TechnoLawyer: Online/Cloud

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a Web-based automated time-tracking service (see article below), a shopping search engine for electronic discovery service providers, an online local services directory that costs less than a yellow pages listing, and iPhone app for navigating airports. Don't miss the next issue.

Track Your Billable Time Without Wasting Your Time

In his best-selling novel The Naked Sun, Isaac Asimov envisions a world whose inhabitants live on vast estates with thousands of robots tending to their every need (think Mario Batali cooking for you every night). Some people have all the luck. Lawyers like you would be happy with just one robot designed for one purpose — to keep track of all your billable time automatically and unobtrusively without interrupting you. While it hasn't developed a robot, a software company in California has created a product with a lot fewer moving parts that essentially performs the same function.

Chrometa Web App … in One Sentence
Chrometa Web App is an online service that captures your billable time automatically while you work.

The Killer Feature
Chrometa began its life as a Windows program that quickly attracted fans among TechnoLawyer subscribers (we were the first to report on it in this newsletter). Of course, Mac users immediately started complaining about being left out.

Given the growing number of devices on which lawyers now work, Chrometa realized that rather than just build a Mac version it should build a Web version.

Chrometa now works as follows. You install the Chrometa Data Collector on your computer (Mac or Windows), which runs in the background recording your activities. You then log into the secure Chrometa Web App to view all your data and convert billable activities into time entries. For example, if you work on a Windows PC at the office and a Mac at home, Chrometa can track both computers and combine the data for you to view on the Web.

"Our customers are using more and more computing devices to get their work done these days," Chrometa CEO and Co-Founder Brett Owens told us. "They wanted a way to capture and sync up their billable time so we took Chrometa to the cloud by buidling a secure Web app that enables them to easily categorize their time entries."

Other Notable Features
Chrometa enables you to create rules that automatically categorize your activities by client/matter. For example, suppose you represent Apple in a deal with Facebook. Chrometa can categorize anything containing the word "Facebook" under Apple/Facebook.

Chrometa also offers Active Search, which works like Google's Instant Search. Results begin to appear in realtime as you type.

What about meetings and telephone calls? Chrometa captures these activities too. When it notices you have not used your computer, it displays the Away Time pop-up reminder. If you just engaged in a billable activity, you can enter it and later create a time entry on the Web.

Once you've created time entries in Chrometa, you can export them or send them to a compatible third party billing or practice management system (Chrometa's open API facilitates these integrations).

What Else Should You Know?
Chrometa offers three plans — Basic ($19/month), Premium ($49/month), and Ultimate ($99/month). Basic enables you to track three devices and keep three months of data. Premium tracks up to five devices and keeps one year of data. Ultimate tracks up to 10 devices and keeps your data forever. Learn more about Chrometa Web App.

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Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 125 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Andy Adkins and Friends on Web Practice Management (Video)

HP Shows Off Its TouchPad and Pre3

Creating the Illusion of the Little Big Firm

Why Your Law Firm Might Need an Editor In Chief

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Today's issue of Answers to Questions contains these articles:

Nancy Plante, Tips on Retainer Fees and How to Avoid Giving Discounts

Neal Frishberg, Review: Olympus DS-5000 Recorder and AS-5000 Transcription Kit

Norman Bowley, Tip: Our "Native" Document Management System; SmartSave Review

Dan Johnson, Tip: NetDocuments' Outlook Integration and Email Management Profiler

Michael Jones, Review: AVG Anti-Virus Software

Paul Mansfield, My Rocky Romance With Timeslips

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Today's issue of Fat Friday contains these articles:

Gian-Reto Schulthes, Review: Colligo Contributor Pro for SharePoint

W. James Slaughter, Review: HoudiniESQ Web-Based Practice Management

Craig Humphrey, Why the Toshiba Libretto W100 Failed

Matthew McInteer, Review Windows 7 64-Bit Version

Bobby Abrams, Deciding When to Switch Billing and Practice Management Systems

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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.

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Coming today to TechnoFeature: True or false? The founder of an online practice management company wants you to spend all of your time on the Internet. False in the case of Larry Port, founder of Rocket Matter. In this TechnoFeature, Larry explores the dark side of the Internet, including addiction, distracted driving, and threats to family cohesion, productivity, and privacy. Larry doesn't expect you chuck your iPhone and join the nearest monastery. Nor does he plan to give up on his vision of practice management in the cloud. But he has some suggestions on how to find a happy medium between always on and out of the loop.

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Coming today to BlawgWorld: Our editorial team has selected and linked to 113 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

Does Microsoft Care About Bugs in Office 2010?

Wowza! Microsoft OneNote for iPhone! Christmas Already?

Contract Attorneys as a True Alternative Fee Arrangement

No, You Can't Offer a Groupon for Legal Services

This issue also contains links to every article in the January 2011 issue of Law Practice Today. Don't miss this issue or future issues.

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Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers an online practice management application with social networking technologies (see article below), a PDF editor for iPad, a redaction add-on for Microsoft Word, a tool for adding contact forms and other elements to your Web site, and an online audio recording service for creating podcasts. Don't miss the next issue.

Introducing Social Practice Management

Your day has finally ended. It's dark outside so you see your reflection in the window. You worked pretty much nonstop but something seems amiss. Did you finish and file that brief? Check. Did your partner revise that lease? Check. Did you both enter your billable time? Check. Did you return your client's call? Oops! That's it. Too late now. Too bad your client couldn't see that you were working on his brief. Or could he?

MyCase v2.0 … in One Sentence
MyCase is an online application that combines social networking with practice management for enhanced business development, client communication and collaboration, and mobility.

The Killer Feature
Communication is essential for successful attorney-client relationships. Most clients don't expect miracles, but they expect their lawyers to keep them in the loop. However, when solos and small firm lawyers get busy with client work, they sometimes forget about the client who gave them the work.

MyCase enables you to communicate with your clients 24/7 — even when you're sleeping or otherwise preoccupied. Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, MyCase gives your clients secure access to their case information.

Specifically, they can ask questions about and comment on their cases, download, view, and upload documents, schedule appointments and telephone calls, receive reminders, and review and pay bills. Also, like Facebook's famous newsfeed, MyCase offers Activity Streams — all documents and events associated with a case — enabling your clients to view the progress you're making in real-time.

"When I started my firm I searched for a solution to help me communicate efficiently with my clients," MyCase President and CEO Matt Spiegel, Esq. told us. "I tried all of the traditional desktop and cloud-based programs but none of them addressed this challenge. MyCase was the direct result of my desire to build a successful practice, and with it I've been able to do just that in less than 18 months."

Other Notable Features
MyCase claims to offer practice management for lawyers who hate practice management. Based on research, the company eliminated little-used fields to focus on critical information and create a streamlined interface requiring little if any training. MyCase offers calendars that sync with third-party applications such as Outlook, iCal, and Google Calendar, contact, case, and matter management, group task management, and document management with versioning.

With MyCase, you can enter time, create PDF bills, and collect payments online. You can also manage trust accounts and set up recurring payments for repeating tasks or to keep retainers topped off.

What Else Should You Know?
MyCase works in all major desktop and smartphone Web browsers. It costs $39 per month per lawyer, and $29 per month per non-lawyer. Learn more about MyCase v2.0.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire 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 102 articles from the past week worthy of your attention, including our Post of the Week. Here's a sample:

How to Start a Law Firm With Less Than $2,500 of Technology

Verizon iPhone: Everything You Need to Know

There's No Crying in Law Practice

A Strategic Staged Approach to LinkedIn

This issue also contains links to every article in the January/February 2011 issue of Law Practice. Don't miss this issue or future issues.

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Coming today to Answers to Questions: Denis Jodis discusses the prickly issue of suing a client for non-payment, Mary Grace Hune shares a tip on enforcing your fee retainer policy, Jason Anderman discusses new state bar ethics opinions cloud computing and client confidentiality, Douglas Shachtman reviews LexisNexis' CaseMap, NoteMap, and TimeMap, and Sandy Hagman reviews GoToMeeting, WebEx, and Dim Dim. Don't miss this issue.

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