TechnoLawyer: Collaboration/Knowledge Management

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers an email discovery appliance, PDF software for lawyers, and a free project manager. Don't miss the next issue.

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

PDF for Lawyers
By Dennis Kennedy

Once upon a time, lawyers were grateful for PDF simply because of its ability to preserve the layout of the original document. Legal life was good. But then lawyers became more demanding of PDF, particularly when clients, discovery requests, and other aspects of their job became more demanding of them. Legal life was not so good.

Enter Bluebeam Software's Bluebeam PDF Revu, a "complete PDF solution," which means that in addition to viewing PDF files, you can also create, edit, and comment on them.  Bluebeam PDF Revu can also convert any file to TIF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PSD, PNG, EMF, WMF or PCL.

If you use Microsoft Office, you can use Bluebeam PDF Revu to create PDF files from Office documents with one click of your mouse. Even better, within Outlook you can automatically convert attachments to PDF upon sending the message. When converting Office documents, PDF Revu offers many security features (e.g., preventing the copying of images or text) plus you can apply watermarks and stamps such as date, time, document name, path, etc.

Other useful features include the ability to print any document to PDF, add images to PDF files, create bookmarks within PDF files, create PDF booklets with the "Bluebeam Stapler," copy and paste exactly what you want ("True Text"), and work on a Tablet PC.

That's all well and good, but where is the legal love? Bluebeam designed its new version 5 with lawyers in mind. For example, litigators can apply Bates stamps. You can standardize Bates stamping in your firm by creating Bates stamp templates with a prefix, suffix, and any number of digits.

With Bluebeam PDF Revu 5, you can also permanently redact text or images. The redaction tool doesn't cover the information. Instead, it actually removes it from the file. You can black out these areas if preparing files for discovery. If you're working on a document of your own, you can replace the excised material with different material.

Bluebeam PDF Revu 5 also has features for corporate lawyers, namely the ability to compare PDF documents. Bluebeam PDF Revu sells for $149 with volume discounts available. Learn more about Bluebeam PDF Revu 5.

How to Receive this Newsletter
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.

Coming January 18, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Susi Santa Maria, a former Timeslips Certified Consultant, shares her tips for getting the most out of this often misunderstood and improperly installed program, Brent Blanchard offers his take on the Word v. WordPerfect debate (our version of the Energizer bunny), Eugenie Rivers reviews a utility for archiving your Outlook email (and our publisher points to an alternative utility), Martin Dean explains why technology won't solve a general counsel's contract management needs (but our publisher points to an online service that might help), and Michael Burn reviews his experience using Microsoft Access to manage litigation documents. 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 suite of security utilities for your laptop, an online personal finance tool that taps into Metcalfe's Law, and a network appliance that enables everyone at your law firm to securely send and receive large attachments. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Transfer Large Files Securely Without Attachment Limits
By Dennis Kennedy
In the old days, sending a large document meant using a FedEx Pak instead of a FedEx Envelope. Nowadays, sending large electronic files poses more of a challenge than simply choosing the next size up in packaging. Notwithstanding multi-gigabyte mailboxes, many e-mail servers (including Gmail) impose limits on the size of file attachments. Plus, e-mail servers are notoriously lacking in security (by design actually). Free file transfer sites can handle large files, but also lack sufficient security. So what's a law firm to do? Dust off its FedEx number and send CDs and DVDs?

No way! Accellion's Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance (SFTA) Version 5.0 provides law firms with a secure option for sending and receiving large files both internally and externally. Accellion has a history of providing secure file transfer solutions on a global basis to enterprises of all sizes. As a dedicated appliance for business file transfers, SFTA requires minimal IT administration and support.

When you use SFTA to send files to third parties, they receive a secure download link. To send or receive a file, all you need is a Web browser. Your firm can set up accounts for its employees and clients in minutes. Accellion claims that some firms may witness an 80% reduction in e-mail load.

New in version 5 is the ability to send and receive entire folders, thus preserving a directory structure (especially useful for your client's discovery documents). Version 5 can handle files and folders up to 10GB in size.

New administrative tools enable you to control usage throughout your firm. Like previous versions, SFTA simply plugs into your network and starts working. SFTA uses the SSL standard, and generates an audit trail. Much easier to use than even FTP and SFTP, which require software on both ends, SFTA works with your existing network and software. Optional plug-ins exist for integration with Outlook and Lotus Notes, which enable you to use your e-mail program instead of a browser.

SFTA comes in a wide array of configurations, starting at $3,500. You can start small and add capabilities as needed.  Learn more about Accellion Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance (SFTA) Version 5.0.

How to Receive this Newsletter
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.

Coming December 12, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Someone hacks into your network and destroys all your case files. A Katrina-like hurricane devastates your area. Your office building burns down. The chances may seem slim, but these things can and do happen. Will you be ready? In this article, legal coach and consultant Edward Poll shares his top ten tips for securing your law firm's network before disaster strikes. Learn how to prepare so that if something goes wrong, you won't miss a beat.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. 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 an online form creation tool, an online event planner, and a new approach to collaborating on Word files. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Your Online Law Form
By Dennis Kennedy
Law offices run on forms. Nothing makes law firms run smoother than good form. Unfortunately, creating forms is never easy enough and often falls to the bottom of the priority list.

Infinity Box's Wufoo is an online application for helping you design and build Web and intranet forms of all kinds. Wufoo also does the heavy lifting for you. It builds the database and scripts you need to create useful forms. As a hosted application, all you need is your browser and a little imagination.

Wufoo's Web site lists a huge number of forms you can create — contacts, mailing lists, surveys, job applications, event calendars, registration forms, and even tests and quizzes. The Web site offers a large gallery of useful sample forms to get you started and inspire you.

You start with the form manager tool for publishing, analyzing, and editing forms. You create forms with a drag-and-drop form builder tool. Wufoo also offers e-mail integration and a theme builder to customize the look of your forms. Advanced users can tweak their forms using CSS and XHTML.

Once you collect data, Wufoo offers a variety of output options, including CSV and Excel. You can also generate reports and graphs, and make your form data public or private. You can have Wufoo host your forms or integrate them on your own site and intranet.

Wufoo offers a number of plans, including a free version. Monthly plans range from $9 to $199/month, based on the number of forms you use, the number of entries, storage space needed, and other factors. Learn more about Wufoo.

How to Receive this Newsletter
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.

Coming October 3, 2006 to TechnoFeature: You may have heard the radio ad: A businessman forgets a key file at the office and saves a long trip back to the office (and a lost sale) thanks to this miraculous service called GoToMyPC. However, the GoTo suite of online products and services provide much more than remote file access. In this article, technology consultant Seth Rowland reviews this "secure desktop sharing" technology and then evaluates each of the individual products, focusing specifically on whether and how they fit into the practice of a busy lawyer.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming September 28, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Jason Havens discusses using Acrobat for document collaboration and reviews the new WordPerfect Office X3 Suite, Paolo Broggi offers up detailed instructions for syncing your Treo 650 with Amicus Attorney, Daniel Mengeling explains the benefits (or lack thereof) of bar coding documents for trial presentations, Erin Baldwin reviews CaseMap for case-specific document management, and Brooks Miller reviews his experience with Brother laser printers. 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 time-billing and accounting package with a user-friendly interface, a service that enables you to add search capabilities to your Web site, and a Web-based suite of collaboration and project management tools. Don't miss the next issue.

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

Your New Friend in Accounting
By Dennis Kennedy
Lawyers live in the front office. Most don't like to deal with back office issues. They often feel that operating the business of a law practice gets in the way of practicing law. From handling trust accounts to editing pre-bills, lawyers dread nearly every back office operation.

Help is on the way. Gavel & Gown, the company behind the ever-popular Amicus Attorney, now offers Amicus Accounting, a time-billing and accounting package designed specifically for law firms. Amicus Accounting builds on the reputation of Amicus Attorney for simplicity and ease of use.

For example, Amicus Accounting enables you to handle time-billing and accounting in a single package. When used with Amicus Attorney, you benefit from a truly integrated front and back office — the so-called holy grail of law office technology.

Amicus Accounting uses the familiar graphical interface of Amicus Attorney 7, which emphasizes common workflows. It handles all of the back office chores in a law office: timekeeping, expenses, bill generation, receivables management, payables, check writing, general ledger, trust accounting, report creation, and a variety of client matter details and inquiries, including the ability to track transactions by client and matter.

With Amicus Accounting, you can track billable and non-billable hours with multiple rates per timekeeper, issue checks and allocate expenses to matters in one step, prevent trust account overdrafts, process hourly, split and flat fee billing, implement UTBMS task-based billing codes, customize billing templates, process 1099s, support three accounting methods (cash, modified cash and accrual), generate more than 50 reports, access all client data and account information in one location (you can even drill down for more granular information), and much more.

Amicus Accounting sells for $249 per user. Learn more about Amicus Accounting.

How to Receive this Newsletter
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.

Coming September 22, 2006 to Fat Friday: Robert Fleming reviews the hidden benefits of a swivel monitor (or two), Yvonne Renfrew reviews the Intake Interview Jumpstart feature in CaseMap 6, Brooks Miller reviews a password and login management utility, and Charles Beans shares his feelings on public cell phone use . 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 September 14, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Jason Havens reviews Tabs3 and compares it to Timeslips for law firm accounting and time-billing, Debbie Westwood reviews Lotus Notes for document collaboration, Nancy Merreot explains how to archive e-mail using PST files and Adobe Acrobat 7, Nikki Rodeman discusses the bar code scanning system she discovered (and we provide tips on using bar codes for trial exhibits), and John Keller reviews Skype for outgoing calls. In addition, this issue features links to 5 additional Posts in the TechnoLawyer Archive. 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.