TechnoLawyer Blog: Collaboration/Knowledge Management

Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Roy Greenberg, Review: Acrobat XI's New Text Editing Feature With Scans

Ron Collins, iPad Task Management and Amicus Cloud

Phyllis Dubrow, My Favorite iPad Apps: Legal Research, Note-Taking, and More

Paul Ambos, Review: Tussman

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

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Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. You'll no doubt enjoy it because of its mix of interesting topics and genuinely useful knowledge, including brutally honest product reviews and informative how-tos. The Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to SmallLaw: Microsoft's Office 365 is the new way to license Microsoft Office. And 37 different packages exist! You need a user guide to figure out which one to choose. That's exactly what law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr has written in this issue of SmallLaw. Ben explains how Office 365 works, which products it contains, and the five packages, including pricing, that best suit solo practices and small law firms. Thanks to Ben's deconstruction of the options and advice, you won't waste any time. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for the scoop on a new cloud practice management system.

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Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to helpful articles (and podcasts and videos) about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to LitigationWorld: Are two brains better— than one? Possibly when one of those brains resides on your Mac or PC. In this issue of LitigationWorld, Pennsylvania litigator Thomas Groshens reviews TheBrain 7 Pro mind-mapping software. After explaining its various versions and core features, Thomas evaluates using TheBrainPro to connect the intricate set of dots (facts, issues, law, etc.) that comprise complex litigation cases. Thomas also issues a verdict in the form of a TechnoScore. If you've never used mind-mapping software, this review will give you some proverbial food for thought. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for the best closing argument tip we've encountered since we started publishing LitigationWorld.

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All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the December 4, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Having someone proofread your legal writing can result in dramatically better work product and results for your clients. However, proofreaders don't come cheap nor are they all equally talented. Software seems like a more reliable bet. In TL NewsWire, we recently reported on WordRake, a Microsoft Word add-on created by legal writing expert Gary Kinder. WordRake makes grammatical and stylistic suggestions that you can accept or reject. In this issue of SmallLaw, appellate legal writing expert and Ph.D. candidate Joshua Auriemma reviews WordRake to see how well it works — using a recent Supreme Court opinion as his test document. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week to learn how to assess marketing initiatives before you approve them.

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Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the November 27, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Change management is a business term but it also applies to legal documents. If you work on documents with others or you simply want the ability to undo your own changes after closing a document, Word's Track Changes feature is essential. It beats paper redlines and even PDF annotations. In this issue of SmallLaw, law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr explains how to use Track Changes along with some best practices. Don't edit another document until you read Ben's advice. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for the telltale signs of a someone trying to harm your law firm web site's Google search rank and tips on how to prevent or reverse any damage.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the September 28, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: If teenagers across the country can efficiently churn out Big Macs that taste identical, certainly you can more efficiently churn out error-free legal documents. In this issue of SmallLaw, law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr explains how to use AutoCorrect and AutoText Quick Parts to build documents that contain specific words, phrases, paragraphs, and even pages. Because they're features of Microsoft Word you need not buy anything. You just need to learn how to use them by following Ben's instructions. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a review of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12 Premium.

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Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the August 31, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Still jotting down random notes on scraps of paper or stickies? What happens when you're not in your office and need some information on a stickie? In this issue of SmallLaw, law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr unveils "Daily Journal," a note-taking technique he recently developed as a result of the questions he often receives from lawyers about Microsoft OneNote. With Ben's tip, you'll transform OneNote into a knowledge management tool available everywhere you go. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a sales tip on how to persuade prospects to retain your law firm.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the December 14, 2012 issue of TL NewsWire. Instead of reading TL NewsWire here, sign up now to receive future issues via email.

In 2012, we reported on 205 new products in TL NewsWire. In what has become an annual tradition, today in this year's last issue of TL NewsWire we present to you the TL NewsWire Top 25 Products of 2012. You'll find commentary on the Top 10 products, a list of the next 15 products, and links for all 25 products.

How do we determine the winners? We don't. You do. Each TL NewsWire article about a new product contains a link to that product's web page. We anonymously track everyone's clicks on these links to help us figure out which types of products most interest TL NewsWire subscribers, and also to create the annual TL NewsWire Top 25 Products.

THE 10 HOTTEST TL NEWSWIRE PRODUCTS OF 2012

Congratulations to the 10 hottest products in the TL NewsWire Top 25!

1. Total Attorneys App Store

After raising a significant round of capital, Total Attorneys came out swinging this year with two cleverly framed blockbuster announcements.

Several companies announced "application programming interfaces" or APIs this year, which enable other products to more easily integrate with theirs. To its credit, Total Attorneys chose not to use this term given that most lawyers are not programmers and therefore don't know what it means.

Instead, Total Attorneys announced an app store. Thanks to Apple, everyone knows what that means! Using this colloquial term vaulted Total Attorneys App Store to the top of the TL NewsWire Top 25. So congratulations to Total Attorneys not only for the add-ons it announced, but also for how the company framed this announcement.

2. Total Attorneys

Before launching its app store, Total Attorneys relaunched its cloud practice management system. This alone would have likely earned it a spot on the TL NewsWire Top 25. But Total Attorneys also announced an incredibly low price of just $1 per user per month, which explains its second place ranking.

Total Attorneys isn't crazy. Instead, like Amazon's strategy of selling its Kindle tablets at or below cost and later earning a profit on ebooks and other content, Total Attorneys essentially gives away its practice management system with the hope that you'll purchase apps such as credit card processing.

3. CitePin

When we reported on CitePin, we called it the "Evernote of the Legal Industry" as it's a cloud application designed to keep track of legal information such as legal research in a freeform manner but with legal-specific features.

CitePin clearly excited many of you. Just one caveat. This company reminds me of the Pink Floyd song, Is There Anybody Out There? We could not find an email address. We filled out the contact form requesting a screenshot to no avail (our thanks to LawSites for letting us use one of its screenshots).

4. TheFormTool PRO

According to the CEO of TheFormTool, the TechnoLawyer Network, including TL NewsWire, enabled the company to grow much faster than it originally anticipated.

TheFormTool PRO adds document assembly functionality to Microsoft Word without the need for programming skills. Because of the intense interest in TheFormTool PRO, we reviewed it twice from two perspectives in our BigLaw and SmallLaw newsletters.

5. MobileScan Pro 100

It would shock me if a scanner didn't make the TL NewsWire Top 25. In many law firms, scanners have become as essential a peripheral as printers. In fact, many law firms find that they need several types of scanners — high-volume, network, desktop, and mobile.

Ambir's new scanner garnered so much attention from TL NewsWire subscribers because it's the Batman of scanners — highly mobile with a dual personality. It functions as both a sheet-fed scanner and as a wand scanner. Also, it can scan without any cables to a Micro USB card.

6. Workshare PDF Professional Plus 2.0

Workshare PDF Professional 1.0 ranked second in last year's TL NewsWire Top 20. And here is version 2.0 ranked sixth in this year's TL NewsWire Top 25. Acrobat XI Pro also made the list this year but it's further down. That's because while PDF software is a hot topic, PDF software designed specifically for lawyers is an even hotter topic.

You probably found Workshare PDF Professional's support for PDF/A and its file size shrinking technology of interest given that many courts require this format and have file size limits. Version 2.0 also offers integrations with Autonomy Worksite and Microsoft SharePoint, two popular document management systems used by midsize and large law firms.

7. eBillity

eBillity has interesting origins. One of its co-founders used to work at Bill4Time, a cloud legal billing software pioneer. As a result, the two products share a number of features, chief among them an iPhone app as well as desktop widgets for Mac and Windows. Also, the pricing for Bill4Time and eBillity is identical.

Perhaps because of its late entry into the marketplace, eBillity has teamed up with larger companies. For example, it powers Thomson Reuters' new Time and Billing product. And when Intuit abandoned its cloud billing product, it recommended that its customers switch to eBillity.

8. Harvest

Harvest serves the billing needs of several industries, including legal. It offers both iPhone and Android apps, thus covering the majority of TechnoLawyer members (49% use an iPhone; 28% use an Android smartphone). For law firms with three or more timekeepers, Harvest costs less than rival products.

9. CaseFox

Clearly, TL NewsWire subscribers like cloud billing software as CaseFox also falls into this category. We cited CaseFox's ability to accommodate temporary contract lawyers as its Killer Feature. CaseFox also falls on the less expensive end of the pricing spectrum.

10. PDF Converter 8

We covered three new Nuance products this year. Not surprisingly, its PDF software received the most attention.

PDF Converter 8 is practically a word processor given its editing capabilities. That's why you'll find some of Nuance's Dragon speech recognition technology built into the software. Like Workshare PDF Professional, PDF Converter 8 integrates with a number of products popular among lawyers, including CaseMap and Worldox.

THE NEXT 15 HOTTEST TL NEWSWIRE PRODUCTS OF 2012

Congratulations to the 15 remaining products in the TL NewsWire Top 25 Products of 2012!

11. OmniOutliner for iPad

12. Leap

13. Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2012

14. Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover

15. HoverBar

16. Acrobat XI Pro

17. Apollo

18. Standzfree

19. TranscriptPad

20. Disconnect

21. DocMoto

22. Amicus Cloud

23. Samsung ML-2165W Mono Laser Printer

24. iPad 3

25. SwingHolder

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Originally published in the August 21, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Google's Chrome recently became the world's most popular web browser. Law practice advisor Erik Mazzone is such a big fan, he even uses it on his iPad and iPhone instead of Safari. In this issue of SmallLaw, Erik shares four useful Chrome features and four must-have Chrome extensions, all of which will save you time and one of which will save you money. Increased web browser productivity here you come. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for questions to ask before you fire an underperforming employee.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the July 17, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Read this issue of SmallLaw now before it's too late if you're a "Piler" (especially an Outlook-using Piler). Pilers leave all their email in their inbox. The Piler versus Filer debate is over. Filers are more productive and less likely to miss an important deadline. In this article, law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr discusses five essential steps to trimming your email inbox and keeping it in shape. Pilers in small law firms with thousands of messages can whittle down their inbox in just five hours with these tips. Even Filers will learn some new tricks. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a double dose of Ben Schorr as he shares his favorite smartphone apps that everyone else hasn't already recommended.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.