TechnoLawyer

In a recent issue of Fat Friday, David Umbaugh discussed how legal technology has maximized his law firm's efficiency. TechnoLawyer member John Gordon responds: "I agree wholeheartedly with David. I am dumfounded, however, that David and I use all of the same programs save one. I assume David selected his programs in much the same way that I have, i.e. trial and error and price tag. We are a 3 lawyer litigation firm with 6 paralegals. The power and flexibility that technology provides us enables us to compete with much larger firms both in quality of service, pricing and efficiency. Something unheard of when I started 38 years ago. (I have never spoken to David.)"

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Below you'll find one of the five articles from today's edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire:

An Innovative Approach to Managed Network Security
By Jill Bauerle
New document management system? Case management upgrade? Forget about it. Most likely, your IT staff is swamped with network security issues ranging from tracking intrusion attacks to cleaning spam to rooting out spyware to stopping worms (to name just a few). To deal with these problems at the network level, they likely manage a rack of different boxes, each of which can handle a specific type of security threat, but together cannot handle new complex and "blended" threats. To get your IT staff focused back on what your firm really needs to practice law, look no further than Network Box, which provides "outsourced unified threat management" via a single network security appliance and an accompanying off-site 24/7 security management service. In other words, just one "box" managed by the security professionals at Network Box's Operations Centers handles all your network security needs no matter how complex, and keeps your IT staff fully apprised of your network's health. The appliance also provides your firm with a VPN for secure remote access. Best of all, Network Box includes its appliance free of charge with your surprisingly low monthly subscription fee. When Network Box detects an intrusion or suspicious traffic behavior, it can repel it immediately. With everything in one appliance, no time is wasted communicating among multiple devices, and more importantly your IT staff need not read through reams of log files trying to figure it out by hand. Just as impressively, Network Box updates every security appliance it monitors worldwide within 45 seconds on average after learning about a new threat, such as the latest worm. You can choose the level of on-site control that you want to maintain, plus you'll have access to a plethora of reports -- securely online from anywhere. For law firms, Network Box has several appliance options depending on the size and complexity of your network, such as the SME-250, which supports 10-75 users, or the RG-400, which supports hundreds of users. Network Box's security services include anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-spyware, content filtering, intrusion detection and prevention, firewall, and VPN services. Learn more about Network Box.

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.

TechnoLawyer member Diana Brodman Summers was earning a good living as a database administrator, but yearned for a career change so she used her retirement savings to invest in herself and pursue a law degree at night. A few days before the bar exam, her employer downsized her out of her job.

Fortunately, Diana still managed to pass the bar exam despite this bad news. Unfortunately, she could not find a job as a lawyer. "Out of 685 resumes I got three interviews, two of whom told me to my face I was too old [at 40] to be an associate."

Instead, she started contracting herself out to law firms on a per case or per month basis. Eventually, she earned enough money and developed enough of a reputation to open her own solo practice in Lisle, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. Diana primarily represents employees in employment discrimination matters, and also serves as an arbitrator for Cook County and DuPage County's Mandatory Arbitration Program.

Diana is also a best-selling author. Her current book How to Buy Your First Home has become the top-seller in its category. She recently spoke about the book on her local ABC TV station. Her other books include Illinois Landlord's Legal Guide, How to Write an Illinois Will, and How to File for Divorce in Illinois. Her next book, How to Start a Home Based Business will hit bookshelves in a few months.

As for her favorite technology tools, Diana lists Word and WordPerfect, Adobe Acrobat, Netscape, and especially Stamps.com. "It enables me to print postage whenever I want, and it keeps a records of when I printed the postage and a file of names and addresses."

You can contact Diana at (630) 955-3735.

About Member News
TechnoLawyer members are among the most gifted and prominent in the legal profession. In the Member News section of TechnoLawyer Blog, we report on their latest accomplishments and success stories — everything from court victories to articles and books to new partner announcements — and much more. If you're a newsmaker, but not yet a member, join TechnoLawyer now, and then contact our newsdesk.

Regarding our ongoing discussion in Answers to Questions about accounting software that integrates with case management software, TechnoLawyer member Dana Yaffee writes: "I bought PC Law to go with Amicus Attorney and think it is more sophisticated than what is necessary for a solo practitioner. I have been looking for something less complex and the consensus from colleagues is that Quickbooks integrates pretty well with most of the case management software programs. Many bookkeepers are familiar with Quickbooks and Timeslips, if you are planning to farm out your billing activities." If you use Amicus Attorney, listen up — Gavel & Gown recently pre-announced Amicus Accounting, which it plans to release in 2006. Amicus Accounting will feature accounting as well as time-billing components. You heard it here first.

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Brian Livingston of Windows Secrets fame has written an excellent quartet of articles about new legislation in Michigan and Utah that amounts to a tax on legitimate commercial e-mail. According to Livingston, these laws will have no impact on spam, but they will benefit their sponsors — "contractors seeking profits and state departments seeking more revenue." In his last article, Livingston reports that the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) plans to pursue litigation to have these laws stricken. The EFF is currently searching for qualified plaintiffs in Michigan and Utah on whose behalf it can file a lawsuit.

Michigan, Utah Impose Dreaded E-Mail Tax

State E-Mail Taxes Begin to Bite

How Utah, Michigan Legislators Got Fooled

EFF To Challenge E-Mail Tax Laws

How To: Chill Speech and Association While Endangering Children

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 7, 2005 to Fat Friday: Kath Gilliam reviews a broadcast e-mail program, Ron Fox reviews CaseSoft's DepPrep for witness preparation, Maggie Fisher reviews WordPerfect and its macro capabilities, Caren Schwartz offers a contrarian view of using QuickBooks' sub accounts for trust accounting, and Corey Rich suggests how to permanently destroy your old hard drive. 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 3, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Ann Routos reviews HotDocs in a large firm setting, Barron Henley offers help for those experiencing problems integrating Amicus Attorney and HotDocs, Duane Murphy suggests a better way to store critical e-mail, Jeffrey Franklin suggests solutions for those having problems with Outlook and Windows XP SP2, and Sally Mendoza recommends a useful resource for researching the salaries of legal administrators. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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 September 29, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Rick Borstein of Adobe Systems offers advice on how to create PDFs and employ OCR at the same time, Ellen Freedman provides a bevy of resources for salary research in the legal profession, Raymond Gintner presents more tips on printing with specific trays in WordPerfect, Nancy Grekin reviews PaperPort's document management capabilities, and Jack Tubbs speculates about a user's problem with Outlook after installing Windows XP SP2. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a thrice 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 September 27, 2005 to TechnoFeature: Document assembly systems can quickly become a profit center for techno-savvy law firms. But they come with high costs in terms of software, consulting, and attorney development time. Choosing the right project is as important as getting the right price. In this article, technology consultant Seth Rowland candidly reviews the costs of building a document assembly-driven law practice, and provides a roadmap for how to get started.

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 September 20, 2005 to TechnoFeature: Although discontinued, the HP LaserJet 3330mfp remains a printer, copier, scanner, and fax that performs office tasks with aplomb. In this article, Gary Garland explains why you should pick one of these multifunction printers on eBay rather than buy a new machine. Find out if this budget-conscious, multitasking machine will work for your law 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.