TechnoLawyer

Originally published on December 7, 2009 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

Another SmallLaw column, another Acrobat tip. Below you'll learn how to transform a piece of paper into a fully searchable, text-based PDF file. You can then search through these files using any desktop search software, litigation review software, or document management system, including many practice management systems with DMS capabilities. Also, you can copy and paste text from these documents into any other application. Both of these functions rely on OCR — optical character recognition.

Acrobat's Succeeds Through a Less Is More Approach …

The process of OCRing documents is hardly a new concept, yet it remains one dreaded by most legal staffers, often requiring a lot of manual labor. Even today, in an era of significant hardware horsepower and versions of OCR software well into the "teens," results are often mixed — after an aggravatingly slow process.

The reason is simple — recognizing the text itself isn't especially technically challenging any longer — all OCR products handle this function with aplomb. But the process of recognizing all those little black marks on a page and then having to create a Word document that matches the layout and formatting of the source document remains elusive.

Since version 7, Acrobat has included built-in text recognition. Acrobat is much more efficient than dedicated OCR software. It only needs to recognize text — the easier part of the equation. Acrobat recognizes the text, and then stores a list of words in an index "beneath" the visual surface layer of the PDF file. This indexed word list is then accessible and searchable by desktop search and document management tools. Acrobat isn't encumbered with the task of creating a word processing file so the process is faster and yields copy-able and paste-able text, ready to insert into any other application. After all, most of the time, the need is limited to leveraging the text from the source document, not the formatting.

When scanning paper, the resulting PDF is an "image": essentially a digital photograph of the source paper. There is no useable or selectable text in an image PDF. Some scanning software has the ability to both scan and convert documents into searchable PDF files in a single step. In most situations, however, this approach isn't desirable, at least when applied to every document. The reason is efficiency — conversion of an image PDF takes much more time than merely scanning to an image PDF format. The better approach is to individually select the PDFs you wish to make searchable, on an as-needed, ad hoc basis.

Acrobat Standard and Professional Edition convert image PDF files to searchable versions one document at a time. Both Acrobat Standard and Professional Edition have the ability to make batches of PDFs searchable — via selection of multiple documents within a folder or entire folders. The latter approach might seem appealing, but the process can be so time-consuming that a you may lose functionality of your PC for hours. There are better approaches to batch conversion discussed below.

How to Make Scans Searchable in Acrobat 9 …

The process of searchable PDF conversion in Acrobat 9 Standard or Pro is as follows:

1. Scan the paper document or open an existing PDF.


2. Go to the Document menu and select "OCR Text Recognition," and then "Recognize Text Using OCR" from the submenu.


3. From the Recognize Text dialog box, the option for "All Pages" is the default — click OK to start the process.


4. A progress indicator will appear in the bottom right corner of the Acrobat display, showing the conversion of each page into searchable format.


5. When the progress indicator disappears, the process is complete — just remember to re-save your PDF files.


6. The file is now a searchable, or in AdobeSpeak, an "accessible" PDF — ready for you to highlight and select text that can be copied/pasted, or ready to have its text found in a variety of different types of text searches.

To convert a batch of files, the process is similar, with the variation as follows:

1. Instead of selecting Recognize Text Using OCR from the OCR Text Recognition menu, instead select "Recognize Text in Multiple Files Using OCR."


2. From the "Paper Capture Multiple Files" dialogue box, click the "Add Files" button and select the option to either Add Files or Add (entire) Folders.


3. Navigate to the files or folders desired and they'll be added to the batch for processing.


4. Click OK and then wait for the batch to complete. Acrobat will automatically save the newly searchable files.

A third party product called Autobahn DX from the UK-based company Aquaforest can streamline the batch searchable conversion process considerably. With Autobahn DX installed on a Windows Server, the network version of the software can run automatically at scheduled times. The program will identify all image PDF files in the designated folders and convert them to searchable PDFs — without tying up anyone's PC or wasting a staffer's valuable time. While not inexpensive at $2,999 (including 12 months of software maintenance and support), many small firms have found the cost reasonable versus the value of staff time otherwise wasted baby-sitting Acrobat's resource-hungry, workstation-based batch conversion process.

The Bottom Line …

Searchable PDF files are infinitely more useful in the daily grind of law practice than mere image PDF files. Whether converting files individually or in batches, searchability and copy-ability open up a broad range of text-handling opportunities you would otherwise miss.

Written by Ross Kodner of MicroLaw.

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Originally published on December 7, 2009 in our free BigLaw newsletter.

At age 34, David Lat has already compiled an illustrious set of credentials. After graduating from Yale Law School, Lat clerked on the United States Court of Appeals, worked as an associate at mega-firm Wachtell Lipton, and spent several years as an Assistant United States Attorney. But it is his career as a blogger and journalist that has made him a household name in legal circles, where he is known as the founder of the wildly popular online legal tabloid "Above the Law."

Above the Law amasses 8-10 million page views each month with a stream of news, gossip, and humor focused on legal personalities and the world of large firms. "There was a hunger in the market," for a site like Above the Law, Lat told the ABA Journal last month. "These law firms are large, wealthy and powerful institutions that generally don't like to talk about how they work. So when you proffer information, people get excited. They are peeking behind the curtain." This hunger for information, Lat maintains, has had a measurable impact on the world of large firms. "Other sites and Above the Law have changed the ways firms communicate. We are moving in the direction of greater and greater transparency."

Last month, Lat was recognized by the ABA as one of its "Legal Rebels." Recently, he took a break from his hectic schedule to chat with BigLaw about such topics as the changing face of law firms, Facebook in the workplace, and, of course, the joys of legal gossip.

The ABA recently named you a "legal rebel." What, in your opinion, makes you a legal rebel? Is it your approach to a changing legal profession, or do you tear around on a motorcycle in black leather?

More the former, I'd say! Motorcycles and leather are scary. The ABA was looking for folks who are shaking up the legal profession, and Above the Law is certainly doing that.

Speaking of Above the Law, is it driving law firms toward greater transparency, particularly with respect to "personnel" decisions? And why is transparency important?

Transparency keeps institutions honest. It has a civilizing effect on our sometimes brutal profession. It forces firms and other institutions, such as law schools, to treat their people fairly. We've had numerous cases over the three years the site has been around when a firm or law school revisited a decision after seeing how it was received on Above the Law.

So, how would you say the movement — perhaps driven by sites like ATL — toward greater transparency has impacted large firms?

The biggest change, as a hiring partner of a large New York law firm told me, is that it has accelerated the pace of change. Whether it's pay raises or layoffs, trends spread more rapidly now thanks to the freer flow of information. This may be a good thing, or it may not be. But it's the way things are now.

There's a lot of talk about what will become of law firms, given the vagaries of this economy. Where do you think they're going?

Oh, if I knew the answer to that, I'd be a very wealthy man! This isn't earth-shattering, but I'd predict that BigLaw is going to become smaller and more flexible. Firms will grow smaller, partly because it's possible to do more with less thanks to technology and outsourcing. As for flexibility, firms will have to become more nimble to navigate a rapidly changing economy and profession. For example, instead of hiring in large numbers and then laying off in large numbers, firms might start to rely more upon contract attorneys and freelancers, who can be drawn upon and then let go with greater ease.

There's a lot of talk about salaries getting lower. Is this a good thing for the market?

Some of our associate readers won't want to hear this, but my personal opinion is yes. Clients aren't as willing to pay for junior associates who aren't that useful in their first years of practice. So it probably makes sense to pay them less and focus on training them more, which a number of firms are starting to do.

You were an associate at a law firm known for its demanding work conditions. Realistically, is there a way for profitability and the humane treatment of associates to coexist?

That's a big topic. But one overall change I'd suggest is allowing lawyers greater flexibility. For example, let them decide if they'd like to work reduced hours in exchange for reduced pay. A number of firms already have multiple-track systems, but I think the hours and pay levels could be even more customized, and the trend should spread to more firms.

If, as some predict, small-to-midsize law firms gain market share, will we get less deliciously juicy gossip on sites like atl? In other words, will anyone leak, will anyone care?

Oh, small and midsize firms generate lots of great gossip! Some of our juiciest stories have come out of smaller firms, which often have more freewheeling, uninhibited office cultures than their BigLaw counterparts. The problem is getting those stories out there. With a large law firm, you can tell a tale without fear or being revealed as the tipster since hundreds of people have probably heard the story. This is not as much the case at smaller firms.

Speaking of buzz, you've certainly embraced social networking using services like Twitter and Facebook. Are you surprised to see them becoming tools of the trade for certain practitioners? Do you think that social networking belongs in the workplace?

I'm not surprised at all. The overall trend over the past decade or so has been in favor of lawyers doing more marketing. To make partner these days, you don't just need legal ability; you need the ability to bring in clients. Social networking is perfectly appropriate for the workplace. Your Facebook friends might someday send you work. Say you make Facebook friends with a law school classmate. Ten years later, you could be a law firm partner, and they could be in-house. Law is a lot like journalism, or finance, or a whole host of other fields — it's all about your Rolodex (so to speak).

What do you think the role of legal journalists is in a volatile market like the one we've observed over the past year? In airing the dirty (or at least slightly unclean) laundry of the law firms you report on, are you hoping to hold their feet to the fire, force greater accountability, or just entertain your readers?

Honestly, I try not to philosophize too much. I do my job because I enjoy it on a day-to-day level. I give people information, and they decide what to do with it.

I don't have an agenda. In terms of my identity as a blogger and journalist, I'm more of a reporter than an editorialist. One of my favorite quotes, listed on my Facebook page, is this one, by Jeffrey Hart:

"I confess to a fondness for gossip, which, indeed, is a conservative genre. Gossips do not want to change the world; they want to enjoy it."

What's on your night table?

A review copy of Union Atlantic, the forthcoming novel by Adam Haslett. Haslett is a brilliant young writer who wrote an amazing collection of short stories, You Are Not a Stranger Here. He's also, incidentally, a fellow graduate of Yale Law School (although we didn't overlap there).

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Originally published on November 30, 2009 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

I often refer to Acrobat Pro as a "legal document operating system." Acrobat initially gained widespread acceptance because of its ability to create PDF files (especially secure PDF files that resist attempts at alteration), but Acrobat's seemingly endless laundry list of functions is nothing short of mind-boggling. Take PDF Portfolios for example.

Another Type of eBook …

You've heard about eBook readers like the Kindle. Adobe Acrobat's Packages (versions 7 and 8) and Portfolios (version 9) enable you to create a different type of eBook — the electronic version of a GBC- or spiral-bound binder combining multiple documents into a single consolidated file.

Much in the manner in which your office might create paper-based binders for everything from settlement agreements to estate plans to pleading indices, you can use Portfolios to create electronic counterparts in Acrobat.

The net result of building a PDF Portfolio in Acrobat is a single PDF file that contains multiple documents. All the documents contained therein are one-click navigable via an Acrobat "bookmark" list. The documents contained within the "electronic three ring binder" are listed by document title. What you can do with Portfolios limited solely by your imagination.

How to Create a PDF Portfolio …

When in Acrobat, the most direct way to initiate creation of a PDF Portfolio is to select File | Combine | Merge Files into a Single PDF.

You'll see a "Combine Files" dialog box. Click the "Add Files" button in the upper left corner, and then either select Add Files or Add Folders. You can select individual files spanning multiple folders or add entire folders (meaning you'd need to stage the contents of entire folders so they only contain those files you wish to include in your Portfolio).

Once you've selected what you want to include, you can change the order of the files by selecting any file listed and clicking either the "Move Down" or "Move Up" buttons.

Note that you can include non-PDF files such as Word documents. Don't forget to check the box under the Options button (bottom left corner of the dialog box) to "Convert All Files to PDF When Creating a Portfolio."

You can specify the file size by selecting one of the three size icons located at the bottom right corner of the dialog box — "Small" (for more efficient loading/downloading if placed on a Web site), "Default" (the option to use virtually all the time) and "Large" (higher resolution to aid in digital production of brochures, newsletters, and general desktop publishing use).

When you have the files in the order you want them to appear in the PDF Portfolio, press the button that says "Combine Files." Once the progress meter churns through all the included files, you'll be prompted to save the PDF Portfolio, navigating to a folder and naming the file. Once saved, your new electronic binder will appear on screen in Acrobat.

To display the bookmark list that for navigating through the included documents, either select View | Navigation Panels | Bookmarks, or click the Bookmark icon on the far left side of the Acrobat program display. You can then click on any of the linked document titles to go directly to that particular file.

Advanced PDF Portfolio Settings …

Let's explore some clever ways to add some visual polish and more detail to the file — with the focus being maximizing the visual impression left on the viewer.

1. Control the View Your Reader Sees Upon Opening Your PDF Portfolio

You can do this by selecting File | Properties (or Ctrl-D). Then click the Initial View tab from the Document Properties dialog box. Under Navigation Tab, pull down the list and select Bookmarks Panel and Page, which will ensure that the bookmark list to navigate your file will always display.

You may also want to pull down the Magnification list and select Fit Page, which will show the viewer the full page view of the document (which they can always adjust using Acrobat's Zoom functions if needed). Click OK when done and re-save the file so you don't lose your changes.

2. Take Credit for Your Work and Add Contact and Copyright Information in Your PDF Portfolio

While in the Document Properties dialog box, click the Description tab. You can modify the document's title, adjust the author information (i.e. adding your full contact information, including telephone and email addresses), the subject, and any keywords with which you can describe the document, explain how the viewer can get their questions answered and, if applicable, provide copyright attribution.

3. Put Your PDF Portfolio on a Diet

Acrobat Pro's PDF Optimizer can compress PDF Portfolios (or any PDF file) by as much as 75%, considerably reducing the size of files that you might send via email. Go to Advanced | PDF Optimizer, click OK, and save the file. When done, re-save your newly compacted file. If you want to get a sense of a before/after size indication, look at the Document | Properties first — on the Description tab, you'll see the file size listed. Check it before and after optimization. The more graphics embedded in the file, the greater the file compression you can expect.

Conclusion

PDF Portfolios are extraordinarily useful. Use them for client closing books, human resources documentation, manuals, and much more. Portfolio away!

Written by Ross Kodner of MicroLaw.

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Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a portable USB scanner (see article below), a speech recognition app for iPhone, discovery review software that automates coding, an expandable and redundant RAID-like storage solution, and an online marketing service for lawyers. Don't miss the next issue.

The Smallest Portable Scanner in Its Class

Work doesn't always end up at the office. That's why you probably have a laptop and a smartphone — so that you can take your office to your work. But what about documents that already exist as opposed to those you create? For this common scenario, you need a relatively new gadget — a portable scanner. Not as much choice exists as is the case with desktop and network scanners, but a new portable scanner shipped last week that looks promising.

Canon imageFORMULA P-150 Scan-tini … in One Sentence
Canon's imageFORMULA P-150 Scan-tini is a portable USB high speed duplex document scanner.

The Killer Feature
A laptop is portable. But a smartphone is more portable. Carrying cases exist for some desktop scanners, which means some people carry them from place to place, but six pounds is about four too many these days.

Canon's new P-150 Scan-tini weighs just 2 pounds. Just as importantly, it measures 1.6 x 11 x 3.7 inches. Look at it from the side and you may not see it. Canon claims it's the smallest scanner in its class.

Also, it's black, which may not seem like an important feature, but as we all know from our wardrobes, black has slimming qualities, making the P-150 Scan-tini look all the more sleek.

Other Notable Features
But enough about looks. How does the P-150 Scan-tini perform? Canon claims speeds of up to 15 pages per minute for black and white or grayscale documents, and up to 10 ppm for color documents. Scanning two-sided documents does not slow down the P-150 Scan-tini. Thus, you can expect up to 30 or 20 images per minute respectively.

The Scan-tini offers "Plug and Scan" functionality — plug it into your computer's USB port and start scanning. You need not install any software or a power source (external power supply). The embedded Canon CaptureOnTouch Lite software creates JPG, PDF, or TIF files.

For more advanced scanning needs, the Scan-tini includes ISIS/TWAIN drivers, which you can use to scan into a wide array of third-party applications such as Adobe Acrobat, document management systems, and litigation support software.

The P-150 Scan-tini compensates for less-than-perfect documents thanks to built-in technology that automatically deskews, prevents bleed-through, and removes background. Also, you need not tell the Scan-tini what you're scanning as it automatically detects page size and color.

The Scan-tini can draw power through a single USB port, eliminating the need for a power adapter (you need an available USB port on your PC). The bundled software includes Canon CaptureOnTouch, Nuance PaperPort, and NewSoft Presto! BizCard.

What Else Should You Know?
Canon's Scan-tini works with Windows PCs, and has an MSRP of $295. Optional accessories include a carrying case and AC adapter. The scanner is Energy Star certified, and RoHS- and WEEE-compliant. Learn more about Canon's P-150 Scan-tini.

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