I Heart Tech

Do you know about TechnoLawyer?

TechnoLawyer is one badass company and as a legal professional, you should know about it. I had the fun and pleasure of working as an editor for Blawgworld for a couple of years and have high regard for the folks of TL. As for their work, not only is it one of the best resources for legal technology information, articles, white papers and product reviews but it is ALL FREE. You just have to "join" as most of their info is delivered by email or by logging into your personal portal.

They just released their VERY USEFUL Buyers Guide to Legal Billing Software. As we all know,  legal billing software is a necessity for all law firms. Their Buyer's Guide compares the 22 leading products (both cloud and classic), including their cost using a benchmark TL has created called the TL Research Price. The Buyer's Guide weighs in at nearly 7,500 words with seven charts, including one that lists how each product stacks up for entering time on the go from smartphones, the iPad, etc. Pretty useful I'd say!

So the deal is that only TechnoLawyer members can download a copy of the Buyer's Guide. But don't forget, both TechnoLawyer membership and the Buyer's Guide are free. If you're not a TechnoLawyer member, use the form on this page to join today, then click Member Library in the navigation bar above. Once you join, you can also choose to receive one or more of their email newsletters, all of which are free and stocked with great information. Get on it!

Client Profiles / Total Office Mobile App by LiteLaw

While Aderant would certainly prefer that we call it by it's new name, Total Office, most of us can't help ourselves - it will always be Client Profiles. So if you're a CP user, check this out -  LiteLaw! It's a very cool and useful app for iOS which plugs right into your existing CP/ATO install (in no more than 30 minutes) and provides secure, complete access to your existing cases and all their info. Developed in his spare time (wherever he finds it!) by  long time CP Administrator and IT Director, Ryan Colbert, of my hometown of Orlando - this guy knows what he's doing! He's a brilliant fella and a dear friend (together we co-founded the Orlando Legal Techs Meetup group). If you don't use CP but like the look of the app, talk to Ryan, they are happy to develop for other platforms when plausible.

LiteLaw allows authorized users to access matter information from anywhere AND more than anything its' simple but integrated timekeeping feature allows attorneys to input time directly to the matter from anywhere. No excuses. Per the LiteLaw website other useful features include:

• Time entry reminders for phone calls and emails
• Quick access to recent cases, docs, and parties
• Print or email docs from directly from the device
• Send digital dictation via email
• View case parties, docs, billing items, calendar events, and to-dos
• Obtain billing and productivity information for your cases and staff 
• No VPN or remote desktop software required 
• Law firm geek approved

Well this law firm geek approves. And one more thing - which I rarely say - it requires no-to-low training. Seriously! Learn more and download a free trial at the LiteLaw website. Tell them Adriana sent you! 

3 Good Outlook Tips - Resend Emails, Recurring Events and Creating Rules

Outlook is one of my favorite applications and definitely one of my favorite things to train. As a matter of fact, I'm doing a webinar on Tuesday April 16th with Ernie the Attorney at the Paperless Chase,  so if you like these tips and want to learn more you can sign up here. I'm using Outlook 2010 and 2013 between my laptops and desktops and just run my entire professional and business life from it. Here are three tips that always get a standing ovation when I speak (well, not really, but it would be cool if that did happen).

(The screenshots below are from 2013 but all these tips apply to 2003, 2007 and 2010. Just look around, the prompts or icons might be a little different)

Resend / Reuse / Recycle Sent Emails

Don’t waste precious time cutting, pasting or recreating emails. There is a handy "Resend" feature in Outlook.

1. From your Sent Items folder, Open the item you would like to resend.
2. On the Actions menu, click Resend This Message. 
3. Edit at will, click Send. 

Create a Recurring Meeting or Appointment

From the appointment or meeting that you want to make recurring:

1. On the Actions menu, click Recurrence (or click the Recurrence button).
2. Select the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) with which you want the appointment to recur, and then select options for the frequency.
3. Click OK > Save and Close.

Learn to Work with Rules

Rules are great for moving emails out of your Inbox and into subfolders (plus a whole slew of other things). Start with an easy rule like moving emails from a specific sender (like LinkedIn or Facebook) to a special folder that gets your attention when you have the time. Right click on an email and look for "Rules" or "Create Rule" and let Outlooks help you create the rule.

The look and feel of Rules has changed over the versions of Microsoft Office so if you want to learn more about rules in Outlook 2003 click here, for 2007 click here, 2010 click here and for 2013 take a look here.

Check out Legal Office Guru's blog post WITH A VIDEO! on setting up rules here. 

Don't forget about my webinar on Tuesday April 16! Hope to see you there. Get details and register here.

Why Lawyers Shouldn't Be Using Android Devices

If you know me (and most of you don't but let's pretend you do) - you know that I love technology. I mean, I really REALLY love it. It's hard for me to meet a technology I don't like. I shamelessly and eagerly buy every device, gadget or app that makes sense for me to know about (and even some that don't - like the Roku 3 that's still sitting in a box here on my desk). I buy all these things and learn how to use them so I can give firsthand advice when I'm talking to lawyers about technology.  

My current collection includes a new Windows 8 Acer laptop with a touchscreen (I like it so much, it's replaced my MacBook as my day to day laptop), an iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, a Lenovo Windows 8 Pro tablet, a Windows 8 Phone (the Nokia Lumia 920, which replaced my LG Thrill Android phone as my 2nd phone) and you don't even want to know what's in my tech dopp kit.

I kept hearing and reading about the latest Android operating system and wanted to be in-the-know (particularly got lured in by the idea of Google Now). So I picked up a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and like it very much. It's a beautiful experience as far as the OS. I like the on-screen gadgets. And trying to figuring out how a lawyer could use it as much as they can an iPad to practice law has really stimulated my geeky brain (btw, NOT EVEN close in race, the iPad eats this thing's lunch). But I'm bummed because without my personal data on it, it's not much more than an e-reader and surfing device. I've not synced it with my Google accounts - which means no email, no calendar and no contacts on it - which also means Google Now is Google Not for me. So, why have I not loaded it with any of my personal information?  Because I also keep reading and hearing about the security risks associated with the devices. A report from a company named F-Secure claims that Android accounts for 79% of mobile malware. It's reportedly the most widely used (notice I didnt say "popular") OS on the global market, so it makes statistical sense that it's the most riddled with malware. A post just last week titled Many Free Android Apps Are Starting To Look A Lot Like Malware falls just short of calling the issue a crisis.

Source: F-Secure Mobile Threat Report Q4 2012

A report from GData, a well known antivirus and security company in Europe, claims that on average, a new Android malware strain appears every two minutes. Notables from a recent Trend Micro report:

• Almost 300,000 apps are classified as outright malicious and a further 150,00+ classified as high risk.
• Of those 300,000+/- malicious apps, 69,000 were sourced directly from Google Play. (sooo, its NOT just Chinese and Russian app stores)
• 22% of apps were found to inappropriately leak user data
• The leaked data most often includes device data such as IMEI, ICCID as well as Contact data
• To make matters just generally worse - 32% of apps were classified as “Poor” in terms of battery usage, 24% “Poor” for network usage and 28% for memory usage

Most attorneys I know cart around plenty of confidential and priveleged information on their mobile devices. From documents to financial information to critical dates and contact info and of course, emails - it is their responsibility and ethical duty to protect that information in the absolute best way they can. With the unsurmountable and undeniable amount of data that exists on this issue, I just don't know how any attorney would want to use an Android as their main device. 

My usual advice? get an iPhone. Yes, I'm a big fan of iPhones - and not just because they only account for 0.7% of all malware but more so because there are so many amazing, useful and productive products for legal professionals. But if for some reason you are not interested in using one of the most secure mobile devices on the planet, then I'd suggest taking a look at the other most secure platform - a Blackberry device. I've heard the new Blackberry is pretty cool (ha! Words I most certainly thought I would never utter after 2005). Or even take a look at a Windows 8 phone - but I'll tell you now, I don't love that OS, it's hard to use. 

But what can you do if you just can't or don't want to let go of that Android?

• Start by reading this post from How To Geek about avoiding malware on your Android.
• Here's another good article - Here’s How To Really Keep Your Android Phone Clear Of Malware
• Be sure the "Allow Unknown Sources" option is disabled in your security settings menu to ensure that only apps delivered from Google Play may be installed on the device.
• Try to confirm that you DON'T have any malware by reviewing these Five Signs Your Android Device is Infected With Malware. 
• At a minimum make sure you have the latest version of Android as it has more security features (maybe that means an upgrade to a new device! Yippee! Who doesn't love that?). 

And dear attorney, I know you don't like to hear this but the truth is that you should become an expert on protecting your client data - after all, it is part of your job now. 

Don't Submit a Trail Brief that refers to Statues!

Creating an "exclusion dictionary" in Word could prevent you from sending in a "trail brief". Thanks to The Great Ben Schorr of Roland and Schorr for helping me with this queston from a friend and prof, "My paralegal students are constantly turning in trial briefs with the heading "trail brief," and referring to statutes as "statues." I have told them that they should try to go into Word and somehow take the words "trail" and "statue" out of the dictionary, so that every time they are in a document, they would be flagged as misspelled. Typical professor that I am, I tell them they should do this, but I don't know exactly how to do it, or if it's even possible. So....Is it?"

Yes, Professor it is possible...learn and share how from Microsoft MVP's.

iPads for Lawyers - Resources

I spent the weekend reviewing some great books and blogs. My dear friend and legal technology luminary, Tom Mighell has written two books specifically to help lawyers with iPads. He authored iPad in One Hour for Lawyers and quickly followed it up with iPad Apps in One Hour for Lawyers. One of the happiest lawyers I know, Dave Sparks, has written a very thorough book called iPad at Work.  I also grabbed really great tips from it. (Two lucky attendees at my seminar are going to win copies of iPad in One Hour and iPad at Work!)

Those three books are most certainly NOT the end of the road if you are looking for more information on how lawyers are using iPads in the courtroom, in meetings and in the office. There are many, many lawyers and legal technology experts writing about iPhones and iPads and reviewing the growing number of apps for lawyers. During presentations and while casually talking to lawyers, it's become harder for me to rattle them all off and I always feel bad later when I realize I left one off; so I decided to try and capture as many of them into one place - I created a resources page with tips, posts, blogs, books and articles on iPads for legal professionals. It's growing regularly (and especially this week in prep for my seminar) so visit frequently. I'm happy to add your suggestions, so please send them in.

Paperless for Lawyers - A 12 Step Plan

UPDATE:
What!? Little ol' me!??...
Thank you, TechnoLawyer!

This article won the BlawgWorld Pick of the Week.  BlawgWorld is a free weekly email newsletter that links to the best articles on the Web for lawyers and law firm administrators.

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Seems like the paperless issue has been hot for me lately. Last week I gave a talk about it to the Orange County Bar's Tech Committee here in Orlando and was at two great Firms who have visionaries that want to see LESS PAPER laying around their law offices. One of the the Firms is rather large and looking to see if we can go to paperless prebills (it's my dream to never see a printed prebill again - keep you posted); the second is a small law firm with many technology goals but less paper is at the top of the list. Speaking of list, here's one that I hope gives you some ideas and guidelines on making your law office paper-free.

1. Make a paperless plan. But don't call it that. If you're leading the cause and the cause involves lawyers, don't utter the word "paperless". It makes them break out in hives. You've got to trick them. Call it something like the "paper reduction project" or the "cost savings experiment". If you're really good, make them think it's their idea. 
   So, you need a plan and that plan should look a lot like a document retention / destruction policy (see these ABA resources on "records management"). Make sure you are armed with accurate details about what you are required to keep, for how long and in what format (in other words, can you convert the paper file to digital and still comply with retention rules related to your practice / type of document). What do you keep in paper format? What can you scan and destroy? What do you just destroy? What do you send to the client for safekeeping?
2. Make a paradigm shift happen - Certain things just HAVE to change. First, training. Technology training has to become an unquestionable piece of Firm culture. People must understand how to use the tools they have in front of them to make this project successful. They have to be experts in Word, Acrobat and any other software implemented. The problem with NOT understanding the full potential of these tools leads to a lack of creative thinking and problem solving. Creative thinking and problem solving!?!?! In a law firm!?!? In a paperless effort!!?!?  I know, I know, it sounds crazy. But it's not. I do it every day. 
3. STOP PRINTING but buy a new printer(s). Yes, you heard me correctly. But this time buy a VERY expensive printer with VERY expensive toner. It will make you think twice about every single line of ink you use. Do you have an assistant who doesn’t care about costs? Keep supplies in your office and force them to face you every time they need more. Then, start questioning everything that is being printed. Is it being printed in order for an attorney to be able to sign it? So that we can then scan it? Annddd thennn, EMAIL it to the client? Every day. Some of you are doing this STUPID STUPID thing EVERY DAY tens of times a day. Are you kidding? How about this simple rule:  if it came in digital it stays in digital. (see step #11 for tips on digital signatures)
4. Get a desktop scanner like the Fujitsu ScanSnap. You can certainly have large scanners peppered around the office but professional personnel should have a desktop scanner to make the scanning process convenient and easy. Give them training (step #2) and a proper place to file the scanned docs (step #9).
5. Put the plan into action - assess and attack the current paper situation. Start shredding, sending and scanning with gusto! Become a paper hater.
6. Convert all the paper possible to digital. Many, many and more and more companies are offering paperless statements; change subscriptions, newsletters and reports to the digital option.
   Stop printing prebills. Deliver them as PDF files and teach attorneys how to mark them up on their iPads or on their computers with Adobe Acrobat (step #2 is critical here).
   Make sure you letterhead is in digital format -and stop paying for preprinted letterhead and envelopes! Your expensive new printer will print beautiful envelopes when you need them (see step #3).
7. Get rid of that traditional fax machine. Convert to a desktop scanning solution (check out faxcompare.com). Remove your fax number from business cards, email signatures and Firm letterhead. 
8. Get Adobe Acrobat Standard; upgrade to Acrobat Pro if you need Bates stamping, redacting and form creation tools. Make sure you and staff are well trained in all the wonderful and useful things Adobe can do.
   (Tip: you can get Acrobat for “almost” free with the Fujitsu ScanSnap Deluxe, it comes bundled with it.)
9. Have a proper document management system that helps you easily save, store, search for and retrieve documents. EVERYTHING must go into the “file” in the DMS – including accounting paperwork. If you don’t have a DMS look at NetDocuments (designed for law firms!). Make sure everyone is fully trained on how the DMS works – if not, people will get frustrated and they won’t use this critical tool.
10. Scan all incoming [physical] mail  that makes sense to scan. Have the receptionist / mail room scan and distribute the mail electronically or save directly to the document management system. A question I always get asked here is, "How will I know if an important document has been added to the file if I don't see it on my desk? I have hundreds of matters." Most document management systems have alerts that can be set to notify users there has been activity in a file. Find out how your system handles that.
11. Create digital signature stamps / “clipart” to insert signatures into applications like Word or Acrobat. This avoids the wasteful process of printing something in order to sign it, scan it back in and ultimately email it (see my rant in step #3).
12. Configure Remote access and portability. Make sure there is reliable and easy access back into the network or into the document management system from wherever you are so no one has to complain that the only way they can have the entire file with them is in a paper mountain.

In the end,  you can take all the steps above, but without commitment, you are destined to fail. Commit to this change. Make everyone in your Firm commit. Going paperless is easier than ever thanks to readily available technology. There’s almost no excuse for not going paperless – well, as far as technology goes. The hard part is the human part – changing habits, committing to “new” processes, getting buy-in and getting training. But don’t let that stop you – make the commitment and get started right away. Within no time, you will wonder how you ever practiced efficiently with all those paper piles laying around!

Why a Lawyer Should Stick to Being a Lawyer and Not the I.T. Guy

So, my role in this world is to help lawyers use technology better. That's what I do and that's what I like to do. Short of it is, I LOVE what I do and I think my rates are always very FAIR if not under-market at times. And while I do occasionally poke fun at my brilliant clients and legal friends ...I am NOT mean, I'm just not a mean person. Except for right now as I'm writing this post. This is a mean post. And please don't hold it against me, I am human and I just cannot contain myself! I'm writing this post because I can't morally call up the attorney that sent me the note I will paste below.

Background:::She had emailed me some time ago, looking for some help so we went back and forth a few times until finally I said that it didn't sound like we would be able to work together because I simply couldn't lower my piddly rate below $100/hr (for remote / phone consulting). But I also said that didnt want to leave her in a lurch so I even included a list of OTHER legal technologists who I love and respect that she should certainly contact and hopefully get some help. So in response to that last email from me she sent me this...this is EXACTLY what she wrote...

At $100 an hour, you make FIVE TIMES AS MUCH as my associate. It is so costly that I wouldn't be able to afford to make the recommended changes in technology after paying to find out what they are. I'm happy for you that you can earn that much, but unfortunately, you are out of my price range. I'll have to make due with the handouts, my own research on line. I'm reading a college textbook on networking. Perhaps between all of it I can figure out a few things. If those you recommend are as knowledgeable as you and cost a lot less, I'd like to contact them (at least until I start making the kind of income you do). Thank you for the offer.

I read that email and these were my thoughts:

• "Is your associate a cat?"
• "I"m not sure what YOU earn but maybe you should quit your day job."
• "Hope that college text book is online, because if it's not, it's already outdated."
• "Please, PLEASE call my BF, Debbie Foster, at Affinity Consulting"
• "You are very welcome and I hope I never hear from you again"

Well. Today, I heard from her again. She sent me another email and this is EXACTLY what she wrote:

Subject: Awful Trip..........[Her full name redacted from here]

I am sorry for reaching you rather too late due to the situation of things right now.My family and I had a trip visiting Manila Philippines,everything was going on fine until last night when we got attacked by some unknown gunmen. All our money,phones and credit cards was stolen away including some valuable items, It was a terrible experience but the good thing is they didn't hurt anyone or made away with our passports.

We have reported the incident to the local authorities and the consulate but their response was too casual, we were ask to come back in 2weeks time for investigations to be made proper,But the truth is we can't wait till then as we have just got our return flight booked and is leaving in few hours from now but presently having problems sorting out our bills here and also getting a cab down to the airport, Right now we're financially strapped due to the unexpected robbery attack, Wondering if you can helP us with a quick loan to sort our bills and get back home. All we need is ($1,650 USD), I promise to refund you in full as soon as I return hopefully tomorrow or next. write back now to let me know what you can do.

Thank You.

Seriously injured in an Accident? Devastating medical malpractice injury? Permanently disabling injury while at work? Family issues (divorce, paternity, custody, child support, etc.), Need to eliminate debt?
[Her full name and contact info (including her @yahoo email address redacted from here]

Needless to say, I am not sending her a PENNY [to help pay for the I.T. support she will need to unhack her email].

 

Attention Attorneys Looking for Florida Coverage Attorneys

There's a new game in town when it comes to finding coverage attorneys in the Sunshine State. Court Covered is an online marketplace for attorneys looking for a coverage attorney and attorneys looking to be coverage attorneys - holy moly that's a lot of attorneys! I met with one of the owners of the company - Daniel Dawson and yes he's a lawyer! - a couple of weeks ago and liked him and his service so much that I thought I would share it with you. 

So here's how it works in a nutshell: you create an account/profile for either the hiring side (attorney looking for coverage) or the hireABLE side (attorney available to offer coverage) and then use the website to fill in the details (hiring attorney job details, coverage attorney profile details), then find "matches" where the hiring attorney can post a job and coverage attorneys can bid on the job. As the hiring attorney you set your own price and get to communicate directly with the coverage attorney once you have selected him or her. Currently, they are working the state of Florida, but of course have plans to expand into other states. For more details - and probably a much better explanation that I give, check out their website and give it a whirl!  

 

Wainwright for the People - Law School for Kids in the Form of a YA Novel

One of my favorite attorneys has embarked on a great project and I want you to know about it.

I meet a lot (A LOT) of lawyers, I have many favorites for many different reasons. Joel Rothman, aside from being a lawyer who appreciates technology and wants to see it being used to its fullest in the practice of law, is a favorite because he exudes THE LOVE OF LAW. And I love working with attorneys who love what they do (I know, hard to believe I meet some that don't). Well he's taken that passion to a very cool level in co-writing a young adult novel titled Wainwright for the People. It's written like a legal thriller for ages 10 and up that teaches basic civics, with a focus on our judicial system and is going to be accompanied by Student and Teacher Guides (how cool is that?). 

About the book: Gideon Wainwright is suspended from school when he takes the fall for pulling a fire alarm while breaking up a bully attack.  Forced to intern for his Assistant District Attorney mother while under suspension, Gideon is thrust into the middle of an investigation that seems just a little too close to his troubles at school.  Gideon’s adventure propels him through the justice system as he, and readers, learn the fundamental concepts behind the Bill of Rights and our legal system. 

The ABA has agreed to publish the story of Wainwright for the People upon completion but they need our help with funding and marketing. I'm going to pledge a little and maybe you can too :) Learn more about the book, the project and donate to his Kickstarter project here.