You hear a lot these days about people live-blogging trade shows and other events. But with few exceptions live blogging (perhaps we lawyers should call it realtime blogging) fails because quality writing takes time. It's sort of like the speed of light or the force of gravity. There's just no getting around it.
So when we began discussing how to cover ABA TECHSHOW 2008, we nixed the idea of live-blogging this important event. Instead, we decided to publish reports as quickly as possible while maintaining high standards. Call it retrospective blogging. Or just call it good reporting.
But don't worry. We're done! Below you'll find our complete coverage of ABA TECHSHOW 2008 — 13 reports. If you're still hungry for even more coverage, you'll also find links to 33 additional reports in other publications.
Crazy Mazy ... Trade shows are unpredictable. Whenever you bring together thousands of smart, free-thinking people, sparks will fly. So who better to cover ABA TECHSHOW than our most unpredictable TechnoLawyer correspondent and the ultimate free thinker — Mazyar Hedayat. Or as we call him, Crazy Mazy, a name inspired by Apple's famous Think Different ad campaign about free thinkers, which begins, "Here's to the the crazy ones." When he's not reporting on trade shows, Mazy practices law in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
About TechnoLawyer Trade Show Reports
Even in today's wired world, trade shows continue to play an important role. But not everyone can attend trade shows. Hence, our trade show reports, which bring trade shows to you. You can find our trade show reports here in TechnoLawyer Blog, and also in TechnoGuide, a free newsletter that also contains exclusive content. Learn more about TechnoGuide.
TechnoScore: 4.7
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score www.hecklerdesign.com
Depending on whom you believe, 80-97% of New Year's resolutions fall by the wayside unfulfilled. I don't profess to know why so few resolutions succeed, but thanks to a small company in California I should have no trouble achieving my resolution this year.
For 2008, I resolved to become a minimalist. Or as the rapper Snoop Dogg once sang, "Never have a want, never have a need." Of course, that's an impossible ideal. Instead, I seek to become the antithesis of a pack-rat and possess only the bare minimum. I don't want anything I don't use, including desk space.
Thus, when I recently moved, I replaced my bulky Anthro desk with Heckler Design's sleek OneLessDesk.
It All Started With an Advertisement ...
I first encountered Heckler Design's OneLessDesk in an online advertisement on MacRumors in January. I immediately began an email dialog with Dean Heckler, the man behind the desk. Our discussions resulted in a special edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire in which we covered OneLessDesk and four other unique desks. Measured by clicks, this issue was our most popular ever.
I also had a personal interest in OneLessDesk, having just moved into a new apartment. It seemed to perfectly address my new minimalist bent and my lack of space, but I had a few reservations. Dean eventually won me over and I placed an order.
Heckler Design limited the first production run of OneLessDesk to 100 units at $899 plus $100 shipping. I was among the early adopters, and for once it paid off. OneLessDesk now sells for $1,199 (including domestic shipping). The price has risen because the price of steel has risen. Dean is exploring other metals for a lower-priced version, but has not yet made any announcements.
The Skinny on OneLessDesk ...
OneLessDesk consists of two brushed steel desks that together take up about half the space of a traditional desk. The upper desk has a usable surface area of 33.5x12 inches, and a height of 30.5 inches. The lower desk has a usable surface area of 30.5x12 inches and a height of 25.5 inches.
The upper desk also contains a hidden shelf that opens at the back of the desk. Designed for accessories like hard drives, USB hubs, and the like, this shelf also features a cable management system in which you can wrap unused cord so that you don't end up with the usual nest of cables on your floor.
Both desks use two white plastic glides for feet, which enables you to slide the lower desk underneath the upper desk. The glides slide easily on my wood floor. I don't know how well they work on carpeting. Unfortunately, OneLessDesk does not have levelers so if your floor is uneven you may need to use a shim to prevent it from wobbling. I suspect this issue arises only on hard flooring, not carpeting.
OneLessDesk arrives in one box. If you open the box correctly (I didn't), the two desks will be standing upright ready for you to grab and move to their location. You'll need to install the glides. Each requires one countersunk Torx 20 screw.
Heckler Design provides everything you need, including a disposable Torx wrench, but I ended up using my own screwdriver for more control. You can watch a video tutorial of the entire unboxing process, including installation of the glides.
My box also contained a personal handwritten card from Dean, a nice touch that I hope he continues, and a package of Pledge stainless steel wipes. Because the desk arrives straight from the factory, you'll need these wipes to remove the grime.
Customer support is first rate. You always tend to receive the best service from the founder of the company. The real test lies ahead when Dean needs to hire employees to carry out this function.
My One Month Test Drive ...
I've now had OneLessDesk in my living room for one month and like it a lot. But I would not recommend it for everyone.
OneLessDesk looks striking. Having also just invested in two brushed steel barstools, I don't think anything compares to brushed steel if you seek a modern, urban look.
OneLessDesk has an inner beauty as well. Its bi-level design means that you can comfortably mouse and type with your feet firmly planted on the floor, minimizing the risk of carpel tunnel syndrome and other disorders. Those under 6 feet tall will especially appreciate the height of the lower desk.
So, should you buy one for your office? Probably not.
I'm about as paperless as it gets, but I have several paper reports on my desk at work at all times. Plus I like having an L-shaped desk at work for eating lunch, meeting with someone, or even power napping.
Most lawyers I know handle more paper and need more desk space than I do. Although OneLessDesk can hold letter-sized paper, it can do so only on one plane. There's no room to spread out.
What about for your home? Bingo.
OneLessDesk is best suited for home use — especially if you prefer modern design (think Design Within Reach), don't want your computer desk to overwhelm the room, and mostly use your home computer for paperless activities.
OneMoreDesk Please ...
My wish list for OneLessDesk is modest, especially for a version 1.0 product. I would like to see a more affordable version that parents could justify buying for their children. I also hope Dean designs glides with a leveler for use on uneven floors.
And finally, I would like to see other OneLess designs or at least the ability to buy OneLessDesk a la carte. For example, I could use another lower desk to hold an iPod speaker system in my bedroom.
Given the sameness in the furniture industry, it's refreshing to see something different like OneLessDesk — especially when it provides greater comfort than existing designs.
OneLessDesk will not only become a conversation piece in your home, but will provide you and your family with many hours of comfortable computer use thanks to its ergonomic bi-level design. It's not just for minimalists like me, but for anyone who seeks style and substance.
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.
Review: Pathagoras 2008
By Daniel Fennick
Have you searched for years for the right document assembly software? Attorney Daniel Fennick has. He has tried several programs, never finding the perfect solution. In this article, Daniel reviews the latest version of Pathagoras. He discusses the various features, how he evaluated it in his law practice, tech support, and even some suggestions for improvement. Overall, is Pathagoras 2008 worth your time and money? Read Daniel's review to find out.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature
is a weekly newsletter containing in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.
Congratulations to Anacomp's CaseLogistix — its Newsletter Flag in the April 25, 2008 issue of Answers to Questions sparked the most interest among TechnoLawyer members for the period April 14-27, 2008. The copy from this Newsletter Flag appears below:
Sponsored by Anacomp's CaseLogistix
THE LITIGATOR'S SECRET HANDBOOK ARRIVES ON APRIL 29TH
Browning E. Marean III, a DLA Piper litigation partner and co-chair of the firm's Electronic Discovery Readiness and Response Group, distilled his knowledge about managing cases involving electronic evidence into a checklist.
His checklist is so well-regarded, he used it as the basis for a book published a few months ago. While you can buy the book, we've put together a free alternative for you.
On April 29th, Browning will share his checklist with you in a free Webinar, The Litigator's Secret Handbook.
LandingPage Interactive, an online ad agency owned by the same company that operates TechnoLawyer, created this Newsletter Flag for Anacomp's CaseLogistix.
Intervals, Wrike, and OnStage — Special Online Project Management Issue
By Neil J. Squillante
Choosing an online project management system is a lot like getting married. Realizing you made a terrible mistake carries a great cost. And unlike marriage, project management systems don't offer the safety net of a prenup.
While the companies behind these services may promise that you can extract your data, you'll probably need to hire someone to use what you extract. In other words, choose your project management system even more carefully than you choose your spouse.
Previously in this newsletter, we covered the two heavyweights in this nascent category — Basecamp (see What's a Matter? in the 02-09-05 issue) and CentralDesktop (see Report to Desktop Central in the 09-18-06 issue).
Today, we cover three new contenders — Intervals, OnStage, and Wrike. What do they have that their predecessors lack? Find out in this special edition of TechnoLawyer NewsWire.
INTERVALS: MEDIUM WEIGHT ONLINE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Intervals attempts to fill a void between lightweight project management applications that don't contain any analytical tools and complex applications that use Gantt charts and the like. With Intervals, you can enter predictions for the time and cost of a project, track both of these metrics, and then analyze how well your predictions fared when you complete the project.
Of importance to lawyers, the time tracking tool features timers, weekly timesheet submissions and approvals, reminders (nags) for those who do not submit their timesheets, and reports that present information in charts. You can also use Intervals to create and track bills. Intervals can even email clients automatically about overdue bills.
Intervals can track your tasks in addition to your time. You can receive email alerts every day listing what's due. If you assign tasks to someone else, you can receive an email alert when a status changes.
Most projects at law firms involve documents. Intervals offers document storage and sharing within projects. You can even associate a document with a task. Intervals supports versioning for revisions of the same document. You can share other file types as well such as photos and videos.
Intervals provides a number of useful reports that you can export in .csv format. For example, you can compare billable versus unbillable time, analyze employee productivity, compare actual hours billed versus your goals, and more.
Intervals offers four different plans that range in price from $20 to $175 per month. The difference among the plans concerns the number of projects and the amount of storage space — plus the two higher-priced plans offer encryption. A free plan also exists that limits you to one project and provides no storage space. Learn more about Intervals.
WRIKE: EMAIL'S LITTLE HELPER
According to Wrike, the world revolves around email. So rather than try to teach old dogs (you) new tricks, it has created an online project management system that integrates with plain old email.
For example, to create a task, you don't have to login. Instead, you can email Wrike directly or if you're assigning the task to someone you can email that person and cc Wrike. Wrike automatically creates a task. If you include a due date in your email message, Wrike can send a reminder to the person responsible for the task as the deadline approaches. At any time, you can log into your Wrike dashboard to see and manage all tasks.
In addition to creating tasks, Wrike transforms email messages about a topic into a Gantt timeline. It also stores your email messages so that you can easily find and search them. Wrike's "Flexible Structures" doesn't force you into the project paradigm. While you can group tasks by project, you can also group them by people, process, or any other system of your choosing — and you can apply multiple types.
Within Wrike itself, you can track time, share files, engage in threaded discussions, and view reports. The reports enable you to drill down to specific data points like a time entry.
Wrike works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari and includes free email support. Wrike costs $3.99 per user per month if you commit to the annual plan. The monthly plan costs $4.99 per user per month. Learn more about Wrike.
ONSTAGE: IT'S THE CALENDAR, STUPID
Chmura believes that project management requires a shared calendar. As a result, its OnStage online project management offering features a calendar at its heart. On the main calendar, you can create and view events, milestones, and tasks for all projects. When you enter a project, you see only the items related to that project.
In addition to the calendar, OnStage offers two other ways to view information — dashboards and reports. And within a project, you can share files, exchange messages, and create and manage contacts and tasks. File sharing includes versioning. You can assign tasks and create email alerts when the status changes. You receive messages via email, but they also remain in OnStage grouped in threads and fully searchable.
OnStage works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. The five different plans range in price from $10 to $135 per month. All of them provide SSL encryption so they differ only with regard to the number of projects and storage. A free ad-supported plan provides as many projects (20) and storage (750 MB) as the $20/month plan. Learn more about OnStage.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that briefly discusses and provides links to three hot new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.
Congratulations to ABBYY USA — its TechnoRelease on April 21, 2008 sparked the most interest among TechnoLawyer members for the period April 14-27, 2008. The copy from this TechnoRelease appears below:
NEW REPORT: THE SEVEN OCR HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFICIENT LAW FIRMS By ABBYY USA
"Taming the paper tiger." How often have you heard that line in TechnoLawyer and elsewhere? It's the king of law office cliches! But it became the king for a reason — paper remains a serious productivity drain for law firms of all sizes.
Just ask Kantor & Kantor and the Merit Law Group, two law firms in California. These firms thought that the key to their respective paper problems lay in OCR software.
They were right but they were also wrong. Because they failed to sufficiently do their homework, they found themselves no better off after buying OCR software.
Fortunately, these two stories have a happy ending. Better yet, you can learn from their mistakes so you need not repeat them.
HOW TO CHOOSE OCR SOFTWARE AND USE IT EFFECTIVELY ...
Remember that book about the seven habits of highly effective people? Well, in our new report, you'll read about the seven OCR habits of highly efficient law firms — seven tips that will enable your law firm to make the most of its investment in OCR software.
In this report, you'll learn:
• How to choose OCR software that won't result in buyer's remorse or become shelfware.
• How to choose a scanner well suited to your OCR software.
• How to reduce copying costs, especially when out of the office.
• How to better process incoming faxes.
• How to streamline document review and the creation of pleadings in a typical case.
• And much more — plus learn how Kantor & Kantor and the Merit Law Group incorporated these tips and overcame their initial paperless missteps.
LandingPage Interactive, an online ad agency owned by the same company that operates TechnoLawyer, created this TechnoRelease for ABBYY USA.
About TechnoRelease TechnoRelease is a newsletter in which legal vendors tell an ongoing story about their products and services. Every two weeks, we place the most popular TechnoRelease as measured by click-throughs here in TechnoLawyer Blog at no additional charge. Learn more about TechnoReleases and our other marketing opportunities.
Verizon XV6700/6800/6900 Review; ActiveWords Review; A Modest CLE Proposal; Biglaw Salaries; Office 2007 Correction
By Debra Bruce, Christel Burris, Michael Caldwell, Wesley Y.S. Chang, & Stephen Seldin
In this issue of Fat Friday, Debra Bruce reviews the Verizon XV6700 Pocket PC (and we comment on its successors), Wesley Y.S. Chang reviews ActiveWords and explains how he uses it in his practice, Stephen Seldin discusses how the Internet has affected CLE and how a different pricing structure could help, Christel Burris discusses the method behind the madness of Microsoft's various Office 2007 suites, and Michael Caldwell responds to the continuing discussion about biglaw associate salaries.
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. You can subscribe here.
ScanSnap S510 Review; Workers Compensation Case Management; Loislaw Review; Amicus Small Firm and Accounting Reviews; Backpack Review; Email Archiving
By David Adamski, Ed Detlie, Thomas Hutto, Harry Steinmetz, & Edward Zohn
In this issue of Answers to Questions, Ed Detlie suggests a few case management software options for a workers compensation practice plus he reviews the ScanSnap s510, David Adamski reviews Loislaw for legal research and comments on adhesion contracts, Edward Zohn explains how his firm archives its Exchange/Outlook-based email, Harry Steinmetz reviews Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition and Amicus Accounting, and Thomas Hutto reviews Backpack and Google calendar for shared calendaring.
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. You can subscribe here.
Top Ten Tips for Implementing Practice Management Software
By Katrina Hubbard
Choosing practice management software is challenging, but it's actually a small part of the bigger puzzle. Once you have decided on the software, what do you do with it? In this article, legal technology consultant Katrina Hubbard walks you through the implementation process. In doing so, she provides ten helpful tips designed to get you from the pre-purchase stage all the way to becoming a well-oiled practice management machine. Whether you're just dipping a toe into the practice management waters or have already taken the plunge with a particular software package, Katrina will show you how to maximize your investment.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature
is a weekly newsletter containing in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.
Once again it's time for Battle of the Law Firm Videos. This time we'll channel the WWE and pit no fewer than four law firms against one another. (No hitting below the briefcase, gentlemen.)
The Big Levowski ...
We begin with Even M. Levow, a New Jersey lawyer who specializes in DWI cases. In his video, State vs. Chun: The Biggest Case in New Jersey DWI History (video no longer available, possibly because of this review), Levow discusses his involvement in the Chun case, which challenged the use of the Draeger Alcotest, a computerized replacement for the traditional breathalyzer.
Levow claims that his experience in the Chun case enables him to better defend you should you find yourself on the receiving end of that test. I believe him, but Levow doesn't explain what happened in the Chun case.
A Google search shows that one month before Levow posted his video, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the state police could use the Draeger Alcotest, but it imposed a number of requirements.
Perhaps Levow felt that this mixed decision was too complex for his YouTube video, but he talks up the Chun case to such an extent you can't help but wonder about its outcome.
Aside from death and taxes, the other certainty in life is that lawyers get paid to spin facts to suit the circumstances. And Levow is a lawyer. Levow should have simply noted that he helped impose certain requirements on the Draeger Alcotest, and that if the police don't follow these procedures you might walk. And just like that he could have explained the outcome of the Chun case.
Enough about the substance. Let's get to the mechanics. The video is well-produced. It shows Levow with a courthouse as a backdrop and his firm's phone number and Web address below. Levow clearly rehearsed. He handles himself well in front of the camera. At 1:52, the video might be a little long, but that's a minor quibble given Levow's good stage presence.
Regarding the accompanying copy, Levow lists his contact information, but because he fails to use the http prefix with his URL, the firm's Web address is not a live link. Also, the copy consists of one big paragraph — and it's poorly written — clearly not the work of a professional copywriter.
Is This a Legal Video or an Aaron Spelling Production?
This clever video features a slide show of bus, car, motorcycle, truck, and train wrecks while a funky soundtrack plays. Thanks to the photos and accompanying titles, we learn that Silvers handles just about every imaginable vehicular accident without any exposition by Silvers himself. Yes, he practices in LA. Did you have to ask?
Unfortunately, Silvers forgets the golden rule of Hollywood — don't screw up the ending. The video ends with a blurry photo of Silvers staring into the camera with a bookcase behind him. Given the slick nature of this video, Silvers should have used an action shot of himself — perhaps walking up the courthouse steps or maybe examining the scene of an accident.
The accompanying copy reads like a cheap classified ad, which is a shame given the creativity that clearly went into the video. Silvers does link to his firm's Web site.
Gomez, who looks a bit like Erik Estrada, makes a number of good points. For example, he tells viewers not to immediately accept blame for car accidents as he runs through a list of variables such as the sobriety of the other driver, road conditions, misplaced or missing road signs, etc.
Also, the video makes excellent use of graphics, including a split screen effect for bullet points and a title below Gomez that wouldn't look out of place on a CNN broadcast.
But at 3:18, the video is too long. Gomez doesn't have the screen presence to pull off such a long monologue. Worst of all, the opening title promotes the agency that created the video. Would BMW allow its ad agency to promote itself at the beginning of its advertisements? No, and neither should any law firm.
The accompanying copy is short and sweet, but it contains a typo (it uses "than" instead of "then"). Also, Gomez does not list his firm's contact information or Web address.
Ishtar, the Sequel ...
Steve Meshbesher of Meshbesher & Associates in his video of the same name has a lot of experience and good information to pass along, but he cannot make a convincing case thanks to poor production values. He sounds like he's in a cave. You can hear traffic outside his office. The camera faces his sun-filled office windows, resulting in a washed-out picture.
As for the script, it sounds extemporaneous, which is fine if you're Robin Williams. Steve is not. If he wrote the script, he didn't rehearse it enough.
Unfortunately, the accompanying copy is also a letdown. It contains a typo ("Meshbesher & Associates should be the Law Firm of you choose"). Who wrote this copy? Who proofread this copy? A 20-page brief will always contain a typo or two. But a typo is inexcusable in a 40-word blurb.
And the Winner Is ...
No one wants law firms to benefit from online videos more than I do. This explains my tough love in these ongoing reviews. Law firms should not create videos on their own nor should they hire posers who have clearly run up against the Peter Principle. Conduct due diligence and hire a true professional who will tell you to edit your script, rehearse, etc.
Michael H. Silvers is the winner today. His simple, slick video gets the job done better than the others. Just change that photo at the end and re-upload.
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.
Carbonite and WinZip Review; Hiring Small Firms; Open WP Documents in Word; Wrike Review; Treo 680 and Agendus Review
By David Giuffrida, Ido Ilan, David Long, Thomas Parker, & Hugh Roberts
In this issue of Fat Friday, David Giuffrida reviews Carbonite in conjunction with WinZip Pro for comprehensive online backup, Thomas Parker discusses where small firms fit in a general counsel's outside counsel strategy, David Long suggests a more accurate way to open WordPerfect documents in Word, Hugh Roberts reviews Wrike for email-related task management, and Ido Ilan reviews his Treo 680 and Agendus.
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. You can subscribe here.
Westlaw Versus LexisNexis; Google Calendar Review; Access Database Tip; IOGEAR External Video Card; God and Reveal Codes
By Thomas Collon, Tim Hughes, John Kaurloto, Ryan Opria, & Steven Schwaber
In this issue of Answers to Questions, Tim Hughes reviews Westlaw and LexisNexis for legal research plus adds his two cents on adhesion contracts, Thomas Collon reviews Google calendar and Mozilla Thunderbird for shared calendars, John Kaurloto explains how to use subforms to automatically link to documents in Microsoft Access, Ryan Opria reviews IOGEAR's USB 2.0 External Video Card for using multiple monitors with a laptop, and Steven Schwaber responds to a previous Post that criticized WordPerfect.
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. You can subscribe here.
Review: ABBYY FineReader 9.0
By John Heckman
Sometimes recognition is a bad thing — like when celebrities try to avoid the paparazzi. Other times, like with OCR technology for instance, recognition is key. In this article, legal technology consultant John Heckman reviews the latest offering from the OCR experts at ABBYY — FineReader 9.0. He covers all the latest features, including the ability to format headers, footers, footnotes, and paragraph numbering. Read John's comprehensive review to see how ABBYY FineReader 9.0 performed when put to the test.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature
is a weekly newsletter containing in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.
Congratulations to Loislaw — its Newsletter Flag in the April 11, 2008 issue of Fat Friday sparked the most interest among TechnoLawyer members for the period March 31-April 13, 2008. The copy from this Newsletter Flag appears below:
Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers dictation software for your BlackBerry and an accompanying online dictation service, an online service for retrieving medical records, and new electronic discovery software designed for in-house counsel in the early stages of a case or investigation (see article below). Don't miss the next issue.
Put the Cushy Back Into Corporate Counsel
By Neil J. Squillante
Being a corporate counsel used to be a cushy job. When litigation arose, you could have your outside counsel swing by to collect documents. Those days have ended. It's one thing to let your outside counsel rummage through file cabinets, but it's not advisable to have them rummage through your computers. Increasingly, that task belongs to you.
DigIT Technologies' DigIT Enterprise 2.5 enables your legal department to access to all electronically stored information throughout the enterprise, enabling you to quickly search for, find, and preserve data that may prove relevant to an investigation or litigation.
DigIT Technologies customizes every installation of DigIT Enterprise based on your specific needs. Once configured, it performs three core functions — Early Case Assessment, Custodian Mapping, and Full Custodian Capture.
Regarding Early Case Assessment, digIT Enterprise enables you to make decisions before you spend any money processing data. By running a few quick searches, you will know how much evidentiary data exists so that you can establish a case budget and strategy. digIT Enterprise also provides the requisite information necessary for the Meet & Confer requirement of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure such as the number of custodians, how much data each custodian has, and where that data resides.
While some software uses a single method for identifying custodians, digIT Enterprise employs a variety of methods for Custodian Mapping, including address, machine name, and integration with Microsoft Active Directory. You can also map email using particular fields such as the sender and the name of the mailbox.
Full Custodian Capture facilitates the preservation of all potential evidence belonging to one custodian in a single search. digIT Enterprise places all available information for each custodian into a "repository." You then apply search terms against each custodian's collection, and then export potentially relevant files to your review platform of choice for further analysis, tagging, and categorization. This approach ensures that no file is altered or deleted during discovery by any key custodians.
How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that briefly discusses and provides links to three hot new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.
Congratulations to DirectLaw, Inc. — its TechnoRelease on April 4, 2008 sparked the most interest among TechnoLawyer members for the period March 31-April 13, 2008. The copy from this TechnoRelease appears below:
FREE WHITE PAPER ON ELAWYERING FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE — HOW TO EARN LEGAL FEES WHILE YOU SLEEP By Pam Andrews, Law Firm Development, DirectLaw, Inc.
Marc Lauritsen, co-chair of the eLawyering Task Force of the Law Practice Management Section of the American Bar Association, in an article in Law Practice Magazine, succinctly defined eLawyering as:
"All the ways in which lawyers can do their work using the Web and associated technologies. These include new ways to communicate and collaborate with clients, prospective clients and other lawyers, produce documents, settle disputes and manage legal knowledge. Think of a lawyering verb — interview, investigate, counsel, draft, advocate, analyze, negotiate, manage and so forth — and there are corresponding electronic tools and techniques."
• Discusses changing demographics and the importance of creating online legal services for clients who want to work with the attorneys over the Internet.
• Provides data on what consumers want from their law firms.
• Identifies online legal applications that increase law firm productivity as well as expand the law firm's reach to new kinds of clients.
• Identifies online applications that create law firm cash flow without having to bill on a time basis.
• Explains how to add eLawyering capabilities to your law practice.
About TechnoRelease TechnoRelease is a newsletter in which legal vendors tell an ongoing story about their products and services. Every two weeks, we place the most popular TechnoRelease as measured by click-throughs here in TechnoLawyer Blog at no additional charge. Learn more about TechnoReleases and our other marketing opportunities.
OpenOffice, Firefox, and Linux; Deleting Data; Passwords Plus Review; PracticeMaster Review; Wayback Machine
By Craig S. Clark, Daniel Fennick, Brad Jensen, Mark Manoukian, & Theo Yates
In this issue of Answers to Questions, Mark Manoukian discusses the benefits of open source software (and how you might use it every day and not know), Brad Jensen explores whether reformatting your hard drive provides enough protection from snoops, Craig S. Clark reviews Passwords Plus as well as the Treo 700wx, Daniel Fennick reviews his experience using PracticeMaster and Tabs3 together, and Theo Yates reviews PDF995 PDF converter plus the Wayback Machine.
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. You can subscribe here.
Freedom Chair and Pocket Desk Reviewed; SharePoint 2007 Review; PracticeMaster Review; Trial Tip; So Happy Together
By David Bernier, Hope McNeil, Dixon Robertson, Kurt Schoettler, and Ernest Svenson
In this issue of Answers to Questions, Ernest (Ernie the Attorney) Svenson reviews the Freedom Chair and Pocket Desk from Design Within Reach plus he issues a warning about desks with a CPU compartment, Dixon Robertson reviews Microsoft SharePoint for law office collaboration and knowledge management, David Bernier reviews PracticeMaster for case management, Hope McNeil shares her experience with both Word and WordPerfect, and Kurt Schoettler explains how to easily switch display options on a laptop.
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. You can subscribe here.
Reviews of Nuance Software Titles; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140E; Time & Chaos & Intellect; Copernic; Rise and Fall of WordPerfect
By Bill Baldwin, Elizabeth Harris, Paul Lepine, Wendy Parker, & Thomas Stirewalt
In this issue of Answers to Questions, Bill Baldwin reviews PaperPort, OmniPage, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Acrobat Professional, and more, Wendy Parker shares her thoughts on the rise of Word and the fall of WordPerfect, Elizabeth Harris reviews the Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140E and Sony's repair policy, Thomas Stirewalt reviews Chaos Software's products for shared calendars, and Paul Lepine reviews Copernic Desktop Search.
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. You can subscribe here.
Treo 755p Review; Relevant CLE; Tiddlywiki Review; MozyPro Review; Airtouch Desk
By Elaine Dowling, Richard Hackerd, Meredith Hamilton, Brian Sherwood Jones, & John Starkweather
In this issue of Fat Friday, Richard Hackerd reviews his Treo 755p and its syncing abilities with Amicus Attorney, Elaine Dowling shares her thoughts on finding relevant CLE courses, Brian Sherwood Jones reviews Tiddlywiki for personal task and information management, Meredith Hamilton reviews EMC's online backup solution MozyPro, and John Starkweather points to an innovative computer desk option from Steelcase.
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. You can subscribe here.
Review: SafeCopy 2.1 Mobile By Bruce A. Olson
In the world of eDiscovery, spoliation of electronically stored information (ESI) is a new and important concern. Looking at a client's ESI can be risky if you start opening and copying files from their workstation because you might "stomp on the data." In this article, trial attorney and legal technology expert Bruce Olson provides a comprehensive review of SafeCopy 2.1 Mobile by Pivotal Guidance. This software promises to safely copy ESI for subsequent review and analysis. Installed on a USB U3 device, SafeCopy 2.1 Mobile is intended to provide a mobile solution for use at client sites without the need to install the software on the client's system. Find out how SafeCopy fared in Bruce's busy litigation practice.
How to Receive this Newsletter Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter containing in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. You can subscribe here.
Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a new business productivity suite with legal-specific features (see article below), a plug-in for Gmail and Google Apps email, and the world's most advanced keyboard. Don't miss the next issue.
Fabled Word Processor Meets PDF, Falls in Love
By Neil J. Squillante
Traditionally, the software industry presented law firms with a dilemma — single-task best-of-breed programs or easier to manage but lower quality all-in-one programs. And then came the suite, which offers best-in-class programs designed to work together.
Corel's new suite, Corel WordPerfect Office X4, seeks to take the suite where it has never ventured before with new features and programs that eliminate the need to purchase standalone programs from other companies.
At the heart of the new suite lies WordPerfect X4, which features a robust set of PDF tools. You can create, import, edit, and archive PDF files (including PDF/A). WordPerfect integrates with most scanners and now has its own OCR engine so you can convert scanned PDFs into editable text to save as WordPerfect, PDF, or Microsoft Word formats.
WordPerfect can handle just about any document format, including Microsoft Word 2007. You can also convert between formats. If you have become accustomed to Microsoft Office, you can make all of WordPerfect's keystrokes and menus mirror those of Word.
WordPerfect X4 also eliminates the need for tools for redaction, metadata, and legal utilities as it includes these functions. You can redact documents in any supported format, including Microsoft Word and PDF. You can save documents without any metadata. The Legal Toolbar enables you to create tables of authorities and tables of contents, and the Pleading Filler creates pleadings that will satisfy any court. Corporate lawyers will find redlining tools as well as the ability to publish to EDGAR.
