TechnoLawyer: Email/Messaging/Telephony

Originally published in the September 28, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: With digital signatures still in their infancy and too hard for normal people to use, the fax stills reigns supreme for signed documents. In this issue of SmallLaw, New Jersey legal malpractice lawyer Edward Grossi reviews FaxLogic, a fax-to-email service that can also work with existing fax machines if needed. It also includes secure cloud storage. Edward used FaxLogic in his solo practice for about six months before writing his review, which covers the various plans and of course how well the service works. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a review of Chrometa 2012, an automatic billable time capture service.

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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, 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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the July 17, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Read this issue of SmallLaw now before it's too late if you're a "Piler" (especially an Outlook-using Piler). Pilers leave all their email in their inbox. The Piler versus Filer debate is over. Filers are more productive and less likely to miss an important deadline. In this article, law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr discusses five essential steps to trimming your email inbox and keeping it in shape. Pilers in small law firms with thousands of messages can whittle down their inbox in just five hours with these tips. Even Filers will learn some new tricks. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a double dose of Ben Schorr as he shares his favorite smartphone apps that everyone else hasn't already recommended.

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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, 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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the July 11, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Thanks to a prior issue of SmallLaw, you know how to quickly format your Word documents using Styles. Today, law firm technology consultant Ben Schorr explains how to take the next step — tweaking your Styles to complete perfection, adding these Styles to templates, and most importantly moving these Styles to other PCs so that everyone in your firm can create documents with the same look and feel. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a sobering look at starting a law firm written by two young lawyers trying to make a go of it with a general practice in a big city.

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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, 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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the July 6, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Up until 2011, the legal technology world speculated which of the cloud practice management startups LexisNexis would acquire. Then LexisNexis surprised everyone by launching Firm Manager, its own cloud practice management system. In this issue of SmallLaw, practice management consultant Seth Rowland reviews Firm Manager from top to bottom and then some — features (including the new client portal and document management system), interface, speed, underlying technologies, etc. Seth tested Firm Manager on two PCs, a Mac, an iPad, an iPhone, and a Droid Pro. What's Seth verdict and TechnoScore? Read his review to find out. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a visual walkthrough of Cloudon, the iPad app we recently reviewed that runs Microsoft Office on your iPad.

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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the June 5, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Last month, Above the Law published a series of colorful email messages sent by a (now former) lawyer at Cozen O'Connor to opposing counsel that led to a motion for sanctions. In light of this incident, we thought it would be a good idea to explore a law practice skill not taught in law school — interacting with opposing counsel. In this issue of SmallLaw, veteran litigator Kristin Branson provides five valuable tips. These pearls of wisdom will not only prevent you from being mocked on Above the Law or worse, but they will also give you a strategic advantage over opposing counsel regardless of your area of practice. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a comparative review of the four major smartphone credit card processing apps and swipers.

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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the March 20, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: "Take out the papers and the trash. Or you don't get no spending cash." These opening lines from the Coasters' biggest hit pretty much sums up law practice. Except you've got way more than two tasks with more arriving by the minute in your Outlook inbox. In today's issue of SmallLaw, Microsoft Office expert Ben Schorr divulges the secrets of Outlook's To-Do Bar. Once you apply these tips to create a prioritized task list, you'll have plenty of time for some yakety yak. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for some advice on why you should "think different" about iPad upgrades.

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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the March 16, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: The world's largest social network — email — got a slow start 40 years ago, but it's way ahead of Facebook and LinkedIn. If you want to contact someone you don't know, email is your best bet as it's much less intrusive than trying to "friend" the person. But what if you don't know that person's email address? In this issue of SmallLaw, email expert Neil Squillante explains his secret techniques for obtaining just about anyone's email address. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a rundown of the pros and cons of the various law firm compensation systems.

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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the March 13, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Has your small law firm cut the cord? No, not your cable service. We wouldn't expect you to practice law without sneaking in some CNBC and ESPN. We're talking about your servers — those computers that house software for billing, email, document management, practice management, and telephone service. In this issue of SmallLaw, law practice advisor Erik Mazzone discusses cloud substitutes for all five that will enable your law firm to cut (most of) its Ethernet cables and reclaim its server room. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for a thoughtful essay about how technology can make lawyers less rather than more productive.

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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, 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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published in the May 4, 2012 issue of LitigationWorld: Welcome to your fourth Ediscovery 101 class. Today in LitigationWorld, ediscovery consultant Tom O'Connor explains why "electronic" discovery is not as electronic you may think. Specifically, you'll learn how disk drives store data, which is critical if you want to avoid charges of failure to preserve or spoliation. That's because disk drives sort of have a mind of their own as to the data they store — data your clients may not know about. Ignorance of how disk drives function is no excuse when confronted with a motion claiming you didn't produce a key document. Also, don't miss the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week for the top five settlement traps to avoid.

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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.

Originally published in the February 16, 2012 issue of SmallLaw: Many solos and small-firm lawyers like you publish articles for marketing purposes, but largely waste your time because you don't understand the primary benefit of such publishing — to improve the rank of your web site in Google. In this issue of SmallLaw, TechnoLawyer publisher Neil Squillante explains how Google works, and how to use the articles you publish to improve the rank of your law firm web site in Google for search queries that people seeking a lawyer like you tend to use. If you read only one marketing article this year, read this one. Also, don't miss the SmallLaw Pick of the Week for advice on how to ensure the survival of your law firm if you experience a medical emergency.

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 links to helpful articles in other publications about solo practices and small law firms. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.