TechnoLawyer: Accounting/Billing/Time Capture

Coming March 9, 2007 to Fat Friday: Wells Anderson reviews Time Matters as a lawyer's hub, Christel Burris shares her experience dealing with Dell, Suzanne Turner reviews Deskloops, Mazyar Hedayat discusses Acrobat 8 and legal software upgrades in general, and Shaunna Mireau discusses online legal research and its impact on law firm libraries. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming March 1, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Thomas Stirewalt offers up some tips for cataloging files on backup CDs, Edward Poll reviews Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 and his microphone of choice, Katrina Curfiss reviews PracticeMaster for tracking client referrals plus Tabs3 for integrated invoicing, William Tait shares two sure-fire ways to keep your files secure when in the hands of a technician, and David Stuckel adds his two cents to the Word v. WordPerfect debate. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a new lawyer-centric practice management program and an electronic billing system that enables corporate counsel to keep a lid on legal fees. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

A Dashboard for Pro Lawyers
By Dennis Kennedy

Too often, the information we want exists in several different "silos." Our documents are in one place, contacts in another, and financial information in yet another. We could manage our information and our law firms better if we could see, access, and use our information from one central location.

ProLaw 11.6 combines document, case, and client relationship management with time, billing, and accounting functions. The new version of this venerable practice management program offers you a flexible and lawyer-oriented Dashboard to connect your silos of information and let you get the information you need in a familiar Windows- and Outlook-style interface. And it's all done with an lawyer-centric focus.

From a single screen, you can see your personal calendar and view your current matters. You can also customize your dashboard to display your contacts and saved searches, and use pop-up menus, smart data entry functions, a navigation bar, and a Quick Find feature. You also get a wide variety of custom display features, including grids and lists, with groups and sub-groups, the ability to show or hide records, and even customize your screen.

ProLaw 11.6 also features improved integration with Microsoft Outlook and Word, and provides the much-desired ability to capture and save email messages along with documents in the corresponding matter. Plus your Outlook calendar can sync with your ProLaw case docket calendar. Best of all, you do not need to leave Outlook or Word for the synchronization to occur in ProLaw.

You will also find a wide variety of reporting tools, and many ways to print and save information in the file type of your choice. You can analyze matters, dockets, financials, profitability, and more. ProLaw's deep integration with Westlaw enables you to do research of all kinds directly from ProLaw.

You'll also find a variety of other enhancements from earlier versions, including the ability to split billable hours and expenses across several related matters, saving hours of manual re-entry of data. ProLaw 11.6 makes it even easier to enter and track time, generate financial summaries by matter, and create enhanced profiles for documents and matters. Learn more about ProLaw 11.6.

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Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

One of life's simple pleasures is discovering new functionality in something you already have.

Laser toner running low? Remove the cartridge and rock it gently side to side for a minute to two. You should get another 1,000 pages though your mileage may vary.

Looking for a quick and dirty way to track your time? Your iPod has a built-in stopwatch that records each entry. It's not the best way to track time, but can work in a pinch when the only alternative is your wristwatch.

Need to call someone in Sydney? Google provides time zone information with just one click. Just enter a city and state or a city and country plus the word "time."

Got any tips of your own?

About TechnoEditorials
A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Coming February 22, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Rick Crowsey provides a litigator's guide to using maps and GIS data in trial, Jay Hollander reviews Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, Randall Jacobs reviews the Outlook integration in Amicus Attorney 7, Tim Hughes discusses the key to tracking client referrals no matter what software you use, and Mike Cash responds to the continuing debate regarding the easiest way to manage retainers in PCLaw. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming February 15, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Carolyn Thornlow, a legal tech consultant, reviews Tabs3 versus QuickBooks for legal time-billing, Thomas Caffrey explains how to use Time Matters to track client referrals, Craig Bayer gives three reasons why he recommends Word to his clients over WordPerfect, Charles T. Lester, Jr. shares his experience getting Acrobat 7 to work with several scanners, and Brant Gluth reviews a utility for encrypting files on your hard drive and in email. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming February 9, 2007 to Fat Friday: Barron Henley gives the lowdown on how to buy Dell computers for use in a law firm, John Starkweather shares how a $100 million Powerball victory would change his personal injury practice (and who he'd really like to pursue), Tim Donovan discusses why he thinks PowerPoint can serve as an effective presentation tool, Susan Billeaud discusses a $30 tool that streamlines her billing process, and Ken Laska reflects on a recent legal video that we exposed. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming February 8, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Winlock Brown offers up some helpful suggestions for finding and displaying GIS data for trial, Mark Sargis reviews the HP 4345 and provides some tips for everyday use, Michael Mulchay reviews Tabs3 for time and billing, August Landi explains which word processor finally persuaded him to "upgrade" (if you can call it that) from his 26 year old IBM Displaywriter, and Jim Grennan reviews Send2Fax for online faxing. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming February 2, 2007 to Fat Friday: Joe Sewell discusses the security benefits of Linux, William Lloyd shares how he avoid eyestrain despite using three monitors, Ernest Marquez discusses setting up Amicus Accounting and its pricing, Matthew Gould reviews Time Matters' support policy, and Mazyar Hedayat offers up his thoughts on making your work (or life) public on the Web. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming January 25, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Sharon Kirts reviews her experience using two HP LaserJet 3015s in her solo office (and why she's considering an HP LaserJet 3050), Angelika Hunt reviews GoDaddy and Tripod for Web hosting, Madison Jones reviews Timeslips from Version 5 to the present, Kathleen Slaydon offers up her workaround for entering deposits to trust accounts in QuickBooks, and John Ahern suggests a way to use WordPerfect on dual monitors. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.