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How to Make Email the Sunshine of Your Law Practice
In yesterday's issue of TechnoFeature, Mazyar Hedayat joked that affectations like eye contact and firm handshakes would become historical relics in another 20 years. However, it's no joke. And it won't take 20 years. A recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece praised email for dramatically reducing one of the most annoying aspects of life — telephone calls. A legal technology guru once marveled in his podcast that even if he took several weeks to reply to someone's email message, they didn't seem to mind. Just as teens once plastered London with "Clapton Is God" graffiti, many of us feel the same way about email. It's the killer app of all killer apps — and a far larger social network than Facebook (it's completely open too). But email can get out of control. Those of you who use Outlook listen up.
ClearContext Professional 5 … in One Sentence
ClearContext Professional 5 is an Outlook add-on for email management.
The Killer Feature
Outlook contains many useful features, but in true Microsoft fashion most people don't use them because they're too difficult to figure out and in some cases even find. Take rules, please — clearly built by programmers for programmers, not normal people.
ClearContext Professional provides the functionality of rules without having to create any. For example, it can file email from automated senders such as online stores into a folder for later review. ClearContext Professional can also learn from you. File a message from a client once, and the software will file all future messages automatically
Other Notable Features
The new version of ClearContext Professional goes beyond rules. You can defer email messages with one click. They disappear from your inbox and return later at a designated time. You can receive a reminder if you send an important message but don't receive a reply.
ClearContext Professional also performs an electronic alchemy of sorts — it can convert email messages into appointments or tasks. In fact, it includes a Task Organizer that accommodates David Allen's "Getting Things Done" system. Even better, you can delegate email to those unfortunate enough to report to you and track their progress.
What Else Should You Know?
ClearContext Professional works with Outlook 2003 and later. It costs $89.95. Learn more about ClearContext Professional 5.
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