TechnoLawyer

At LegalTech New York, my colleague Sara and I sat through a demonstration of a new service — LexisNexis Marketing Intelligence. With this tool, you can analyze litigation and other public data to figure out where to focus your marketing efforts. For example, you may notice that a competitor of yours has experienced decline in intellectual property business in recent years, which may provide you with an opportunity to swoop in and pick off its clients. You may not find this type of marketing hardball palatable, but it merits your consideration by virtue of the growing demand for such "business intelligence" and "data mining" tools. Leigh Jones recently explored this phenomenon in the National Law Journal. Eat or be eaten.

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.

This past week in TechnoRelease:

• Anthony Vlahos of LexisNexis used lyrics from Radiohead's critically-acclaimed album OK Computer to discuss the increasingly time-constrained and gadget-dependent legal profession. He then explained how lawyers can use Lexis Nexis Time Matters 6 as part of a "personal action plan" to regain control over their life and practice.

• Fios announced a free April 19th Webcast entitled Understanding the Proposed FRCP Amendments — with Adam Cohen of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Listen in as Adam discusses everything from planning for and dealing with damaging e-mail to the ease of manipulating and altering electronic information.

• Insys Development introduced Escrow Organizer, which enables you to manage the receipts and disbursements of client funds. Insys is offering a $35 discount to TechnoLawyer members until April 30, 2005.

• CleanerInbox.com invited TechnoLawyer members to try its Postini e-mail filtering, which "provides comprehensive protection effectively eliminating threats before they impact your network." CleanerInbox.com is offering TechnoLawyer members a discount plus free setup.

How to Receive this Newsletter
TechnoRelease is a weekly newsletter in which legal vendors tell an ongoing story about their products and services, often providing freebies, discounts, and other special offers to TechnoLawyer members in the process. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming April 20, 2005 to TechnoLawyer NewsWire: In this issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about a new set of Outlook add-ins designed to increase your efficiency, a Web site that compiles all the best deals on tech gear, a Google-like search engine that facilitates searching public records, a new service for cyberspace meetings and collaboration, and an intuitive e-mail filtering 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.

Coming April 22, 2005 to Fat Friday: Rory Sanchez explores whether cheap PCs make sense for law firms, explains "TOC" in plain English, and recommends the ultimate monitor setup for lawyers. Additionally, Nathaniel Barber reviews the Hummingbird DM document management system in a public law office setting, while Steven Schwaber and Gil Aguiles weigh in with their respective advice on low-end PCs and monitors. If you're in the market for a PC, monitor, or document management system, don't miss this edition. 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 April 21, 2005 to Answers to Questions: William Egger provides the most comprehensive review of CompuLaw we've ever seen (he also reviews Amicus Attorney for good measure); James Covington reports that he has found a replacement for HP's beloved but star-crossed CapShare handheld scanner, Mark Klarich explains why he uses two computers and which ones he chose, and Brent Riggs notes the distinction between Reveal Codes and Reveal Formatting while Alan Garber explains why both have become passe — relics of a bygone era. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a twice 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 April 18, 2005 to Answers to Questions: Paul Waldron reviews a new product that eliminates the need to "babysit" your scanner, Roger Boyell explains what to look for in the new crop of digital audio recorders (for dictation), Howard Raab discusses why he disagrees with my recent advice about Dell, Hugh Tedder reviews a useful accessory that raises your laptop to an ergonomically appropriate height, and Jeanetta Stewart compares Word's "Reveal Formatting" to WordPerfect's "Reveal Codes." Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Mondays and Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a twice 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 April 19, 2005 to TechnoFeature: Phil Rhodes and his colleague, who practice law in Northern California, recently moved their four-lawyer, three-staff office to new quarters in the same city. In this article, Phil chronicles some of the larger issues they faced. In doing so, he provides some invaluable suggestions for planning a smooth office move that interrupts revenue generation as little as possible.

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.

TechnoLawyer member Sean Tierney has directed us to an article he orginally wrote for Law Office Computing, but ended up publishing on his Scrollin' On Dubs blog.

The article discusses how Outlook users can comply with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) by using Sentinel, a free OFAC compliance service Sean created. Sean describes OFAC compliance as "an important issue confronting attorneys right now" and Sentinel as "a simple solution that allows lawyers to check their Outlook contacts against OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) in under a minute." Read more about OFAC compliance and Sentinel, which is free and does not require registration.

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. .

Given the recent launch of TechnoLawyer Blog, and the rising popularity of blogs in general, we felt compelled to dig into the TechnoLawyer Archive and republish the following article on RSS/XML newsreaders by J.D. Lasica, which we originally published last year in our TechnoFeature newsletter. We hope you find it as helpful and informative as we do. In particular, you'll learn how to add the "XML Feed" at the top of TechnoLawyer Blog to the newsreader of your choice! We publish 48 articles of this caliber every year in TechnoFeature — subscribe here.

Synopsis
RSS newsreader software and other online information management tools continue to improve, enabling lawyers to better assimilate online information. RSS in particular may become to the Web what TiVo has become to TV. In this article, journalist and blogger J.D. Lasica reviews the latest RSS tools.

Two longtime TechnoLawyer members, Stephen Knight and Chadwick Busk, recently launched their own legal blogs (blawgs): "Knight on Family Law" and "The Fine Print: Musing of a Contracts Lawyer," respectively. 

Stephen writes that Knight on Family Law "is intended to provide a forum for discussion of Tennessee divorce and family law news and issues," but whether you hail from Tennessee or not, you'll find lots of great information. Plus you get Stephen's eye-opening insider's view of this particular practice area. Check out Stephen's scoop on what's going on in the Tennessee legislature.

Chadwick describes The Fine Print as containing his "views on being a contracts lawyer" and "perhaps some observations on the Information Technology law." And though he does discuss these issues, Chadwick also throws in some fun bits like a recipe for Hot Cross Buns. After drafting and negotiating commercial contracts for 25 years, Chadwick has a lot to offer readers. Take a look at his observations on Drafting Software License Agreements.

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. .