Coming November 2, 2007 to Fat Friday: David O'Connell responds to a recent TechnoFeature about biglaw associate salaries, Kerry Hubick explains how to use Styles and insert Excel files in Microsoft Word, David McConnaughey reviews his experience using a Microsoft ergonomic keyboard and the Logitech Cordless Desktop S510, James Atkins reviews Roboform for password management, and Robert Price shares a tip for scanner paper jams as well as a review of his Xerox Documate 252. 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 November 1, 2007 to Answers to Questions: David Hudgens reviews his experience using Time Matters and PCLaw, Michael Gabriel reviews eCopy Desktop for converting PDF files to Word/WordPerfect (and more), John Courtade explains how he uses Pivot Pro to switch from landscape to portrait mode on his multiple monitors, Sanjay Singh provides some tips for managing case-related email in Outlook, and Malcolm Gregson reviews Legalmaster for time-billing and user-defined case management. Don't miss this issue.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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.
Coming October 30, 2007 to TechnoFeature: Years ago, discovery involved a very well-known item — paper. Today, discovery encompasses much more than paper so a litigation team needs to adopt a multifaceted approach as they adapt to this ever-changing world. Fortunately, George Socha and Tom Gelbmann's landmark Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) lays out the major steps in eDiscovery. But what do these steps mean in terms of the day-to-day grind for Joe or Jane Litigator? For help we turn to trial attorney and legal technologist Bruce Olson who has written what we think will become a much-discussed three-part series on the most important components of Socha-Gelbmann's EDRM. First, he covered Collection and Processing. In the second article, he tackled the review process. In today's final installment, Bruce discusses analysis and production.
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.
Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a "getting things done" Web application (see below), a utility for creating a table of authorities in Microsoft Word, and an online office suite. Don't miss the next issue.
What Is Your Next Action?
By Taeho Lim
Back in law school, you may have used mnemonics and acronyms like IRAC to help you with exams. Now apivision.com has a new acronym for lawyers looking to organize their daily routines and long-term projects: Nozbe, which stands for N(ext Action) O(rganize and Process) Z(ero Problems). Simply put, Nozbe aspires to keep busy attorneys like you looking ahead at all times
The first set of features for Nozbe revolves around looking at your Next Action. Nozbe enables you to quickly jot down digital notes and tasks and add them to your schedule. Next, you can group your tasks and notes into projects and matters. Move tasks and notes between projects as necessary and arrange your folders based on your preferences. Finally, just as pro athletes always say they play the season "one game at a time," Nozbe enables you to designate a certain task as the main one you need to complete next.
Nozbe also provides features to help you Organize and Process your work. Group your tasks under "contexts" so you know what to do next and where to do it. For example, you can designate what you need to do at Home, at the Office, or what Errands you need to run. In addition, Nozbe enables you to attach pertinent files to your projects. Finally, Nozbe provides a number of ways to access your account, including printing your to-do lists on A4, pocket, and wallet-sized paper, and logging in via iPhone and other smartphones as well as iGoogle and Netvibes. Mac users can download a Dashboard widget.
If Nozbe sounds like a system for David Allen's Getting Things Done that's because it is. Overall, Nozbe claims to make it easy to share and delegate work, as well as edit your actions. In addition, the API enables you to connect Nozbe to your existing applications. Those in need of further guidance can contact Nozbe founder Michael Sliwinski personally.
Nozbe offers a free account for up to 5 projects, a $4.95/month Basic account for 30 projects, a $9.95/month PRO account for 100 projects, and the high-end Super! account for $14.95/month for 1,000 projects. Learn more about Nozbe.
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.
Los Angeles family lawyer Kelly Chang has taken law firm marketing via YouTube to a new level with her latest video. The video itself shows her out and about in Los Angeles talking about her family law practice, including her refusal to take on clients unsure if they really want a divorce.
Another quality video from Kelly, but the real story here is that Kelly emailed the video link to her friends and clients and invited them to comment on the video. And comment they did. The comments add even more marketing oomph to the video. In fact, the comments might very well do more for Kelly than the video itself.
As I've stated in the past, you cannot just upload a video to YouTube and expect it to generate business. You must also promote the video. Otherwise, it will languish unwatched — like most law firm videos on YouTube.
Kelly went a step further. Not only has she promoted her video, but she is also trying to create a community around the video with user-generated content.
There is a right way and a wrong way to use user-generated content for marketing purposes. Creating fake user accounts and posting comments from those accounts is wrong, very wrong. Paying people to post comments on your behalf or telling them what to write is not much better. Plus you can easily spot such user-generated spam because it comes across as too good to be true.
To do it right, invite people to comment in their own words and hope for the best. If you deliver a quality service and showcase it in a quality video, you should have nothing to worry about. If you don't then don't use this form of marketing. If someone posts a negative comment, respond to it. Chances are they're mistaken about something or not disclosing all the facts.
In other words, the less control you have, the more user-generated content helps you. You need to light the spark, but you also need to get out of the way. Watch Kelly's video and read the comments below (click here if you can't see the video below).
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. You can subscribe here.
Just 8 days remain to enter TechnoLawyer Linkathon, our sweepstakes with a top prize of $500. Simply link to us using a URL that we provide, and then email us your entry.
Although I can't make any promises about your odds when the sweepstakes ends, your odds of winning today are an incredible 12%. By contrast, your odds of winning a typical lottery are about .0000007%.
I don't have any statistics, but I suspect winning this $500 might be easier than shooting fish in a barrel.
That's because very few legal professionals have Web sites — or at least Web sites on which they can get permission to add a link. If you're lucky enough to have such access, learn how to enter TechnoLawyer Linkathon now.
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. You can subscribe here.
Earlier this year, we covered Drobo in TechnoLawyer NewsWire. It certainly ranks as one of the hottest products we've covered in terms of interest level. I nearly bought two myself, but ultimately decided against doing so because of two issues that have surfaced in user forums — fan noise and data loss.
I wanted one for my growing media collection at home and another one attached to our file server for network backup at the office. The fan was a deal killer in terms of using it at home. But the data loss horror stories I read led me to hold off purchasing one for the office as well.
When I buy hard drives I typically buy two and mirror them. I like Drobo on paper because it's a single device that holds and manages up to four hard drives. If you fill it with four or even just two drives and one fails you're totally covered. However, as I've since learned from intrepid early adopters, if Drobo itself fails, you might be totally screwed. I think it depends what Drobo is doing with your data when it fails. Some people have experienced no data loss whereas others have lost everything.
So I think I'll wait for version 2. (Having never used a Drobo, the above is not a review. I'm simply reporting on what I've read in user forums.)
While no other company has released anything as slick and user-friendly as Drobo, Hitachi recently got my attention with its new 1 TB (1,000 GB) hard drive. Even better, Hitachi has placed this drive into a fanless external USB 2 enclosure. It's currently on sale at Best Buy for $307, which seems like a good price given that no other company has a 1 TB hard drive yet (though other companies sell this Hitachi drive in their own enclosure).
Two of these hard drives mirrored should work for my media collection at home, but what about on-site network backups at the office? Which storage hardware does your office use? Do you use Drobo?
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. You can subscribe here.
Coming October 25, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Wandal Winn discusses password risks and provides some tips, Brett Burney explains how to link exhibits to transcripts, Rob Howard explains how to set up Amicus Attorney to sync with Palm Treo, Rudy Ramsey reviews Port Authority2 USB 2.0 to SVGA adapter, and Miriam Jacobson discusses how she immediately captures her time and archives her client email. Don't miss this issue.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published 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.
Coming October 26, 2007 to Fat Friday: Robert Rice reviews the conflict checking abilities of Amicus Attorney, Candace Carponter reviews the Web billing application Bill4Time, David Garretson reviews Mocha Remote Client for the Treo 650 as well as shares some handheld security tips, Sarkis Babachanian explains why he can't switch to an iPhone just yet, and Kevin Grierson provides an update on the AllofMP3 saga. 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.
Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a secure online storage service (see below), software that can digitize your paper forms and send the data into your legacy applications, and a practice management program for Mac users. Don't miss the next issue.
Three Steps to a Paperless Office
By Taeho Lim
You can never be too thin. That's a lie. Just ask Esther Canadas. You can never be too rich. That's also a lie if you don't want fame along with your fortune. You can never have enough storage or too little paper. Bingo!
File123's eponymous online service promises the most elusive of all technology promises — the paperless law office. As its name implies, File123 boils the storage process down to three steps: transfer digital files from your computer via upload or email, scan, or fax your paper documents, and then organize and back up your vault contents.
The functionality of File123 revolves around its searchable, sortable, sendable, and secure online file repository. To search for the file you need, enter a keyword and File123 looks for that term(s) and lists the relevant files. Add more files via fax, scan, email, or Web browser, or just drop them into File123's network drive application. When you need to share files, choose what you want to send and either email your recipients an attachment or a link that leads to a secure download page on the Web.
File123 also features a "Dashboard" from which you can add files, review recent account activity, and manage your folders. You add, delete, and reorganize folders just as you would on your Mac or PC — just drag and drop files and folders. Finally, File123 features 256-bit browser security to ensure that no one but you can access your storage vault.
A File123 account gives you 1 GB of free storage. Upgrading to a 10 GB account costs $4.95/month. Other plans exist for those who need even more storage since, after all, you can never get enough. No word on an unlimited plan though. Learn more about File123.
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.
