TechnoLawyer: Online/Cloud

Coming today to Fat Friday: Terry Harrison compares the litigation support industry in the US and UK, Gerard Stubbert shares his thoughts on eDiscovery, Andrew Shear reviews his multiple calendar configuration, Dixon Robertson attempts to deflate Microsoft "hysteria," and Stephen Seldin suggests a way to extend the life of your laptop. Don't miss this issue.

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Published on Fridays, Fat Friday is a weekly newsletter that features a grab bag full of genuinely useful product reviews and tips on a wide variety of topics. Like all of our newsletters, it's free. Please subscribe now.

Coming October 7, 2008 to TechnoFeature: What's a legal match-making service? Should you blog? When it comes to online marketing, attorney Mazyar Hedayat confesses to having spent thousands in vain before he saw past the hype. In this article, he shares what he learned and explains where to invest your online marketing time and money.

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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.

Coming today to Answers to Questions: David Stuckel reviews the Philips Pocket Memo 9360, Ann Donovan reviews Fastcase for legal research, Richard Hackerd discusses the expectations of law firms within the context of Amicus Attorney, Julian Garcia discusses KVM switches and reviews LogMeIn, and Jim Uschold shares his two main complaints about WordPerfect after 20 years of daily use. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on 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 a Web-based practice management application (see article below), an online meeting and Webinar services, and a video extender. Don't miss the next issue.

Web-Based Practice Management Arrives for Small Firms
By Neil J. Squillante

"Hello, I'm a Mac." "And I'm a small firm." "We get no respect. We need case management, time tracking, billing, document management, trust accounting, and calendaring. And we don't want any up-front costs. Is anyone out there listening?" Funny you guys should ask that question today.

Clio ... in One Sentence
Launching today, Themis Solutions' Clio is a Web-based practice management system designed specifically for sole practitioners and small firms regardless of whether they use Macs or PCs.

The Killer Feature
Web applications have a lot going for them, but many lawyers have legitimate concerns about data security since the servers that house Web applications don't reside at their law firm.

Themis Solutions has addressed these concerns with three layers of security. First, the company houses the servers that run Clio in a secure facility and backs up your Clio data daily to an offsite location that is itself secure. Also, when you use Clio, bank-grade 256-bit SSL encryption secures all data transmissions.

Second, within your firm, you can restrict access to confidential client records and other information by individual or group. Third, Themis Solutions makes it clear in its agreement that you own your data. Clio contains tools that enable you to export your data if you decide to switch to a different product.

"When considering Web-based solutions like Clio, lawyers are justly concerned about ensuring the security of their client data," Themis Solutions President Jack Newton told us. "Clio has state-of-the art security to ensure the confidentiality and safety of attorneys' sensitive information."

Other Notable Features
Like traditional case management software, Clio enables you to organize case, matter, and client information. However, it also has a contact management component, which means you can track leads and other contacts in addition to the people associated with your clients.

With Clio, you can track your time and expenses by client, matter, and task. Clio uses this data to generate customized invoices and bill reminders. A number of reports enable you to analyze your finances and firm performance.

Clio also includes a dedicated trust accounting component to help ensure compliance with your jurisdiction's rules regarding client funds in your possession.

You can view Clio's calendar in one of four views — daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. You can also set reminders and export your calendar data to third-party applications.

What Else Should You Know?
Clio costs $49/month per lawyer and $25/month per support staff member. This subscription fee includes all new features and technical support. Clio works in Internet Explorer 6 or later, Firefox 2 or later, Safari 3 or later, and Google Chrome on any Mac, Linux, or Windows computer. It also runs in Mobile Safari on the iPhone and iPod touch. Learn more about Clio.

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 Septeber 30, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Technology certainly trends towards light and portable these days. But you need more than just a pretty face. You need functionality. In this article, attorney Lee Rosen explains how to lighten your load without sacrificing productivity by conducting a six step technology audit.

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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers real estate automation software (see article below), an application for local and remote backups, and a Web clipping service with an optional iPhone counterpart. Don't miss the next issue.

Automate Your Real Estate Closings
By Neil J. Squillante

In today's real estate market, buyers and sellers want their lawyers to work more efficiently to reduce costs. That means you can either wring your hands and reminisce about the good old days or you can streamline your closings so that you can undercut the competition without reducing your profitability. If you choose the latter strategy, you'll need some help from your trusty PC.

Easy HUD ... in One Sentence
Easy Soft's Easy HUD real estate closing software automates the entire real estate closing process, enabling you to enter information once and create all the statements needed for a transaction, including HUD-1 and HUD-1A.

The Killer Feature
For real estate lawyers, the job doesn't end when the parties sign the closing documents. Other responsibilities include disbursement of and accounting for client trust monies and reporting sales proceeds to the Internal Revenue Service on form 1099-S.

With Easy HUD, you can electronically file 1099-S forms, and also print copies for the seller. This automation reduces the risk of error while also eliminating the time required to re-enter closing data.

Other Notable Features
Easy HUD doesn't only fill in forms for you, but performs calculations as well for more than 40 jurisdictions (if your state is not included, Easy Soft will add it for you). Easy HUD can handle just about any situation, including transactions with two loans, and up to 8 buyers and 8 sellers.

If you handle many similar transactions, you can create templates for HUD-1 and HUD-1A and share them throughout your firm. You can output completed forms in PDF or Word format. A case log lists all transactions and their status.

An integrated ledger can automatically adjust for pre-disbursements, earned deposits, and mortgage yield spread premiums. You can combine or split checks, print checks, and print an itemized ledger for each real estate closing.

Easy HUD integrates with two other offerings from Easy Soft — Easy Trust for managing client trust accounts, and 1099-S electronic filing service.

What Else Should You Know?
According to Easy Soft, Easy HUD's automation can reduce the time required for preparing closing documents by 70%. Easy HUD runs on Windows and costs $149.50 for a one year license with tech support and upgrades. Additional annual licenses cost $49.50 each. Learn more about Easy HUD.

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 September 23, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Over the years it has become increasingly important for lawyers to have an online presence. Firm Web site, check. Blog, check. But what else can you do? Joining a professional networking site like LinkedIn can help. In this article, law firm marketing expert Anne Parys provides her top ten tips for using LinkedIn as an effective marketing tool. From creating a profile to interacting with other members, Anne will demonstrate the best ways to use this unconventional tool to network and build your practice.

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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers document comparison software that extends beyond Microsoft Word (see article below), a time-billing program with conflict checking, and a Web-based discovery review and litigation analysis application. Don't miss the next issue.

Compare Apples to Oranges
By Peter R. Olson

While the human eye may not be able to discern the difference between Sarah Palin and Tina Fey, being unable to see what opposing counsel changed in the agreement you're drafting is no laughing matter. Technology usually comes in two varieties — must have and nice to have. Document comparison resides firmly in the must-have category. But what happens when opposing counsel throws you a curveball and returns the agreement in PDF format, or worse, faxes it back to you?

pdfDocs compareDocs 3.1 ... in One Sentence
DocsCorp's pdfDocs compareDocs enables you to compare any two versions of a document regardless of their respective formats.

The Killer Feature
Many document comparison tools use their own proprietary format for the file in which you review, accept, and reject the changes. By contrast, compareDocs outputs the changes in your choice of Word or PDF format — the two major document format standards.

For example, if you compare two Word files with compareDocs, you review the changes in Word. As a result, you can continue to work in the document. You won't have to switch between documents or applications.

Other Notable Features
compareDocs can compare two versions of a document in different formats. It works its magic thanks to its inclusion in the pdfDocs Suite, which includes robust PDF tools. Thus, if you send opposing counsel a Word file and receive a PDF file back, compareDocs can convert your original file to PDF format to facilitate the comparison. An optional OCR component even enables you to compare two PDF documents and output the marked up document as a Word document.

compareDocs 3.1 adds support for the .docx format in Microsoft Office 2007. It also includes better handling of tables, headers, and footers. The comparison engine also runs faster.

compareDocs has long integrated with document management systems such as Interwoven, Open Text, and Worldox. The new version adds Web-based document management system NetDocuments to this list.

What Else Should You Know?
As noted above, pdfDocs compareDocs 3.1 resides within the pdfDocs Suite, which sells for $189. The suite also includes pdfDocs formFiller and pdfDocs Desktop, the latter of which provides law firms with PDF creation, collation, redaction, file splitting, bates numbering, automatic document binding for closing or deal books, and other tools. pdfDocs OCR Server is available for an additional charge. Learn more about pdfDocs compareDocs 3.1.

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 August 28, 2008 to Answers to Questions: David Hudgens explains why you should consider a larger second monitor or LCD TV instead of a third monitor, Fredric Gruder reviews Mozy for online backup, and Sandy Hagman shares more Paste Special tips for Word 2003 and Office 2007. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
Published on 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 a culling solution for electronic discovery documents (see article below), a network-ready multifunction inkjet printer, and an online service in which your clients can store their estate planning documents and you can earn referral revenue. Don't miss the next issue.

Make a Mountain Into a Molehill
By Peter R. Olson

Your latest case involves 200GB of data. Piece of cake, right? After all, it can all fit on a cheap $80 hard drive. Guess again. That could easily mean 15 million pages and hundreds of thousands of dollars in processing costs. Now, how exactly can you and your team get through that amount of data on deadline while justifying the costs?

Discovery360 DataMapper ... in One Sentence
InterLegis' Discovery360 DataMapper module enables you to cull irrelevant and duplicate documents prior to full processing, thus saving time and money.

The Killer Feature
Used by both corporate counsel and their outside counsel, Discovery360 DataMapper saves money by eliminating irrelevant documents before you spend time actively reviewing documents. By creating a smaller collection of documents to review, it also reduces the risk of inadvertently producing privileged information.

Discovery360 DataMapper can reduce irrelevant documents in your dataset by 20-80% prior to processing. The extent of the reduction depends on the nature of your document collection.

Other Notable Features
Traditional culling processes typically involve manual labor and don't afford much flexibility. Discovery360 DataMapper takes a new approach by enabling you to run as many "what if" scenarios as you want before you commit to a particular set of documents to process. You can even generate reports to further explore the various options.

To help you with this task, Discovery360 DataMapper employs InterLegis' visual analytics tools. For example, you can extract and index metadata and text from native files (discovery documents in their original formats), and visually group them by concept as well as search them. Discovery360 DataMapper also features on-the-fly de-duplication technology so that you can eliminate duplicate documents.

Once you've settled on your final dataset, you can "seamlessly" load the selected files into your preferred review environment, including of course Discovery360 Reviewer.

What Else Should You Know?
Discovery360 users can use Discovery360 DataMapper at no additional charge. Learn more about Discovery360 DataMapper.

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.