TechnoLawyer: Automation/Document Assembly/Macros

Coming today to Fat Friday: Bryan Keenan compares the iPhone to Windows Mobile, Emery Wang reviews PracticeMaster, Robert Rice explains how RAID saved his bacon, Tom Trottier shares a TimeMap diagram and illustration tip, and Frank River discusses how practice management software can boost your growth. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. 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 Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Bryan Keenan compares the iPhone to Windows Mobile Phone, Emery Wang reviews PracticeMaster for document assembly, Robert Rice explains how RAID saved his law firm, Frank Rivera compares off-the-shelf practice management systems with homegrown systems, and Tom Trottier shares a tip about the best format for diagrams that you export from TimeMap or similar programs. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. 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 Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: David Hudgens reviews the Sennheiser BW 900 Bluetooth headset, Samuel Hasler reviews HotDocs for document assembly, Michael St. George reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 and Evernote, Andrew Weltchek discusses choosing the solo life, and Yvonne Renfrew shares a TimeMap printing tip and reviews the product's new search capability. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. 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 Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Sarkis Babachanian reviews Daylite and Billings for practice management on a Mac, Fred Pharis reviews Copernic Desktop Search, Paul Purdue reviews PracticeMaster for document assembly, Laura Calloway reviews Casemaker for legal research, and John Banker shares more business lunch etiquette. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. 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 Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to TechnoFeature: Lawyers and technologists spend lots of mental energy dealing with choices. We ponder these choices, pose them to others, and participate as advisers and advocates. While often quickly resolved, choices permeate our business and personal lives. By many accounts they are becoming more frequent and complex. Periodically, some choices become the focus of prolonged deliberation and debate. Unfortunately, many law firms and corporate legal departments don't use technology creatively or aggressively to support an activity as ubiquitous as decision making. In this TechnoFeature article, consultant Marc Lauritsen who builds expert systems and helps law firms implement sound decision-making processes explores techniques and software tools designed to help you make better choices. If you've never heard of "choice management" before, Marc will help get you started in this important new discipline.

How to Receive TechnoFeature
Our flagship newsletter never disappoints thanks to its in-depth reporting by leading legal technology and practice management experts, many of whom have become "household names" in the legal profession. It's in TechnoFeature that you'll find our oft-quoted formal product reviews and accompanying TechnoScore ratings. The TechnoFeature newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Bill Hodes revisits his opinion about AVVO, John Hall discusses document assembly versus search and replace, Ben Schorr raises another SaaS concern and also provides some password wisdom, Arthur Ray explains why he's buying an iPad, and Gordon Greta tells us why a lawyer profiled in a recent BigLaw column needs to get a grip — on reality that is. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. 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 Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 70 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Is Acrobat Really Necessary?

Hit the Road, Jack: Secure Mobile Computing

Why Lawyers Struggle With Psychotherapy

Why Some Crappy Lawyers Have Happy Clients

This issue also contains links to every article in the March/April 20010 issue of Law Practice Magazine and the March issue of Law Practice Today. Don't miss this issue or future issues.

How to Receive BlawgWorld
Our newsletters provide the most comprehensive coverage of legal technology, practice management, and law firm marketing, but not the only coverage. To stay on top of all the noteworthy articles published in blogs and other online publications you could either hire a research assistant or simply subscribe to BlawgWorld. The BlawgWorld newsletter has received rave reviews and is free. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Answers to Questions: Joe Dipierro compares Copernic Desktop Search with Windows XP's built-in indexing service, Gail Hill reviews Microsoft Word's mail merge function, and Mark Slate shares his thoughts on the perfect practice management software (which doesn't yet exist but may soon). Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Answers to Questions
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In Answers to Questions, TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers. This newsletter's popularity stems from the relevance of the questions and answers to virtually everyone in the legal profession. The Answers to Questions newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to Fat Friday: Jay Geary reviews the Fujitsu ScanSnap S510, Bobby Abrams shares his thoughts on several document assembly options, and Harry Steinmetz reviews MobileMe and Daylite. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive Fat Friday
Our most serendipitous offering, Fat Friday consists of unsolicited contributions by TechnoLawyer members. 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 Fat Friday newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers document assembly software (see article below), a legal hold compliance service, an online service for obtaining digital signatures, an online survey creation tool, and a remote control app for iPhone. Don't miss the next issue.

Document Assembly for Mere Mortals

Lawyers often find themselves too busy to figure out how to streamline their workload. They know software can help them, but find the learning curve daunting — especially document assembly software, which often requires programming knowledge. However, in recent years, a new breed of document assembly products have emerged with tools that novices can use in addition to the more advanced programming tools.

XpressDox … in One Sentence
O2Smart's XpressDox is a document assembly system that integrates with Microsoft Word.

The Killer Feature
XpressDox offers a gradual learning curve, enabling you to start using the software without any prior document assembly experience or technical ability beyond knowing how to use Microsoft Word.

XpressDox adds template creation tools to to Microsoft Word's ribbon or toolbar. You can create templates for letters and other documents by inserting and defining Fields.

Once you become comfortable with the basic fields, you can explore the "XpressDox Template Author's Toolkit," which contains more advanced document assembly tools such as choosing items from a list.

For advanced users, XpressDox offers an application programming interface (API) for customization and integration with other software such as practice management systems. You can also create standardized templates for use by everyone in your firm.

Other Notable Features
In addition to its document assembly tools, XpressDox also includes several productivity tools. For example, the Clause Library enables you to add frequently-used text to documents. Also, you can convert numbers to words.

With the Apply Formatting utility, you and your colleagues can apply your firm's predefined formatting requirements with one click — font, spacing, letterhead, etc.

What Else Should You Know?
XpressDox works with Microsoft Word 2003 and 2007, and runs on Windows XP/Vista/7. You can try it for free. Pricing starts at $149 for a single copy. Learn more about XpressDox.

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.