Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a new version of a popular document assembly program (see article below), an iPad app for signing PDF documents, an Android and BlackBerry app that automates conference calls, an online time-tracking service that integrates with QuickBooks, and a thermometer and accompanying iOS app that helps you cook steaks and other meat to perfection (though it won't fetch you a beer). Don't miss the next issue.
If You Can Drive a Car, You Can Use This Software
I would bet you dollars to doughnuts that the most popular legal software of all time is … "shelfware." For those of you unfamiliar with this term, it refers to software purchased with the best of intentions but quickly abandoned or never used at all. Many software purchases end up on the shelf because lawyers find them too complex or overwhelming. To use an analogy, a lot more people drive cars than fly airplanes. It takes very little time to learn how to drive a car. Airplanes require significantly more training. A software company in Virginia has a new product that attempts to make document assembly as easy to use as driving a car, which means you might actually use it instead of placing it on your shelf alongside that model airplane.
Pathagoras 2011 … in One Sentence
Innovative Software Products of Virginia's Pathagoras 2011 is a document automation system that works within Microsoft Word.
The Killer Feature
Are you a programmer? If not, you're in luck. Pathagoras requires no programming. Instead, you create document variables by typing simple "from the keyboard" characters.
Your templates contain "variables" such as "testator." These variables enable you to quickly assemble highly personalized documents by simply replacing these variables with names and other such information.
You can save the values you assign to your variables for reuse in any number of other documents. The company refers to this method of saving and resusing variable/value pairings as an "Instant Database" because there's no setup involved.
"From the first day I began programming Pathagoras, my goal was to create a fully functional yet easy to use document assembly system," Innovative Software Products of Virginia founder Roy Lasris told us. "I knew that that more power, more functions, and complex setup don't lead to more use. So, with the KISS principle firmly in mind, I created Pathagoras to operate wholly within the host word processor using simple variables."
Other Notable Features
Pathagoras 2011 offers a number of other new features. For example, it now automatically creates data collection and interview forms so you can literally create documents in realtime with your client sitting in front of your desk.
Pathagoras' popular Drop Down Lists now support up to 10 folders located anywhere — locally, on a network drive, or on a cloud storage service. These folders store your most-frequently used variable clauses.
Before you can "assemble," you must disassemble. Thus Pathagoras enables you to deconstruct existing model documents into their component clauses, saving you time when you want to use Pathagoras to create a new document type.
Other features include administrative controls for organizing and renaming your growing collection of clauses, document management from with Microsoft Word, and a new version of Pathagoras' "Absolute Basics No-Setup Guide" for new users.
What Else Should You Know?
Pathagoras runs on Windows within Microsoft Word. The first license costs $379. Additional licenses cost $250 each. The company also offers a "3-pack" for $799. Technical support is unlimited without any annual maintenance fees. You can try it for free for 90 days. Learn more about Pathagoras 2011.
How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
