TechnoLawyer

Originally published on August 30, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

With Hurricane Irene just recently having rumbled her way through my adopted home state of North Carolina — including making a mess of our beautiful Outer Banks and eastern regions — disaster preparedness (or business continuity to use a popular euphemism) is on my mind. Watching Irene's progression up the east coast and the trouble she wrought en route, I imagine it must be on some of your minds too.

When we talk about technology, we often engage in a facile and glib debate over operating systems, Angry Birds, and coolness. God knows, I'm a card-carrying member of that club — new and cool is my red meat as regular readers of my SmallLaw columns well know.

But in deference to all the law firms who are digging out from Irene, I want to use this issue of SmallLaw to address how to get your firm as ready as possible for the next Irene Mother Nature throws your way. Below you'll find my top five tips.

1. Go Paperless

The discussion over going paperless in a small law firm often centers on efficiency, collaboration, ethics and mobility, all of which are important facets of the decision.

However, it's not until you wake up one day, however, and your entire office suite is under six feet of water and your paper files have turned to pulp that paperless' importance as a disaster preparedness measure become clear.

Sure, you may only need offsite digital copies of everything once in a career — but the day you need it, you really need it. Offsite backup is a good start, but if only 25% of your key data is digital, you are still sunk when the high waters arrive.

2. Sever Your Servers With Hosted Communications

Floods and natural disasters are good reasons to consider embracing hosted communications — meaning both your email and your phone system. If your communication hubs run out of server boxes in your office and they're under water, they're useless. Sure, some backup strategies can help mitigate this porblem, but if I were running a small firm today, I'd get rid of all my servers — applications, email, documents, telephone — the whole shebang. With Hosted Exchange, Google Apps, and VoIP phone systems, it has never been easier.

3. Centralized Document and Practice Management

According to the ABA's 2011 Legal Technology Survey, the adoption rate of document and practice management software in small law offices remains dismal.

Anecdotally, in my work, I find that law firms regard this software as somewhere between an unnecessary expense and a "nice to have." Much like the decision to go paperless and host your communications, if you imagine having to run your firm the day after a disaster (with all of your employees working remotely from their homes), the decision to centralize document and practice management is not a luxury, but a necessity.

Frequency of need is not the same as degree. You only need an emergency room once in a while, too, but if you didn't have one nearby the day you needed it, you'd be in big trouble.

4. Laptops Over Desktops Plus Smartphones and iPads

I frequently talk with lawyers who debate whether to buy their staff laptop or desktop computers, citing that desktops are cheaper and more powerful. A disaster should convince you that mobility trumps the marginal cost savings and power of desktops.

Laptops have another advantage. When the power goes out, they continue running for a few hours. But even laptops have their limits. Smartphones (and 3G iPads) tend to have a much longer battery life, and can access the Internet via your carrier. Some smartphones can even serve as a mobile hotspot. Law firms have issued smartphones to their lawyers for many years. Some have begun to issue iPads as well.

5. Home Office Essentials

For your lawyers and staff to be productive working from home while your office is underwater, in addition to a laptop they will need an internet connection robust enough to run their VoIP phones, a headset with a microphone, a printer, and a scanner.

Whether you provide this equipment for your staff or require that they provide it for themselves is a matter of your compensation and training systems. Either way, if you want your staff to work rather than just watch Sports Center until your office reopens, they will need the tools to perform their work.

Conclusion

I hope you and your firm survived Hurricane Irene with nary a puddle. But I also hope this article prompts you to prepare for the unthinkable.

Written by Erik Mazzone of Law Practice Matters.

How to Receive SmallLaw
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Originally published on July 26, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

"Bookmarks are dead."

That's what an MIT-educated, super-nerd friend of mine told me several years ago as I complained about my unhappiness with my browser-based bookmarking system. (A complaint that may owe more to my inherent disorganization than to major deficiencies in browser technology it should be noted.)

"In a world where Google puts everything on the Web a quick search away, why bookmark anything?" my geek-guru asked rhetorically. I thought about that for a while. The logic made sense, but the conclusion didn't work for me.

I research on the Web the way I used to conduct legal research (aimlessly and incompletely, if my 1L legal research professor was to be believed). I roam freely and gather things as I go before I've decided on a connection or categorization for the item, so it is entirely possible I may never cross paths with the site again.

I decided that search only replaces bookmarks if you consistently reuse the same or very similar terms on each search. Maybe that works for those MIT computer brains, but it assuredly doesn't work for me.

Over the years I have tried a variety of improved bookmarking tools with varying degrees of success. In this issue of SmallLaw I discuss my top five.

The Uber-Notebooks: Evernote and Springpad

By now, you have probably heard of (and maybe use) Evernote, the online digital notebook. Evernote can do a lot of things, but one of the most underappreciated is that it's an excellent bookmarking service. With its terrific Web clipper extension for Chrome and Firefox, saving Web pages to Evernote is a snap. Not only do you get a bookmark with a link to the page, you also get the page itself.

Springpad is similar to Evernote, and it must be said, equally excellent. It also functions superbly as a bookmark tool (superior to Evernote in my estimation). I stick with Evernote largely because it hooks into everything I use, from my Fujitsu ScanSnap to my iPhone and inertia makes it hard to leave. If I were choosing between the two today, though, it would be tough call.

The Social Bookmark: Pinboard and Delicious

Social bookmarking sites Pinboard and Delicious offer another alternative to the traditional browser-based bookmarks. They function as a cloud-based service on which you save your bookmarks to a Web site that you log into from anywhere.

These services offer the usual cloud technology benefits of easy accessibility across a range of devices and reduced worry about hardware failures, as well as the usual cloud technology concern of privacy. Both Pinboard and Delicious offer tagging, notes fields and the ability to make a bookmark private. All in all, they are comparable services. Pinboard costs about $10 though, while Delicious is free.

Free was not enough to keep me using Delicious, however. I was a devoted Delicious user for years but switched to Pinboard when it looked like Yahoo (the former owner of Delicious) might shut the service down. Fearful of losing my bookmarks, I forked over the $10. Now that Delicious has been acquired, it again looks enticing, but I've been happy with Pinboard.

The Browser-Based Bookmark 2.0: Xmarks

Despite all of these options, there are still a few bookmarks that I like to keep in my browser (mostly because I use them all day long and that is the quickest way to access them). If you prefer to keep your bookmarks there as well, take a look at a service like Xmarks.

Xmarks will sync your bookmarks (via browser extension) across multiple machines as well as store a backup set of your bookmarks to prevent loss. Your bookmarks stay right in the folders you are used to in your browser, but are securely backed up and synced. It's a functionality that is increasingly being baked in to browser technology (Firefox for example), but for now I still think Xmarks offers a valuable service.

Conclusion

Check out these bookmarking options to see if any work for you. Maybe you'll conclude as I do, that, to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the demise of bookmarks have been greatly exaggerated.

Written by Erik Mazzone of Law Practice Matters.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on July 12, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

Who's on your list? You know which list I mean.

Deep within the folds and confines of your LinkedIn connections or Outlook contacts or Facebook friends or wherever exists the hub of all your business relationships, there is a small and very exclusive group — the people whose support and friendship has made the difference between success and failure for you.

Maybe you call them referral sources or key clients or just friends. What you call them and where you store them is less important than that they exist in the first place. I'm going to refer to them as VIPs for the sake of brevity.

Over the years, first as a practicing lawyer and later as a practice management advisor, I've heard many lawyers and marketing gurus refer to the need to compile a core group of 10, 15, or 20 people who comprise a professional's list of VIPs — the folks who help you build your practice and make your business world go round.

Top of Mind

It's not enough to build this group of VIPs though. You need to maintain contact with these heavy hitters — enough so you always remain top of mind when they need your skills, but not so much that you annoy them. Remembering enough detail about their lives that you demonstrate sincere interest, but not so much that you become creepy. (It's a fine line — remembering their kids' birthdays is okay, but remembering their spouse's yoga schedule is creepy.)

But with all the effluvia and ephemera that pass through the transoms of our minds and Facebook walls, there's not as much gray matter to remember the important stuff as we would hope.

CRM to the Rescue

CRM or client relationship management (companies outside the legal sector use the word "customer" instead) software can help. Long the province of salespeople, CRM software helps you manage your VIPs by enabling you to stay in regular touch with them, and reminding you of the important details of your relationship with them. It does this by:

1. Serving as the repository for all key information about your VIPs.

2. Reminding you when you interacted last with a VIP and what you talked about.

3. Prompting you to follow up with them in the timeframe you choose.

I realize this publication is called SmallLaw and not Selling Power, but don't let the sales origins of CRM software get you wrapped around the axle. When I was in college, I worked as a file clerk for a sole practitioner in a little hippie town in upstate New York. His "CRM" system consisted of a bunch of stuff typed on index cards. I know because I filed the cards.

Some CRM Options

When you start thinking about using CRM in your practice, it's important to recall that the end goal is strong relationships with your group of VIPs. Don't miss the forest for the trees, and become consumed by finding the CRM software with the most widgets, doodads, and gizmos. Find the product that best helps you connect with your VIPs.

Here's a test — if you are spending more time curating your VIP details in your CRM program than you are having lunch with your VIPs, you're on the wrong track.

As I've mentioned in previous SmallLaw columns, I'm a bit of techno-gadfly — and my experiments with CRM are no exception. I've tried 800 pound gorilla Salesforce (which TechnoLawyer uses), some more streamlined options that I liked (Highrise and BatchBook), and one or two forgettable options that ride on top of Outlook.

I can heartily recommend all three of the options I just listed. If you are in the market for CRM, they are each worth a look and all have free trials. The truth is, though, I don't use any of them. I found my personal CRM nirvana someplace else.

Back to the Inbox With Xobni

Covered several times in TechnoLawyer NewsWire, Xobni is a well-known Outlook add-on that helps users draw more functionality out of their email programs. I tried it years ago and was not terribly impressed — I don't keep enough email in Outlook for it to be particularly helpful so I cast it on the scrap heap of my discarded tech toys (if you use Outlook, check out that version).

Recently though, Xobni released Xobni for Gmail (currently in beta), which has provided the answer to my CRM needs. It pulls from all my contacts in Gmail, as well as their LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter information. It provides a graphical "relationship summary" of the frequency of our email exchanges and topics, including other people commonly included in our exchanges. And because in Gmail I keep all of my old messages, it draws on an unbelievably extensive history of information with each contact.

Best of all, though, it does all of this (courtesy of a Google Chrome extension) right in my Gmail inbox automatically without my needing to go to some other place to interact with it. It richly contextualizes my email exchanges when I need it and gets out of the way when I don't.

Xobni for Gmail does not have a task component built in, but that works for me anyway. I'm a bit of a Getting Things Done nerd (GTD — another three-letter acronym for a future SmallLaw column) so I use other tools for my task list.

Experiment for Yourself

Don't take my word for it. Try Xobni for Gmail or Outlook, Salesforce, Highrise, and Batchbook for yourself. See if one of them helps you keep track of your VIPs. They're your VIPs, after all. Shouldn't you treat them like that acronym?

How to Receive SmallLaw
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Originally published on May 10, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

I am, by and large, a technology polygamist. I flit about from gizmo to gadget, hither and yon, going wherever the shiniest toy attracts my attention. I'll spend a few rapturous weeks or months entranced with some new tool, but inevitably the infatuation fades, something new attracts my attention, and I move on leaving a littered trail of discarded logins, bookmarks, and tears. Well, maybe not tears. Once in a blue moon, though, a product comes along that is so good and useful and dependable that I don't leave. Almost accidentally, I find myself in a long-term monogamous relationship. So it is with Gmail.

Gmail and I first met on August 9, 2004. I had to buy my invite on eBay from some guy in Italy like some sort of digital mail-order bride. But the lack of a storybook beginning has hardly lessened our union. It's been a good seven years. Sure, we've had our up- and downtimes, but all in all I can't imagine life without Gmail.

As with any long-term relationship, though, over time things can get … stale. You have to figure out how to spice it up and keep it fresh if you want to go the distance. Otherwise "useful" and "dependable" transmogrify into "boring" and "predictable" — and before you know it your eye begins to wander.

Hey, Thunderbird, you're looking good. Been working out?

To that end, below you'll find my top seven tips for spicing up your Gmail life so you can stay true and beat the seven year itch. All but the final two tips are available via Gmail Labs in Gmail's Settings. These tips apply to Gmail in both its forms — regular Gmail and Gmail in Google Apps using your own domain name.

1. Multiple Inboxes

Multiple inboxes enables you to subdivide your inbox into up to five different segments and define what goes into each segment through labels or filters. If you receive lots of email, this feature can be a real boon. I subdivide mine using labels: "Unprocessed," "Action," and "Waiting For" (I'm a GTD advocate). It's also great for filtering listservers and newsletters without removing them from sight.

2. Send & Archive

Send & Archive is a thoughtful gadget. When you reply to an email in Gmail, it gives you (in addition to the send button) a second button with the option to send and archive the entire conversation in one click. It's a handy little time-saver.

3. Auto Advance

Similar to Send & Archive, when you have a big pile of email in your inbox, Auto Advance moves you directly into the next message once you have disposed of the prior message rather than revert back to inbox view. This utility enables you to process large amounts of email.

4. Undo Send

Undo send puts in a short delay between the time you hit send and when Gmail actually sends the email. It gives you a second chance when you hit send too rashly. If only it worked on my speech, as well…

5. Google Voice Player

Many Gmail loyalists are also fans of Google Voice. With Google Voice's latest integration with Sprint, the number of fans will likely increase. Google Voice Player, unsurprisingly, enables you to play your voicemail within Gmail. If you use Gmail as your productivity nerve center, it's nice to be able to do as much as possible without leaving the application.

6. Address Alias

Gmail allows you to create unlimited personal email addresses by adding "+whatever" to the end of your username. It helps to effectively filter messages (as with multiple inboxes above), but even more useful is its ability to tell you who is selling your email address to spammers. If you create a unique email address for each Web site you use (e.g., username+eharmony@gmail.com), you will know who sells you out and to whom.

7. Two-Step Verification

Finally, if you love your Gmail account, you'll want to protect it and keep it safe. Google has recently upped the ante on security by offering two-step verification (or "two factor authentication" as it is more generically known). Two-step verification is an additional layer of security that requires you to enter a code in addition to your password when you login. It is an opt-in service that takes a few minutes to set up.

Conclusion

When you meet that special technology, you never want to let it go. If Gmail is that technology for you, keep your relationship fresh by experimenting and trying some new stuff. You might be surprised by what Gmail is willing to do for you. Better yet, if you mess up you won't need to send Gmail flowers or sleep on the sofa.

Written by Erik Mazzone of Law Practice Matters.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on March 15, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

I may never download a software program again — with one exception. You see, I've got browsers on the brain. I'm teaching a session on browsers next month at ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago so I've been researching browser technologies for the session. Along the way, I have noticed how incredibly browser-centric my computing life has become. I'm all about the browser, baby.

It started a few years ago when I downloaded Mozilla Firefox, and then amped up a little when I downloaded Google Chrome. However, my Web browser obsession didn't really kick into high gear until late last year when Google opened the Chrome Web Store — a one stop shop for all things customizable for Google Chrome (which had already replaced Firefox as my browser of choice).

These days, more and more I find myself trawling the Chrome Web Store looking for new apps and extensions to wring more productivity and functionality out of my browser. It's so quick, cheap and easy that, as I intimated above, I may never download a software program again other than these Chrome apps and extensions.

So without further ado, below you'll find my 14 current favorite finds in the Chrome Web Store. Of the bazillions I have downloaded and played with, these 14 I use and rely on day in day out.

1. Clip to Evernote

I live my life in Evernote. I use it to store everything, including Web clips. Clip to Evernote makes it easy to choose exactly which part of a web page you want to add to Evernote. Honorable mention goes to the SpringPad Extension.

2. Awesome Screenshot

The Awesome Screenshot extension makes it quick and painless to take a full or partial screenshot of whatever is on your browser. Slicker and easier than the screenshot tool built in to Windows 7.

3. Facebook Photo Zoom

No more having to double click on all the photos that show up in your Facebook stream. Facebook Photo Zoom enables you to simply hover over a photo and have it zoom in to larger size. A "must have" for all you Facebook stalkers out there poring over photos of your high school girlfriend.

4. Google Mail Checker

Google Mail Checker sits quietly in Chrome and performs two little tricks (very well). First, it shows an unread message icon for your Gmail inbox so you know when you have new mail in Gmail. Second, it acts as one click link right to your inbox. A real time saver for Gmail addicts.

5. RSS Subscription Extension

I obtain a lot of my news from RSS feeds. My RSS feed reader of choice is Google Reader. Created by Google, the RSS Subscription Extension shows up in the omnibar in Chrome whenever you are on a site with an available RSS feed. With one click it automatically adds the new site to your Google Reader account.

6. Mailto:Gmail

In keeping with the other cool stuff from Google, Mailto:Gmail solves a problem a lot of Gmail users have — when you click on an email link in your browser, your computer launches Outlook or Mail or whatever the default mail program is on your machine. This extension changes the default mail program so when you click these links it launches Gmail.

7. Adblock Plus

I don't see pop up ads anymore when I browse. Period. Install Adblock Plus and neither will you.

8. LastPass

I reviewed this slick password manager and form filler in my last SmallLaw column. LastPass is a must-have — probably my most-used extension of all.

9. Shareaholic

Shareaholic provides one click sharing to anywhere you want, from email to Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn to Instapaper to … you get the idea. If LastPass is my most-used extension, Shareaholic is probably number two.

10. Ge.tt

Simple, one click file sharing. Get Ge.tt.

11. Write Space

Unfortunately, I have the attention span of a three month old puppy. When I need to buckle down and write something like this SmallLaw column or a CLE manuscript, Write Space provides a distraction-free writing environment.

12. TweetDeck

TweetDeck is my favorite application for managing Twitter. Now I use it right in my browser. Honorable mention goes to HootSuite.

13. Podcast Player

I listen to a lot of podcasts but despite being an inveterate Mac geek, I don't always want to deal with transferring them from iTunes to my iPad or iPhone. Podcast Player makes your favorite podcasts instantly accessible from Chrome.

14. New York Times

I'm a Times junkie. The New York Times Chrome app is my absolute favorite way to read it, bar none.

What, No Fifteenth Pick?

That's my list. Yes, just 14. Go check out the Chrome Web Store and start compiling your own list — and post reviews of your favorites, one of which might become my 15th favorite.

Written by Erik Mazzone of Law Practice Matters.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published first via email newsletter and later here on our blog, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Originally published on January 18, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.

TechnoScore: 4.5
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score

Introduction

Is yours long or short? Do you use it over and over again or just once in a while? Is it named after your pet? I should clarify that I'm referring to your password. Don't give me that "which password?" stuff. You know which password I'm talking about. The password you use over and over again that you know by heart. The one that you use to access everything from Amazon to your checking account. The one that would cause you a heap of trouble if the wrong person got hold of it. Old Faithful.

Lawyers like us who subscribe to SmallLaw know that we should create long, unique passwords with numbers, letters and special characters and then lock them away so deeply in our gray matter we would have to undergo waterboarding to give them up. But given our busy lives in small law firms, it's so much easier just to use Old Faithful. In the battle between safe surfing and convenient login, many of us choose convenience and hope for the best. It doesn't have to be this way, though.

Meet LastPass

LastPass is a password manager that acts as a safe deposit box for all your passwords. It is cross-platform (Mac, Windows, and Linux), cross-browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Explorer) and mobile friendly (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, and Windows Phone). You choose one strong master password to remember and LastPass does the rest. Best of all, LastPass is free.

LastPass does a lot more than just keep your passwords secure and synced across devices, though. Below you'll learn about a few other LastPass features that make your Internet life more convenient and more secure.

1. One Click Login

LastPass resides in your browser's toolbar and enables you to launch and log into secure Web sites with one click. This functionality might not sound like much, but once you start using LastPass to quickly enter Web sites, you will wonder why you ever spent so much time keying in Old Faithful.

2. Secure Notes

LastPass can hold more than just usernames and passwords. It also can store secure, encrypted notes for any other text-based information you choose. Bank account numbers, security alarm codes, etc. — drop them in LastPass and stop worrying.

3. Fill Forms

Say goodbye to filling the same old information into online forms over and over. LastPass will fill these forms for you using multiple identities (work, home, etc.). It is a time saver and accuracy improver.

4. Generate Passwords

Having trouble coming up with yet another long, unique password? LastPass can generate passwords for you according to the specifications (number of characters, types of characters to use, etc.) you set. As long as you remember your master password, you can always retrieve the secure passwords that LastPass randomly generated for you.

5. Share Your Password Without Disclosing It

Need other people to use your passwords but hate feeling vulnerable giving away the keys to the castle? LastPass enables you to share your passwords with other users. They can use your password but never actually see it. You can also revoke the sharing any time you choose.

6. Mobile Costs Money

If you like LastPass you will also want it on your mobile devices, requiring an upgrade to LastPass Premium ($1 per month). The $12 per year is money well spent in my estimation. That said, the mobile version needs a little fine-tuning. It's not as easy to use as it should be. It kind of wants to replace the browser instead of integrating with the browser, which results in a lot of cutting and pasting.

Conclusion

Secure, convenient, and affordable, LastPass is a great addition to your online life. If you make just one change in 2011 to improve your digital security, consider LastPass.

Written by Erik Mazzone of Law Practice Matters.

How to Receive SmallLaw
Small firm, big dreams. Published initially via email newsletter weeks before it appears here, SmallLaw provides you with a mix of practical advice that you can use today, and insight about what it will take for small law firms like yours to thrive in the future. The SmallLaw newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.