TechnoLawyer

"So, you're skipping all the seminars and just attending the parties," joked CaseSoft co-founder Bob Wiss at the Sheraton's bar as he handed me a bottle of Pilsner Urquell. All too true I must confess.

I was in Chicago from April 19-21, 2006 for the ABA's annual TechShow. However, I spent my days in Rosemont at MarketingSherpa's Email Marketing Summit where I spoke about Serial Storytelling, the technique we use to operate TechnoLawyer. I also hung out with my longtime client Shannan Friedman of Equisys, a company that invests heavily in email marketing. Read about the conference.

At night I drove into Chicago to hang out with the TechShow crowd. Even though I didn't have a chance to attend any TechShow seminars, I nonetheless have some news to report.

LEXTHINK LOUNGE AND CASESOFT DINNER

On Wednesday night, I attended LexThink Lounge, a sponsored event at 10Pin, an upscale bowling alley near the House of Blues. Along with Bob Wiss, John Tredennick, Reba Nance, and another gentleman whose name escapes me (sorry), I spoke on a panel about the future of legal technology. Unfortunately, our microphone and speakers could not compete with the bowling alley's other speakers blaring pop music so most people could not hear our pearls of wisdom.

Nonetheless, the event was a lot of fun. I met a number of people I've only known via email and reconnected with others. Take a look at the photos and see how many legal technology luminaries you can spot (extra points if you can spot me).

I left LexThink Lounge at about 7:00 and headed to Spiaggia on Michigan Avenue for an Italian dinner hosted by CaseSoft. The food and wine were terrific, and the company even better. There I met Ernie Svenson of Ernie the Attorney fame who just launched his own law firm. CaseMap is among the applications he uses. During dinner, I sat between Natalie Kelly of the State Bar of Georgia and Nancy Smith of CaseSoft who planned the event (nice job!).

THE DINNER AND TRIBUTE TO BOB BUTLER

On Thursday night, I attended "The Dinner" at Cafe Brauer at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The Dinner is a legendary annual event for the legal technology cognoscenti — a cocktail party and elegant dinner at a different location each year. Hosted by legal technology guru Ross Kodner and legal marketing guru JoAnna Forshee, The Dinner is a unique event because it's sponsored by about a dozen legal vendors. Thus, everyone who attends receives a gift bag full of goodies (I especially liked the Attenex USB drive, which works great with my PowerBook).

No fewer than three surprise announcements took place during The Dinner. First, Ross announced that on the way out Corel representatives would give everyone a free copy of Corel WordPerfect Office X3, which now features an email client.

Second, Kenny Lee of Apple Computer gave an iPod Video and MacBook Pro to Dennis Kennedy, Jim Calloway, and three other legal technology influencers, the idea being that they will persuade other lawyers to consider Apple (Intel Macs can run Windows).

Third, Time Matters founder Bob Butler announced that he was leaving LexisNexis and the legal technology world. After Bob sold Time Matters to LexisNexis in 2004, he could have called it quits then, but instead spent the last two years working harder than ever (it seemed like he was always on a plane) to help transform LexisNexis into a software powerhouse. During this period, he orchestrated the acquisition of PCLaw among other initiatives.

Among his many innovations over the years, Bob was the first to incorporate email into a case management application. Nowadays, law firms take this widely-adopted feature for granted. Bob wasn't just an entrepreneur, but also a legal technology visionary. He may not have written every line of code in Time Matters, but he understood the code (and I suspect he wrote many a functional specification).

Bob now leaves LexisNexis's software division in the capable hands of Ann Fullenkamp whom I met at The Dinner and who spoke warmly about her time working with Bob since the two hatched a strategic alliance several years ago that ultimately led to the acquisition in 2004.

Bob was an early believer in TechnoLawyer. Along with a handful of others, he immediately saw the value of participating in TechnoLawyer. I'm grateful for his support over the years and can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

PHOTOS AND OTHER TECHSHOW REPORTS

Take a look at my TechShow photos.

More TechShow photos courtesy of Adriana Linares.

Read David Snow's account of some of the same events.

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 May 4, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Pamela Coleman cites three features of Acrobat Professional that may help you decide between it and the Standard version, Corey Rich and Eric Imperial review QuickBooks Pro and how they have integrated it with their practice management software, Michael Commins reviews the Xerox Documate 252 scanner, and Stewart Lenz reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap. 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 2, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Have you ever thought about converting your paper files to digital documents? Attorney Jeffrey Allen elected to do just that in his office in Oakland, California. In this article, he discusses how to go paperless, and provides suggestions for scanning equipment and software. Learn how such a conversion can boost your efficiency both in and out of the office while simultaneously providing a backup solution for your paper files.

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 May 5, 2006 to Fat Friday: James Sayre shares his thoughts on software training (plus a rebuttal by our publisher), Abe Arceo reviews two earphones for your iPod, Gil Marquez reviews Darik's Boot and Nuke for destroying data, Thomas McDow explains why he doesn't like bluetooth headsets, and Chris Albert offers his two cents on why law firms won't embrace online or mobile video. 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, tech expert Jill Bauerle covers a security utility that will nuke files for good, a discrete wireless Bluetooth headset, and a free tool for storing and sharing your bookmarks, Web clippings, and other information. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Hasta La Vista, You've Been Erased
By Jill Bauerle
Gone but not forgotten, remnants of old files can remain on your hard drive long after you've moved them to the recycle bin. The next time you have confidential documents to delete, try Eraser 5.8 from Heidi Computers. An advanced security utility, Eraser "shreds" magnetic remnants embedded in your hard drive by overwriting it numerous times in different patterns using Peter Gutmann's method. Without such a tool, deleted files sit on your hard drive until written over. Even then, forensic experts can reconstruct them, making you and your confidential files vulnerable. Eraser not only scrubs existing or "deleted" files and folders individually, it erases entire hard drives using the software's "Boot and Nuke" feature, and prevents file recovery applications from functioning. Eraser can also eradicate indexed, encrypted and compressed files, caches, cookies, Norton Unerase files, and more. If you're in a hurry, you can instead erase the first and last 2KB of a file, rendering it unusable. Once you download the freeware, Eraser's simple interface enables you to pick and choose your action on the spot or set up a schedule. Eraser is free and supports Windows 95 and higher as well as DOS. Learn more about Eraser.

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.

Don Springmeyer, Paying Electronic Filing Fees from Trust Accounts

TechnoLawyer member Stephen M. Nipper asks:
"Does anyone know of a bank that will allow one to link a debit card/credit card directly to a trust account (why? for paying electronic filing fees)? Best regards."

If, in Nevada, we paid electronic filing fees out of our trust account, we would need to later have frequent access to the ATM at the Southern Nevada Correctional Facility. All kidding aside, and on the assumption that of course your state bar's rules would allow such a thing, which ours would not, I think Bank of America will link an ATM card to any account as requested by the account owner.

Don Springmeyer, Esq.

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.

Todd Bair, Review: HP LaserJet 3330mfp and 3380mfp

In his TechnoFeature, "Review: HP LaserJet 3330mfp: Not the Latest But Is It the Greatest?," Gary Garland wrote:
"Hewlett Packard (HP) came out with a winner when it introduced the LaserJet 3330mfp, which you can purchase used for under $300. Before delving further, a brief history lesson ..."

I also have a 3330mfp, and have used in my office since buying it new from Office Depot over 2-1/2 years ago. Gary's article is spot-on, and though I've only tried to use the scanning software a few times it wasn't easy or flawless the first time and appeared much less intuitive than I thought it should. Earlier this year I purchased the slightly upgraded version, a 3380mfp, for home office, purchased new off eBay for $500. Again everything works great as it has on previous models. Additionally, I have used the scanning function on this one, and it seems to work much better though again I've only used it a few times.

Like many HP products, a great value for the money new or used.

Todd Richard Bair
Bair & Cummings, llp
Athens, Georgia
www.baircummings.com

About Fat Friday
Posts like the one above appear exclusively in Fat Friday, 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. You can subscribe here.

Coming April 25, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Still using version 1.0? How quaint. If you have not yet upgraded to the latest version of your trial presentation software (or still use posterboard and a pointer at trial), listen up! In this two-part series, veteran trial presentation consultant Timothy Piganelli discusses the latest and most innovative features of today's trial presentation software. In Part 1, Tim explored Sanction and TrialDirector. In Part 2, he explores TimeMap and Visionary.

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 April 27, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Olivier Oosterbaan reviews several document collaboration tools including Google's new acquisition, Writely, Caren Schwartz reviews QuickBooks for legal billing as does Christian Connell, CaseSoft CEO Greg Krehel discusses the benefits of Adobe Acrobat Professional versus the Standard version, and Clint Pullin offers up an Acrobat Bates stamping tip. 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.

Recently we asked TechnoLawyer members to take a survey about some new initiatives. We also asked how we could better serve you. Boy did we receive an earful. Below you'll find some of the comments we received along with my responses.

"Keep up the good work. I particularly enjoyed your publishing the critical post about cookies. That guy has failed to keep up with the times. By now, everyone should know the need for cookies at a secure Web site and understand that they are not evil."

I'm glad someone other than me doesn't view cookies as evil!

"Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the number of mailings from TL. I realize I can change preferences, but by and large I enjoy all the articles."

Well, I'm glad you know about your My TechnoLawyer page. As for the rest of you, keep in mind that you can easily manage your newsletter subscriptions.

"I get too many e-mails from TechnoLawyer on a daily basis. I would like them combined into one daily e-mail."

That's impossible because we publish self-contained newsletters — and I can assure you that you'll never receive more than one issue of a newsletter on a given day. Instead, what you need to do is manage your subscriptions on your My TechnoLawyer page.

"I've got to admit that I really dislike the practice of having articles published only in the TechnoLawyer Archive. I don't have a subscription to the archive. I also admit that I am too cheap to buy one. I try to support TechnoLawyer advertisers whenever possible and to give TechnoLawyer credit as the source of learning about the advertiser. I understand that you need a revenue source, but I really HATE not having access to articles that I'd like to read because they are available only through the archive."

"I am generally satisfied, but would rather see more of the articles in the free section."

Just to be clear, we publish virtually all of our content for free in our newsletters. The only content exclusive to the TechnoLawyer Archive are a handful of Posts each week that the contributors clearly wrote quickly — these Posts tend to not contain as much detail as the Posts we include in our newsletters. But I admit that even a very short Post can contain invaluable information.

With TechnoLawyer Archive subscriptions starting at $9, I personally think it's affordable even for individuals let alone law firms. That said, an increasing number of bar associations provide a free year of TechnoLawyer Archive access to their members. If your bar association has at least 1,000 members, ask the powers that be to contact me. Participating bar associations don't pay us, but we require that they inform their members about the benefit. There's no point in providing a benefit that no one knows about, which is often the case with bar association benefits.

"The majority of items addressed in TechnoLawyer are geared toward big firms with large IT budgets."

"Obviously a very good resource for solos and small firms, and some tips and issues apply to everyone involved in legal technology."

Interesting how people reading the same newsletters can reach opposite conclusions.

"Allow newsletters to be formatted for printing."

Your best bet is to subscribe to the ASCII version of our newsletters. This way, you can remove the line breaks and print a version that will look like a typical word processor document.

"Overall, I like Technolawyer and think you are doing a great job. The only constructive criticism I might offer is to make the comment process more transparent. Currently, all comments go through TechnoLawyer before they are available for review, which creates the appearance of censorship and/or bias towards your advertisers."

We never edit your Posts. Instead, we just act as a conduit. Obviously, we reserve the right to not publish a submission, but we seldom exercise that right — just once last year I think. Basically, if you take the time to write it, we'll publish it unchanged.

The reason your submissions have to go through us is because we built a content management system that enables you to contribute via e-mail instead of through some Web interface that would require you to login. In other words, we do the hard work so you can have it easy — there's nothing easier than sending an e-mail message.

"The e-mails are also hard to read — I wish the graphics were better and there wasn't so much clutter. I also wish that paid ads were on the side like on most blogs or Google."

I suspect you receive our ASCII version. We also publish our newsletters in HTML. In the HTML version, the ads do indeed appear along the side. To switch from ASCII to HTML (or vice versa), just log into your My TechnoLawyer page.

"Free beer?"

Actually, we did provide free booze to New York area TechnoLawyer members at our BlawgWorld launch party on November 30, 2005. We hope to make it an annual event.

"It's hard to criticize the job you do when it's free."

Isn't it amazing how many valuable services we receive for free on the Internet? It's kind of like the early days of television when it was 100% ad supported (nowadays, most of us pay for cable or satellite so free TV is a myth).

"I very much enjoy TechnoLawyer. I have been able to find many good tips."

Thank you!

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.