TechnoLawyer

Watch the Video

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

This is an all-around excellent video from the Law Offices of Fern Trevino. Informative. Helpful. Educational. Precise. And did I say educational?

Fern Trevino knocks it out of the ballpark with this video discussing what you should and should not do if you think you might be fired. The graphics that are interspersed in the video are well done and pose questions that Trevino answers. Her general advice is confidence-inspiring. I did, however, deduct half a point for reasons discussed below.

Video Techniques

Lighting: Good front lighting. Soft background, tending toward a darkish and uneven lighting on the right side of the wall behind her. Tip: Make sure your background lighting is as even as possible. Otherwise, it may distract viewers.

Sound: Good. No problem.

Set: Attorney's office with a plant on the side and a diploma visible in the background. Trevino is conservatively dressed, wearing what appear to be pearl earrings and a small necklace.

Makeup: Appears natural.

Music: Nice pleasant introduction that fades deep into the background throughout the clip and then becomes audible again at the very end.

Length: 1:21 minutes. During this clip, Trevino gives a few key pieces of advice for anyone concerned about being wrongfully fired. The clip is tight and right on target.

Script: Appears natural, except for the occasional eye flicker that tells you she's reading (very well) from a teleprompter.

Performance: Very well done.

Sidebar: The sidebar is the best I have seen in any attorney video yet. It contains the most comprehensive text to complement a video. No typos. With this text, I can imagine having great search engine results- not just on the tags, but also on the content. Only one problem though. She fails to include her Web site address or even her phone number in the text. Nevertheless, she did include her contact info in her introduction and conclusion in the video clip, but if you don't want to watch the video again, you'd have to click over to her profile to see her contact info. That's too much work for most prospects. Make it easy.

Conclusion

I was ready to give Trevino 5 points for this video. However, two small items bothered me enough to deduct half point: (1) She uses an interview style in which she does not talk directly to the viewer. This is a useful technique when you are answering an interviewer's questions. However, I did notice the eye flicker while watching (I admit, I watched it 3 times to see it). It seemed a little unnatural to use the interview style together with the advice she was giving. I think looking at the camera straight-on would have worked better. (2) The fact that she has the best sidebar information I've seen but fails to include her contact information is perplexing. An oversight perhaps, but a significant one, since you don't want your viewers having to jump through hoops to contact you after watching an excellent video.

The Back Bench

Certified Family Law Specialist and online video producer Kelly Chang Rickert  says: "Excellent video! Professional, easy to understand, and to the point. I would hire this employment lawyer in a second — very nicely done! The background music is good too."

Lawyer, journalist, and legal media consultant Robert Ambrogi  says: "The attorney's demeanor, dress, and backdrop all convey professionalism. Effective use of text to underscore key points. All in all, professional in both appearance and tone."

TechnoLawyer publisher and online video producer Neil Squillante says: "It's refreshing to see a lawyer demonstrate her expertise rather than talk about herself. She needs to add her URL to the sidebar and promote the video (only 55 views so far)."

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.

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

Coming October 13, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Adobe has released Acrobat 9, the latest version of its document processing software. But should you upgrade? In this article, attorney Bryan Sims examines the changes Adobe has made to several preexisting features and discusses some of the new features found in the Pro and Pro Extended versions. From Bates stamping to Forms to the new PDF Portfolios feature, Bryan walks you through the new offerings so you can make an informed decision for yourself and your firm.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 16, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Gray Strickland provides a comprehensive guide to digital dictation, David Crump reviews Loislaw for legal research, John Heckman discusses three considerations when choosing between Time Matters and PCLaw plus shares his thoughts on the CIC Consultants Forum, Morris Tabush reviews IBackup and MozyPro, and Rob Howard reviews Amicus Attorney 2008 and its integration with WordPerfect and Windows XP. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a touchscreen smartphone, a freeform database (see article below), and a file viewer. Don't miss the next issue.

Ask and Ye Shall Find
By Neil J. Squillante

In the hit song, She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby complains that he can no longer find anything in his lab after his assistant "tidied up." Many lawyers have trouble finding files even without anyone else meddling in their office. And the situation on their PCs is even more dire. Good heavens Miss Sakamoto, what's a lawyer to do?

askSam 7 ... in One Sentence
Seaside Software's askSam 7 is a freeform database in which you can organize and search email, files, and databases.

The Killer Feature
Many lawyers crave simple software with which to perform challenging tasks. Of course, simple software often cannot perform such tasks. What lawyers really need is powerful software with a simple interface.

askSam 7 addresses this need with its new Start Page. From this screen, you can create a new database, open existing databases, select from your favorites or recently opened files, and obtain help. If you choose to create a new database, a wizard walks you through the steps.

Other Notable Features
askSam 7 offers improved search results. You can search within searches, sort columns, and select multiple documents for review or extraction. You can also right click on any word to search for it on the Web.

askSam 7 supports Boolean, wild card, proximity, date, numeric, fuzzy, and other advanced search techniques. You can store and search Word, PDF, PST, HTML, and many other file types.

Other enhancements include a tabbed sidebar that enables you to access functions faster, improved importing of documents (including drag and drop and Web page capture), the ability to jump to a specific document, improved image support (GIF files), and tracking of last modified time and date.

What Else Should You Know?
askSam Standard costs $149.95 and askSam Professional costs $395. The latter offers full-text indexing for faster searches. Upgrades cost $89.95 for the same version or $139.95 for an upgrade from Standard to Pro. askSam runs on Windows. Learn more about askSam 7.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

TechnoScore: 4.6
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score

Everyone likes extravagances, but not everyone agrees on which ones merit the cost and which ones don't. I consider high-end earphones critical whereas most people do not. You've been warned.

I favor so-called in-ear earphones because they're portable and block external noise (sound isolation), enabling you to protect your hearing by playing your music at low volume. If you don't like earplugs, you won't like in-ear earphones because they operate on the same principle.

(Yes, I know about the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, which many lawyers like, but they are not portable. I define portability as weighing less than 1 ounce and fitting in your pocket.)

Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro: An Overdue Apology

I initially purchased the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro in 2006 and complained about them in a blog post. I regret writing that post because the hum I complained about was caused by my iPod, not by the earphones.

Furthermore, given what lay ahead of me, I didn't realize how good I had it. I now believe Ultimate Ears makes the best in-ear earphones.

A Shure Thing?

The super.fi 5 pro served me well, but when I switched from an iPod to an iPhone in 2007, I began searching for a replacement so that I could take advantage of the iPhone's features — answering calls and changing tracks without having to fish the iPhone out of my pocket. iPhone-compatible earphones have a microphone and clicker in the cord to handle these functions.

My search lasted one year!

During that time, I continued to use the super.fi 5 pro, which proved remarkably durable. I wore them in the rain and snow. I wore them in 95 degree heat and in near-zero wind chills. I never used the protective case, but instead just stuffed them in my jacket or shirt pocket. Nothing fazed them. They are the Energizer Bunny of earphones.

When I purchased my iPhone, I also purchased the Shure SE210 earphones and Music Phone Adapter. I was excited because Shure makes the best foam eartips. They're incredibly comfortable.

But as I quickly learned, Shure also has a manufacturing problem. On two sets of these earphones, the eartips were fused onto the post and would not come off without shredding, leaving half the material on the post. The eartips are supposed to have a plastic sleeve inside that glides off, but these did not.

A Shure executive acknoledged the problem, apologized, and sent me a third pair as well as a pair of higher-end SE420 earphones. I just couldn't stomach the possibility of another return so I sold both pairs on eBay and continued using my trusty super.fi 5 pro.

I let eight months pass, thinking that Shure would iron out its manufacturing problems. This time, I bought the SE530, Shure's top-of-the-line model.

Same defective eartips! I couldn't believe it. You know what they say about being twice burned. I returned them for a refund.

Back to the super.fi 5 pro.

007, Do Be Careful With These q-JAYS

I then delved into some research. Most earphones use only a single armature to produce the sound. Because the super.fi 5 pro uses two armatures, I felt I had to find a model with at least two. That ruled out most earphones, including the stylish Klipsch Image X10 (which I hope to try someday).

After reading countless reviews, I settled on Jays' q-JAYS. Though they didn't have an iPhone-compatible microphone and clicker, they addressed another drawback of the super.fi 5 pro — size. The super.fi 5 pro are among the larger in-ear earphones. They make you look like Frankenstein. The q-JAYS are tiny and virtually disappear into your ears. If it weren't for the cable, they could serve as one of Q's cool gizmos in a James Bond film.

But I quickly discovered that the q-JAYS have a drawback of their own. They use filters — as do a growing number of in-ear earphones. The filters protect the earphone mechanism by blocking earwax. But they also exist to separate you from more of your cash since you have to keep replacing them. I found it more difficult to replace filters than to clean my super.fi 5 pro.

I never really got a chance to audition the q-JAYS because they arrived with a defective left channel. At first it was weak and then it went completely silent.

While I awaited my replacement from Sweden, I returned to the super.fi 5 pro. Again.

The Triple Was the Charm

A few weeks ago, I received an email advertisement from Earphone Solutions with a special offer for the Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 vi.

The what?

Lo and behold — Ultimate Ears had just shipped its high-end triple.fi model in a special iPhone version. I pounced on the special offer and bought them for $371 (they usually sell for $419).

This was no impulse purchase. Remember, I had been searching for a year. The right product finally hit the market and I knew it immediately thanks to my previous experiences.

I finally put my super.fi 5 pro out to pasture.

My Review of the triple.fi 10 vi

The triple.fi 10 vi are even larger than the super.fi 5 pro, but I don't mind for two reasons. First, although they use the same eartips as the super.fi 5 pro, they seem to fit better because the housing is more ergonomic. The sound isolation is very good thanks to the fit. You have a choice of three silicone eartips (small, medium, large) or a foam eartip.

Second, as the name suggests, they have three armatures. I can best describe them with one word — wow! With good recordings, they sound much better than the super.fi 5 pro. They have noticeably better imaging and more punch. One day after listening to some music with the triple.fi 10 vi, I switched to the super.fi 5 pro. I couldn't believe how lifeless they sounded by comparison. Be warned — there's no going back. Do not try them unless you plan to buy them.

Back to the size issue, do I wish Ultimate Ears could package three armatures into a smaller package? Yes. But thanks to engineering hurdles, I don't think that's possible in 2008. Ask me again in 2011.

What else do I like? The cable. The length is perfect for those of us who carry our iPhone in a jacket or pants pocket. At the end of the cable you'll find a straight connector, which I prefer over the super.fi 5 pro's angled connector. And on an odd note, the triple.fi 10 vi cable behaves as you would expect a cable to behave. For example, if you wrap the cable to store the earphones, you don't have to straighten the cable when you use them again. By contrast, the super.fi 5 pro use a strange cable that retains its shape, often requiring re-straightening.

The build quality of the triple.fi 10 vi looks good, but I've had them for just a few weeks. We'll see how they hold up this winter. The clicker works like a charm to skip to the next or previous song or answer a call. Also, no filters!

If you have an iPhone, consider high-end earphones a worthy extravagance, want to take your earphones everywhere you go without weighing you down, and don't mind looking a little dorky, I highly recommend the triple.fi 10 vi.

That said, I'm keeping my super.fi 5 pro earphones as a backup.

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Terry Harrison compares the litigation support industry in the US and UK, Gerard Stubbert shares his thoughts on eDiscovery, Andrew Shear reviews his multiple calendar configuration, Dixon Robertson attempts to deflate Microsoft "hysteria," and Stephen Seldin suggests a way to extend the life of your laptop. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 10, 2008 to Fat Friday: Cynthia Zook responds to the debate about challenge response spam control, Martin Cohen reviews Opera Mobile and Adobe Reader for Windows Mobile, Robert Levinson reviews his recent encounter with Amicus Attorney customer support, Steve Marlowe shares the one reason he uses Word instead of WordPerfect, and Tom Trottier discusses software training. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 7, 2008 to TechnoFeature: What's a legal match-making service? Should you blog? When it comes to online marketing, attorney Mazyar Hedayat confesses to having spent thousands in vain before he saw past the hype. In this article, he shares what he learned and explains where to invest your online marketing time and money.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Answers to Questions: David Stuckel reviews the Philips Pocket Memo 9360, Ann Donovan reviews Fastcase for legal research, Richard Hackerd discusses the expectations of law firms within the context of Amicus Attorney, Julian Garcia discusses KVM switches and reviews LogMeIn, and Jim Uschold shares his two main complaints about WordPerfect after 20 years of daily use. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a Web-based practice management application (see article below), an online meeting and Webinar services, and a video extender. Don't miss the next issue.

Web-Based Practice Management Arrives for Small Firms
By Neil J. Squillante

"Hello, I'm a Mac." "And I'm a small firm." "We get no respect. We need case management, time tracking, billing, document management, trust accounting, and calendaring. And we don't want any up-front costs. Is anyone out there listening?" Funny you guys should ask that question today.

Clio ... in One Sentence
Launching today, Themis Solutions' Clio is a Web-based practice management system designed specifically for sole practitioners and small firms regardless of whether they use Macs or PCs.

The Killer Feature
Web applications have a lot going for them, but many lawyers have legitimate concerns about data security since the servers that house Web applications don't reside at their law firm.

Themis Solutions has addressed these concerns with three layers of security. First, the company houses the servers that run Clio in a secure facility and backs up your Clio data daily to an offsite location that is itself secure. Also, when you use Clio, bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption secures all data transmissions.

Second, within your firm, you can restrict access to confidential client records and other information by individual or group. Third, Themis Solutions makes it clear in its agreement that you own your data. Clio contains tools that enable you to export your data if you decide to switch to a different product.

"When considering Web-based solutions like Clio, lawyers are justly concerned about ensuring the security of their client data," Themis Solutions President Jack Newton told us. "Clio has state-of-the art security to ensure the confidentiality and safety of attorneys' sensitive information."

Other Notable Features
Like traditional case management software, Clio enables you to organize case, matter, and client information. However, it also has a contact management component, which means you can track leads and other contacts in addition to the people associated with your clients.

With Clio, you can track your time and expenses by client, matter, and task. Clio uses this data to generate customized invoices and bill reminders. A number of reports enable you to analyze your finances and firm performance.

Clio also includes a dedicated trust accounting component to help ensure compliance with your jurisdiction's rules regarding client funds in your possession.

You can view Clio's calendar in one of four views — daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. You can also set reminders and export your calendar data to third-party applications.

What Else Should You Know?
Clio costs $49/month per lawyer and $25/month per support staff member. This subscription fee includes all new features and technical support. Clio works in Internet Explorer 6 or later, Firefox 2 or later, Safari 3 or later, and Google Chrome on any Mac, Linux, or Windows computer. It also runs in Mobile Safari on the iPhone and iPod touch. Learn more about Clio.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.