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Review of PhraseExpander; Pros and Cons of Software Subscriptions; Reviews of Office 365, Asana, Acrobat DC

By TechnoLawyer | Friday, September 15, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

John Creahan, Review of PhraseExpander

Michael Kelly, Software Subscriptions Are Fine If the Price Is Right: Reviews of Office 365, Asana, Acrobat DC

Connie Brooks, Software Subscriptions Come in Two Varieties, One Good, One Not

Tom Trottier, Four Questions to Consider About Software Subscriptions

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: Accounting/Billing/Time Capture | Business Productivity/Word Processing | Collaboration/Knowledge Management | Coming Attractions | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | TL Serendipity

Cloud Document Management That Won't Change the Way You Work

By TechnoLawyer | Thursday, August 31, 2017

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a cloud practice management system with a new document management component that works locally on PCs and Macs like a network drive (see article below). In addition, you'll find links to the previous 11 TL NewsWire features, including our coverage of a new payment processor with a flat fee per transaction that deposits funds overnight, a Microsoft Word add-in for drafting litigation and transactional documents with a new document assembly engine, forms library, and machine-learning tools, and much more. Don't miss the next issue.

Cloud practice management has many virtues but concerns about document management prevent some law firms from taking the leap. These firms understandably don't want to give up their network drives and folder hierarchies, manually upload documents, or change the way they work.

Centerbase … in One Sentence

Centerbase is a cloud practice management system that now offers document management which functions like a local network drive.

The Killer Feature

CEO John Forbes tells me I'm the first person outside of the company and a few early adopters to see Centerbase's new document management technology. A product CEO who spent years as a reseller, Forbes has a Steve Jobs-like enthusiasm.

Documents in Centerbase function on your PC or Mac like a network drive even though they actually reside on secure servers in the cloud. Centerbase uses WebDAV, a standard file protocol for Internet file sharing.

During initial setup, Centerbase's support team uploads your entire document library, and can help you map document folders to the correct clients and matters in Centerbase. Forbes tells me about a firm that imported 3.6 million files.

"After setup, you use your files and folders like you always have in Windows Explorer or Mac Finder," says Forbes. Any changes to documents are automatically reflected in Centerbase and vice versa. Forbes describes this as a "1:1 correlation." An optional add-on makes Centerbase files and folders available offline with changes automatically synced when you're back online. For new matters, Centerbase can automatically generate a set of folders.

"Centerbase has made transitioning to a cloud product for document management seamless," said Tait Johnson, paralegal at Sharpe & Associates, PLLC. "We no longer have to maintain our own file server, and we can now access our documents from anywhere."

Other Notable Features

You can view documents in Centerbase from multiple locations. The Documents File Explorer gives you access to all mapped documents. Navigate your folder hierarchies or run a search. Alternatively, you can access relevant documents in other areas of Centerbase such as in Matters, Contacts, and Billing. For example, each matter contains a Documents tab listing all related files.

Centerbase's Microsoft Word integration and Workflows (document assembly combined with project management) bring further automation. Workflows take you from Centerbase to Word to automatically generate a document that gets saved to the correct matter when finished.

At your option, you can create document profiles to track type of document and other metadata to improve search results. Centerbase enables you to keep every version of a document in case you need to revert. You can restrict access to documents. Also, documents lock when colleagues work in them. If you need more robust document management, Centerbase integrates with NetDocuments.

What Else Should You Know?

Centerbase launched several additional features since our initial report. Matters Templates enable you to create customized layouts for each of your practice areas with all the requisite data fields. Thus, a bankruptcy matter can track creditors, while an accident matter can track medical records and police reports. The new Report Builder offers the ability to create custom reports. Forbes showed me a report that lists matters comprising 80% of a firm's business. Finally, Centerbase's iPhone app now includes mobile time entries for billing on the go. Centerbase costs $52 per user per month. Learn more about Centerbase.

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: Document Management | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | TL NewsWire

Reviews of 10.5-Inch iPad Pro, Google Scholar, CaseMap, Chaos Intellect; Facebook as the New Town Square

By TechnoLawyer | Thursday, August 10, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Roy Greenberg, Review: Not Sure What to Do With My 10.5-Inch iPad Pro

Mark Olberding, Facebook Might Be the New Town Square but Speak at Your Own Risk

Thomas Hutto, Review of Google Scholar

Douglas Shachtman, Review of CaseMap

Donald Hendel, Review of Chaos Intellect

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 | Email/Messaging/Telephony | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Legal Research | Litigation/Discovery/Trials | Online/Cloud | Technology Industry/Legal Profession | TL Serendipity

Review of Onsip With Polycom VVX Phones; Cloud a Convenience, Not a Necessity; Review of Pushbullet

By TechnoLawyer | Friday, July 21, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Robert Rice, Review of Onsip With Polycom VVX Phones

Mark Olberding, Cloud a Convenience, Not a Necessity

Mark Olberding, Review of Pushbullet

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 | Email/Messaging/Telephony | Online/Cloud | Privacy/Security | TL Serendipity

Reviews of CoinBase, Telus Business Connect; Using an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil in Law Practice; Using Scans as Model Documents

By TechnoLawyer | Thursday, July 6, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Neil Squillante, Review of CoinBase

Ken Laska, How I Use an iPad Pro in My Law Practice Plus Review of NoteTakerHD and Apple Pencil

Michael Osborne, Review of Telus Business Connect (RingCentral)

Douglas Thomas, Tip for Using Scans as Model Documents in Word Format

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 | Collaboration/Knowledge Management | Coming Attractions | Dictation/OCR/Speech Recognition | Email/Messaging/Telephony | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Litigation/Discovery/Trials | Online/Cloud | TL Serendipity

Everchron Puts Critical Case Information and Analysis at Your Fingertips

By TechnoLawyer | Thursday, June 22, 2017

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers cloud litigation management software that enables you and your team to analyze the key documents, testimony, and witnesses in your cases (see article below). In addition, you'll find links to the previous 11 TL NewsWire features, including our coverage of a new research service that collects primary and secondary sources related to cybersecurity and privacy issues, a document management system with a new platform for securely sharing documents with clients and others outside of your firm, and much more. Don't miss the next issue.

Litigators spend most of their time analyzing key documents, deposition testimony, and legal research. Many litigators are familiar with CaseMap, which became dominant last decade. However, CaseMap hasn't transitioned to the cloud, leaving an opening for a new entrant.

Everchron … in One Sentence

Everchron is cloud-based litigation management software that enables you and your team to manage, analyze and collaborate around important case information and documents.

The Killer Feature

Director of Business Development Alex Karpman begins my demo by pointing out that with data volumes growing, litigators need software to help them analyze and act on the most important documents that come out of a document review. He then describes Everchron as "collaborative, intuitive, mobile, and secure" with "intelligent linking, analysis, and reports."

This "intelligent linking" is best exemplified by Everchron's Witnesses feature. In the course of adding documents and testimony to Everchron, tagging these items with issues, adding annotations, etc., Everchron automatically generates a profile of every witness called a Witness File.

Click on a witness and you'll see that person's Witness File. Charts show the documents related to that witness and their importance and favorability to the case. Drill down further to view interactions with other witnesses and other analytics. The Witness File also links to declarations, testimony, and witness statements, and enables your team to add additional notes about the witness. You can export this analysis in spreadsheet form as well as all related documents.

"Once you start using Everchron, it is hard to imagine practicing without it," says Alison Plessman, partner at Hueston Hennigan. "As a lawyer, I'm often buried in work and have to prepare for depositions in very tight timeframes. With Everchron, in a matter of a few clicks, I can see all of the evidence and master file documents associated with a particular witness, as well as a breakdown of the issues and players relevant to that particular witness."

Other Notable Features

Everchron offers two import mechanisms. You can import documents and email from load files generated by discovery review platforms such as Relativity, DISCO, Logikcull, Concordance, and Summation. A mapping wizard preserves all tags and metadata. You can also drag and drop files, and edit the metadata and add witnesses on the fly.

Most of your work occurs in Everchron's Evidence tab, designed for building key fact and document chronologies. Each document in your case chronology appears in a viewer on the left with a suite of tools on the right. Use the tools to analyze the document, write a descriptive title (e.g., "The Smoking Gun Email") and summary, append comments, apply issue tags, etc. You can also apply nondestructive highlights to the document itself in the viewer.

Click the main Evidence button and you'll zoom out to the case chronology table listing all documents, their summaries, associated witnesses, issues, and other analytics. Use the search filter to narrow the list — for example, view only the most favorable hot documents. Export selected documents with or without their accompanying metadata for offline review by a client, expert, etc.

"Everchron's collaborative litigation management software puts case-critical information and analysis at a lawyer's fingertips," says Everchron CEO Ofer Bleiweiss. "With its intuitive search interface, dynamic key document chronologies, and automatically generated Witness Files, lawyers can quickly find and communicate relevant information to team members wherever and whenever they need it."

What Else Should You Know?

Everchron's Master File enables you to store all other documents related to a case such as briefs, court orders, notices of appearance, etc. PACER integration can automatically import documents from federal dockets. Learn more about Everchron.

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: Litigation/Discovery/Trials | Online/Cloud | TL NewsWire

My Beef With the Cloud; Case Management Data Conversions; Reviews of Pushbullet, PSPad; My Keyboard Setup (DVORAK)

By TechnoLawyer | Friday, June 16, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Mark Olberding, My Beef With Cloud Applications (Hint: Storage)

Emily Janosko, Case Management Data Conversions Easier Than You Think

Bobby Abrams, Review of Pushbullet

Tom Trottier, Review of PSPad for Creating Excel Files From Unstructured Data

Michele Adams, My Keyboard Setup (Including DVORAK)

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 | Computer Accessories | Email/Messaging/Telephony | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | TL Serendipity

Privacy of an Always On Smartwatch Display; What I Use and Why; MetaJure + DocuSign; Reviews of Mobile Scanner Apps; Immigration Pro

By TechnoLawyer | Thursday, May 18, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Neil Squillante, The Privacy Implications of an Always On Smartwatch Display

David O'Connell, What I Use and Why: Windows 10, Office 365, Galaxy Note 4, and More

Leslie Meagley, MetaJure's New Integration With DocuSign

Sheila Blackford, Review of Scannable (Mobile Scanning App)

Phyllis Dubrow, Review of Scanner Pro (Mobile Scanner App)

Bobby Abrams, Tip: Immigration Pro for Client Intake

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 | Copiers/Scanners/Printers | Document Management | Gadgets/Shredders/Office Gear | Laptops/Smartphones/Tablets | Networking/Operating Systems | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | Privacy/Security | TL Serendipity

Legal Technology's Promise Remains Unfulfilled; Cloud Storage Security Concerns Not "Overblown"; ABA Model Rule 8.4 and the ABA's Priorities

By TechnoLawyer | Thursday, March 2, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

David O'Connell, Legal Technology's Promise Remains Unfulfilled

Tom Trottier, Cloud Storage Security Concerns Are Not "Overblown"

Michael Caldwell, ABA Model Rule 8.4 and the ABA's Priorities

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: Backup/Media/Storage | Coming Attractions | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | Privacy/Security | Technology Industry/Legal Profession | TL Serendipity

My Legaltech Discoveries; Straight Talk About Legal Software Upgrades; Dragon Help; Cloud and Legal Technology Skeptics Speak Up

By TechnoLawyer | Friday, February 10, 2017

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Neil Squillante, My Legaltech Discoveries: Lexis for Microsoft Office, PhraseWizard, Centerbase, Litify, Symphony OCR

Jeff Stouse, Straight Talk About Legal Software Upgrades and Annual Maintenance Plans

Roy Greenberg, Best Places to Get Help With Dragon

Michael Schwartz, Why I'm a Cloud Skeptic

Danny McDonald, Why I'm a Legal Technology Cynic

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 | Dictation/OCR/Speech Recognition | Gadgets/Shredders/Office Gear | Legal Research | Online/Cloud | Practice Management/Calendars | TL Serendipity
 
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