TechnoLawyer: Practice Management/Calendars

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a practice management system with new document management capabilities such as Dropbox integration (see article below), a virtual number pad that works on the iPhone, an iPad app for annotating PDF documents, and a production document scanner. Don't miss the next issue.

TAKE YOUR DOCUMENTS WITH YOU — WITHOUT THEM LEAVING YOUR FIRM

Permanence exists even in our rapidly changing world. For example, lawyers still create a lot of documents. Not surprisingly, document management has persisted as the most popular topic among TechnoLawyer members for more than a decade. The same is likely true of all lawyers. Which means you'll find this new product of interest.

Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2014 … in One Sentence

Launched last week, Gavel & Gown's Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2014 (Amicus Premium 2014) is an integrated practice management and billing system with new document management capabilities.

The Killer Feature

While the interest in document management remains as intense as ever, the way lawyers interact with documents has changed dramatically thanks to devices such as the iPad and storage services such as Dropbox.

Amicus Premium 2014 supports both the iPad and Dropbox. If you choose to store your documents in Amicus Premium 2014, they remain secure at your firm yet you can access them from your iPad. You can work on documents, create new documents, email documents, etc. As always, Amicus Premium 2014 organizes your documents by client and matter.

As an alternative or adjunct to this secure document management system, you can connect Amicus Premium 2014 to your Dropbox account. Amicus Premium 2014 automatically creates folders in Dropbox for all your client files, which ensures correct organization of the documents you place into these folders. Thanks to Dropbox's ubiquity, this integration enables you to access documents of your choosing on virtually any device.

Other Notable Features

When you launch Amicus Premium 2014, you'll find a new interactive dashboard that provides fast access to your agenda, reminders, phone messages, tasks and deadlines, un-posted time entries, and more. Long known for its slick user interface, Amicus Premium 2014 kicks it up a few notches with higher resolution fonts and redesigned dialog boxes.

Amicus Premium 2014 offers realtime syncing with Microsoft Exchange and Google Apps. If you use Outlook for example, any changes you make there automatically appear in Amicus Premium 2014 and vice versa. The same goes for your contacts, calendar, and tasks on your iPad and smartphone.

Other new features include the ability to make contacts inactive yet still have them appear in conflicts searches, support for graphics such as your logo in your email signature that works in both Amicus Premium 2014 and Outlook, Graphical Time Sheets that provide a visual snapshot of your billable time statistics, Time Entry Summary for finding potentially billable activities associated with a matter, and Add To File for associating any appointments, contacts, telephone calls, and tasks to one or more matters with a single click.

What Else Should You Know?

Amicus Premium 2014 contains within it Amicus Premium Billing 2014, which you can activate with a license. The new version of this legal billing system contains many new features, including batch sending bills via Outlook so to your clients it seems like you personally emailed them. Learn more about Amicus Attorney Premium Edition 2014.

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.

Coming today to SmallLaw: Estate planning lawyer Chandra Lewnau has tried just about every cloud practice management application so we asked her to review ActionStep in this issue of SmallLaw. Since our last review, ActionStep has added significant new functionality as well as an app store. Chandra spent six months evaluating everything from workflows to integration with calendar services to contact management to the new app store and more. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for tips on how to create a client referral program based on "centers of influence."

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Written by practicing lawyers who manage successful small firms and legal technology and practice management experts who have achieved rock star status, SmallLaw provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. SmallLaw also ensures that you won't miss anything published elsewhere by linking to helpful articles (and podcasts and videos) about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a practice management system with customized workflows for six litigation practice areas (see article below), an iOS text editor with automation tools, a practice management system that enables you to bill for email messages, work product stored on Dropbox, and more, and an Exchange add-on for maintaining a firm-wide address book. Don't miss the next issue.

A PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR LITIGATION

The billable hour has experienced some pressure in so-called predictable practice areas in which clients essentially hire law firms for legal documents. But not in litigation matters, which have more twists and turns than Lombard Street. However, few blank checks exist in litigation so the more efficiently you can handle such matters, the more business you'll get.

ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack … in One Sentence

Launched this week, ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack is a set of litigation-specific workflows for the ActionStep practice management system.

The Killer Feature

Back in the day (i.e., before this week), creating a system of workflows for a litigation practice area required the help of a consultant. This was money well spent assuming your firm had the money to spend. Law firms that couldn't afford such customization used practice management systems out of the box — less than ideal.

ActionStep seeks to make such customization more accessible for small and midsize law firms. ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack includes predefined customization and workflows for six of the most common litigation practice areas — commercial, criminal, DWI, family law, personal injury, and workers' compensation.

You can further tweak these workflows to your exact specifications (e.g., firm policies, jurisdictional requirements, etc.), which will consume much less time than creating everything from scratch.

The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack kicks in when a prospect first contacts your firm, which means it encompasses your intake (and rejection) system. Once a prospect becomes a client, the case type-specific workflow creates a consistent series of steps that the lawyers and staff in your firm can follow with minimal training, thus improving efficiency, eliminating errors (such as missed deadlines), and reducing costs for clients. Everyone working on a case knows its current status and can see the next task (step).

"The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack is a perfect example of how our App Store deliver pre-configured solutions to law firms that they can use as-is or tailor to their needs," ActionStep CEO Ted Jordan told us. "This enables law firms escape the generic one-size-fits-all trap of other practice management systems."

Other Notable Features

The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack is the newest Workflows app you can add to ActionStep but not the only one. ActionStep also offers pre-configured Workflows for other popular practice areas with more in development.

In addition to its Workflows, ActionStep includes calendars, contacts, email, tasks, etc. organized by client and matter, syncing with Google Apps and Microsoft Exchange, document assembly, and document management among other features. A daily "Heads Up" email message lists your deadlines, overdue tasks, and more.

What Else Should You Know?

ActionStep works in all modern web browsers on Windows PCs, Macs, iPads and other tablets, and smartphones. It's mobile-ready, automatically adjusting to the device you're using. ActionStep costs $60 per user per month. The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack costs $25 per user per month if you want all the practice areas. However, if you don't need all of them, you can buy them individually for $6 per user per month each. Learn more about ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack.

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.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Fred Kruck, Review: PCLaw

Sandra Entler, Review: Billing Matters (QuickItem)

Joe Dipierro, Review: Perfect Keyboard for Naming Documents

Carol Cummins, The Pros and Cons of Using Hyphens in Document Names

John R. Crossan, Is Manual Bates Stamping Malpractice?

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive TL Answers
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In TL Answers, 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 TL Answers newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Neil Squillante, A Happy Medium for Security on Your iPad and iPhone

David Hudgens, Review of PCLaw Plus a Comparison With Needles

Mary Kay Cassidy, How to Fall in Love With Microsoft Word

Jon Lydell, Review: JayBird Freedom Bluetooth Headphones

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

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 TL Answers contains these articles:

Frank Macharoni, Review: PerfectLaw

Rick Borstein, Clearing Up the Confusion About ClearScan

Melody Howard, Review: Constant Contact v. Vertical Response for Email Newsletters

Tom Trottier, Tips for the Perfect Multiple Monitor Setup

Barron Henley, Document Consistency Revisited

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive TL Answers
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In TL Answers, 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 TL Answers newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Frank Macharoni, Review: PerfectLaw

Fred Kruck, Review: PCLaw

Rick Borstein, Clearing Up the Confusion About ClearScan

Tom Trottier, Tips for the Perfect Multiple Monitor Setup

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive TL Answers
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In TL Answers, 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 TL Answers newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Robin Meadow, Review: Parallels Access

Timothy Morgan, Let's Continue the Microsoft Word Roast

Scott Bassett, Top Five Questions Lawyers Should Ask But Don't

David Carlson, Ben's Right: Upgrade to Outlook 2003 and Use His Search Tips

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

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 TL Answers contains these articles:

Ted Palmer, How to Backup Your Law Firm Blog and Website

Bruce Brightwell, Review: Time Matters

Stephen Hayes, Review: Dragon NaturallySpeaking 12

David Stratton, Another Reason to Include Dates in Your Document Names

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

How to Receive TL Answers
Do you believe in the wisdom of crowds? In TL Answers, 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 TL Answers newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

August Danowski, Tips for Paragraph Numbering in Microsoft Word

Arthur Rieman, Tip: How to Make the ScanSnap S1500 Cross Platform

Simon Kogan, Review: Credenza

Tom Trottier, Tip: How to Delete Online Accounts You've Outgrown

Don't miss this issue — or any future issues.

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.