Coming today to Fat Friday: Rob Foos reviews the new Palm Pre, Lane Trippe responds to a recent BigLaw issue on the "assignment memo," Morris Tabush reviews the BlackBerry Bold and his favorite apps, paralegal Leigh Crawford points to an article about how her small firm survives in a big city, and David Gulbransen compares Dimdim to WebEx for online collaboration. Don't miss this issue.
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Coming today to Answers to Questions: David Grey reviews the HTC Touch Pro and SherWeb hosted Exchange server, Erin Baldwin reviews Trend Micro antivirus software, Tom Raftery reviews The Ultimate Troubleshooter, Kerry Hubick reviews Thunderbird as a corporate email solution, and Bobby Abrams discusses Time Matters and Timeslips integration. Don't miss this issue.
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Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers an online marketing service for law firms (see article below), a Web-based replacement for Microsoft Exchange, two Outlook plugins that prevent you from making embarrassing mistakes, and an iPhone app for editing Word documents. Don't miss the next issue.
Sit Back, Relax, and Grow Your Law Firm Practice
Law firms interested in growing must engage in marketing. That is a fact. Marketing dollars are moving online, primarily because it's cheaper and more measurable than traditional marketing. That is a fact. But popular online advertising vehicles such as Google AdWords favor businesses with the expertise and resources to leverage their many intricacies. That is unfortunately a fact as few law firms can play this game. Instead, law firms need more of a set-it-and-forget-it approach to online marketing.
ExpertHub Online Legal Network … in One Sentence ExpertHub Online Legal Network (ExpertHub) is an online marketing service designed to funnel prospective clients to law firms in a wide variety of practice areas.
The Killer Feature
ExpertHub consist of a network of legal sites such as LawFirms.com, AccidentAttorneys.com, BankruptcyLawFirms.com, TechnologyLawyers.com, and many others. These sites contain a growing collection of articles and other information about their respective areas of law.
Thanks to a combination of content, site architecture, and some alchemy (a.k.a. trade secrets), ExpertHub's legal sites appear on the first page of Google for searches such as "personal injury lawyer" and "bankruptcy filing." As a result, the sites receive lots of traffic from people seeking legal services.
ExpertHub transforms this traffic into qualified leads for your law firm using a questionnaire. When a prospect's legal needs match your law firm's profile, you receive their name, email address, and telephone number. ExpertHub tells us that it delivered more than 14,000 leads last month.
Other Notable Features
To get started with ExpertHub, you use the expertPLANNER proposal generator to figure out what type of subscription would best suit your firm and its marketing goals. Before you spend a dime, expertPLANNER will tap into ExpertHub's historical data to predict the number of leads you'll receive and how much it will cost. You can run "What Ifs" to see how changing geographic location, practice areas, case types, etc. impacts these numbers.
While you can simply create a profile and then sit back and collect leads, more proactive firms willing to do a little work can take advantage of ExpertHub's expertSYNDICATION service through which you can publish articles on ExpertHub's sites and also link to these articles in your profile.
ExpertHub does not charge for its expertSYNDICATION service so it costs only your time. The articles add depth to your profile and can also generate more leads. If you're too busy to write articles, ExpertHub can write them for you for a fee.
Once you start working with ExpertHub, you can track performance using the expertSTAT dashboard, which shows you profile and article views, lead volume, and more.
What Else Should You Know?
ExpertHub's subscription prices are based on historical lead volumes for your geographic location(s) and practice area(s). Learn more about ExpertHub.
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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.
Coming today to TechnoFeature: Need to create your own forms? Microsoft Word expert Carol Bratt has written a clear and concise Microsoft Word tutorial that will have you creating fill-in forms in no time flat. This tutorial unravels the mystery behind merging cells, and creating drop-down boxes, text boxes, check box field forms, spacing, borders, and even form security. This particular tutorial explains how to create a round trip form that your clients receive via email and return to you complete with data.
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Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 62 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:
This issue also contains links to every article in the June 2009 issue of Law Practice Today. Don't miss this issue or future issues.
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TechnoScore: 1.0
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score
Have you ever found yourself talking to someone who invades your personal space? They get a little too close to you and it becomes uncomfortable. Well, I'd like to introduce you to attorney Elliott Schlissel of the Law Offices of Elliott S. Schlissel, a finger-pointing, tough-talking father's rights lawyer.
The opening scene reminds me of the original Star Trek TV show when Captain Kirk is beamed aboard the Enterprise. Attorney Schlissel magically appears out of thin air. As he explains how father's rights are so important, he begins to get in your face, and not in a nice way. He turns aggressive. He begins to point his finger. He raises his voice as if his righteous indignation is reason enough to justify calling him.
Four things really bothered me about this video:
He doesn't even introduce himself. Yes, his name appears on the intro and exit, but not even "Hi, my name is Elliott Schlissel."
The background is an actual courtroom in New York. Attorney Schlissel is obviously not shooting his video in the courtroom, but certainly gives the appearance that he's "in" the courtroom. One could argue that it's not appropriate to be speaking from within the courtroom. You might give your viewer the appearance that what you say carries judicial authority, or perhaps might carry greater weight than an attorney who appears to be shooting video from his office.
He moves around a lot. He shifts his balance from one side to the other, and then approaches the camera in that "space invader" posture. He even opens his jacket button as if to say "Want to start something with me buster?" I got the sense that he was being aggressive and intimidating solely to convey his tough persona.
Twelve seconds for an intro? Come on. I admit it's a very well done, graphically pleasing intro, but I don't want to see the creative graphics; I want to hear what the lawyer has to say.
Tip #1: Introduce Yourself
That's not hard to do. Why wouldn't you introduce yourself? When you meet a new client don't you say "Hi, I'm (fill in the blank). Thanks so much for coming in."
Tip #2: Be Ethical
Beware of your State's ethics rules that govern whether you can create ads, commercials or video within a courtroom. You do not want to give the appearance that your comments carry judicial authority and what you say is the absolute law. Do not ignore this warning.
Be conservative, and if in doubt, don't do it. Do not let your marketing company or video editor choose your background. You are ultimately responsible for your content, not the person creating the video for you.
Tip #3: Stay Still
Sit on a chair if you can't stop yourself from shifting around during the video shoot. It's natural to move around while standing. However, in a video with a still background your constant movements make you look nervous and like you are incapable of standing in one place for longer than a minute.
Tip #4: Use a Short Introduction
Use a brief introductory sequence and get right to talking. Nobody cares about your incredible graphics. If you must use a graphic, cut it to 4 or 5 seconds. That's it.
Conclusion
Righteous indignation has its place. A law firm video that explains and highlights what you do is not one of them. Don't get in my face and start finger pointing and taking an accusing tone just because you want to show how tough you are. You might as well put on boxing gloves and start hitting a punching bag saying "This is what I do to other lawyers who dispute what I say."
I was not impressed with this video, the background, or the in your face aggressive style. For all those reasons, this video received a TechnoScore of 1.0. By the way, the sidebar lacks any contact information.
Want to make the video better?
Ditch the courtroom background. Sit on a chair. Improve your sound quality by not having it sound like you're in an echo chamber. If you really want to convince your viewer how aggressive you are, have actual former clients explain what you did to solve their legal problem. That's a lot better than raising your voice to prospective clients to show your toughness.
Till next time, see you on video!
The Back Bench
Certified Family Law Specialist and online video producer Kelly Chang Rickert says: "Misogyny at its worst! Mr. Schlissel not only is a Father's Advocate, he hates women! A beautiful classic line, "Judges shouldn't be giving out orders of protection like candy…", should be followed up with "unless it is deserved and necessary," but wasn't. Also, his anger is too much for the camera — clearly he has personal experience with the system. Unless you want a drinking buddy to bash women with, I'd stay away from Schilssel."
Lawyer, journalist, and legal media consultant Robert Ambrogi says: "The primary weakness in this video is its production quality, which distracts from its message. The sound is tinny and he moves in too close to the camera. But the purpose of this ad is to market him as an aggressive fathers-rights lawyer, and in that the video succeeds."
TechnoLawyer publisher and online video producer Neil Squillante says: "Let's ignore the poor production values because the marketing angle here is far more interesting. Strange as it may seem, while many women may find this video offensive, estranged men seeking custody will probably find much to like, which is the point. In this regard, Elliott Schlissel is like the Eminem or Rush Limbaugh of family law. Those who find him distasteful would not hire him (buy his music, listen to his talk show) anyway. He knows his audience."
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 150 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.
McCarthy Tétrault had a problem. Many of its lawyers rely on dictation devices, but with analog technology quickly becoming obsolete, McCarthy's IT department sought a product designed for this century rather than the last one. The 600+ lawyer firm first tried standalone digital software, but found it slow and inadequate to meet its administrative and workflow needs. Thom Oakes, McCarthy's Director of Information Technology, explains, "We were also restructuring the legal assistants into teams. We had been trying to use a standalone product to scale up to manage workflow, but we found that we had to move up to a more robust product."
Workflow Management Drives Bighand Past Its Rivals
Enter BigHand Digital Dictation. Developed by BigHand, a voice productivity software company with offices in Chicago, Toronto, London, and Sydney, BigHand essentially works by transferring encrypted .wav and .dss files to an internal firm server, and routing them to the appropriate source such as an available transcriptionist. Eight hundred firms worldwide currently use BigHand, including 100 in the United States.
McCarthy chose BigHand over digital dictation competitors such as Crescendo and WinScribe because it found the interface more functional from a transcription perspective and preferred the robust administrative features. It also felt BigHand better addressed the primary problem — workflow management.
McCarthy first rolled out the new technology in March 2008 and implemented an upgrade in November 2008. For remote access, the firm uses BigHand's telephony module rather than its Blackberry app. Lawyers simply call a number and dictate via telephone. The rollouts, according to Oakes, "went very smoothly" and required minimal training for attorneys and secretaries.
Bighand Gets Thumbs Up From Dictation Veterans
More than a year after the initial rollout, Oakes reports that BigHand is "heavily used" by McCarthy personnel. The application provides a level of workflow visibility that many in the firm find helpful.
The lawyers like it because they can send dictation files directly to their secretaries for transcription and can see their files' positions in the network queue. Deal and litigation team leaders like it because they can evaluate team member performance and monitor workload. And administrative managers have restructured deployment of their staff to optimize practice groups, per the firm's original objective.
But BigHand has not converted keyboard jockeys. McCarthy has not seen a general uptick in use of dictation since BigHand arrived. Also, Oakes says that it is hard to tell whether attorneys use BigHand's remote capabilities, which is one of the benefits over standalone digital recorders.
Oakes does not characterize BigHand as a cost savings initiative for McCarthy given BigHand's price, which can range from $300-$500 per user, depending on firm size. Still, Oakes is more than satisfied with his firm's choice of BigHand. "As far as other deployment projects have gone, BigHand went smoothly, quickly, and with overall user acceptance. I can rate it a 10 out of 10. No real complaints from anyone. We're very happy with the entire project."
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As the first-time parent of a college-bound freshman (freshperson?), one of the many questions to address before bundling young Master Kodner off to school is what kind of computer system he should use. I suspect that many of you are grappling with the same question right now for college or perhaps even law school so I thought I'd offer some thoughts to help you shop smart.
While you can never spend too much time conducting research, if you're pressed for time, consider these four key factors:
Campus Support: What does the college recommend or support?
Durability: Even careful kids are going to be tough on a laptop because they'll bring it everywhere.
Portability: A big 17" machine will be tough to lug around with all those textbooks.
Core Software: What software does your son or daughter need for their coursework? It may depend on their planned courses (e.g., computer programming).
The Best of Both Worlds for My College-Bound Son
After analyzing these issues, I gave my son a 13 inch MacBook for his high school graduation present.
Apple just replaced its line of notebooks today with new models, but I didn't buy my son a "new" machine. Rather, I took advantage of a 15% discount by selecting the system from Apple's "Refurbished Mac" link (look at the lower left corner of the store's Web page). The Apple factory refurbished systems carry the same warranty as new systems and go through a rigorous testing process before being made available for sale. I see no disadvantage in purchasing this way.
He'll be running Windows XP Pro under Parallels Desktop 4 and its "virtual machine" environment. He's a bit of an operating system junkie so he'll have his favorite Ubuntu Linux available via a dual-boot process using Apple's Boot Camp utility. He'll have MS Office 2007 Ultimate via Microsoft's $60 deal they call "The Ultimate Steal" (specifically for bona fide educational purchasers with a .EDU email address) and the free OpenOffice 3 suite.
Also, it's a good idea to include an Internet protection suite with three or, if possible, four years of pre-paid update subscription to get your student through undergrad life (let your kid pay for their own when they're in grad school!).
Laptop Brands That Stand Up to Students
Laptop brands I would consider durable enough with good enough support include:
ThinkPads by Lenovo — built like tanks (especially the value-priced SL series)
That's my short list for machines that would have a chance of making it through all four years of undergrad life. Be sure to equip them near the high-end, specification-wise, so you have the best chance of getting through four years with one laptop purchase. Most certainly, research available student discounts through the school as well — they may (or may not) be cheaper than smart shopping on the open market (and may include a campus IT support package). For example, Apple specifically has an online educational store for many listed colleges.
What about netbooks for college students? As much of a netbook nut as I am, I just don't see them as practical for a primary machine. Many programs require more hardware horsepower than a netbook can deliver. Also, the need to store lots of data, especially for scientific and artistic types, may exceed the 160 GB maximum hard drive size of current netbooks. Also, smaller keyboards might hinder the ability to take rapid real-time notes in class.
Make Backups Automatic or They Won't Get Done
Don't forget backups — and acknowledge that my normal backup advice for your law practice doesn't apply . My own son is about the most responsible kid you could ever meet. But I can't trust him to do backups unless I'm on his back about it. So this is the one area where I think backup is best done automatically. Here are some options:
An initial image backup with Acronis True Image Home for Windows or SuperDuper for the Mac (which TechnoLawyer uses to clone its Macs) that you keep on a drive at home and on an external portable drive he/she takes with them.
Then for regular backup:
Online backup to one of the major providers — Mozy.com's home service (for Windows and Mac) is probably the best bet in terms of low cost ($4.95/month) and likelihood of staying in business for the next four years. The campus might have an approved or endorsed online backup provider with a student deal.
If you want live on-site backup and you go the Mac route, I like the idea of Apple's included Time Machine backup system with a wireless Apple Time Capsule (again refurbished to save money). This is the setup I use with my MacBook at home — and Windows can backup wirelessly to it as well. Why a wireless Time Capsule? Because I couldn't trust my son necessarily to remember to plug in a cable to connect to an external USB hard drive. Again, think "automatic."
Extras to Consider
Theft: Laptops are prone to theft. Consider locking it up when student and laptop are separated with a DormVault. Also, Lojack for Laptops, which I've come to believe is essential for lawyers as well.
Laptop Bags: Let your student pick both a laptop bag they like or acknowledge they won't use a laptop bag and focus instead on a decent protective sleeve (neoprene lined) so that it can get tossed into another bag and not get trashed. One particular laptop sleeve/protector approach may trip your kid's green sensibility trigger — it's called the Act2 GreenSmart Laptop jacket ($45) and is made from recycled plastic bottles. Think also about plastic protective shields like these $50 models from Incase.
Electrical Protection: A quality surge protector to always plug into in the dorm room and a quality laptop surge protector to outfit his/her laptop bag — Tripplite Traveler, APC Notebook SurgeArrest, or the nifty one I use from Belkin with three outlets and two USB charging ports.
Printing/Scanning/Copying: When the number one priority is space-efficiency, consider the sleek and svelte SCX-4500w. While it might be best for your kid to get their color printing done somewhere on campus, if their assignments demand hard-copy color, the most physically compact color MFD I could find is another Samsung product, the CLX-3175FW.
I hope fellow parents of college-bound freshmen (freshpeople?) found this checklist helpful. Not a parent? Not to worry. I'll return to the world of SmallLaw in my next column.
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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.
Coming today to Fat Friday: Miriam Jacobson shares how she travels light buts stays connected, Mazyar Hedayat responds to criticism of his take on social networking for lawyers, Claire Pater reviews TalkSwitch, Harold Atencio reviews Second Copy for automated backup, and Angie D'Urso explains how to create and edit screenshots in Windows. 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.
Coming today to Answers to Questions: Laurie Odgers compares Worldox to eDocs and Interwoven Worksite, Adam Drennen reviews AVG and Blink antivirus software, John Sheil reviews Google Voice, Cynthia Zook shares some helpful information regarding WordPerfect/Word conversion after installing Service Pack 2 for Office 2003, and Morris Tabush discusses Bill4Time for mid-sized law firms seeking a Web-based billing solution. Don't miss this issue.
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