TechnoLawyer

Coming May 29, 2007 to TechnoFeature: On a daily basis, people carry around many mobile devices — laptops, phones, PDAs, thumb drives. For many, losing one of these devices is annoying. But for lawyers, it could mean big trouble. In this article, Jim Calloway, Ellen Freedman, and Reid Trautz provide a comprehensive guide for mobile security. Whether you're carrying a client's files on your laptop during a business trip or simply walking around with your BlackBerry in your pocket, this article explains how you can protect your clients — and yourself.

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 June 1, 2007 to Fat Friday: Sarah Laracy reviews the redaction capabilities of Acrobat 8 Professional, Don Angus shares his experience with Apple's Mighty Mouse plus a tip to keep wrist pain at bay, William Kelly compares the Treo 650 to the BlackBerry 8700, Charles Tievsky reviews Canon's DR-2580C scanner, and David Amkraut weighs in on New York's Lawyer Advertising Rules. 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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a communications solution that integrates desktop faxing and PDF creation, a free Web analytics tool, and a free Web-based productivity suite. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Double Your Productivity
By Dennis Kennedy

Many lawyers want a desktop faxing tool. Many lawyers also want a PDF creation tool. As digital technologies converge, you can see the overlap between these two tools. Once we scan a document, we should be able to fax it and email it — with one click.

Equisys' Zetafax Duo 2007 integrates the popular Zetafax with Zetadocs PDF. The result is what it calls a visual document builder that enables you to create and combine documents into PDF files that you can can fax or email, whichever makes the most sense for you and the recipient. And you can do all of this from Outlook.

With the Zetadocs PDF component, you can merge documents created in different programs or scanned using any TWAIN-compliant scanner into a single PDF file (e.g., a cover letter created in Word and a bill created in your time-billing software). You can also apply your letterhead, logo, etc., attach existing PDF files, and archive every file you fax and email. Best of all, for routine tasks that you perform over and over again, you can create "automation commands" (macros) that perform a series of tasks with one click (handy for distributing a client newsletter).

With the Zetafax component, you can send and receive faxes using the Zetafax client or, as noted above, Outlook. Because faxes are routed over your law firm's network, they remain secure from sender to recipient. Zetafax 2007 integrates with Microsoft Office 2007 and Exchange 2007, but also supports prior versions of both products. Zetafax 2007 also integrates with just about any other mail sever via its optional email gateway, and many popular CRM programs such as ACT!, Goldmine, and SalesLogix.

Zetafax Duo 2007 installs quickly and takes advantage of Windows Group Policy to let you roll out client software from a central location rather than visiting each desktop. Zetafax Duo pricing starts at $1,295 for 5 users (upgrades start at $795). Learn more about Zetafax Duo 2007.

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.

Coming May 25, 2007 to Fat Friday: Martin Dean reviews Acrobat 8 Professional from a lawyer's perspective, Arthur Smith discusses why he thinks CLE providers shouldn't sell course in MP3 format or permit those who buy such courses to share them with friends, Channing Strother puts Barron Henley's advice about Dell to the test, Richard Hackerd explains how his paper-less solo practice works, and Al Greene warns against buying a computer with Vista pre-installed (plus we point you to every available Vista printer driver). 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 May 24, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Gray Strickland reviews dtSearch and explains how to use it in conjunction with a document management system, Christel Burris reviews Worldox, Susan Billeaud reviews her new Compaq Presario laptop, Adam Drennen offers some suggestions for securely erasing a hard drive, and Dan Whittle reviews SpiritWorks Software's Activity & Expense Tracker for expert witness billing. 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 May 22, 2007 to TechnoFeature: Since the first client hired the first attorney, law practices have needed to create bills — a fact that has not changed in hundreds of years. What has changed is how firms create those bills. In this article, technology consultant David Moon discusses the many new features that have evolved in legal billing software as the needs of today's law firm have changed and expanded. These new features not only make billing faster and easier, but provide important financial information needed for business decisions. Whether you still create bills with a typewriter or consider yourself a billing software expert, don't miss this article.

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.

As you know, we applaud law firms and vendors that incorporate video into their marketing plans. While online video doesn't make sense for everyone, you would think that every vendor specializing in demonstrative evidence would use video to showcase their services. But a YouTube search pulls up just one company — Truly Media.

Now, perhaps other vendors have videos on their sites and rely on Google to drive traffic there. But increasingly, when people search for videos, they turn to YouTube, which is owned by Google. In fact, Google now lists YouTube videos on its own site. Plus YouTube is free so why not take advantage? More than 3,600 people have viewed Truly Media's video. Not a huge number of people, but the company has paid nothing. Watch the video (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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a trial presentation program, a digital pen, and a digital notepad. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Stay One Step Ahead of Judges and Juries
By Dennis Kennedy

The television generation long ago took its place among jurors and judges, and now the online generation is doing the same. As a result, lawyers have gradually moved from flipcharts, foam board illustrations, and videotapes to the digital medium. Many lawyers take their first digital step with PowerPoint, but soon graduate to a dedicated trial presentation program like TrialDirector to better tell their clients' stories to judges and jurors and gain a competitive advantage over opposing counsel.

inData Corp. has released TrialDirector 5.1, an update to its award-winning trial presentation software. Version 5, of course, shook up the industry last year and racked up record sales thanks to its redesigned interface and other major changes. TrialDirector 5.1 builds on that success with a number of useful enhancements as well as a hot a new feature that has already attracted a lot of attention.

The biggest news is Presentation Preview, which enables you to preview your materials — exhibits, annotations, and other treatments — before you show them live to your audience. You can quickly and easily see how materials will display, and correct and improve them before showing them. inData describes it as like a batter taking a practice swing before stepping up to the plate.

TrialDirector 5.1 builds on its predecessor's ability to issue-code transcripts with your case issues and other designations. In the new version, you can also use the Designation Clip tool to automatically create video clips from any of your transcript issue codes. This means you can pull up clips on the fly faster than ever.

Improved compatibility is another highlight of TrialDirector 5.1. First and foremost, TrialDirector 5.1 offers full compatibility with the Windows Vista operating system. Version 5.1 also integrates with CT Summation and other third party applications, giving you the ability to choose virtually any litigation tool rather then be pigeonholed.

TrialDirector 5.1 also features performance enhancements. For example, it can transfer and load documents much faster. You can now quickly send documents or pages to workbooks with a right-click of a mouse. Existing users will also like the ability to edit information directly from the Case Explorer tree using a grid-like view while still working in the case tree structure.

TrialDirector 5.1 is a free upgrade for current licensees of TrialDirector 5 who have a current maintenance contract. Pricing starts at $595 plus maintenance with volume discounts available. Finally, you'll never again miss an update because the new version will notify whenever an update becomes available. Learn more about TrialDirector 5.1.

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.

Most of us only have time to read essential publications that cover our respective industry. But for all the information junkies out there, these five technology blogs don't cover anything related to the legal profession, but you'll probably like them a lot all the same. I certainly do.

Techmeme: Bill Gates probably reads Techmeme. Part search engine, part blog, Techmeme uses an algorithm to list the most important technology articles, and updates the list constantly throughout the day.

Infectious Greed: Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Maybe Gordon Gekko was right all along. In this blog, Paul Kedrosky provides some of the sharpest insight on the media and technology sectors (primarily public companies).

TechCrunch & GigaOm: A two for one since both of these blogs cover the same beat — technology startups. TechCrunch excels at breaking news and product reviews, whereas GigaOm excels at analysis. In other words, they go together like peanut butter and chocolate (sorry, I don't like jelly).

Don Dodge on the Next Big Thing: Picture this: A middle manager at Microsoft starts a blog and becomes more popular and highly-regarded than many in Microsoft's senior ranks. That's what happened to Robert Scoble. Expect history to repeat itself with Don Dodge.

ValleyWag: Though it has lost some its edge (outlandishness?), ValleyWag remains the best source for Silicon Valley gossip. For example, did you know that Google co-founder Sergey Brin tied the knot last week? The wedding invitation simply told guests to show up for a ride in the Google jet (which eventually landed in the Bahamas).

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.

As you may know, those who contribute to TechnoLawyer receive ViewPoints — our currency. Each ViewPoint is worth 2 cents. ViewPoints never expire.

You can currently use ViewPoints to purchase a TechnoLawyer Archive subscription. Soon, you'll be able to use them to purchase TechnoLawyer Classifieds.

Below you will find a list of the top 10 TechnoLawyer Tycoons — the 10 active members who currently have the most ViewPoints. While not exactly a Gates-like fortune, these sums are very impressive nonetheless.

230,975 ($4,619.50): Seth Rowland

129,225 ($2,584.50): Ed Poll

101,650 ($2,033): Tim Piganelli

86,660 ($1,733.20): John Heckman

82,475 ($1,649.50): Wells Anderson

75,500 ($1,510): Jeffrey Allen

75,450 ($1,509): Patricia Nemish

74,760 ($1,495.20): Ross Kodner

53,375 ($1,067.50): David Moon

53,200 ($1,064): Bruce Olson

In all, 31 TechnoLawyer members have 10,000 or more ViewPoints — most of them TechnoFeature authors. However, expect this number to increase. Why? Because we will soon begin awarding more ViewPoints for Posts that appear in our Answers to Questions and Fat Friday newsletters. A lot more — up to 20,000 per Post ($400).

Thank you to all our contributors! Please keep it coming!

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.