TechnoLawyer: Collaboration/Knowledge Management

Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers practice management software with a secure client portal (see article below), a height-adjustable desk, a project management application, and an iPad app for creating timelines. Don't miss the next issue.

PRACTICE MANAGEMENT WITH A SECURE CLIENT PORTAL

A recent study published by Ponemon Institute found that data breaches have occurred at approximately 90% of organizations. You've no doubt read articles about such security breaches. However, it's the security breaches you never find out about that wreak the most harm. Not every criminal gets caught after all. Maybe you didn't lose that trial last year on the merits. A new practice management system contains a technology to prevent such breaches.

LexisNexis Time Matters 13 … in One Sentence

Announced this week and launching later this month, LexisNexis Time Matters 13 is a practice management and billing system with a new secure client portal.

The Killer Feature

Today's clients want the convenience of online client portals for access to their matters, including confidential and privileged documents. However, you're responsible for providing a secure solution. Your bar can only protect you from ethics charges, not other harm that results from data breaches.

LexisNexis claims that the new Time Matters Client Portal enables your firm to provide your clients and other third parties with secure yet convenient access to designated documents. As an added bonus, you need not worry about file size unlike with email. The Time Matters Client Portal is powered by WatchDox, which industry research firms Forrester and Gartner have both endorsed as the most secure enterprise file sharing solution.

The Time Matters Client Portal requires minimal setup and training. Among its features, you can share files with both PCs and mobile devices, restrict the documents you share (e.g., prevent copying, editing, printing, and/or forwarding), add a watermark unique to each user to discourage breaches, set an expiration date, revoke previously granted access temporarily or permanently, and prevent unauthorized screen capture by limiting access to small areas of a document at any one time (PC-only currently). Needless to say, all documents are encrypted. You can wipe access to any or all of your firm's documents any time.

"The dramatic proliferation of mobile devices has raised client expectations for secure access to documents," Time Matter Product Manager Alex Overcash told us. "However, law firms are justifiably concerned about security given their stewardship of sensitive information. There simply hasn't been a viable alternative until now. The Time Matters Client Portal offers a simple but highly effective way to know who has access to a file, what they can do with it, and for how long."

Other Notable Features

As its version number 13 suggests, Time Matters has a wealth of features that not only encompass traditional practice management, but also modern features such as Time Entry Advisor, which debuted last year in version 12. You can use Time Matters out of the box or customize it with the help of a certified consultant and/or third-party add-ons.

New features include the ability to color code matters in calendars so that everyone can instantly identify Events and ToDos related to particular matters. Like Time Entry Advisor, color coding also helps you catch billable hours that might otherwise go unbilled. Version 13 also includes administrator-configurable automatic backups to help prevent catastrophic data loss.

What Else Should You Know?

Existing Time Matters customers with an annual maintenance plan (AMP) can upgrade to version 13 at no charge. Otherwise, Time Matters costs $985 for the first user and $570 for each additional user. These prices include a one-year AMP, which provides you with 12 hours of telephone support on weekdays, software updates, on-demand online training, and Time Matters Mobility for access from your smartphone. Learn more about LexisNexis Time Matters 13.

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Originally published on August 30 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

You've heard stories about hapless iPhone owners who thought their data was backed up despite never syncing their iPhone with their computer or iCloud. Before you snicker, we bet you haven't tapped the full potential of your iOS devices. In this issue of SmallLaw, lawyer and iOS expert Jeff Richardson provides little-known but powerful tips for Apple's Contacts, Reminders, and Notes apps. He also explains how you can use your iPhone to create and manage your usernames and passwords, and enter them into any web browser. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for a buyer's guide to the best iPad keyboards.

IPHONE AND IPAD INFORMATION MANAGEMENT TIPS

Each day of law practice and life inundates us with small bits of information that we need to recall for later reference, but before you can remember one tidbit the next item shows up, followed by another one. Pick up your laundry tomorrow night. Buy travel-sized shaving cream at the pharmacy. Remember this phone number, this password, this person's name, etc. The information never seems to end.

Fortunately, your iPhone is always nearby, and excels at remembering all of the nitty, gritty details so that you don't need to burden yourself with memorization. In this issue of SmallLaw, I'll discuss apps and strategies to help you control this flood of information.

Information About People

You probably use the Contacts app to store a person's name, company name, email address, phone number, and other basic information. But if you tap the Edit button when viewing a contact and then choose Add Field, you will set that you can add many other useful fields.

For example, you can add a Phonetic First or Last Name to remember how to pronounce a person's name and avoid future embarrassment. You can also create a blank notes field with any kind of useful information about a person. I use the notes field to jot down the name and birth dates of children so that when I see someone again, I can remember that his son is "John" and is six years old. You might want to note interests, hobbies, favorite sports teams, etc.

Another field enables you to add a birthday to a contact, after which an entry will appear in Calendar with a small gift icon to remind you. Better yet, the powerful app Fantastical (which I use far more often than the built-in Calendar app) will calculate the math and display that it's Joe's 44th birthday.

The Reminders App and Siri

The iPhone's built-in Reminders app can remind you about specific tasks at a certain time or place. Launch the Reminders app, tap an empty line, jot down a few words about your task (like "Pick up hot dogs for Labor Day barbecue"), and then tap the arrow at the end of the line to remind you at a specific time (Saturday at 5 pm) or at a specific place (such as when you leave your office or when you arrive at a shopping center).

That's a great help, but what makes the Reminders app incredibly useful is the ability to use Siri to create reminders. You can dictate a reminder far faster than you can create one with your fingers. Activate Siri and simply talk to your iPhone. Say "Remind me to call Steve when I get to the office." Siri will ask which Steve, showing you a list of all of your contacts named Steve. Then whenever you next arrive at your office, Siri will remind you to place the call.

You can also tell Siri to "Remind me to go to the bank when I leave home" or "Remind me to start preparing for the Smith meeting at 2:30 on Thursday." All of this works a lot better than jotting down a reminder on cocktail napkin that you forget in your pants pocket, only to be seen again in a different form after going through the washing machine.

You can create different lists in the Reminders app. I recommend that you create one called "Grocery List." That way, in the future, you can simply tell Siri "Add milk to my grocery list." When you get to the store, look at the Grocery List in Reminders to see everything you wanted to remember to buy, including the items you haven't thought about since last Tuesday. You can also create date-specific lists. Tap on a specific date on the calendar in the Reminders app (e.g., Labor Day), and then add your tasks for that day.

All of the above also works on the iPad 3 or later and the iPad mini. In fact, if you have both an iPad and an iPhone, Reminders can keep your two devices in sync via Apple's free iCloud service.

The Notes App and Siri

The built-in Notes app is a simple but effective place to jot down quick notes on any topic that you can imagine. Like Reminders, it's much more powerful when you use Siri. Tell your iPhone or iPad, "Note that Suzie is arriving on Delta flight 456" and Siri will automatically create a new item in the Notes app with that text. Then you no longer need to worry about memorizing that flight number.

Usernames and Passwords

We all struggle to remember the endless usernames and passwords associated with our increasingly digital lives. A horrible "solution" is to use the same password everywhere; you don't want a hacker to gain access to one of your accounts and suddenly have access to all of them.

Rather than place sensitive passwords in the Notes app that any who picks up your iPhone can access, I recommend purchasing one of the many dedicated password apps such as LastPass, mSecure, or my favorite 1Password.

1Password remembers all of my passwords, includes a built-in web browser that can access a web site and enter my username and password automatically, and securely syncs with the web browsers on both my PC and Mac so that with a simple keystroke I can enter (or save) a password for every web site on any computer, iPad, and iPhone of mine. The app can also create complex, secure passwords that are impossible to guess and impervious to so-called dictionary attacks because they don't consist of English words. However, you never have to worry about memorizing or typing these long passwords because 1Password software handles that for you.

1Password can store more than just passwords. It has forms for remembering social security numbers, credit cards, software licenses, etc. I also love the secure notes feature because it provides a place to jot down private information protected under the lock and key of the 1Password app.

Jeff Richardson practices law in New Orleans and publishes iPhone J.D., the oldest and largest website for attorneys who use the iPhone and iPad.

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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, this newsletter provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Coming today to LitigationWorld: Now that you've completed the homework Eastern Washington personal injury lawyer Matt Albrecht gave you in Part 1 of this two-part LitigationWorld series, you're ready move beyond merely being paperless. In Part 2, Matt provides advice on creating and enforcing the necessary policies and procedures for your paperless litigation practice, discusses the scanners and software his firm uses, and offers instructions on how to use a game-changing technology in Adobe Acrobat. Along the way, you'll find many actual examples. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for tips on how to effectively use motions in limine and trial briefs.

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Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

David Hudgens, Practice Management Versus Project Management

David O'Connell, My Mixed Experience With Multiple Monitors

Jeremy Clark, Review: Logitech UE Mobile Boombox

Steven Schwaber, Paragraph Numbering in WordPerfect Versus Word

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

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Coming today to LitigationWorld: So you've gone paperless in your litigation practice. Congratulations. However, electronic documents can be just as hard to find as paper documents. In addition to going paperless, you need a system of rules and workflows. In Part 1 of this two-part LitigationWorld series, Eastern Washington personal injury lawyer Matt Albrecht covers the basics of going paperless in case you haven't, and then lists the steps required to create a reliable system for your paperless litigation practice. Part 2 will provide examples of good and bad systems. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for a guide to obtaining and using social media for evidence.

How to Receive LitigationWorld
All practice areas evolve, but none faster than litigation. Written by successful litigators and other litigation experts, LitigationWorld provides you with practical tips related to electronic discovery, depositions, litigation strategy, litigation technology, and trial presentations. LitigationWorld also features in-depth litigation product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings, as well as links to the most noteworthy litigation articles in other publications so that you'll never miss anything. The LitigationWorld newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Nancy Mertzel, Review: DoIt.im

Raymond Bottomly, Samsung Tablet PC v. iPad

Jerry Gonzalez, The iPad's Strengths and Weaknesses in Law Practice

Steve Long, How I Use My iPad in My Litigation Practice

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Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers an online word processor with collaboration tools (see article below), an iPad text editor with support for snippets and macros, a note-taking app for iPad and iPhone that syncs via iCloud, and an RSS feed service for your law blog. Don't miss the next issue.

COLLABORATIVE WORD PROCESSING

Microsoft Word remains shackled to its roots in the early days of personal computing before networks let alone the cloud. Back then, lawyers collaborated by writing a draft, and then circulating printed copies for feedback. Over the years, Word has gained some collaboration tools such as Track Changes, but new word processors built from the ground up for collaboration may have an edge.

Quip Business … in One Sentence

Launched this month, Quip Business is an online word processor with collaboration tools.

The Killer Feature

Quip Business enables you and others to work on a document at the same time — without the need for a server-based technology such as Microsoft SharePoint. The application keeps track of each person's changes and can save all versions. You can also use Quip Business offline. When you again have an Internet connection, your changes merge with the existing document, again preserving versions and enabling others to see your changes.

Other Notable Features

In addition to traditional documents, Quip Business also supports documents with specific structures such as checklists and outlines. Each Quip Business document has an area along the side for comments by those with access to the document. Quip Business can send you an alert when a person with whom you share a document first accesses it, makes changes, and adds comments.

Quip Business currently works in all modern web browsers on Macs, PCs, and mobile web browsers. A dedicated app exists for iPad and iPhone users that you can download for free from the App Store.

You can organize documents into folders, which enables you to share entire folders in addition to sharing select documents. Using the Admin Console, you can change user permissions anytime such as when an employee leaves your firm. You can also remotely manage and wipe the Quip Business app on iPads and iPhones issued by your firm.

What Else Should You Know?

If you have a Google account, you can use it as your Quip Business login for single sign on convenience. Quip Business costs $12 per user per month, which includes up to 250 users. A free version exists for up to five users, but it lacks the administrative tools. The company also offers an enterprise version for large law firms with custom pricing. Learn more about Quip Business.

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.

Originally published on August 20, 2013 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

What's on your iPad home screen? How about your iPhone? In this issue of SmallLaw, TechnoLawyer publisher Neil Squillante discusses the 28 apps on his iPad mini's home screen (plus a few on his second screen). Neil uses his iPad mini primarily for work plus he's an information architecture expert. Therefore, you'll not only learn about useful apps (including one that launched last week), but also benefit from Neil's insight into how to organize your apps for maximum efficiency. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week (newsletter only) for advice on how to recruit a winner.

IF I SHOW YOU MY IPAD HOME SCREEN (AND APPS) WILL YOU SHOW ME YOURS?

Lawyer and productivity guru David Sparks regularly publishes a column in his MacSparky publication called Home Screens in which he interviews people about the apps on that screen.

MacSparky is not a legal publication so David rarely interviews lawyers. He also focuses on the iPhone rather than the iPad. I thought I'd use this issue of SmallLaw to pay homage to David's clever column by discussing my iPad's home screen — both the apps I use and my organizational methodology (I have two 32 GB Verizon iPad minis, both of which I've set up identically). After reading this article, I encourage you to reply and discuss the apps on your home screen and how you organize them. Your article will have just as large an audience as this one.

The Dock

Many iPad users place the apps they use most often in the dock. That's certainly the case for me. From left to right, my dock contains:

1. Safari: No surprise here. I also use Safari on my iPhone and Macs with all my bookmarks synced via iCloud. I'm a huge fan of Safari's Reader function, which removes all the cruft from web pages and also makes virtually any web page mobile-friendly. If you've never used Reader, you'll find it a revelation.

2. Mail: My favorite email client, Mail makes managing my email accounts a breeze. I don't use Mail's VIP feature because the number of accounts I have and the filters I've set up at the server level ensure that only relevant email arrives in my inboxes. For example, we have a dedicated, shared email account for press releases from legal vendors.

3. Editorial: Here we enter the realm of third-party apps. Launched last week, Editorial just displaced WriteRoom as my text editor (I'm writing this article in Editorial). I've used Editorial for just a short time, but it's so powerful that WriteRoom may not earn back this prime real estate. I don't use a text editor only for editing and writing articles, but also for composing important and/or long email messages. This eliminates the risk of prematurely sending a sensitive email message by mistake. Like most iPad text editors, Editorial can send what you've written to the Mail app.

4. Adobe Reader: I use this app to access documents needed to create sales proposals. I used to store other PDF documents in this app too but I've since moved them elsewhere as I'll explain below.

5. Soulver: I wrote extensively about this cross between a calculator and a spreadsheet in our TL Research Guide to the iPad Mini as a Productivity Tool. I use it to add up and keep records of the checks we deposit, crunch numbers for sales proposals, and more. The developers will soon release a new version with iCloud support, which will enable me to access all of my Soulver documents on both of my iPad minis and my iPhone.

6. NewsBlur: I switched to NewsBlur for my RSS reader after the demise of Google Reader. What's an RSS reader? It's an application that enables journalists and information junkies to monitor dozens or even hundreds of web sites.

The Top Row (Portrait Orientation)

To avoid confusing you, I'll discuss the rest of my apps row by row, but I organize apps by both column and row. Apps in the left-most and right-most columns are easier to tap than apps in the interior columns so I place more important apps in the outer positions.

1. Calendar: I've tried some third-party calendar apps, but I like Apple's the best. I just wish it offered the same alert sounds that exist on the Mac for consistency.

2. Writing Folder: Yes, I use app folders and here we have our first, which contains four apps associated with writing — Notes, iA Writer, Merriam Webster Dictionary/Thesaurus, Pages, and WriteRoom. Notes syncs via iCloud and also exists on the iPhone so I use it for notes I need when I don't have my iPad with me. I use Pages for more structured documents than a text editor can handle. The two text editors in this folder serve as as backups in case a bad update temporarily makes my primary text editor unusable.

3. Productivity Folder: This folder contains apps that for me have just one function — FileMaker Pro (a homemade database with important information), GoodReader (it can access our file server), Google Drive (we're Google Apps customers so maybe this app will come in handy someday), Salesforce (our sales leads), Chrome (backup web browser), and Documents (moving documents from my computer to my iPad via WiFi).

4. Tools Folder: These lightweight apps don't need much explanation — The Weather Channel, Dark Sky, Calculator Pro, Hightail, Maps, Google Maps, Alarm Clock HD Pro, Clock, Speed Test, and Airport Utility.

The Second Row

1. Podcasts: I have a love/hate relationship with podcasts. They cover niche topics of interest to me, but the hosts remind me of Wayne and Garth. Leaving aside the interesting content delivered unprofessionally, the app itself is a gem. iCloud syncing enables you to start listening on your iPhone and pick up where you stopped on your iPad.

2. Yelp: A must for restaurants if you live in a large city. I don't trust the anonymous reviews, but I use the app on the iPad to bookmark my favorite restaurants and those I want to try. On my iPhone, I can sort my bookmarked restaurants by proximity.

3. App Store: The source of all apps so I've got to have it front and center.

4. Reminders: Although it's not perfect, Reminders helps me manage my tasks better than anything else I've tried thanks to its simplicity (no user guide required) and iCloud syncing. I use it for my three categories of tasks — long-term projects that could take weeks, months, or years, short-term projects such as a sales proposal, and alarms for ephemeral tasks that I dictate via Siri (e.g., remind me to buy a hard drive tonight at 9:00 pm).

The Third Row

1. NoteSuite: Shortly after reporting on NoteSuite in TL NewsWire, I began using it to store PDF documents I need to reference, annotate PDF documents, and take handwritten and typed notes. This app replaced Remarks for note-taking and saved me from buying an Acrobat.com subscription thanks to its iCloud syncing. I have the Mac version too. There's no iPhone version yet, but if that ever surfaces I will no longer need to use Apple's Notes for notes I need when I only have my iPhone with me. NoteSuite has some quirks, but it's an impressive 1.0 release.

2. Music: Back in 2010, I poked fun at my neighbor behind his back because he listened to music on his first-generation iPad. Well, I don't walk around Manhattan listening to music on my iPad mini (nor do I take photos with it), but I use the Music app with headphones at home often enough that I moved it to my home screen.

3. Settings: I dig into this app every day to connect to my Beats Pill, turn on/off my cellular data, make sure a new magazine subscription doesn't auto-renew, etc.

4. Remote: I use this app at home to play music from my Mac through my Apple TV.

The Fourth Row and Page 2

1. Messages: This is a killer app. Because everyone in our company and most people with whom I frequently communicate use an iPhone, their text messages go not only to my iPhone but also to both of my iPad minis. So convenient.

And that's it for my home screen. I don't currently use the rest of the fourth row or any of the fifth row. But I have a second page of apps, all of which are in folders. I won't discuss the apps, but I'll share the folders with you — Newsstand, Books, Periodicals (publications not in Newsstand), Multimedia, Photography, Services (e.g., ETrade and Verizon), Games, Shopping, Social Media, and Communications (Bria, GoToMeeting, FaceTime, Skype, and WebEx).

Now Show Us Your Home Screen

Think I'm missing out on some important apps? Got better apps for certain tasks than the apps I use? Please reply to this issue of SmallLaw to discuss the apps on the home screen of your iPad and/or iPhone.

Neil J. Squillante is the publisher of TechnoLawyer.

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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, this newsletter provides practical advice on management, marketing, and technology issues in small law firms, as well as comprehensive legal product reviews with accompanying TechnoScore ratings. The SmallLaw 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 140 articles from the past week worthy of your attention. Below you'll find a sample article from each section of today's issue, including our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week.

Essential Software for Law Firms Part 1

The Most Popular Apps Used by Lawyers

A Memo to New Lawyers That Every Hiring Partner Should Use

Can an SEO Agency Be Held Liable for Poor Search Results?

Congratulations to Jeff Richardson of iPhone J.D. on winning our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award: Review of iAnnotate for Working With PDF Files on the iPad

Today's issue also contains links to every article in the August 2013 issue of Law Practice Today. Don't miss today's issue or any future issues of BlawgWorld.

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Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers an iPad and Mac app for both freeform and structured notes (see article below), a purse that keeps your smartphone charged, an iPad app for reviewing and annotating video depositions, and strategic planning software. Don't miss the next issue.

TAKE NOTE OF EVERYTHING

Gertrude Stein may have been right about roses, but her famous quote doesn't apply to notes according to at least one app developer. This company feels that "notes" encompass both freeform information as well as more specialized or structured information such as annotations, outlines, tasks, etc. Regardless of whether you agree that the latter qualify as "notes," it makes sense to keep all of this data at your fingertips in one searchable app that syncs across your devices.

NoteSuite 2.0 … in One Sentence

Launched last week, Theory's NoteSuite 2.0 (previously known as Projectbook) is an iPad and Mac app for taking, organizing, and searching different types of "notes."

The Killer Feature

NoteSuite enables you to import documents and photos in popular formats such as Pages, PDF, and Word. Once imported, you can annotate a document — add comments, highlight and strikethrough text, add bookmarks, draw, use arrows and other symbols, and more. NoteSuite converts Pages and Word documents into PDF format for annotations.

Other Notable Features

In addition to importing documents from local media, you can also import them from Dropbox, Google Drive, and Box. Because NoteSuite uses standard document formats instead of its own proprietary database, you can likewise export your data as needed. The company claims that this gives NoteSuite a significant edge over competitors such as Evernote.

Regarding freeform notes, NoteSuite supports both handwritten and typed notes on the same page. You can record audio as you take notes, and later select a portion of your notes to hear the accompanying audio clip.

As intimated above, NoteSuite supports capturing information in special formats. For example, you'll find a To-Do Manager with features such as alerts, due dates, recurring tasks, parent-children hierarchies for multistep tasks, task delegation, and optional calendar integration. If you assign deadlines to your tasks, the Today and This Week views enable you to focus on your most urgent tasks. Alternatively, you can apply tags and then view all tasks with a given tag (e.g., client/matter). To-Do Manager complies with "Getting Things Done" if you use that methodology.

Thanks to a special feature, NoteSuite facilitates electronic signatures. The signatories sign their name in a large box after which NoteSuite shrinks their signatures to fit in the allotted space in the document. Other features include full-text searching, web clippings, and the ability to work offline.

What Else Should You Know?

Currently, NoteSuite syncs via iCloud only. The company plans to support other sync services in the future. It's also working on an iPhone app. The iPad app costs $4.99; the Mac app costs $9.99 (the company periodically offers limited-time discounts). NoteSuite is free for those who previously purchased Projectbook. Learn more about NoteSuite 2.0.

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.