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Small Firms' Greatest Challenges Plus 43 More Must-Reads

By Kathryn Hughes | Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Coming today to SmallLaw: Our editorial team has selected and linked to the 44 best articles, podcasts, and videos from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sampling from today's issue, including our SmallLaw Pick of the Week. SmallLaw is free so don't miss the next issue — sign up now.

Congratulations to Robert Ambrogi of Law Sites on winning our SmallLaw Pick of the Week award: Small Firms' Greatest Challenges According to Small Firms

15 Legal Billing Best Practices

The Whole Lawyer and the Character Quotient

Law Firm Logo Landscape

New Change to AdWords Can Mean Higher Click Rates

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small law firm, big dreams. Written by successful small-firm founders, managing partners, administrators, and legal technology and practice management experts, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in solo practices and small law firms. Additionally, SmallLaw features comprehensive reviews of legal products with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to helpful articles, podcasts, and videos about solo practices and small law firms. Subscribe now for free.

Topics: Coming Attractions | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Law Firm Marketing/Publications/Web Sites | Law Office Management | SmallLaw

Digital WarRoom Private Cloud Seeks to Disrupt Ediscovery Software on Price

By Kathryn Hughes | Thursday, March 3, 2016

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers ediscovery software priced to disrupt the marketplace (see article below), a Bluetooth pen that captures handwritten notes, an iOS audio recording and editing app, and an ediscovery suite with analytics tools for assessing case strength. Don't miss the next issue.

Ediscovery software may conjure up images of Enron-size cases and expensive gatekeepers who talk jargon to keep prices high, but a democratization is underway on several fronts such as price and user experience.

Digital WarRoom Private Cloud 8.8 … in One Sentence

Launched recently, Digital WarRoom Private Cloud 8.8 is an end-to-end ediscovery platform for processing, reviewing, and producing discovery documents.

The Killer Feature

Software has always benefitted from having little marginal cost for each additional unit sold. But only in recent years have both storage and bandwidth also declined in price.

With Digital WarRoom Private Cloud, Digital WarRoom has set out to "disrupt" the ediscovery software industry on price. The service costs $1,995 per month for up to 500 GB of data, access to all features of the software, unlimited cases, training, and support. Each additional gigabyte beyond the 500 GB costs 50 cents.

"As President and General Counsel of Digital WarRoom, it is my goal to shake up the status quo by offering all-in-one enterprise software that is accessible anywhere at a price point that is de facto disruptive," Justin Farmer tells us. "Gone are the days of excessive costs. We are about 100% transparency."

Other Notable Features

You access Digital WarRoom Private Cloud either through a remote desktop app or a web browser. You begin by creating a case, and using a wizard to "ingest" the data you or your client has collected. Processing occurs next, which involves removing garbage files and duplicates, extracting metadata such as document dates, email participants, document authors, etc. You can automate processing by setting up a Policy. Digital WarRoom Private Cloud supports several languages, and includes translation technology so that you can get a sense of documents.

The customizable review environment displays documents and email as they would appear in their native program. You can sort documents by Relevance Score, Custodian, Date, or practically any other parameter. You redact by drawing a box with your mouse. Initially gray so you can still see the material within, the box changes to black when confirmed. You can apply tags such as Nonresponsive, Responsive, Hot, etc. Search tools include fuzzy, proximity, stemming, and synonyms.

A number of advanced tools exist for large data sets. For example, data visualization of email can identify connections you didn't know about. You can also reveal "Who-to-Whom" connections in social media data. Gist, the company's predictive coding technology, runs in the background. If you mark a document responsive, Gist functions much like Amazon (you may find these documents responsive too). It does this by scoring documents from -100 to +100 based on your designations. For an added charge, you can use Gist to automate these designations once it has acquired enough data from your manual review to finish the job with a satisfactory confidence level.

Digital WarRoom Private Cloud includes a number of reports, chief among them the Document Control Log and Privilege Log. The former lists all the activity on a case from import to production. This can help justify an invoice, get a new paralegal up to speed, etc. The Privilege Log eliminates the need to use Microsoft Office since you can edit and finalize this report in Digital WarRoom Private Cloud.

What Else Should You Know?

A wizard walks you through the production process, including Bates numbers, metadata, and OCR. Binders enable you to export a selection of documents with slip sheets and a hyperlinked index for use in depositions or to give an expert witness. Learn more about Digital WarRoom Private Cloud 8.8.

How to Receive TL NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TL NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The newsletter's innovative articles enable lawyers and law office administrators to quickly understand the function of a product, and zero in on its most important features. The TL NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Topics: Gadgets/Shredders/Office Gear | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Litigation/Discovery/Trials | TL NewsWire

The Best Smartphone Car Mount Plus 48 More Must-Reads

By Kathryn Hughes | Monday, August 31, 2015

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 49 articles from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week.

Smart Collaboration Tools for Law Firms

Cloud Software Checklist for Law Firms

Review: Black's Law Dictionary (10th Edition)

A Salute to Solo Programmers

Congratulations to Nick Guy of The Wirecutter on winning our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award: The Best Smartphone Car Mount

How to Receive BlawgWorld
Our newsletters provide the most comprehensive coverage of both legal technology and mainstream technology of interest to the legal profession (e.g., monitors, smartphones, scanners, the iPad, and more). But not the only coverage. BlawgWorld enables you to stay on top of all the noteworthy legal and mainstream technology articles (and podcasts and videos) published elsewhere without having to hire a research assistant. Even when you're busy, you won't want to miss each issue's Pick of the Week. Please subscribe now.

Topics: BlawgWorld Newsletter | Coming Attractions | Gadgets/Shredders/Office Gear | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Technology Industry/Legal Profession

The Best Content Management System for Your Law Firm Website Plus Local Google Search Optimization

By Kathryn Hughes | Friday, June 19, 2015

Coming today to SmallLaw: All modern websites use a content management system or CMS. This cloud software makes it easy to add new articles to your website and make changes to existing web pages. Many CMS products and add-on services exist. Even if you decide to use WordPress, the dominant CMS, you'll need to sort through thousands of themes and "built-on" services. In this issue of SmallLaw, online legal marketing expert Gyi Tsakalakis discusses the best products for most solos and small law firms — and common red flags to avoid. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week to learn how to optimize your local search listing on Google.

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 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.

Topics: Coming Attractions | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Law Firm Marketing/Publications/Web Sites | SmallLaw

How to Create YouTube Videos That Attract New Clients Plus 34 More Must-Reads

By Kathryn Hughes | Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Coming today to SmallLaw: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 35 articles from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our SmallLaw Pick of the Week.

Here's Why Most Law Firms Don't Grow

How to Improve Hospitality in the Office

Six Tips for Moving Your Attorney Site to SSL

Dos and Don'ts of Conference Networking

Congratulations to Jacob Sapochnick of Enchanting Lawyer on winning our SmallLaw Pick of the Week award: How to Create YouTube Videos That Attract New Clients

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small law firm, big dreams. Written by successful small-firm founders, managing partners, administrators, and legal technology and practice management experts, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in solo practices and small law firms. Additionally, SmallLaw features comprehensive reviews of legal products with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to helpful articles, podcasts, and videos about solo practices and small law firms. Please subscribe now.

Topics: Coming Attractions | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Law Firm Marketing/Publications/Web Sites | Law Office Management | SmallLaw

From Cartier Santos to Apple Watch; Review of Snipping Tool; Young Lawyers and Legal Technology

By Kathryn Hughes | Friday, April 17, 2015

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Jeffrey Richardson, Hands on With Apple Watch

Neil Squillante, From Cartier Santos to Apple Watch

Joshua Gordon, Review: Snipping Tool

Sean Doherty, Why Young Lawyers Lack Interest in Legal Technology

Phillip Quatrini, How Young Lawyers View Technology (And What They Use)

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

How to Receive TL Serendipity
Our most serendipitous offering (hence its name), TL Serendipity consists of contributions by TechnoLawyer members who have important information to share. 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 TL Serendipity newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Topics: Coming Attractions | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Technology Industry/Legal Profession | TL Serendipity | Utilities

Review of ShareX; Nonbreaking Spaces and Hyphens; Straight Talk Wireless; Basic Gmail Versus Google Work Gmail

By Kathryn Hughes | Friday, February 6, 2015

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Tom Trottier, Review ShareX (Screenshots)

Deborah Savadra, How to Quickly Insert Nonbreaking Spaces and Hyphens

Don Grassmann, Tip: Straight Talk Wireless and Toyota Entune

Anthony White, Basic Gmail Versus Google Work Gmail

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

How to Receive TL Serendipity
Our most serendipitous offering (hence its name), TL Serendipity consists of contributions by TechnoLawyer members who have important information to share. 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 TL Serendipity newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Topics: Business Productivity/Word Processing | Coming Attractions | Email/Messaging/Telephony | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | TL Serendipity

This Email Gadget Saved a Law Firm $30,000 Plus 58 More Must-Reads

By Kathryn Hughes | Monday, January 19, 2015

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 59 articles from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week.

Review: BigTime

How to Save a Webpage as a Single Image

Five Free Android Apps for Tracking Your Time

Google's Never-Ending Search

Congratulations to Derek Schroeder of Accellis Technology Group on winning our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award: This Email Gadget Saved a Law Firm $30,000

How to Receive BlawgWorld
Our newsletters provide the most comprehensive coverage of both legal technology and mainstream technology of interest to the legal profession (e.g., monitors, smartphones, scanners, the iPad, and more). But not the only coverage. BlawgWorld enables you to stay on top of all the noteworthy legal and mainstream technology articles (and podcasts and videos) published elsewhere without having to hire a research assistant. Even when you're busy, you won't want to miss each issue's Pick of the Week. Please subscribe now.

Topics: Backup/Media/Storage | BlawgWorld Newsletter | Coming Attractions | Email/Messaging/Telephony | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Technology Industry/Legal Profession

TL NewsWire Top 10 and Top 25 Products of 2014 Awards

By Neil J. Squillante | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

You and your fellow TL NewsWire subscribers have done it again. You've chosen the winners of the TL NewsWire Top 10 and Top 25 Products of 2014 Awards.

Here's how you did it. We reported on nearly 200 new products in TL NewsWire this year. When you clicked to visit a product's website and learn more you also voted for that product. These clicks are more meaningful than if we subjectively chose the winners. Besides, who better to judge what's hot and what's not than lawyers and law firm administrators like you?

You'll notice several themes as you read through the winning products — document automation, document management, integrations (especially with Microsoft Office), and litigation management.

Without further ado …

WINNERS OF THE TL NEWSWIRE TOP 10 PRODUCTS OF 2014 AWARD

1. pdfDocs 4.1

The PDF format paved the way for the paperless law office, electronic filing, and the iPad as briefcase. So it's fitting that DocsCorp's pdfDocs 4.1 finds itself in first place. Designed specifically for law firms, pdfDocs 4.1 handles all the basics while also providing advanced tools such as Organizer Project and Binder Project for assembling closing books, deal books, and ebriefs.

2. MetaJure

It's not every year that new software for document management hits the scene, which explains the high level of interest in MetaJure. Unlike traditional document management systems, MetaJure eschews manually-created document profiles in favor of automatic indexing and Google-like search technology.

3. Primafact

In theory, clients pay you to focus on the facts and legal issues, not to organize their case file. Designed for litigation, Primafact keeps all case-related documents and email in a virtual binder. Integration with scanners and built-in optical character recognition (OCR) enables you to add everything that arrives on paper and make it searchable.

4. Lexis for Microsoft Office 4.2

Microsoft Word remains a fixture for legal writing, but Outlook has made inroads as clients often prefer an email message to a formal memo. Lexis for Microsoft Office works within both, enabling you to download all cited cases and other materials. It also checks your quotations and citations.

5. Digital WarRoom Express

Most lawsuits don't have a big budget. At a cost of just $99 per year, Digital WarRoom Express enables you to cull, review, and produce up to 50 GB of email and other electronic data across your cases (it handles up to 500 document formats). The Defensibility Log watches your back while you work.

6. Drafting Assistant - Transactional 2.0

Lawyers have long relied on the Deal Proof technology within Drafting Assistant - Transactional for proofreading their Word and WordPerfect documents. The new version integrates with Practical Law's Standard Documents and Clause Library to help you jump-start your drafting.

7. Timestream

Ntrepid's Timestream builds a timeline for your case as you add events and associated details (documents, issues, location, people, etc.). When it's time to discuss settlement or go to trial, you can use Timestream to give your presentation.

8. Transporter Genesis

The cloud is here to stay, but the jury has yet to return a verdict on private versus public cloud. Last year, Connected Data ranked first in the TL NewsWire Top Products Awards with Transporter, its initial private cloud product. Transporter Genesis is like Transporter on steroids, providing Dropbox-like functionality for up to 150 people.

9. MyCase Websites

Every law firm needs a mobile-friendly website so it's no surprise that MyCase Websites is in the top 10. Now just $500, marquee features include a content management system, and responsive design so that your website automatically adjusts to all screen sizes.

10. NetDocuments ndOffice

"Integration" has truly come of age this year. NetDocuments ndOffice essentially places the NetDocuments cloud document management system within Microsoft Office. This means you can open documents from and save documents to NetDocuments without leaving Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.

WINNERS OF THE TL NEWSWIRE TOP 25 PRODUCTS OF 2014 AWARD

Congratulations to the next 15 hottest products of 2014 ranked in order by most clicks!

11. Synergy Matters

Synergy Matters combines practice management with document management and automatic time capture. Accordingly, it automatically tracks the time you spend working on your PC. Its cost recovery technology tracks copies, faxes, prints, and scans so you can cover your costs or at least bill for the time you spend at these devices.

12. Actionstep 14.7

Actionstep helped pioneer automated workflows within practice management software. The new Activity Log complements these workflows via a Facebook-style feed that keeps everyone apprised of what's happening across your firm. The new Scratch Pad captures your strokes of brilliance.

13. PhraseExpander Professional 4.0

Why let programming stand between you and document assembly? Nagarsoft's PhraseExpander Professional stores text such as clauses in groups. Using Quick Find, you then insert the material you need to build a document. PhraseExpander Professional integrates with Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.

14. Pathagoras 2014

Like the contestants on Iron Chef, lawyers can create any number of documents from the same core ingredients. Pathagoras keeps your text snippets organized in Collections. Environments further increase your speed by hiding irrelevant Collections. Pathagoras works inside Microsoft Word. It doesn't require any programming.

15. imageFORMULA DR-M160II

Most desktop scanners top out at 30 pages per minute. Canon's imageFORMULA DR-M160II doubles that speed without doubling the footprint (it measures 9.09 x 11.02 x 9.76 inches). The Kofax VRS Elite software included with the scanner removes hole punches, crops and straightens documents, notifies you about hardware problems, and even handles blueprints and other documents with a colored background.

16. TrialPad 4.0

Thanks to TrialPad 4.0 (and TranscriptPad 2.0), Lit Software cemented its reputation as the leading pure play developer of legal iPad apps. The new version of TrialPad has a search box on every screen for quickly pulling up any exhibit. The search results contain thumbnail document previews.

17. Surface Pro 3

The Surface Pro 3 has a higher resolution screen than the MacBook Air, which Microsoft has targeted in its advertising campaign. You can add a detachable keyboard and powered stylus. A touch-friendly version of Office remains MIA, but it runs any existing software compatible with Windows 8.

18. Legal Publish

Blogs have gone from curiosity to mainstream to underpowered relic. Legal Publish offers a suite of tools such as role-based privileges, customizable workflows, and a media library for creating more sophisticated online publications. Legal Publish also contains tools for creating proposals, and integrates with email services, social media platforms, customer relationship management apps, and Google Analytics.

19. Worldox for Mac Version 1.15

Too many lawyers use Macs nowadays for providers of document management systems to ignore. Worldox for Mac is a client for the popular Worldox GX3 document management system. Worldox for Mac integrates with Apple Mail and Microsoft Outlook so that you can save client-related email and attachments to Worldox GX3.

20. WordPerfect Office X7 Legal Edition

The legal industry remains a stronghold for WordPerfect. Corel responded this year by including Perfect Authority with the Legal Edition for the creation of tables of authorities. Perfect Authority supports Bluebook, California Style Manual, Florida Rule 9.800, and Louisiana Public Domain formats.

21. PeopleMap on WestlawNext

Lawyers often forget their role as gumshoe. PeopleMap on WestlawNext enables you to unearth gems from blogs, chat rooms, and social networks, as well as photos and business data. Unlike other public records services, PeopleMap shows you non-obvious connections that may lead you to hidden assets. Google Maps integration literally puts these assets on the map.

22. Equil Smartpen 2

Atlantis. El Dorado. Smartpens. When a legend has such appeal, it's hard to give up on it. Ludia's Equil Smartpen 2 works on paper, stores what you write without the need for any other device, transfers your notes to your Windows PC, Mac, iPad, or Android device, and converts your handwriting to editable text.

23. Varidesk Pro Plus

You'd like to stand up for telephone calls, but you can't bear to part with your mahogany desk. Varidesk Pro Plus transforms any desk into a standup desk by adding up to 17.625 vertical inches. The two levels house your monitor and/or a laptop, and your mouse and keyboard respectively.

24. CosmoLex

CosmoLex takes a finance-centric approach to practice management. Its conflicts checking and trust accounting tools enable you to efficiently intake new clients. A cloud application that stores data only in domestic datacenters, CosmoLex also offers billing, calendars, cost recovery, task management, and time tracking.

25. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 13 Legal

The latest version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking tears down some of the remaining barriers to speech recognition. You no longer need to train the software or buy a pricy microphone. In a reversal of roles, Dragon NaturallySpeaking can read what you write back to you.

How to Receive TL NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TL NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The newsletter's innovative articles enable lawyers and law office administrators to quickly understand the function of a product, and zero in on its most important features. The TL NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Topics: Accounting/Billing/Time Capture | Automation/Document Assembly/Macros | Business Productivity/Word Processing | Collaboration/Knowledge Management | Copiers/Scanners/Printers | Desktop PCs/Servers | Dictation/OCR/Speech Recognition | Document Management | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Law Firm Marketing/Publications/Web Sites | Legal Research | Litigation/Discovery/Trials | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | Presentations/Projectors | TL NewsWire | Transactional Practice Areas

Hendrickson Law Firm Leans in With an Assist From Software Plus 10 Questions for a Web Designer

By Kathryn Hughes | Friday, October 17, 2014

Coming today to SmallLaw: Three women team up and find success. It sounds like a music act, but in this case it's a litigation boutique with offices in three cities that handles complex cases. In this issue of SmallLaw, lawyer and journalist Marin Feldman profiles Nancy Hendrickson, Julie Thrall Burrow, and Carolyn Guy, partners of Hendrickson Law Firm. You'll learn about the happy accident that gave birth to the firm as well as the software that enables the trio to offer its clients much lower rates than the large firms against which it competes. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for 10 questions to ask before hiring a law firm website designer.

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 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.

Topics: Accounting/Billing/Time Capture | Coming Attractions | Document Management | Graphic Design/Photography/Video | Law Firm Marketing/Publications/Web Sites | Law Office Management | Litigation/Discovery/Trials | SmallLaw
 
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