TechnoLawyer

Coming today to Answers to Questions: Steven Best reviews Orion practice management software, Christopher Reddy reviews Nero Recode and shares some video conversion tips, Peter Pike reviews Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition 2009, Aaron Craft shares an often overlooked tip regarding uninterruptible power supplies and networked software, and Lawrence King discusses dual monitors. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to TL Research: Most law offices use a manual system for storing and retrieving documents, which often results in misplaced documents, missing documents, misnamed documents, and other mishaps. A document management system (DMS) can eliminate these problems, but how can you find the one best suited for your law firm? In this TL Research report, legal technology consultant and document management expert John Heckman discusses the problems a DMS addresses, and how to shop for and implement a DMS. As a bonus, it also contains four Courtoons about document management courtesy of cartoonist and lawyer David Mills. Download your free copy of TL Research Guide to Document Management Systems for Law Firms.

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Our flagship newsletter offers in-depth buyer's guides and other helpful reports for everyone in the legal profession. Many reports about the legal industry use flawed data and are therefore unreliable. By contrast, TL Research reports provide you with insightful information on which you can rely by combining sound statistical techniques with exhaustive research and analysis. Just as importantly, the experts who write TL Research reports use jargon-free plain English, and often include benchmarks, charts, and other comparative tools and visuals. The TL Research newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to TechnoFeature: Apple's iPhone is cool, but could it compete with the BlackBerry as a business tool at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, one of the world's largest law firms? In this TechnoFeature article, Sonnenschein's Manager of Software Services Christopher Lewis explains why Sonnenschein decided to deploy the iPhone to its lawyers, how it handled the deployment, the functions it supports and doesn't support, and the results thus far. If the lawyers at your firm are clamoring for iPhone support, look no further than Christopher's invaluable advice.

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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.

Watch the Video

TechnoScore: 4.5
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score

Texas criminal defense lawyer Tyler Flood handles drunk driving cases. He is affable, personable, sharply dressed and speaks well. He introduces himself, and in fact, the headline of his video says "Meet Attorney Tyler Flood."

He tells a story about his most memorable case, albeit in the second half of the video. He's sincere and from his demeanor, I get the sense that he believes in his cases and fights the good fight, in a nice way. He looks straight at you, as if he's having a one-on-one conversation with you. I like that. Some lawyers prefer an "interview" style that has them looking off at the wall. I don't like that format.

Why not? Simple. When a client walks into your office and sits down in a chair to ask you questions, do you answer by looking away and staring at the wall? Of course not. Looking directly in the camera helps establish trust among prospects.

Prospects are looking for answers to their legal problems. Obviously, you're not going to give them legal advice in a video, but by giving them information they need to know, you've entered the conversation going on in their head already. "If he knows this much, then he must know the answers to my legal questions." That's what generates phone calls to your office.

Here's what I didn't like about this well-made video:

1. The video company logo sits prominently in the lower right hand side of the video. Get rid of your video company logo. Are they paying you? If not, don't allow it in your video.


2. In the beginning of the video, Flood fades in and out repeatedly. That's weird.


3. My next observation is hyper-picky, but after creating lots of green-screen videos I can spot a problem. If you look at the top left of Flood's head (his right side), you'll notice a green line that forms a little halo. This video mishap occurs when your chroma-keying is not 100% perfect. That's one reason why I recommend that lawyers stay away from special effects and graphics. They're simply not needed. Green screen video is difficult and time consuming, even for pros.

Tip #1: Tell a Story

Make the story the focus of your video. Show how you helped solve your client's legal problem. Prospective clients love stories.

Tip #2: Use Testimonials in Your Story

Go one step further than telling a great story. Get your client on video to provide the back-story to the case you're discussing. Then, have your client tell the world what an amazing lawyer you are (assuming your state allows testimonials).

Tip #3: Avoid Special Effects

Skip special effects such as fades that make you disappear and reappear. Stay on screen and have the titles pop up on the lower third of the screen or to your left or right side. Also, skip the green screen and focus on your content.

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 too long, and uninteresting. Attorney Flood is a talking head who pats himself on the back through this entire 2 1/2 minute video. He lost me at Hello."

TechnoLawyer publisher and online video producer Neil Squillante says: "Tyler Flood has a good story to tell in this video about how he helped obtain a not guilty verdict for his client. Unfortunately, he didn't rehearse the story so it doesn't flow well and takes twice as long for him to tell it as it should. Time for a reshoot."

About YouLaw
YouTube offers law firms a free advertising platform with tens of millions of potential clients. But a poor video can hurt more than help. In this column, lawyer and online video expert Gerry Oginski reviews and rates the latest law firm videos. A panel of fellow experts (The Back Bench) add to Gerry's reviews with pithy remarks. We link to each new YouLaw column and all other noteworthy law firm marketing articles in our weekly BlawgWorld newsletter, which is free. Please subscribe now.

About Gerry Oginski
New York trial lawyer Gerry Oginski has created more than 230 informational online videos for his medical malpractice and personal injury practice. Realizing that most video producers don't have a deep understanding of the practice of law and what potential clients look for, Gerry launched The Lawyers' Video Studio, which provides free tutorials and video production services. If you need help producing a video, please contact Gerry now.

Contact Gerry:
T: (516) 487-8207
E: lawmed10@yahoo.com

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 82 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Review: Thunderbird 3.0: Good Email Solution for Law Firms?

A Bankruptcy Lawyer's Move From Palm to Droid

Checklists in Law Practice

What is All the Hoopla Over Avvo Reviews?

Don't miss this issue or future issues.

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Coming today to Fat Friday: Paul Mansfield reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap with Rack2-Filer software, Roy Greenberg offers a fix for BitDefender when it stops working after a Windows restore, Tim Dix clarifies a point about SaaS storage in a recent TechnoFeature, Lane Trippe shares some further thoughts on the health care debate, and Harold Burstyn explains why he won't shop at Amazon ever again. Don't miss this issue.

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 TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a new online legal research service (see article below), a Web-based document assembly tool, an iPhone app for legal research, a content management system for law firm Web sites, and an online forum for anonymous legal product reviews. Don't miss the next issue.

What's Next in Online Legal Research?

The more advanced a technology, the simpler it becomes to use. For example, using an online legal research service once required buying dedicated hardware. That hardware eventually gave way to software. Now, lawyers use their Web browser. So what's next for online legal research? That's what one of the major players asked a few years ago — and answered this week.

WestlawNext … in One Sentence
West's WestlawNext is a "reimagined" online legal research service designed to make it easier and faster to find what you need.

The Killer Feature
In case you hadn't noticed, West has given its iconic legal research service a new name to underscore the improvements it has made. "This is no mere cosmetic redesign," writes Bob Ambrogi of Lawsites. "WestlawNext completely changes the search interface and the search engine behind it."

A global search box enables you to enter a broad search using natural language or Boolean search terms. WestlawNext returns all documents and information ranked by relevance. You can then drill down into specific data sets such as statutes, cases, secondary sources, news, etc. You can also filter results by West key number, topic, court, judge, party, etc. In other words, you no longer have to select what to search before you search.

"We recognize that an attorney's worst nightmare is being surprised by a piece of information that they could have found through a legal search," WestlawNext's vice president of product development Mike Dahn told us. "We've created a new legal research system that delivers the confidence that when legal research is complete, it's complete."

Other Notable Features
When you know what you want to search, you can just enter it along with any other search terms. For example, the parties of a case, the name of a treatise, a jurisdiction, the title of an article, etc.

As you work in WestlawNext, you can customize your screen. For example, if you're researching cases, WestlawNext displays a "case summary" for each opinion that summarizes the case and shows your search terms in context. When you click on a case, WestlawNext lists negative citations if any and related secondary sources for you to explore. The "reading mode" removes all these tools so you can focus on the document.

WestlawNext tracks your search history for up to one year so you can retrace your steps. You can save searches by client/matter, and search within searches to narrow them. You can also save the documents you find in folders (My Research Folders), as well as annotate documents and highlight important passages. When you paste from a document, WestlawNext includes the citation in Bluebook or another standardized format of your choosing.

What Else Should You Know?
West offers WestlawNext in a variety of configurations to suit your needs. It works in all major Web browsers on Macs and PCs. Learn more about WestlawNext.

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 Answers to Questions: Sam Gibson discusses the impact of accepting credit cards at his law firm, Bob Leonard explains how he syncs his iPhone with LexisNexis' Total Practice Advantage (and LexisNexis discusses its mobililty plans for 2010), Marc Dobin explains how to create audio clips for trial, Bruce Dorner offers advice to new lawyers overwhelmed with technology options, and Christopher Holly reviews PureText and ClipCache Pro. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Answers to Questions
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In Answers to Questions, 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 Answers to Questions newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

We would like to thank everyone who attended TechnoLawyer Festa 2010 on January 31, 2010 at A Voce Columbus Circle. You helped make it our best party yet. Check out the photos from the party.

Coming today to TechnoFeature: Harvesting electronically stored information (ESI) can prove cumbersome and expensive. Many clients balk at the expense, and some wonder why they can't handle the collection process in-house. They have a point. Not every case requires full forensic imaging or the use of outside service bureaus. PinPoint Labs' One Click Collect enables you to automate the collection of ESI on your own. But how well does it work? In this review of One Click Collect, trial technology and computer forensics consultant Bruce Olson evaluates One Click Collect answers this question in considerable detail.

How to Receive TechnoFeature
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.