TechnoLawyer

Originally published on March 15, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

I may never download a software program again — with one exception. You see, I've got browsers on the brain. I'm teaching a session on browsers next month at ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago so I've been researching browser technologies for the session. Along the way, I have noticed how incredibly browser-centric my computing life has become. I'm all about the browser, baby.

It started a few years ago when I downloaded Mozilla Firefox, and then amped up a little when I downloaded Google Chrome. However, my Web browser obsession didn't really kick into high gear until late last year when Google opened the Chrome Web Store — a one stop shop for all things customizable for Google Chrome (which had already replaced Firefox as my browser of choice).

These days, more and more I find myself trawling the Chrome Web Store looking for new apps and extensions to wring more productivity and functionality out of my browser. It's so quick, cheap and easy that, as I intimated above, I may never download a software program again other than these Chrome apps and extensions.

So without further ado, below you'll find my 14 current favorite finds in the Chrome Web Store. Of the bazillions I have downloaded and played with, these 14 I use and rely on day in day out.

1. Clip to Evernote

I live my life in Evernote. I use it to store everything, including Web clips. Clip to Evernote makes it easy to choose exactly which part of a web page you want to add to Evernote. Honorable mention goes to the SpringPad Extension.

2. Awesome Screenshot

The Awesome Screenshot extension makes it quick and painless to take a full or partial screenshot of whatever is on your browser. Slicker and easier than the screenshot tool built in to Windows 7.

3. Facebook Photo Zoom

No more having to double click on all the photos that show up in your Facebook stream. Facebook Photo Zoom enables you to simply hover over a photo and have it zoom in to larger size. A "must have" for all you Facebook stalkers out there poring over photos of your high school girlfriend.

4. Google Mail Checker

Google Mail Checker sits quietly in Chrome and performs two little tricks (very well). First, it shows an unread message icon for your Gmail inbox so you know when you have new mail in Gmail. Second, it acts as one click link right to your inbox. A real time saver for Gmail addicts.

5. RSS Subscription Extension

I obtain a lot of my news from RSS feeds. My RSS feed reader of choice is Google Reader. Created by Google, the RSS Subscription Extension shows up in the omnibar in Chrome whenever you are on a site with an available RSS feed. With one click it automatically adds the new site to your Google Reader account.

6. Mailto:Gmail

In keeping with the other cool stuff from Google, Mailto:Gmail solves a problem a lot of Gmail users have — when you click on an email link in your browser, your computer launches Outlook or Mail or whatever the default mail program is on your machine. This extension changes the default mail program so when you click these links it launches Gmail.

7. Adblock Plus

I don't see pop up ads anymore when I browse. Period. Install Adblock Plus and neither will you.

8. LastPass

I reviewed this slick password manager and form filler in my last SmallLaw column. LastPass is a must-have — probably my most-used extension of all.

9. Shareaholic

Shareaholic provides one click sharing to anywhere you want, from email to Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn to Instapaper to … you get the idea. If LastPass is my most-used extension, Shareaholic is probably number two.

10. Ge.tt

Simple, one click file sharing. Get Ge.tt.

11. Write Space

Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a three month old puppy. When I need to buckle down and write something like this SmallLaw column or a CLE manuscript, Write Space provides a distraction-free writing environment.

12. TweetDeck

TweetDeck is my favorite application for managing Twitter. Now I use it right in my browser. Honorable mention goes to HootSuite.

13. Podcast Player

I listen to a lot of podcasts but despite being an inveterate Mac geek, I don't always want to deal with transferring them from iTunes to my iPad or iPhone. Podcast Player makes your favorite podcasts instantly accessible from Chrome.

14. New York Times

I'm a Times junkie. The New York Times Chrome app is my absolute favorite way to read it, bar none.

What, No Fifteenth Pick?

That's my list. Yes, just 14. Go check out the Chrome Web Store and start compiling your own list — and post reviews of your favorites, one of which might become my 15th favorite.

Written by Erik Mazzone of Law Practice Matters.

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Paul Billings, Review: RapidFax Fax-to-Email Service

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Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a practice management system compatible with most smartphones (see article below), software for automatically creating a table of authorities, and Internet-accessible network attached storage appliance, a GPS-enabled BlackBerry and iPhone app that helps you arrive at all your appointments and meetings on time, and an iPhone app that works with PCLaw. Don't miss the next issue.

Your Practice Management System in Your Pocket

Lawyers are a peculiar species. You earn your living billing by the hour, but spend a lot of time out of the office on non-billable activities like waiting to board flights, sitting in taxis, and countless other examples. Sure, client meetings, court appearances, and the like are billable, but they're surrounded by a lot of wasted time. And to make matters worse, lawyers often forget or underestimate billable events that occur on the go because they don't record them when they occur. A practice management system that has helped boost productivity in law offices for nearly two decades now has its sights set on boosting your productivity when you're out of the office as well.

LexisNexis Time Matters v11 … in One Sentence
LexisNexis Time Matters v11 is a client and matter management system with a mobile component for lawyers and legal professionals who use smartphones and other mobile devices.

The Killer Feature
The latest smartphone statistics show Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry each with a large percentage of the market. Meanwhile, Microsoft's deal with Nokia could make Windows Phone a contender.

Rather than create three or four device-specific apps, LexisNexis instead focused its development resources on Time Matters Mobility, a Web-based service that works with most modern smartphones.

The Time Matters Mobility service has several advantages over device-specific apps according to LexisNexis. For example, it doesn't require any installation, setup, or synchronization on the device. Instead, you just login using any modern mobile Web browser, authenticate your smartphone, and then access Time Matters securely via an encrypted connection. Adding to the security, Time Matters Mobility does not store any data on your smartphone. All data remains on the server in your office.

With the Time Matters Mobility service, you can enter billable time and expenses, enter, edit and view your contacts and matters, including dialing telephone numbers, and create email messages from your mobile device.

"With the real-time access to critical information provided in the new Time Matters Mobility service, attorneys can continue to be productive and bill hours while on the go, without worrying about syncing for the latest updates or taking office staff off-task," Vice President and Product Champion Small Law Practice Management Jonah Paransky told us.

Other Notable Features
The development team also focused its efforts on enhancing the extensibility of the core Time Matters client/server software. For example, Time Matters v11 integrates with many third-party products such as HotDocs 10, Tabs3, QuickBooks 2010 and 2011, Timeslips 2011, WordPerfect X5, and Fujitsu ScanSnap desktop scanners. Furthermore, support for Microsoft Windows Terminal Server means you can dispense with local installations. Instead, everyone can run Time Matters from the server.

Time Matters v11 also features improvements to its core functions -- centralized case and matter management, extensive automation and customization tools, and security tools such as activity logs, conflict searching, and restricted access.

What Else Should You Know?
The Time Matters Annual Maintenance Plan entitles you to receive Time Matters Mobility service free of charge, as well as telephone technical support and exclusive access to LexisNexis University Time Matters Anytime Training on the Web. Learn more about LexisNexis Time Matters v11.

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Coming today to TechnoFeature: A lawyer is to a document as an actor is to a stage. It's the vehicle through which you perform. But what if you can't get to the theater (find a document on which you need to work)? Actors have understudies. You don't. A document management system can help you prevent show stoppers. In this TechnoFeature, Hamptons real estate lawyer Roy Greenberg reviews Lucion's FileCenter Pro Plus 7, a desktop document management system designed to help law offices become paperless. Roy thoroughly evaluated its features — automated document management, search, optical character recognition, PDF file creation, Outlook, scanner, and other integrations, and more. How well does FileCenter Pro Plus work. Read Roy's in-depth review to find out.

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Originally published on March 8, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

The notion of lawyers departing from the billable hour is the talk of the profession. You can't swing a timesheet without hitting another article on this topic. Even the world's largest and most profitable firms are seriously evaluating "alternative fee arrangements" or AFAs as some call them. For all the words being spoken and written, few have discussed the core proposition behind alternative fee arrangements — value to clients. Small firms in particular must understand this key concept before they can make the transition.

A Brief History of (Hourly) Time: Are You a Contractor or a Lawyer?

When a lawyer bills by the hour, or every six minutes to be more precise, the sole determinant is lawyer time expended to perform the task. How much time did you spend on the client's matter? Notwithstanding write-downs, hourly billing mostly ignores your productivity and whether you achieved the client's desired result. Many lawyers have hanging in their office the image of President Lincoln accompanying the quote that "A lawyer's time and advice are his stock in trade."

Some law firms use the phrase "non-rate realization." They judge lawyers on whether they realized their hourly rate. In the annual lawyer review, law firms do not consider whether lawyers created value for their clients. However, the reality is sinking in at many law firms that while lawyers do not often discuss value creation, clients are asking: "What have you done for me lately?"

Hourly billing is akin to cost plus construction, which has the effect of eliminating all risk on the contractor and shifting all risk to the property owner. If the contractor is inefficient, the property owner pays. If the contractor departs from the plans, the property owner pays. So it is with hourly billing — the lawyer's major risk is non-payment of the bill.

The client's world focuses on whether its customers receive value. Yet, when clients look at the business model of their lawyers, they see the cost plus construction model. Few businesses operate on a cost plus model — at least for long.

Four Hurdles on the Road to Alternative Fee Arrangements

A lawyer's value to a client encompasses a wide variety of factors, including the following:

1. What Was the Outcome?

Among the most important of value determinants is the outcome you achieve. The client will ask whether you obtained the result the client wanted. When the client is writing the check to pay the legal bill, the client is thinking about the outcome. In the client's world, results matter.

2. What Will It Cost?

When you charge by the hour, the client does not know how much the legal services will cost. In the client's world, businesses operate on the basis of knowing what something costs before making the decision to purchase the item or service. Yet, in the legal world, cost is an open ended matter.

Lawyers respond, of course, that no one knows how long a matter will take and, therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for the legal bill to remain uncertain. Yet, in the business world, the cost of just about everything can be measured with sufficient effort. Even lawyers can look to prior cases of a similar nature and project costs. Software can capture information to assist with this statistical analysis. If lawyers can find a way to predict in advance the cost of the legal service, lawyers can give value to the client.

3. Was It Finished on Time?

In the client's world, deadlines matter. Customers want and demand a service or a widget on time. Businesses that deliver on time succeed in the marketplace. In the legal world, the duration of a matter is often not a major consideration.

To be sure, some external deadlines exist such as docket control by judges, or closing a deal by year end for tax purposes. But for the vast majority of legal work, whether it be wills, contracts, etc., there is no specific deadline. Yet, clients judge you by whether you performed the legal service on time even in the absence of a specific deadline.

This issue concerns efficiency. If lawyers are efficient and get the legal work finished and to the client quickly, then the client judges the lawyer favorably. The perception exists, rightly or wrongly, that lawyers want to take longer to finish something because they charge by the hour.

4. How Well Do You Know Your Clients?

To state the obvious, your value is directly proportional to what you know. This knowledge is not simply about the law, but includes your knowledge about your clients. Lawyers who know their clients well are valued.

Knowledge about clients is a moving target though. Clients change. New business ideas are hatched, key employees depart, customers of clients come and go, business fortunes decline or improve, cash flow becomes constrained, etc. Lawyers who keep up with the activities of their clients become highly valued.

In-house lawyers often describe a critical source of information — the water cooler conversation. The idea is that in-house lawyers gain valuable information at the so-called water cooler. For outside counsel, the hourly billing model stands in the way of water cooler information.

When a client thinks about picking up the phone to have a conversation with the lawyer, the client thinks about the cost of the call. Often, the concern of a legal bill prevents the client from making the call. Lawyers should wonder about how many client contacts they miss on account of hourly billing.

An alternative billing arrangement removes this barrier. How much additional legal work could you obtain as a result?

I'm Out of Time but the Conversation Must Continue

Many other factors exist regarding value apart from those discussed above. Instead of thinking about how you spent your last six minutes, alternative billing focuses your mind on how you can become not just valuable but invaluable to your clients. As far as aspirations go, I can't think of a better one for small firms.

Written by William D. Elliott.

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Ten Legal Technology Commandments

Review: Visioneer Mobility Wireless Scanner

Do You Have a Lawyer Personality?

Confidence Wins, So Stop Being So Tentative in Your Email

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Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Joe Cartwright, Review: Google Chrome OS CR-48 Laptop in a Law Office

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Matthew McInteer, Update: Windows 7 64-Bit and PCLaw

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Originally published on March 1, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Watch the Video

TechnoScore: 1.0
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score

Biloxi attorney Jay Foster creates a video that highlights why he's different from all other attorneys in (and not in) Mississippi. His intentions are good. The manner in which he carries out his message is not. Watching this video you will learn three important take-home messages:

1. Attorney Foster uses his three adorable kids as a prop in the video. Although they are beautiful and cute, they take away from the message he's trying to get across.

2. Foster uses a Webcam to create an educational message. You'll notice immediately that his three kids are illuminated by the glow from the computer monitor and give off a ghastly white or greenish glow that you would not see if using a high-definition video camera.

3. Foster compares himself to another law firm by name. He also challenges the viewer to call that lawyer to ask a specific question and offers $1,000 to anyone if they can meet his challenge.

The essence of his message is that he was born and raised in Mississippi and is fully licensed to practice law in Mississippi. This is an excellent way to distinguish yourself from those lawyers who are not born and bred or licensed in the state in which you practice.

The biggest mistake occurs when he singles out a law firm that advertises extensively in Mississippi. He distinguishes himself by explaining that he is fully licensed to practice law in Mississippi while this law firm that competes with his firm and advertises heavily is not. He then challenges viewers to call that lawyer's office to ask if he's licensed in Mississippi.

I have written about this issue before in my YouLaw reviews in SmallLaw. See e.g., My Law Firm Is Better Than Your Law Firm. One of my cardinal rules for lawyers is to never disparage anyone on video. Doing so can generate a grievance complaint in addition to a claim for libel or slander. You also dilute your educational message by throwing down the gauntlet. It's like politicians who focus on negative campaigning rather than offering a positive message.

A better method to distinguish yourself is to allude to the other lawyers in your state that might not be licensed. For example:

"Unlike some law firms in the state, I grew up here, I was raised here, I went to school here, and I am fully licensed to practice law here. Let me tell you why that is so important if you have a potential case in Mississippi."

Now you have given your viewers a detailed explanation why it's important to be licensed to practice law in the state without ever personally naming a lawyer that advertises but may not be licensed in your state.

Even if the claim that the attorney is not licensed is true, so what? By calling attention to that lawyer and law firm you have again diluted your educational message, and your prospects may not appreciate that you are calling out an attorney by name.

Toward the end of the video Foster engages in some light banter with his children who clearly support his claim that he's a no-nonsense guy who he tells it like it is.

Tip #1: Skip the Props, Especially Kids

As cute lovable as your kids are, in my opinion they dilute the educational message here and don't help focus your viewer on your information.

Tip #2: Ditch the Webcam

Even hi-def 720p Webcams cannot compete with a moderately priced hi-def video camera. Focus on quality, not convenience.

Tip #3: Never, Ever Disparage Anyone on Video. Ever.

Never, ever badmouth or call out another lawyer or law firm by name. Doing so will come back to bite you and may sour your prospects when creating an entirely educational message.

Till next time, see you on video!

The Back Bench

Certified Family Law Specialist and online video producer Kelly Chang Rickert says: "This video is best for sending to family during the holidays — NOT for lawyer marketing. The ONLY tidbit of information I derived from Jay's video is that he was born and raised in Mississippi, is licensed, and apparently, there are a lot of lawyers who pratice law there without a license. His kids are super-cute, and the video is entertaining, but it begs the question: What type of lawyer are you? Why should we hire you? Next."

TechnoLawyer publisher and online video producer Neil Squillante says: "I don't like Jay Foster's use of his cute kids or his name drop of a competing law firm — plus the video is cheesy to the extreme. Nonetheless, I like Jay and his "I'm a true Mississippi lawyer" pitch. Jay, tighten your script and reshoot the video without your children and the name drop, but with the same energy and enthusiasm."

Written by Gerry Oginski of The Lawyers' Video Studio.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of Answers to Questions contains these articles:

Geoff Ormrod, Review: Pathagoras

Danny Wash, Review: QuickFile 4Outlook and Credenza

Deepa Patel, Legal Software: Should You Stay or Should You Upgrade?

Thorne D. Harris III, The Pros and Cons of Practicing Law With a Mac

Michael O'Connor, Review: Fujitsu ScanSnap S500

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