare Professional 7 … in One Sentence
Workshare Professional integrates with Microsoft Office, enabling you to compare, share and review documents.
The Killer Feature
I know a brilliant young corporate lawyer who negotiates complex international deals at one of the most prestigious law firms in the world. Recently, she wanted to play a CD that someone gave her so she bought a CD player even though she owns an iPod. Why? Because she doesn't know how to get a CD onto an iPod.
Just because you can entrust the lawyers in your firm with multibillion dollar deals doesn't mean you can trust them with their PCs. The new version of Workshare Professional features a redesigned Configuration Manager that gives your IT department more control over rollouts and upgrades. You can likewise ensure that every installation adheres to your firm's policies for document comparison and security.
"IT managers will find that the latest release of Workshare Professional 7 allows them to deploy and support the application easily," Workshare CEO Scott Smull told us. "It also provides users with new capabilities for efficient and effective document collaboration."
Other Notable Features
When you're burning the midnight oil, you need to focus on the big picture. Workshare Professional's new Category View enables you to review specific types of changes. For example, you can focus on substantive changes and ignore formatting and spelling changes until you're ready to finalize a document.
Another timesaver alerts you within Outlook if an attached document contains changes (you can launch a comparison without leaving Outlook). And yet another enables you to combine Microsoft Office documents into a single PDF file.
Other new features include a new interface that matches Windows 7 and Office 2010, faster access to your favorite functions on the home ribbon, PDF metadata cleaning, the ability to search original, modified, and redlined documents, and more customizable metadata removal settings.
What Else Should You Know?
Pricing starts at $175 with volume discounts available. Learn more about Workshare Professional 7.
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So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
