TechnoLawyer

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers an integrated practice management system (see article below), risk management software, and a PDF smartphone app with annotation capabilities. Don't miss the next issue.

Boost Your Firm's Revenue by 25 Percent

The Beatles famously sang about it. So did Pink Floyd. Other rockers like Cyndi Lauper and Liz Phair also sang about it (with less chart success). Chances are your law firm wants "it" too. Money that is — the more, the better. Fortunately, as a lawyer you don't need a hit song to make more money. You just need to record all your billable time. A reliable and easy to use practice management system is the key to capturing more billable hours, which means bigger paychecks for you and your colleagues. Investing in such software practically puts money in your pocket. Thus, we thought you might want to learn about an integrated practice management system that recently came to our attention.

ProTempus … in One Sentence
ProTempus is an integrated practice management system for law firms that handles all your front and back office tasks.

The Killer Feature
What if you could increase your billable hours an average of 25 percent? ProTempus claims that its customers typically boost their billable hours by that percentage when they start using the software thanks to its user-friendly billing and invoicing system that "far exceeds the industry standard."

For example, ProTempus captures the time of each phone call with a built-in timer you initiate by clicking on the telephone icon in the toolbar. At the end of each call, one click bills the client for your time, inserting your brief description of the call. For flat-rate and contingency cases, you can log and track the hours spent working on the case in the client's activity history.

When you're out of the office, you can similarly track and bill your time from your Internet-capable smartphone using its Web browser. ProTempus syncs with Google Calendar, giving you real-time management of your calendar over the air. ProTempus also syncs with Outlook if you already have a real-time connection between your Outlook calendar and your smartphone.

Other Notable Features
In addition to capturing your time, ProTempus can also create and send your invoices using email or postal mail, as well as manage accounts receivable, including retainers and credit card processing. ProTempus optionally syncs with QuickBooks to provide complete accounting needs.

ProTempus integrates with Microsoft Word and WordPerfect for document assembly. You can create templates and fill in blanks using client and case information stored in ProTempus.

Other features include integrated contact database, shared calendars, task management, case management, document management, email integration, instant messaging, integration with scanners, and access from remote computers via the Internet.

What Else Should You Know?
ProTempus runs on Windows PCs. ProTempus charges a monthly fee based on the number of "time-keepers" (attorneys and paralegals) — $100 per month for the first time-keeper plus $40 per month for each additional time-keeper. Administrative staff can use ProTempus at no charge. There are no up-front purchase fees or contracts to sign. The monthly service fee includes perpetual upgrades, unlimited customer support, and unlimited training. ProTempus can import your data from most other software packages at no charge. Learn more about ProTempus.

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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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers an online practice management system (see article below), eDiscovery software with a new feature that makes document collections more portable, and an iPad text editor. Don't miss the next issue.

Stay in Sync

Online applications (or software as a service — SaaS) have forever changed the lives of lawyers, enabling them to work from absolutely anywhere — at the courthouse or poolside. But all this game-changing mobility would become meaningless if you could not trust that you have the most current data and all of it. This problem becomes compounded as you increase the number of online applications with overlapping services. Fortunately for law firms, one company is hard at work to ensure you stay in sync.

Clio … in One Sentence
Themis Solutions' Clio is a Web-based (SaaS) practice management system designed for sole practitioners and small firms.

The Killer Feature
Business Insider recently reported that Google's suite of online office applications, Google Apps, attracts one million new users per month. Many small law firms rely heavily on Google Apps for email, but also for its Calendar and Contacts now that so many smartphones offer Google Apps integration.

An increasing number of small law firms also use Clio, one of the pioneers of Web-based practice management, which we first covered in this newsletter nearly two years ago. Clio also handles your calendar and contacts, tying them to your clients and matters, which Google Apps cannot do since the tools are not designed for law firms.

The use of two online applications creates a classic technology problem — duplicate data, or worse, scattered data. Released today, Clio Sync for Google Apps solves this problem by synchronizing your Clio data with your Google Calendar and Contacts. Enter a meeting in Clio and it'll also appear in your Google Calendar and vice versa. Clio is the first Web-based practice management system to integrate with these Google Apps.

"Synchronization is crucial to efficient workflow — especially for mobile lawyers," Clio President Jack Newton told us. "Many of our solo and small firm customers rely on Google Apps in addition to Clio to power their practices. An integration between the two cloud-based products was a natural fit, and an important step in helping to ensure Clio continues to provide value and boost practice efficiency for all subscribers."

Other Notable Features
Clio Sync for Google joins Clio Sync for Outlook, which Clio added one year ago. Clio Sync for Outlook enables you to access your Clio calendar, contacts, and tasks online or offline in Outlook, re-syncing any changes you make offline the next time you're online.

Clio has added a number of other features since our initial coverage. For example, an email "dropbox" enables you to enter a special email address into the BCC field of an email message to automatically file that message and any attachments in Clio under the corresponding client and matter. This technology works with any email program such as Outlook, Gmail, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird.

Other new features include multiple calendars (including a firmwide calendar that everyone can access), support for drag and drop within the calendar, professionally-designed billing templates for creating customized branded invoices, mobile browser support on the iPhone, Palm Pre, and most Android-based and BlackBerry smartphones, and the Clio Status Dashboard to keep you apprised of the status of Clio's growing number of services.

What Else Should You Know?
A Clio subscription costs $49 per lawyer and $25 per non-attorney support user. The monthly subscription includes the new Clio Sync feature and other all other new features that Clio regularly adds. Learn more about Clio.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
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.

Originally published on October 11, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

If you work in a large law firm, you've probably felt it lately — that ineffable shiver in the air, that growing sense of anticipation. It's that time of year again — the first-year associates are arriving. Any minute now, hordes of fresh, hungry first-years will flood the halls of your firm, armed with nothing but hope and a closet full of new dress pants. Some of them will be married or otherwise attached — for now, at least. Most won't be. And that's where things get complicated — and interesting!

See, if you're a single biglaw lawyer, you're well aware that your options for finding a date, much less a mate, are pretty much limited to people working within a 11-foot radius of your office building. But even if you find yourself face to face with a live target, it's tough to make a connection. Part of the problem is that for every six minutes of billable time you get under your belt, you lose a proportional percentage of what the kids call "game." By the time you're, say, a sixth-year associate, you've lost absolutely all ability to flirt. Every last bit. At best, your efforts scream "Avoid Me"; at worst, they scream "Unabomber." Either way, you need some help. So, if you want to improve your flirting skills, and score a date among the junior ranks at your firm without getting yourself rejected, or worse, in trouble, study these six rules.

1. Be Interesting. Or at Least Pretend to Be.

You know what young, sexy associates find irresistible? The inner workings of the PIK-toggle feature from the convertible high-yield bond offering that you closed last week. What? Not convinced? Funny, you're not alone.

Look, if you remember just one tip from this article, let it be this: There is literally not one thing in the universe that will make a young associate want to date you less than talking about substantive work outside of work — especially when that work involves topics like '34 Act compliance and interpleader motions. Truly, even the weather is a better choice for a conversational opener if you're really struggling. Just pick anything but work.

So, if you find yourself in a social, flirting-friendly situation with that cute first-year who sits down the hall and you really can't think of anything to talk about aside from your latest deal or case, just count to three and start talking about hurricanes.

2. Snowboarding? Really? When?

Look, I get it. When you're flirting with a junior associate, you're trying to come across as someone who's young and fun and adventurous. But when you let it slip that you try to "hit the powder" every weekend, you come across as more "Matlock on Ice … and Possibly Drugs" than "Shaun White, Esq." Remember: The junior associates work at same firm that you do. They see you every day and know that your biggest exposure to the great outdoors involves the half-block walk from your office to Starbucks. In other words, you're just like them. So scale back boasting about your glamorous hobbies and keep it simple.

3. Armani. Go. Now.

We've all met this person: The equity partner wearing a wrinkled, double-breasted suit whose shoulder pads are exceeded in girth only by the pit stains lurking a few inches south. Or the senior associate parading around the firm with a $75,000 bonus … and scuffed, square-toed rubber bootlets that debuted at Steve Madden circa 1994.

Do. Not. Be. This. Person.

That junior associate with whom you're flirting will forgive you for certain things beyond your control — hair line, bust line, jaw line — but only if you're putting in effort when it comes to how you put yourself together. After all, if you're a partner or close to it, you should be rolling in piles of biglaw dough by now. But those golden handcuffs can only help you get a date if you keep them nice and shiny. Step it up.

4. Take the Ring Off. Better Yet, Don't Even Bother.

Believe it or not, not every associate aspires to become a home wrecker. In fact, they try to avoid it. So, if you're already married, but you just have to flirt with every new associate that passes through your line of vision, fine — but at least take off your wedding ring first. Ditto the glamour-shots of your latest spouse and kids sitting on your desk.

Cruising for action in the junior ranks when you're clearly married doesn't make you seem suave and cosmopolitan; it makes you seem vile and pathetic. If you're that desperate for some extramarital action, go find a hooker. Or better yet, a marriage counselor. Either way, leave the junior associates alone.

5. Don't Date in Your Department.

Your department is where dating becomes even trickier. Even in the largest firms, if you try out your charms on a new associate and get dinged, you'll probably still run into each other now and then. Awkward but not the end of the world.

But if this associate works in your local practice group, you'll cross paths … over and over again. And worse, depending on how you badly you navigated the initial flirting, the associate probably mentioned your little encounter to a few friends in her class, who then told a few friends in the next class, etc. Within a day or two, every person in your department knows that you tried to make a move on the new kid and got shot down.

Since you can't avoid this new associate, you'll probably just start to give her the cold shoulder, and maybe even torture her a little bit when she winds up getting staffed on one of your deals. Or who knows, maybe you'll try flirting with her again, just to show her that there are no hard feelings. Which brings us to …

6. Sex Is Fun. Sexual Harassment Is Not.

This tip should go without saying for lawyers, but, for the love of God, don't confuse flirting with harassing some poor associate. If you dip your toe in flirtatious waters and are met with a cold, wet sting, just dry off and move onto your next target. The junior associate who politely declined your overture is probably just terrified of and/or repulsed by you. It happens. There's not much you can do to make it better, but don't make it worse. Junior associates may not remember much from law school, but you can bet they recall the elements of a good Title VII hostile work environment claim. Use your head.

Legal Tease has clocked more years than she cares to remember working in one of the world's largest law firms. She writes regularly at Sweet Hot Justice, which we encourage you to bookmark and read religiously.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw 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 108 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

A Rant and a Solution: Friends Don't Reveal Friends' Email

Review: Amazon Kindle 3

Revamping Associate Reviews in the Post Lockstep World

A Lawyer Bio Photo Beauty Pageant: 10 Law Firms Compared

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Originally published on October 4, 2010 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

Not so long ago, law schools regularly delivered a lecture for new students to the effect that the practice of law was a profession, not a business. Advertising was frowned upon (with severe restrictions imposed by many state bar associations). When Web sites arrived, a debate ensued over whether they constituted advertising. The practice of law today is clearly a business, not a profession. Small law firms must increasingly adapt to business rules if they want to survive. Below, in my first SmallLaw column, I'll tackle the critical issue of return on investment (ROI) analysis.

The Two Pain Points in All Law Firms

Many small law firms do not use ROI analysis. ROI can be very difficult to quantify (if you buy a new server, how do you calculate ROI?), but is not that difficult when it comes to specific types of productivity or lack thereof. The practice of law can be broken down into three activities:

1. Gathering information.


2. Analyzing the information and applying your legal training and experience to that information — i.e., practicing law in the traditional sense.


3. Producing documents based on that analysis.

To the extent that technology can be used to decrease the amount of time spent on activities 1 and 3, a lawyer has more hours in the day to spend on the actual practice of law. With that in mind, lets look at some types of ROI, both positive and negative.

Basic ROI Analysis

Basic ROI analysis goes like this: If my firm adopts (and implements properly, including training), practice management software, document management software or similar programs, and each user saves 12 minutes a day (a conservative estimate) that they would otherwise waste hunting for documents, finding paper files, and so on, that amounts to an hour a week. Multiply that 50 hours per year by the blended billing rate of your attorneys and the number of attorneys and you get your firm's savings. Thus if a firm has 10 attorneys at a blended rate of $250 an hour, that's 10x250x50 or $125,000 a year. Add in paralegals and staff, and this number will far exceed the cost of implementing any system.

Some people object that these are "soft dollars," that is, not actual income. This is true, but even so it adds up. As an additional bonus, your employees will be much happier if they get to leave at 6 instead of 6:30.

Hard dollars (actual income) can be generated by adopting automated time/billing/accounting systems. These systems enable you to track your time more accurately and help prevent time from "falling through the cracks." Do you really remember how long that phone call lasted, how much time you spent on an email, etc.?

People almost always underestimate the amount of time they spend on many tasks. A generally accepted estimate is that the nagging of an electronic time and billing system will help you capture 10-15% more time for the same amount of work. So a conservative estimate would be that an attorney who bills 1,000-1,200 hours a year will capture an additional 100 hours. Again, at a blended rate of $250 per hour for 10 attorneys, that's $250,000 a year in actual billable income.

Beware of Negative ROI

The converse of an ROI analysis is how much time you waste. As one client said to me, "I know that if I don't clean up my system I am just hemorrhaging money." The two most common forms of waste consist of inadequate training and the lack of document templates (the most elementary form of document assembly).

Lack of training not only causes users to lose time by flailing about and not being able to work efficiently, but frequently doubles the waste of time because the flailing user bothers more knowledgeable users to ask them how to do something. Thus, the more productive employee also becomes bogged down by being an unofficial "help desk." One solution to this problem is to sponsor "brown bag lunches" on particular topics. This lets people ask questions and helps ensure that there is a minimum standard of training that lets everyone be more productive.

Regarding document templates, even without integration into a practice management system every firm has a number of form letters that it frequently uses. A simple "fill in the blanks" form is faster than taking an old document and changing the names, pronouns, etc., plus it also prevents errors.

You Don't Need a Degree in Econometrics

Acting on a ROI analysis for software and productivity practices does not have to be an exact science to yield tremendous financial benefits to your law firm.

Written by John Heckman of Heckman Consulting.

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 Fat Friday contains these articles:

Tom Tuft, Review: iPad in a Law Practice; FileMaker Go

Channing Strother, Tips for PDF Converter Enterprise 7

Kelly Chang Rickert, Movie Review: Conviction

Bruce Brightwell, LexisNexis Annual Maintenance Plan for PCLaw and Time Matters

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Originally published on October 7, 2010 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

Urban Dictionary, that distant, surly cousin of the Oxford English Dictionary, defines "douchebag" as "an individual who has an over-inflated sense of self worth … [who] behav[es] ridiculously in front of colleagues with no sense of how moronic he appears." One of the pitfalls of working in a large firm is that you run the risk of becoming a douchebag.

The transformation to office jerk typically starts innocently enough — a monogrammed shirt here, a four page absence memo there — that is, until your bad habits overtake your persona and you become the person that you swore you'd never become — a douchebag. In this issue of BigLaw, you'll learn how to recognize the signs of douchebagdom, and how to prevent or reverse this unfortunate but curable condition. Simply implement the "de-d-bagging" techniques described below, and put your concerns to rest.

1. Cleansing Your Office

If home is where the heart is, the office is where the douche lives. These tips will help you douchebag proof your physical office space:

• Remove all awards, degrees, and Ansel Adams lithographs from your walls.


• Return to the IT Department the 1-800-Dentist headset that you use for telephone calls.


• Dismantle and discard any torchiere floor lamps.


• Lose the Bose speakers, especially if they contain an iPod dock.


• Refrain from using any pen that: (1) is a fountain pen; (2) requires a twisting motion to expose the tip; (3) is engraved; (4) is sold individually; (5) uses special ink; or (6) costs more than $5.


• Bring home your golf clubs.


• Remove annoying framed pictures from your desk, including black and white wedding photos of you and your spouse, travel photos of the Golden Gate Bridge or other exotic destinations, and photos with sports celebrities.


• Eliminate any air purifiers.


• Discard (or finish) the bottle of Scotch next to your monitor and don't replace it with another one.


• Clear your bookshelves of distinguished but useless books such as law school textbooks.

2. Cleansing Your Personal Habits

A douchebag-proofed office may still have a douchebag as its occupant. If you want to remain "normal," make sure you don't:

• Wear cufflinks or French cuffed shirts.


• Use a money clip.


• Wrap your tie around your head for any reason.


• Carry a leather valise, especially by Tumi. Also, do not use the term "valise."


• Wear driving shoes/loafers without socks, sport tasseled shoes, pants with animals embroidered on them, or polo shirts with popped collars.


• Allow copies of The New Yorker, Architectural Digest, Food & Wine, or Milan Kundera books to "accidentally" peek out from your (former) valise.

3. Cleansing Your Work Communications

Now that you've cleansed (and in doing so upgraded) your office and personage, it's time for the final step. Below you'll find some subtle ways to let your colleagues and clients know that you're a changed man or woman:

• Stop using the email salutation "Gentleman."


• Delete your "Sent from my iPad" email signature line. You can keep your iPad, but don't walk around with it or bring it to the bathroom.


• Don't ask for a roll call on a conference call when everybody knows who's on the phone.


• Resist the urge to send blacklines that spell out numbers and identify them in parentheses, as if people are illiterate, e.g., "twenty-nine (29)."


• Refrain from talking about "destroying" the other side in court.


• Don't fake complain about your hours for the purpose of bragging and subtly finding out what others' billed.


• Turn off the light in your office when you leave instead of leaving it on, closing the door and pretending you're still at work.

How to Receive BigLaw
Many large firms have good reputations for their work and bad reputations as places to work. Why? Answering this question requires digging up some dirt, but we do with the best of intentions. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, BigLaw analyzes the business practices, marketing strategies, and technologies used by the country's biggest law firms in an effort to unearth best and worst practices. The BigLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

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

Tom Rowe, Mobile Apps v. Mobile Web: No Contest

Mark Deal, The Case for Document Automation Technology in Every Law Firm

Michael Jones, Review: Tabs3 for Time-Billing

Allan Tiller, Review: AbacusLaw for Practice Management

Tom Trottier, Review: Balans Backless Kneel Chair (Plus Herman Miller's Embody)

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

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Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a Web-based practice management system (see article below), an ergonomic mouse designed in conjunction with New York City's Hospital for Special Surgery, an iPhone app for tracking your mandatory CLE credits, a Web application for managing conflicts of interest within your law firm, and an app that enables you to create and edit Microsoft Office documents on an iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Don't miss the next issue.

Reclaim Your Time and Better Manage Your Practice

When it comes to practice management software, small firms might envy their larger counterparts. Maintaining a state-of-the-art practice management system requires space, money, and constant attention from trained technicians — resources in short supply or nonexistent at small firms. However, inefficient practice management results in time-consuming administrative work. If you regularly find yourself working overtime juggling various billing, accounting, docketing, and other tasks, you need to streamline your operations with a practice management system. But can you afford one?

ADERANT Practice Manager … in One Sentence
ADERANT Practice Manager is a Web-based (SaaS) practice management system designed for small law firms.

The Killer Feature
For over 30 years, ADERANT has served the practice management needs of many of the country's largest law firms, helping them to improve productivity, get paid faster, and increase profits. With ADERANT Practice Manager, the company brings these same large firm technologies to the small firm setting — without the need to install and maintain software onsite.

Deployed as a cloud-based Web service, ADERANT Practice Manager enables you to access functions such as time capture, bill creation, expense and disbursement tracking, calendar, and contact and task management in a single integrated online solution.

ADERANT takes care of adding new features, backing up and securing your data, and scaling as usage within your firm increases. You don't need an IT department to use ADERANT Practice Manager.

Other Notable Features
ADERANT Practice Manager enables you to capture your time using a variety of methods such as direct entry and use of timers. You can edit, split, and allocate time entries. You can also capture expenses, batch send single- and multi-matter invoices, manage trust accounts and retainers, and keep track of accounts receivable.

Additional features include a general ledger for accounting, contact management by client and matter, conflicts searching, a calendar that supports docketing rules, task management, and many customizable reports.

What Else Should You Know?
You can import data into ADERANT Practice Manager as well as export your data. ADERANT Practice Manager uses 64-bit SSL data encryption. You can restrict access by user and/or group. ADERANT houses your data in an "SAS 70 type II" secure facility. Learn more about ADERANT Practice Manager.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
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.

Coming today to TechnoFeature: Technology has enabled lawyers to do more in less time, reduce paper clutter, keep in touch with clients, and work anywhere and anytime. But too much of a good thing may be a bad thing. It's a wonder that we can concentrate on a task long enough to finish it coherently. So argues lawyer Edward Zohn in this TechnoFeature article. Citing a number of recent studies, Zohn explains how to find the proper technology balance at your law firm, including tackling such questions as what role smartphones should and should not play, and how to determine whether technology is improving or harming your productivity. Before you buy that next shiny gadget, read Zohn's advice about how to distinguish good from bad technology use.

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Our flagship newsletter never disappoints thanks to its in-depth reporting by leading legal technology and practice management experts, many of whom have become "household names" in the legal profession. It's in TechnoFeature that you'll find our oft-quoted formal product reviews and accompanying TechnoScore ratings. The TechnoFeature newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.