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Coming today to Answers to Questions: Jason Grimes explains what sets LexisNexis and Westlaw apart from their competitors, Andrea Cannavina shares her thoughts on Olympus' DS2 file format and reviews the Philips Pocket Memo 9600 and Grundig Digta 420 digital dictation recorders, Sean LaRoque discusses the security of email fax services, Randy Gold reviews Dell's onsite laptop repair service, and Steven McNichols reviews Snagit for capturing Web pages. Don't miss this issue.

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Originally published on July 20, 2009 in our free SmallLaw newsletter.

If you hung out a shingle at a leisurely pace with cash reserves, strong credit, a book of business, and no regrets, dust off a copy of How to Start and Build a Law Practice by Jay Foonberg. The rest of you might want to keep reading, however. This installment of SmallLaw addresses the swelling ranks of the newly unemployed (law firm layoffs) and involuntarily self-employed (178 law schools, 40,000 graduates) who thanks to this year of breathtaking economic free-fall have decided to go solo.

Top 10 Solo Traps to Avoid …

As you read through the list below, keep these common traps in mind, as they represent the most palpable and often the most fatal blows to would-be sole practitioners:

10. Isolation, insecurity, fear.
9. High-maintenance clients.
8. Unrelenting competition.
7. Technology whiplash.
6. Employee nightmares.
5. Nowhere to turn for advice.
4. Underestimating costs (software and services).
3. Ethical quagmires.
2. Notoriously uneven cash-flow.
1. Deadbeat clients.

The Envelope Please …

By and large I've organized these tools based on cost, coverage, and effectiveness. I encourage you to try as many as you can and share your experience with your fellow solos. So let's get started.

Web Sites

The .com revolution ended over 10 years ago, so why is Web site development and hosting still a mystery? Explore free and low cost Web site resources before you agree to pay (and pay, and pay, and pay) for a site.

My Recommendations: Avvo, Justia, Template Monster.

Social Networks

When it comes to reaching prospects and other lawyers on social networks, I've lectured, written, and given presentations until I was blue in the face and worked up a whopping case of carpel-tunnel. So I guess one more mentioning won't hurt.

My Recommendations: Avvo, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, JD Supra.

Blogs

Blogs developed from outlets for pure self-expression into "premium" services run by "legal blogging experts" (whatever that means). Frankly, I'm not convinced, so I split my vote between free and paid services. You be the judge.

My Recommendations: Blogger, TypePad, WordPress, LexBlog, Justia.

Software as a Service

Today you can manage complex recordkeeping, file management, billing, calendaring, task management, communications, and a dozen other vital functions on your iPhone. Ten years ago they said it would never happen, but we proved them wrong! Thanks, Google.

My Recommendations: Google Apps, Basecamp, Zoho, Clio, Rocket Matter, OpenOffice. (Bonus: Microsoft Office 2010 online next year).

Custom SaaS

In a perfect world you would only use tools suited to your practice. But the world isn't perfect. Luckily, customizable SaaS enables you to add, subtract, and modulate applications so that you don't have to pay for features you never use (Are you reading this Microsoft?).

My Recommendations: Google Apps, Basecamp, Advologix/Salesforce.com, Zimbra.

Research

Remember when the price of gas went down last summer? Remember when the cost of legal research subscriptions went down? Me neither. Even the Saudis get it so how come it costs more to review a Supreme Court decision today than it did 10 years ago?

My Recommendations: My Findlaw, Lexbe, LII (Cornell), Fastcase.

Communications

From email to instant messaging, conference calls to faxing, message management to call routing, the telecommunications market has proven to be almost as stubborn as the legal market when it comes to change. But change it has, and there are now more choices than ever.

My Recommendations: eFax, Google Voice, Free Conference Call, GoToMeeting.

Prospecting

Lawyer marketing often offends older lawyers used to a more genteel approach. Of course they didn't have to compete with 30,000 other unemployed graduates. Since you do, check out these sites designed to help you get a jump on the competition.

My Recommendations: LawFiles, Avvo, LegalMatch, Twitter (yes, Twitter).

Billing

Sure it takes money to make money. But why so much? Since the days of Red Gorilla (bonus if you remember that .com darling), Web-based billing has been the fevered dream of a madman. Or at least it was until a surge of do-it-yourself timers and time-keeping services hit the market.

My Recommendations: Tempo, Clio, Rocket Matter, Bill4Time, TimeSolv, Chrometa, MonetaSuite, Proximiti. (The last three are experimental but worth trying.)

Document Backup and Sharing

Making files ubiquitous has proven to be harder than it sounds. Limitations on bandwidth, file-size, extensions, and a variety of other factors have conspired to keep file sharing clumsy and uninspired. Luckily, you have options.

My Recommendations: Dropbox, Google Docs, Docstoc, JD Supra, Microsoft Live Office. (Bonus: Office 2010 will have a free online component.)

Collaboration

"Collaboration" sites let you display information like a Web host, share and exchange documents like Google Docs, and interact with one another like a social network. So why give them a separate category? Because most of the time these sites represent a useful compilation of features perfect for everything from ad hoc bar association groups to teams of lawyers working on a case with national scope.

My Recommendations: Basecamp, Clio Client-Connect, Groupsite, Google Sites.

Online Chat

With the aid of the ubiquitous instant messaging client, you'll never need to yell out the office door at your associates again. But you will anyway. Just saying.

My Recommendations: Google Talk, MSN, AIM.

Onward and Upward …

If I've left anything out I apologize, but I feel confident that this list should stand you in good stead, at least for now. If you have suggestions of your own please let me (and everyone else) know.

Written by Mazyar M. Hedayat of M. Hedayat & Associates, P.C.

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Coming today to Fat Friday: Philip Franckel shares his backup routine and explains how to backup using batch files, Mazyar Hedayat responds to criticism of his recent Perils of Solo Practice SmallLaw column, Andrew Weltcheck reviews LogMeIn Pro's file sharing feature, Steven Basche reviews Drop.io for online file sharing, and Christopher Mitchell shares how his firm created a successful Web site without spending any money. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to Fat Friday: Sarkis Babachanian explains why his firm uses Macs, Tom Trottier reviews ZScreen and IrfanView for capturing screenshots to use in other programs, Steven Finell discusses spam versus spam control and which is the lesser evil, Roger Boyell provides a tip for those interested in building custom PCs, and Robert Fleming shares a workaround for using WordPerfect on multiple monitors. Don't miss this issue.

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Coming today to Answers to Questions: D. Paul Dalton reviews Samsung's 2243BWX 22" widescreen LCD monitor, Toon Goedhart shares some tips for scanning medical images, Douglas Dweck of Bill4Time responds to a question, Carol Bratt discusses WordPerfect, Word, and the importance of training, and Tom Rowe explains why Time Matters 4.0 won't sync with Timeslips 2008. Don't miss this issue.

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In an excellent article entitled The Power of Google Link Juice, venture capital legend Fed Wilson writes:

"I've thought about moving my blog from this lousy URL (avc.blogs.com) to something better. But I can never get past the google juice issue."

In other words, thanks to years of quality inbound links, Google thinks so highly of Fred's blog that his articles often appear on Google's first page when people search for keywords in those articles. If he changes his domain name, much of his Google link juice will evaporate.

What's the Lesson?

Carefully choose your domain name for your firm's Web site and blog(s). They should reside at the same domain name (which does not mean they must reside on the same Web server).

What Are the Consequences of Ignoring This Lesson?

Let's look at an all-too-common example.

A law firm launches a Web site at www.myfirm.com. Great. The site attracts links to its lawyer biographies, articles, etc. Great. A few years later, the firm decides to launch one or more blogs. Great.

But then the firm runs off the rails by placing its blog at a different domain name when instead the firm should use a subdomain of its existing domain name (e.g., asbestos.myfirm.com).

The upshot is that the blog will not benefit from any of the firm's existing Google link juice. The blog will have to start from square one.

Why Do Law Firms Make This Mistake?

Many law firms don't appreciate Google's dominance and how much power it wields. And so they wind up falling prey to one of three lines of faulty thinking.

1. Too Complex or Expensive

Some firms host their blog using a free service such as Blogger on the mistaken belief that it's difficult or expensive to host their blog at their existing domain name.

Blogger and other free services don't allow you to use your own domain name, but plenty of modestly-priced services do and the process is not difficult. You simply create a CNAME in the DNS settings of your domain name, and then domain map this CNAME using the tools provided by your blog hosting service.

Notwithstanding all that jargon, it will take you 10 minutes — 9 minutes to read the instructions and 1 minute to do the work. TypePad has the best explanation I've seen.

2. The Blog Beta Test

Some firms host their blogs at a different domain name because they're unsure about blogging and don't want the content on their main site. These firms should not bother blogging. You can't get a little bit pregnant after all.

3. Vanity URLs

Some firms want their blog at a vanity URL such as asbestoslawyers.com instead of at their firm's domain name. I understand the appeal of a memorable domain name, but from a search engine optimization perspective you then have to worry about juicing multiple domain names rather than one.

If you insist on going this route, at least envelope your blog in the same design template as your main site. This way, visitors can somewhat seamlessly go from your blog to your main site and back again. The URL will change, but people may not notice.

If you haven't built much equity around your current domain name and your site is small, you could move it to the more memorable URL that you now prefer for your imminent blog and use HTTP 301 redirects to preserve whatever Google juice you had.

Coincidentally, lexBlog CEO Kevin O'Keefe offers similar advice today about vanity domain names, including some tips on how to secure one, but he does not discuss the benefits of sticking with your established domain name (assuming you have one).

How About a Tasty Test?

Given that we're discussing "juice," it just so happens that I recently perfected a recipe after 4 years of tests. This fairly popular dish in the Northeast surprisingly pulls up only 1,570 listings on Google when the search terms appear in quotes and 35,500 without quotes.

Even though TechnoLawyer Blog doesn't usually cover food, it has considerable Google link juice. Therefore, I think there's a good chance Google will list my recipe on its first page. No tricks here. Just quality content written well.

Here's my recipe.

Here's the Google search with quotes.

Here's the Google search without quotes.

Check these Google searches on Thursday or Friday to see how the recipe is performing now and you'll see my recipe listed on the first page. Remember, people at this very minute are searching Google for keywords of great interest to you and your firm. Make sure they find you.

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A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers the new version of a popular practice management application (see article below), the new version of a popular legal illustration application, and anti-spyware software that takes a unique "definition-less" approach. Don't miss the next issue.

Organize Your Practice from Top to Bottom Line
By Taeho Lim

It's uncanny how many offline problems make their way into our computers. For example, in the real world we lose and sometimes find personal items. Similarly, we often create files on our computers only to lose them. There is one advantage though — you don't need to hunt around with a flashlight to find missing files.

Instead, you can use search technology such as that in Software Technology's PracticeMaster Premier Version 14.2, the new version of its popular practice management software. PracticeMaster Premier's new Document Search tool goes far beyond generic search tools. You can limit your searches to specific clients and matters as well as other parameters such as date range. You can also search phonetically, which will pick up commonly misspelled words, homonyms, etc. You can search the content of any document in a client's file, including documents stored in iManage and Worldox. You can also search your email and email attachments. This same technology now also exists in the Conflict of Interest Search tool.

Another major new feature of PracticeMaster Premier is its enhanced integrated email. For example, you can easily convert an email message into a fee record. You can also apply an unlimited number of signatures to your outgoing email. If you want to continue using Outlook or another email program, but want access to your email by client and matter within PracticeMaster Premier, you can now do that thanks to a new configuration option.

Software Technology has also focused on ease of use in this release. The new Application Toolbar gives you one click access to PracticeMaster Premier and any other Software Technology products that you use such as Tabs3. The new Quick Clicks pane gives you one click access to your most frequently used functions in PracticeMaster Premier — Sorting, Filtering, Column Layouts, Convert to Fee, etc. You can have Quick Clicks hide and appear automatically based on your mouse cursor location. Also new, the PracticeMaster Toolbar for Internet Explorer enables you to easily capture your research and store it in PracticeMaster Premier, including a link back to the Web page.

PraticeMaster has a number of other notable enhancements, including easier to use Convert to Fee settings, one click conversion of calendar events into fee records, improved list preferences that make it easier to review contacts, email, and other information presented in a list, improved import filters for Outlook, Groupwise, AbacusLaw, Amicus Attorney, and Time Matters, a new document assembly toolbar for Microsoft Word, and of course Windows Vista compatibility. PracticeMaster Premier costs $295 for the first user license plus $150 for each additional user. Learn more about PracticeMaster Premier Version 14.2.

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BlawgWorld enables you to explore and discover legal blogs (blawgs) without spinning your wheels. It features the best essays of the year from 77 of the most influential blawgs.

TechnoLawyer Problem/Solution Guide uses a question/answer format to help you find solutions to problems commonly encountered by law firms. It contains 185 solutions organized into 58 topics.

Thanks to the eBook's inspired design, you're never more than three clicks away from what you want to read. BlawgWorld 2007-08 with TechnoLawyer Problem/Solution Guide has received glowing reviews from many publications. For example, LLRX writes:

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The 2007 TechnoLawyer Problem/Solution Guide is a revolutionary new way to find Solutions to Problems your law firm is experiencing. Specifically, it contains 185 Problems and corresponding Solutions.

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Coming July 12, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Steven Schwaber reviews his experience setting up and using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9, Brett Burney discusses the ins and outs of a multiple monitor setup (including how-to videos), Brian Frabl adds his two cents to the Word v. WordPerfect debate, Paul Billings reviews Microsoft Office Document Imaging and PaperPort 11 for TIFF manipulation, and Gil Marquez offers a solution for anyone having trouble printing a large PDF file. Don't miss this issue.

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