TechnoLawyer

Lamont Harris, Review: Canon DR-2580C Scanner

TechnoLawyer member Edward J. Quinlan asks:
"We are a small five lawyer firm which uses a Microsoft based network, Windows XP and is trying to make more effective use of technology. We have a single page document /photo  scanner from HP which reportedly causes more problems when we try to scan documents than its worth. We are looking for a reliable multi-page scanner which will scan documents and photos without the need to make formatting corrections and adjustments. In fact a major client is now requesting that we scan and electronically send documents in a format that cannot be changed so as to prevent tampering with the records. Also any recommendations concerning separate software (if any) which will make the process smoother would be welcome."

We recently purchased a Canon DR-2580C for our 4-lawyer office.  It comes with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, and will scan up to 25 sheets per minute.  Duplex scanning is supported.  There is an optional flat-bed scanning attachment.  Without the flat-bed attachment the footprint is very small.  One of the best features is that it comes bundled with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard.  So far we have been very satisfied.

J. Lamont Harris
Henthorn, Harris & Weliever
Crawfordsville, IN
www.henthornlaw.com

[Publisher's Note: Learn more about the Canon DR-2580C. — Sara Skiff]

About Answers to Questions
Posts like the one above appear exclusively in Answers to Questions, 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. You can subscribe here.

Caren Schwartz, Review: QuickBooks 2006: Is it Worth the Upgrade?

TechnoLawyer member David Marcelino asks:
"Does anyone out there use QuickBooks for both billing and time entry?  I am currently using Timeslips for time entry. Timeslips has frustrated my office.  We are tired of the instability."

Larry R. Vollintine responded:
"I am a solo.  I use QuickBooks 2002 Pro for my time keeping and invoicing since I went solo in June of 2002. For the first couple of years, QuickBooks was so unstable that the only way I could console myself was to remind myself that this is why I believe in gun control.... I was told by the accountant that QB now has a new version coming out which is geared to a law practice. I haven't been tempted because of past problems w/QB.  But, I fear switching to a different program and having to transfer or convert all the existing data to it...."

Neil Squillante responded:
"Larry, you need to upgrade. I'm not usually so forceful, but we're talking about a program central to your practice. Perhaps QuickBooks Pro 2002 was a lemon, but we use QuickBooks Premier 2006 on Windows XP — it is quite stable...."

With regard to Larry Vollintine and the use of QuickBooks 2002, I definitely agree that he should upgrade. Some additional information that might be useful to know is that the older versions of QuickBooks did not do a good job of using and releasing memory. Therefore, if you did not have a lot of memory on the computer or you were going in and out of programs, QuickBooks tended to display the behavior Larry sees, crashing. The past few versions have fixed this issue and QuickBooks 2006 also uses a new format that makes it run faster and is more stable. The cost to upgrade to v2006 is not much, especially compared to the cost of your time.

Caren Schwartz
Time & Cents Consultants, LLC
Software for managing time, money and contacts
www.timeandcents.com

[Publisher's Note: Learn more about QuickBooks. — Sara Skiff]

About Answers to Questions
Posts like the one above appear exclusively in Answers to Questions, 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. You can subscribe here.

Coming July 21, 2006 to Fat Friday: Matthew Gould shares the details of his quest to find the perfect practice management solution, Kate Murphy discusses the best advice she ever received for her legal practice, and Josh Friedman reviews his new Brother HL-5250DN laser printer. 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 July 20, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Lynda LaPan offers up an incredibly detailed Word v. WordPerfect Post rivaling D. Paul Dalton's from last week, Caren Schwartz reviews QuickBooks for law firm billing, Larry Lucht compares the Professional versus Legal editions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Robert Browning reviews his experience with several HP LaserJet printers, including his new 1320s, and Bryan Sims directs CaseMap users to a helpful online resource for templates and tips. 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 July 17, 2006 to IP Memes: Steve, Doug, and Matt cover the following memes: a trademark added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the IP case that persuaded archrivals Coke and Pepsi to join forces, a looming patent battle in the social networking Web site world, and the real-life trademark drama of reality show SuperProducer Mark Burnett.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Mondays, IP Memes is a biweekly newsletter that explores emerging technology-related intellectual property issues — or "memes" as we call them. 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 service that can prove the sending, receipt, and content of an e-mail message, an online backup and document management tool, and an e-mail add-on that can convert attachments into secure PDF files. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Proving You Sent that E-Mail Message
By Dennis Kennedy
"But I never got your e-mail!" "That's not what your e-mail said!" "You never gave me that advice!" With today's overly-aggressive spam filters — not to mention less than honest adversaries and even clients — you need a simple and secure way to confirm and archive legal advice and other information sent via e-mail.

In technical terms, law firms realize they may need to show proof of sending, proof of delivery, and even proof of content (it's easy to edit an e-mail message after receipt) for important e-mail messages to prevent disputes.

The Registered E-mail® System available from BlumbergExcelsior offers a solution to protect senders of email, and it works whether or not the recipient has enrolled in the System. The service generates and returns a "Registered Receipt™" to the sender. All information necessary to verify the Registered Receipt™ and to reconstruct its original content is embedded within the receipt itself.

Each receipt contains an audit trail of information, including recipients and their email addresses as well as their e-mail servers and client programs. Receipts also contain a "digital fingerprint" — the time delivered, received, and opened, a copy of the original message with any attachments, and other information about the transmittal. These Registered Receipts conform to statutory requirements and prove both delivery and content. The Registered E-mail® System does not store any e-mail with a third party, making it truly secure.

You buy the service on a per use basis (starting at 79 cents per use) with stamp-like package plans available in which you can pre-pay for a pack of Registered E-mail® units for use by anyone within your firm. A free trial enables you to send 10 e-mail messages at no charge.

Learn more about the Registered E-mail® System.

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.

A few years ago my sister booked marketing guru Seth Godin to speak at an American Express event. Marketing gurus don't speak for free, but fortunately someone had the good sense to film Godin when he spoke at Google earlier this year. The lecture runs 48 minutes, but it's well worth your time if you're interested in either Google or online marketing. Bonus — if you like it, you can download a copy for your iPod or PSP. Watch the video.

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 July 11, 2006 and July 18, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Most law offices use word processing software and a practice or case management system (CMS) separately. With your word processor (Word or WordPerfect), you store documents in a tree of document folders named after clients and matters. Meanwhile, your CMS separately stores these document names and other information about clients and matters. In this two-part article, technology consultant Wells H. Anderson shares his top ten tips for integrating these powerful law office programs. Let Wells help your firm avoid the common pitfalls and find the keys to creating a profitable system for producing, storing, and using automated documents.

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.

David Cardon, a lawyer at Cardon & Goodman in Hampton Roads, Virginia, has produced and released a short 4.5 minute film entitled Billable Hours. A spoof reminiscent of the cult classic Office Space, Cardon's film depicts large law firm lawyers as boorish middle-aged men more interested in gossiping about attractive coworkers and plotting free lunches than their work. The highlight of the film consists of a summer associate interview in which two partners ask a series of psychological questions approved by the hiring committee. Some people will find Billable Hours offensive. Locker room humor abounds — don't show it to your kids and don't play it at work. A more experienced filmmaker might have provided a moral compass by making the partners even more cartoonish and preposterous. However, to his credit, Cardon does provide one grounded character — the law student — onto whom we can project our own sensibilities. As someone who conducted countless law student interviews during my tenure at a large law firm, I found Billable Hours amusing. I applaud Cardon for taking a chance (comedy is not easy), and hope his film inspires other lawyers to create their own films about law practice.

Update: If the above link no longer works, you can watch the video on Cardon's MySpace page.

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 July 14, 2006 to Fat Friday: Danny Wash reviews Info Select for case management, Martin Dean shares his list of grievances with a recent TechnoFeature article about law firm technology outsourcing, and Brian Garves reviews his experience ordering books from Thomson West. 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.