TechnoLawyer: Online/Cloud

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a document management system (see article below), a digital pen that records what you write, and an application hosting service. Don't miss the next issue.

No More Document Management Excuses
By Peter R. Olson

Although every law firm needs a document management system, not every law firm has one — or at least a real one (files and folders don't suffice the minute you add a second person to the mix). But don't blame law firms. Many document management systems require a significant start up investment and learning curve. No wonder so many law firms have opted out even though they end up hurting themselves the most.

FileHold'08 ... in One Sentence
FileHold Systems' FileHold'08 is a document management software system that uses Microsoft technologies designed to reduce its cost and simplify its implementation.

The Killer Feature
FileHold makes your firm's documents available from any computer with access to the Internet, and keeps track of each version automatically thanks to "Smart Check Out/In."

For example, when you open a document and make changes, FileHold will prompt you to check out the document. When you close the document, FileHold will prompt you to check it back in, thus providing a version history and preventing lost documents and changes.

"Thanks to Smart Check Out/In, FileHold becomes the single version of the truth in a law firm," said Larry Oliver, President of FileHold Systems, when we asked him about this feature.

Other Notable Features
FileHold stores email and other electronic documents directly from your desktop. It also integrates with scanners and multifunction machines to convert paper files into organized, searchable electronic documents. Thanks to integrated OCR, you can search all scanned documents including full text and metadata (e.g., the matter) using the Google-like search bar.

FileHold files and tags (e.g., client, matter, document type, issues, etc.) documents using an automated process called "Auto Tagging" or via drop down menus.

You can view more than 150 different document formats, including WordPerfect and CAD. With one click, you can convert these documents and save them in PDF format. FileHold can apply Bates numbers to document pages, making it useful for discovery.

FileHold's workflow tools facilitate document review and approval within your firm and with clients as well via the Web. This workflow technology works hand in hand with FileHold's security features, which enable you to restrict user access to files which may contain sensitive documents.

What Else Should You Know?
FileHold comes in two versions — FileHold Express for offices with up to 10 users, and FileHold Enterprise for larger offices. FileHold Express starts at $3,795 for five users.  To help law firms contain costs, this fee includes the software,  remote installation, and two "train the trainer" training sessions. That's all most firms typically need, but you can purchase additional training if necessary. Learn more about FileHold'08.

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 15, 2008 to Fat Friday: Bunji Fromartz reviews his Verizon XV6700 smartphone, James Atkins shares his thoughts on LegalTech in terms of venue and topic focus, Michael Schwartz discusses the Yellow Pages advertising advice he follows, Brent Blanchard explains the unfortunate continued importance of WordPerfect 6.0, and Leslie Shear discusses migrating from Timeslips to Bill4Time. Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
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.

I have some great news to share with you. As you can see below, we have changed the structure of our TechnoLawyer NewsWire articles to better serve our two audiences — those who want a quick overview of new products and those who want an in-depth analysis.

Specifically, the new In One Sentence section describes the product we're reporting on in one sentence, and the new Killer Feature section describes its most important feature. Readers who want more information will find a detailed discussion of the product’s Other Notable Features as well.

Please let me know what you think, and please sign up to receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire if you have not yet done so. We publish only a few select articles here in our blog. For example, this week's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a hosted extranet for law firms, a Word add-on that enables you to manage defined terms in legal documents, and new PDF software for power users. We've placed one article below. The other two are available only to subscribers of the newsletter. — Neil J. Squillante, Publisher

Show Your Clients That You Care
By Peter R. Olson

Lawyers get in trouble when they focus on work at the expense of client communication — similar to doctors actually. While a clever cross examination or well drafted legal brief might impress your clients, they care more about the outcome and your hand-holding along the way. After all, the leading cause of disciplinary complaints is poor communication. But in this day and age, you need more than the bedside manner of Dr. Marcus Welby. You also need the technology of Dr. McCoy.

Attorney and Client ... in One Sentence
CLC Technology's Attorney and Client provides you and your clients with a collaborative online work space (extranet).

The Killer Feature
Using a Web browser, your clients can access the documents in their case file, review upcoming calendar items, and find contact information for everyone at your firm who works on their cases. Your assistant may like Attorney and Client even more than your clients do.

Other Notable Features
When you take on a new matter and enter it into Attorney and Client, your client receives a login via email (they can change the default password to make it more secure).

Attorney and Client features a dashboard that lists all recent activity. You can brand the dashboard and other pages with your logo.

A busy matter may involve dozens of documents — incoming mail and your work product. Attorney and Client enables you to upload multiple files simultaneously. You can also create and file documents into folders using drag and drop just as you would in Windows Explorer. There is no storage space limit.

In addition to the matter-specific calendar and case file, Attorney and Client also includes secure and searchable instant messaging and discussion threads. You can elect to use one or both or neither of these communication tools on a matter by matter basis.

To keep everyone in the loop, you can create email alerts for calendar items, documents, etc. For example, if a document changes, Attorney and Client can let everyone know. You can even use Attorney and Client to send bills to your clients, thus creating an archive automatically.

What Else Should You Know?
Attorney and Client costs $29.95 per month per attorney. You can try it for free for 30 days. It works in all modern Web browsers on Mac and PC. Learn more about Attorney and Client.

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 July 25, 2008 to Fat Friday: Robert Bass reviews Jott for BlackBerry (and we report on other Jott reviews), Director of CLE for the Nebraska State Bar Kathryn Bellman discusses the challenges CLE providers face, Ron Murphy explains why he thinks multiple calendars are a big mistake (and we explain why we agree and disagree), Jeff Wyatt reviews the Virtual Training Company's online training programs for Microsoft Word 2007, and Tom Trottier rants about Apple fanboys (and we rush to their defense). Don't miss this issue.

How to Receive this Newsletter
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 July 24, 2008 to Answers to Questions: Kevin Kirlin reviews his experience running Windows XP on a MacBook Pro, Ina Kay Zimmerman reviews Netmass for online backup, Ted Harper explains how to use multiple monitors with multiple computers (and why he still loves his old CRT), Nicholas Richter provides an update on his recent Question about whether he should upgrade to Amicus Attorney 2008, and Bertrand Zalinsky explains how to create a Paste Special macro in Word 2007. 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 a document assembly application that integrates with Microsoft Office (see article below), an online backup and file sharing service, and two new document scanners. Don't miss the next issue.

Recycle Your Work Product
By Peter R. Olson

If you work in higher education with its publish or perish rigors, allegations of plagiarism can bring stiff consequences. But as a practicing attorney, recycling forms, pleadings, clauses, etc. from court files, colleagues, and even other law firms can get you a pat on the back from the managing partner and your client. In fact, some practices would not exist without the ability to recycle previous work product because of price-conscious clients.

PowerReuse 1.0 by SoftPowerHouse caters to the legal document recyclers among us. A document assembly tool, PowerReuse has two core features — Project File and Content Library. You group related Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files into the Project File, and then use clauses and data fields from the Content Library to build your documents.

When you open Microsoft Office files in PowerReuse, the PowerReuse Pane pops up, enabling you to access its tools. You can share projects with your colleagues. The Content Library features drag and drop, making it easy to insert text into documents. Switch between different files by using tabs for navigation.

You can store just about anything in the Content Library, including your biography, letter salutations, engagement letters, contract clauses, etc. Instead of searching through many files and then using copy and paste, PowerReuse enables you to see your saved clauses in a tree structure for easy manipulation and insertion into new documents.

PowerReuse creates data fields for storing all commonly-used information such as client name. If you change a field, PowerReuse makes the same change in all documents in the project.

PowerReuse 1.0 works with Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007 and costs $299 for a single-user license. You can try it for free for 30 days. Learn more about PowerReuse.

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 July 17, 2008 to Answers to Questions: John Ahern reviews his firm's Xerox DocuMate 252 scanner as well as PaperPort and Snappy Fax, Aaron Craft reviews Cisco's Unified Communications 520 system for VoIP at the office, Gerard Stubbert discusses the technical issues lawyers face when dealing with native files during discovery, Jim Grennan reviews Trumba for case docketing, and William Lloyd reviews Eudora and discusses alternatives Penelope and Thunderbird. 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 a practice management application for Windows Mobile devices (see article below), software that enables law firms to offer financing to their clients, and a Web-based billing application. Don't miss the next issue.

Your Practice in Your Pocket
By Peter R. Olson

The problem with being out of your office is being out of your office. Despite significant advances in smartphones and PDAs, their bundled applications lack the legal-specific functions of case management software. Gavel & Gown has responded to this problem with Amicus Mobile, an add-on to Amicus Attorney 2008 Premium Edition, its desktop case management software.

Amicus Mobile runs on Windows Mobile smartphones and PDAs. It offers two significant innovations — push synchronization and time capture.

It's hard to believe that synchronizing your smartphone with your PC using a cable once seemed revolutionary. Nowadays, it's a chore right up there with taking out the trash and doing laundry. Amicus Mobile eliminates the need for you to manually sync. Instead, it synchronizes automatically, instantaneously, and wirelessly over your carrier's cell phone network with your Amicus Attorney 2008 server.

For example, as soon as you record a time entry, enter a contact, write a note, create an appointment, etc. that same information appears in Amicus Attorney back in your office. Similarly, any changes made back in the office such as a corrected phone number appears instantly in Amicus Mobile on your Windows Mobile device.

Amicus Mobile also addresses another chore — time entry. Instead of making a phone call and then manually entering the time afterwards, Amicus Mobile asks you after each call if you would like to create a record of the call and optionally a time entry. Just click Yes or No, add a note if you wish, and you're done. Amicus Mobile already knows its duration and enters that information. You can exclude personal contacts such as your kids from these prompts, and all captured call records can later be reviewed and converted into time entries.

Amicus Mobile pretty much mirrors its desktop counterpart. You can access, modify, and create contacts, appointments, notes, tasks, call records, stickies, and time entries. You can even access your file index and basic file details. With stickies, you can exchange text messages with your staff and bypass the charges associated with SMS. Because Amicus Mobile uses ActiveSync, it also synchronizes with Outlook if you use that program (and who doesn't these days).

In addition to Amicus Attorney 2008 Premium Edition, Amicus Mobile requires Windows Mobile 5 or higher and Microsoft ActiveSync 4.5 or higher. Amicus Mobile costs $149 per license. Learn more about Amicus Mobile.

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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers redaction software (see article below), an online backup and file sharing service, and an online conference call service. Don't miss the next issue.

For Your Eyes Only
By Peter R. Olson

From the Bay of Pigs to Watergate to Valerie Plame, we've always had a fascination with our nation's clandestine service. But if you've ever bothered to make a FOIA request, you'll often find page after page of supposedly declassified information redacted. Annoying. But certainly understandable since you often use this same tool in your own practice to protect confidential client information — but hopefully not with white tape.

Redact-It Desktop 1.0 from Informative Graphics provides a number of automated redaction tools designed for computer files. You can use Redact-It Desktop to remove sensitive contents from briefs, exhibits, and more before sharing them with courts, government agencies, or another party.

Redact-It Desktop includes predefined macros that automatically redact names, social security and credit card numbers, and other such items. You can also create customized macros to search for and redact words, phrases, and images. You can review recommended redactions, modify them if necessary, and produce a new redacted file for distribution.

To further simplify the redaction process, Redact-It Desktop includes easy-to-use pop-up lists to select standard search items. Redact-It Desktop highlights the terms you want to redact for easy review. Best of all, it does not alter your original file. Redact-It Desktop can add Bates stamps and watermarks too.

In addition to redacting documents, Redact-It Desktop also removes metadata (hidden information such as authors and revisions). Redact-It Desktop outputs your redacted document in PDF or TIFF format, or in Informative Graphics' Content Sealed Format (CSF), which provides additional security as they cannot be altered. Recipients can download the free Brava viewer to open CSF files.

Informative Graphics offers a free trial version of Redact-It Desktop. Pricing starts at $195 for a single-user license. Learn more about Redact-It Desktop.

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 June 17, 2008 to TechnoFeature: Billing is one of the most important tasks a lawyer performs — and perhaps the most tedious. Desktop software has made this activity easier, but does an even better solution exist? In this article, legal technology consultant Caren Schwartz reviews Bill4Time, a Web-based time-billing solution. With Bill4Time, lawyers can bill their time and expenses anywhere they can access the Internet. That's the promise, but how does it perform in practice? Read Caren's in-depth review to find out.

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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.