TechnoLawyer: Collaboration/Knowledge Management

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 75 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

LinkedIn to Replace InterAction?

This Is Apple's Next iPhone

Happier Clients Make Fewer Choices

5 Tips to Help Lawyers Build Media Relationships

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: Mike Maple reviews Pro Tempus practice management software, Simon Kogan reviews CaseMap, Caren Schwartz compares Garmin and TomTom GPS PNDs, and also provides some GPS PND purchasing tips, Jennifer Stiller reviews PDF Converter Pro 5, and Steve Loewy reviews Timeslips and how he resolved its address violation errors. 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 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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a document and records management system (see article below), a secure file transfer service, a souped-up address book for BlackBerrys, a litigation support iPhone app, and a hosted blog service. Don't miss the next issue.

Document Management Without Trade Offs?

Even the good things in life typically involve trade offs. For example, suppose you marry a beautiful vegetarian. You'll never step foot inside a barbecue joint or steakhouse again unless you can make a persuasive case for side dishes as a main course. In law firms, document management systems can perform miracles, but getting them up and running is often expensive and time consuming. But maybe not anymore.

Alfresco Enterprise 3.2 … in One Sentence
Alfresco Enterprise 3.2 is an open source document and records management system.

The Killer Feature
Email messages often contain incredibly important client-related information. Most document management systems offer tools for saving email messages, but they involve multiple steps.

Alfresco Enterprise integrates with any IMAP email client, which means that the client/matter folders in Alfresco appear in your email program. Thus, you can save messages to Alfresco from within your email program using drag and drop.

Because email messages often arrive with attachments, Alfresco enables you to save the attachments separately from the message if you wish.

Other Notable Features
Alfresco Enterprise offers all the document management technologies you would expect — check in/out, version control and audit trails, search, and integration with Microsoft Office. It also offers an interface that looks like a shared network drive, enabling you to drag and drop documents.

You'll also find collaboration tools. For example, if you give clients access to specific documents, they do not need the application in which the document was created. Instead, they can view them using Flash in a Web browser. Alfresco Enterprise offers RSS feeds for just about everything so you can selectivity monitor activity you care about such as new or modified documents related to a specific matter.

What Else Should You Know?
Alfresco Enterprise integrates with Microsoft SharePoint. Even without SharePoint, Alfresco Enterprise offers its own tools for creating an intranet and your own Web applications. Alfresco Enterprise does not involve any up-front software costs (though you may need to purchase hardware). Instead, you pay a subscription fee, which varies depending on your specific needs. Learn more about Alfresco Enterprise 3.2. system.

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.

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 63 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

SharePoint Killers

Which iPhone Should I Buy?

Fixed-Fee Law Firm Throws Out the Clock

Five Ways to Comply with the New FTC Guidelines for Bloggers

This issue also contains links to every article in the January/February 2010 issue of Law Practice and the January 2010 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: Robert Rice provides a detailed buyer's guide to Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) for law firms, Wandal Winn reviews Yahoo Calendar's synchronization abilities, Tim Smith explains how to play specific segments of audio during a trial, John Crossan has an update on Stamps.com's secret low-cost plan after reading about it in a previous Answers to Questions, and Douglas Thomas explains how to copy and paste text in WordPerfect without any formatting. 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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers timeline creation software (see article below), metadata management software, a Web-based task manager, an online widget for appointment scheduling at your law firm, and an iPhone app for listening to CLE courses on the go. Don't miss the next issue.

Show Them What Happened

Every case consists of a series of events. And in most cases, the events are in dispute (summary judgment being an exception). When the dispute involves not just the facts, but when they transpired, no amount of verbal gymnastics can compete with a visual timeline. Pedagogical studies have shown that children can understand timelines and other informational graphics before they learn how to read. Other studies show that such visuals also enhance comprehension among adults. So, how can you create timelines for your cases?

TimeMap 5 … in One Sentence
LexisNexis' TimeMap 5 enables you to create and present event-based timelines.

The Killer Feature
While timelines can wow an audience, they can become unwieldy to edit.

TimeMap's new Spreadsheet View enables you to add to and edit your timeline in an Excel-like environment. You can navigate the spreadsheet using the Tab key, and toggle between the spreadsheet and the timeline with one click. If you attach an exhibit or other file to an event, the spreadsheet displays a paperclip that you can click to view the document.

Other Notable Features
The new version of TimeMap also gives you more control over the labels on your timeline. For example, instead of displaying the specific dates, you can use terms like "Summer 2010." You can still see the actual date in the Spreadsheet View. You can also hide the month, day, or year as necessary (e.g., if the timeline covers a short time period, you may not want to list the year).

TimeMap now offers global search and replace. Thus, you can begin creating a timeline even when you don't know all dates, names, locations, etc. You can enter filler text and replace it later. You can also search for and find any text in your timeline.

To make your timeline more visually compelling, TimeMap now enables you to add graphics and photos to fact, text, and picture boxes in your timeline (.bmp, .emf, .ico, .gif, .jpg, and .wmf). TimeMap ships with some clip art, and integrates with Microsoft Office's Clip Organizer.

What Else Should You Know?
TimeMap 5 runs on Windows 2000 or later. Pricing starts at $417.60 for a two-year subscription. You can download a 30-day free trial. Learn more about TimeMap 5.

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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a utility that links Microsoft Word to Google Docs (see article below), a Webbook, an online application for reviewing discovery documents, an online marketing research service, and an iPhone app for your postage needs. Don't miss the next issue.

Force Google and Microsoft to Kiss and Make Up

Microsoft Word excels at document creation. But when you need to collaborate on a document with someone or access a document from another computer life becomes difficult. By contrast, Google Docs excels at collaboration because only one version of each document exists accessible from any computer. But try to actually write in a Google Docs document and your mood will quickly sour. Even selecting text is a chore. Too bad you can't use the best attributes of each word processor.

OffiSync … in One Sentence
OffiSync links Microsoft Word documents to Google Docs when you need to collaborate with others.

The Killer Feature
Some people think the Internet works best as a conduit rather than a destination. For example, would iTunes offer as good a shopping experience if it was a Web site rather than an Internet-enabled application?

With OffiSync, you work within Microsoft Office even when using Google Docs. You can save documents to Google Docs in Word format. You can even create folders and move documents around on Google Docs without ever using your Web browser. Similarly, you can share documents with others through Google Docs using your Outlook address book.

Other Notable Features
OffiSync enables you to set permissions for viewing and editing documents. If you share more than just the occasional document, you can also use OffiSync in conjunction with Google Sites, an extranet-like application with more flexibility than Google Docs. For example, Google Sites offers virtual file cabinets that you can use for a specific matter. You can apply the same security settings to every document stored in the cabinet.

Other features include the ability to search your Google Docs account, integration with Google Web and Image Search, and document comparison and change management.

What Else Should You Know?
OffiSync works with Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007. You can choose from two versions — Standard or Premium. OffiSync Standard, which is free, lacks native file support and Google Sites integration. OffiSync Premium costs $12/year or a one-time fee of $30. Learn more about OffiSync.

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.

Coming today to Answers to Questions: Eric Fagan shares six tips for new lawyers, Steven Schwaber discusses an alternative to postage meters, Tom Trottier provides a few tips for permanently destroying a hard drive, Brad Jensen shares his thoughts on the future of digital media, and Kerry Hubick reviews Gadwin's PrintScreen utility. 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 Answers to Questions: Jason Havens reviews Boingo's WiFi hotspot service, Jonathan Warshay shares two tips for saving Web pages on a PC or Mac, Tom Trottier explains how he uses Firefox to manage passwords, Mark Fellman reviews DYMO Stamps, and Steve Loewy compares OmniPage and ABBYY FineReader Pro. 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.