TechnoLawyer: Document Management

Today's issue of TL Serendipity contains these articles:

Scott Collins, Review: Acrobat Pro and Evernote Business for a Paperless Office

Neil Squillante, The Case for Multiple Checking Accounts

Donald Lowrey, Word and WordPerfect Are Too Complex for Lawyers

Mark Olberding, Why We Lawyers Should Support Software Developers

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Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Robin Meadow, Review: MessageSave and X1 Together

John Dorst, Three Products We Use for Bates Stamp

Matthew Appleton, Time Matters and WordPerfect X7 Integration in the Works

Steven Schwaber, Why Paragraph Numbering in WordPerfect Makes Word Users Jealous

Roland Cole, Where the Rubber Meets the Road for Speech Recognition

Charles Stotter, Review: Microsoft Surface Pro 3 as Laptop and Tablet

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Today's issue of TL NewsWire The feature article of today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a Windows utility that automates common law office document tasks. The Roundup section covers an online store for interactive legal forms, a virtual legal consultation and lawyer referral service, and a social news app. Also, if you missed last week's TL NewsWire feature article, you'll find an excerpt and link below.

NINE TIMESAVERS FOR COMMON LAW OFFICE DOCUMENT TASKS

Many small law firms suffer from a variety of document-related collaboration problems. For example, you email your colleague a Word document to review. Your colleague doesn't know where the original document resides on your firm's file server (or shared hard drive) so the final version ends up trapped in email instead of in its proper place.

Synergy Tools 1.0 … in One Sentence

Launched this month, Legal Matters Software's Synergy Tools 1.0 is a Windows Explorer companion utility that automates common law office document tasks.

The Killer Feature

Synergy Tools uses your existing file structure so it resembles Windows Explorer and even contains a button that takes you to the same location in Windows Explorer.

The Email Document Link button addresses the above email collaboration issue. Instead of attaching one or more documents to an email message, you email a link to the document. When your colleague clicks the link, the original document opens. Your colleague can work on the document without needing to know its location, and can reply to your email message when finished.

Other Notable Features

Lawyers of course also need to email documents to clients and others. This means leaving Windows Explorer to start an email message, and then returning to Windows Explorer to drag the document into the email message. In Synergy Tools, you select one or more documents, and then click the Email Document button. This automatically creates an email message with the documents appended as attachments.

The PDF format has become ubiquitous in law firms. Synergy Tools contains three PDF-related features. Convert to PDF converts any documents you select into PDF format using the same file name. Merge as PDF enables you to combine all selected documents into a single PDF file in the order you specify such as for deal books and ebriefs. Number PDF Pages enables you to apply a stamp to every page in a PDF file. You can use it for Bates stamping as it accommodates any combination of letters, numbers, and other symbols in sequential order.

Lawyers often need to efile PDF documents. Instead of navigating your firm's file structure, the Copy File Path button in Synergy Tools copies a document's file path to your clipboard that you can paste into your web browser's document upload window. The similar Copy Folder Path takes your web browser to the folder with documents you want to upload.

You'll also find two document management technologies in Synergy Tools. Document Date places the creation date at the beginning of the file name for all selected documents. This enables you bulk name documents created prior to adopting this best practice. New Version creates a new version of a document with a sequential number in its file name.

Finally, Synergy Tools includes Synergy Signature, which also exists as a standalone product. Synergy Signature enables you to apply your scanned signature in a Word or PDF document.

What Else Should You Know?

"After visiting with many law firms over the years, we found that most suffer from the same document-related inefficiencies," Legal Matters Software CEO John Ryan told us. "Synergy Tools eliminates each of these, dramatically improving productivity at a pay-once price any law firm can afford." Synergy Tools runs on Windows Vista and later. It costs $24.95. Learn more about Synergy Tools 1.0.

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.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Bob Leonard, Review: Dictate + Connect and SpeakWrite

Matthew Appleton, Review: Lookeen

Steve Loewy, Review: X1

Brad Pearce, Charging for Overhead; Replacing Paper With iPads at Depositions

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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 Serendipity contains these articles:

Brad Smith, The Undocumented Cost of a DIY Document Management System

Neil Squillante, The Holy Grail of Cloud Practice Management Apps

Thomas Stirewalt, How to Run Old DOS Software Safely

Blair Clark, Defending WordPerfect; Review of Perfect Authority

Michele Ballagh, Tip: Create, Assign, and Track Tasks in Outlook

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

How to Receive TL Serendipity
Our most serendipitous offering (hence its name), TL Serendipity consists of contributions by TechnoLawyer members who have important information to share. 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 TL Serendipity newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Donald Coker, Review: Tabs3 and PracticeMaster's Tech Support

Jerry Gonzalez, How to Copy Deposition Testimony Into Word and WordPerfect

Lynn Johnson, Why Law Firms Should Start Document Names With the Date

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 NewsWire covers a cloud practice management system that can replace OS X and Windows for document management (see article below), a cloud application for reviewing and producing ediscovery, a calendar, contacts, an email app for Android and iOS, and a bookkeeping service with its own project management software. Don't miss the next issue.

PUT DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT WHERE IT BELONGS

A practice management system should include all the information you need to manage your firm — including documents. However, many law firms still store documents in the operating system because their organizational system requires multilevel (nested) folders. This creates information silos. The new version of a leading cloud practice management application seeks to end this bifurcation.

MyCase … in One Sentence

MyCase is a cloud practice management system that this week launched Folders, which provides multilevel folders within matters for document management.

The Killer Feature

MyCase's new Folders feature enables you to mirror whatever organizational structure you've created in OS X or Windows. MyCase offers the advantage of being able to group your folders and subfolders by client and matter. This enables you to access documents as well as all the other information associated with a matter in one place. Security is another benefit as your folders reside within MyCase, which encrypts all your interactions.

Folders behave as you would expect. You can create, name, rename, and delete them, and move multiple documents into, out of, and between them. MyCase also offers tags, which you can use in addition to or instead of folders. Tags enable you to essentially place a document in two locations without having to create a duplicate.

"With Folders, MyCase customers can easily and securely organize their documents through one central system," MyCase Founder and Vice President of Product Matt Spiegel told us. "Folders was the most requested feature by our customers leading up to its release. With Folders, MyCase users can easily and securely organize their documents through one central system."

Other Notable Features

MyCase also organizes contacts, calendars, reminders, tasks, time entries, bills, trust accounts, and more by client and matter. A client portal that can send email and mobile push notifications facilitates secure communication and document sharing with clients. Your clients can also pay their bills via MyCase.

MyCase has several new features other than Folders. Evergreen trust balances technology automatically notifies you when a client's trust balance falls below a threshold you set. Also new, you can include total hours billed on invoices, export batches of invoices as a single PDF file, and calculate dates using the Date Calculator at the bottom of every screen.

What Else Should You Know?

MyCase costs $39 per lawyer per month and $29 per non-lawyer staff per month. This price includes Folders and all the other new features. MyCase works in mobile and desktop web browsers. You can also use MyCase via the free apps for Android and iOS (both iPad and iPhone). Learn more about MyCase.

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 NewsWire covers an add-on for a popular document management system that facilitates access from any web browser (see article below), a task management add-on for Outlook, PDF creation and conversion software, a note-taking app for the iPad and Mac that integrates with OneNote, and a cloud practice management system for law firms in the United Kingdom. Don't miss the next issue.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT ON THE GO

Advances in technology have freed software and thus lawyers from being chained to a single PC. Instead, modern software works on any device. Just login and resume your work. Your document management system in particular should function in this manner so that you need not worry about your ability to access and work on a document.

Worldox Web 2.0 … in One Sentence

Announced last week, World Software's Worldox Web 2.0 enables you to access your firm's Worldox document management system from any desktop or mobile web browser or the Worldox iOS app.

The Killer Feature

The new version of Worldox Web works with Worldox GX4 (also announced yesterday). It enables you to take advantage of Worldox GX4's new "Active Profiling" technology that simplifies saving and profiling of your documents.

Active Profiling creates a real-time profile of every Worldox user at your firm. Accordingly, when you log into your account using Worldox Web via a desktop or mobile web browser or Worldox iOS app, you'll find a navigation panel that provides quick access to the documents you most recently used. Specifically, this panel lists your Bookmarks, Favorite Matters, Favorite Files, and Workspaces.

With Workspaces, you can view Projects — groups of files from anywhere in Worldox, including across different clients and matters. For example, if you're working on two agreements during a particular week, you can add the files for both to a Project after which you can access them from the WorkSpaces Worldox Web navigation panel.

"We are pleased to announce the latest version or our mobile platform, World Software President Ray Zwiefelhofer told us. "Attorneys are more mobile than ever and expect efficient access to their content, wherever they may be. Many of our customers prefer their documents to remain on premise on a local server. Our new version of Worldox Web allows customers to enjoy speedy onsite document access while enjoying seamless access to their content while traveling or working remote."

Other Notable Features

If you need to dig deeper than the navigation panel, Worldox Web provides a search box on your dashboard. The Advanced Search page is one click away if you want to run a more specific query. Worldox Web also supports direct access to cabinets and documents — namely, drilling down your firm's folder structure manually to find a specific document.

Other tools include document sharing via email, document preview, download/upload, check in/check out and document statistics. The latter enables you to review metadata, read comments from colleagues, and access any version of a document.

What Else Should You Know?

Worldox Web sports a redesigned user interface that improves the user experience and facilitates faster access to key functions. Pricing for Worldox Web starts as low as $25 per month. Learn more about Worldox Web 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.

Today's issue of TL Answers contains these articles:

Stephen Hayes, Review: ActiveWords for Naming Documents

Adron Beene, Review: TValue for Amortization Calculations

Carol Baker, Review: dtSearch for a Briefs Knowledge Base

Christian Onsager, Body Position and Tablets

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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.

Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 56 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.

Review: DocMoto Document Management Software

Another Lawyer Reviews the Livescribe 3

The 2015 Guide to Smartphones for Lawyers

The Real Story Behind Jeff Bezos's Fire Phone

Congratulations to Jeff Richardson of iPhone J.D. on winning our BlawgWorld Pick of the Week award: The Paperless iPad Law Practice

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