TechnoLawyer: Legal Research

Coming May 29, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Wendy Parker reviews ExpressScribe and ExpressDictate from NCH, Michael Campbell reviews LexisNexis and Westlaw (and shares an insider's tip regarding Lexis' adhesion contract), Kurt Schoettler explains how to copy and paste from Word to WordPerfect without any formatting, Lawrence King reviews Ergotron's dual monitor stands, and Morris Tabush explains how to set up a wireless scanner. Don't miss this issue.

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Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming May 8, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Ed Detlie suggests a few case management software options for a workers compensation practice plus he reviews the ScanSnap s510, David Adamski reviews Loislaw for legal research and comments on adhesion contracts, Edward Zohn explains how his firm archives its Exchange/Outlook-based email, Harry Steinmetz reviews Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition and Amicus Accounting, and Thomas Hutto reviews Backpack and Google calendar for shared calendaring. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming May 1, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Tim Hughes reviews Westlaw and LexisNexis for legal research plus adds his two cents on adhesion contracts, Thomas Collon reviews Google calendar and Mozilla Thunderbird for shared calendars, John Kaurloto explains how to use subforms to automatically link to documents in Microsoft Access, Ryan Opria reviews IOGEAR's USB 2.0 External Video Card for using multiple monitors with a laptop, and Steven Schwaber responds to a previous Post that criticized WordPerfect. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers dictation software for your BlackBerry and an accompanying online dictation service, an online service for retrieving medical records, and new electronic discovery software designed for in-house counsel in the early stages of a case or investigation (see article below). Don't miss the next issue.

Put the Cushy Back Into Corporate Counsel
By Neil J. Squillante

Being a corporate counsel used to be a cushy job. When litigation arose, you could have your outside counsel swing by to collect documents. Those days have ended. It's one thing to let your outside counsel rummage through file cabinets, but it's not advisable to have them rummage through your computers. Increasingly, that task belongs to you.

DigIT Technologies' DigIT Enterprise 2.5 enables your legal department to access to all electronically stored information throughout the enterprise, enabling you to quickly search for, find, and preserve data that may prove relevant to an investigation or litigation.

DigIT Technologies customizes every installation of DigIT Enterprise based on your specific needs. Once configured, it performs three core functions — Early Case Assessment, Custodian Mapping, and Full Custodian Capture.

Regarding Early Case Assessment, digIT Enterprise enables you to make decisions before you spend any money processing data. By running a few quick searches, you will know how much evidentiary data exists so that you can establish a case budget and strategy. digIT Enterprise also provides the requisite information necessary for the Meet & Confer requirement of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure such as the number of custodians, how much data each custodian has, and where that data resides.

While some software uses a single method for identifying custodians, digIT Enterprise employs a variety of methods for Custodian Mapping, including address, machine name, and integration with Microsoft Active Directory. You can also map email using particular fields such as the sender and the name of the mailbox.

Full Custodian Capture facilitates the preservation of all potential evidence belonging to one custodian in a single search. digIT Enterprise places all available information for each custodian into a "repository." You then apply search terms against each custodian's collection, and then export potentially relevant files to your review platform of choice for further analysis, tagging, and categorization. This approach ensures that no file is altered or deleted during discovery by any key custodians.

Learn more about digIT Enterprise 2.5.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming April 7, 2008 to Answers to Questions: John Starkweather reviews several online calendaring and project management solutions, James Keuning reviews RoboForm and suggests a clever (and free) way to create strong passwords, Bruce Brightwell explains why lawyers shouldn't worry about legal research service adhesion contracts, David Herdman discusses the benefits of learning both Word and WordPerfect, and Harry Dreier shares his LexisNexis search results for "out of title" cases. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming March 27, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Nathaniel Barber discusses the role of technology in the grand scheme of being a good and competent lawyer, Gray Strickland suggests using VNC remote access software for accessing your server and also reviews his dual monitors, Erin Baldwin reviews the Defense Research Institute case database for finding expert witnesses plus a new LexisNexis service, Gregory Landry explains two ways to avoid showing your computer's desktop to the audience during a presentation, and Thomas F. McDow reviews Loislaw. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers document automation software for estate planning and other lawyers (see article below), software that enables you to send slide shows via email, and an online research service for European Union case law. Don't miss the next issue.

Stiffs and Gifts on Steroids
By Neil J. Squillante

"Computer, please draft a trust for Mr. Jones." "Hey computer, I said please draft a trust for Mr. Jones." "I'm talking to you!" "Hello, anyone home?" "Is this thing on?"

Too bad computers are still in their infancy. Although you can't give them complex tasks to do that require thinking, you can have them handle repetitive tasks. The latest entrant in the document automation space is Fore! Trust Software, which recently shipped Trusts & Wills. As its name suggests, Trusts & Wills aims to help estate planning lawyers crank out said documents for their clients.

Covering the District of Columbia and every state except Louisiana, Trusts & Wills features HotDocs-based templates that walk you through a series of questions. The company emphatically states that these templates are much more advanced than "canned forms." The company also claims that any lawyer can use them — even those without much estate planning experience. HotDocs is hidden from view so you also don't need any document assembly experience. You do need a pulse though.

Trusts & Wills includes templates for joint trusts, reciprocal trusts, A/B trusts, QTIPs, probate avoidance trusts, QDOT, gifts, debt forgiveness, special needs trusts, pet trusts, charitable foundations, family pots, per stripes, unequal distributions, delay trusts, generation-skipping trusts, pour-over wills, power-of-attorney, marital property agreement, living wills, codicils, amendments, model letters (including CYA letters for funding and holding original documents), revocation of trust, appointment of co-trustee, transfer documents, and much more.

Trusts & Wills requires Windows. In the preferences, you can elect which terms to use (e.g., settlor or trustor), whether to use familiar or traditional language, and whether to use unitrust or net income. Unlike most software, licensing is relatively simple — you can choose between a single-user version priced at $995 or a multiple user version priced at $1,990 that everyone in your office can use. Learn more about Trusts & Wills.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Wednesdays, TechnoLawyer NewsWire is a weekly newsletter that enables you to learn about new technology products and services of interest to legal professionals. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

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.

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Coming September 6, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Charles T. Lester, Jr. reviews three document comparison programs, Michael Kenwood explains how to set up dual monitors on a computer with a KVM switch and how to best manage a server, Paul Mathias discusses his conversion from Windows to Mac, Steven J. Best compares Amicus Accounting to Timeslips,  and Richard Stevens shares some tips on finding "out of title" cases. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published Thursdays, Answers to Questions is a weekly newsletter in which TechnoLawyer members answer legal technology and practice management questions submitted by their peers (including you if you join TechnoLawyer). Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming August 28, 2007 to TechnoFeature: If you need to find an online legal research service, you've come to the right place. In this article, lawyer and technology enthusiast Carroll Straus reviews the features and functionality of Loislaw. Though owned by publishing giant Wolters Kluwer, Loislaw is a relative newcomer compared to LexisNexis and Westlaw. In her review, Carroll discusses why she prefers Loislaw to its more well-known rivals, but also points out what she doesn't like and what she hopes will improve. As a bonus, Loislaw accepted our invitation to respond to Carroll's observations.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on Tuesdays, TechnoFeature is a weekly newsletter that contains in-depth articles written by leading legal technology and practice management experts. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.