TechnoLawyer: Post

A few months ago in the Answers to Questions newsletter, many of you made recommendations for input devices for legal professionals with hand tremors.  TechnoLawyer member Sheldon Weinhaus has yet another recommendation: "I find that have slight hand tremors, and used a trackball so that I can stop easily, and then press the button once or twice. Logitech used to offer a trackball that had a middle button for a double click, but I do not see that offered any more."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Regarding a recent discussion about accounting and time-billing solutions for a new practice, TechnoLawyer member Pat Cunningham weighs in as follows: "I agree that PCLaw is the right answer for accounting and time and billing. Now with version 7, you also have case management, contact management, calendaring and document management, so you get both for the price of one. I suggest you take a look at PCLaw 7 for starting your practice. But get some help from a consultant to get you off on the right foot, set up you templates, and show you how to save time using the system. A little training is very important."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent Fat Friday newsletter, Daniel Markham pointed readers to a free Microsoft utility that removes metadata from Word documents.  TechnoLawyer member Roger Boyell has since tried it, writing "I downloaded the M$ metadata removal tool and found that it corrupted several of M$ Word's features, particularly the page numbering.  Recall the law of unintended consequences."  TechnoLawyer member Larry Vollintine had a different take, writing "I just tried the free download Meta data remover program from Microsoft on a large lease and it seems to work. Thanks for the suggestion."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

TechnoLawyer member Robert Fleming writes: "A small note of help for lawyers who might be considering trying Linux in the law office. There is a quiet listserver devoted to just that population (with a number of Time Matters users participating, as it happens).  You can subscribe at this link as well as search and review the archives."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Recently, TechnoLawyer member M. Norton asked about setting up a VPN between two law offices, and wondered if Lotus Notes would be the best solution for sharing firm-related data.  TechnoLawyer member Dick Adams responds: "Take a look at Amicus X. With its browser based approach, its a natural for access across the Internet and it's designed from the ground up for attorneys -- something you surely can't say about Notes."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

TechnoLawyer member Kunle Oyegbola writes: "I have been reading your newsletters on [scanning], and no one has made mention of the HP digital sender. I work with it and recommended it to law firms down here in Nigeria by virtue that I provide IT solutions for the legal practice here in Nigeria. I work in conjunction with a company located in Boston in the US call LANCOR and they have developed an electronic case management solution using the digital sender, and it works perfectly to achieve a paperless office."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

In a recent TechnoGuest newsletter, author Jack Luna discussed his book How to Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy. In response, TechnoLawyer member Stephen Seldin writes: "Please think of the down side to this book. It can also be used as a manual for how a terrorist can elude authorities by being invisible. I suggest that you quietly take down the review, and suggest to Luna and his publisher that as a public service they should stop pushing the book until the world quiets down."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Regarding Jeffrey Lisson's TechnoFeature article, "Where Are My Files?," Jay Willingham writes: "Excellent presentation. I have long used this way of organizing files, discovery materials and research. The long file names innovation was extremely helpful. On the subject of not reinventing the wheel, when looking for a form I also use the Find function in Windows to locate all the documents similar to what I am doing, such as "summary judgment" or "foreclosure" or "recording contract." What comes up often finds me using parts of several old documents (be they WP data or image file) to make the new one or reminds me of research on the subject already on hand."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Symantec's Norton products continue to take a beating from TechnoLawyer members, this time from Chet Hammann who writes: "I can't tell you how much time I've spent getting back computers that have had Norton utilities (Antivirus, SystemWorks, etc.) installed. Even Symantec recognizes that Norton can't be uninstalled when it messes up the machine. The detailed instructions, including Registry edits, are unbelievable. Just don't go there."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.

Accounting/Billing expert Caren Schwartz writes in with a tip for QuickBooks users: "Many of my clients use QuickBooks to handle trust accounting. Usually we setup a separate company with a very simple chart of accounts. The way I recommend handling the transactions is to make sure you have a customer name on the detail line in EVERY check that you write, and to always use the customer name as the received from for every deposit. Then it is easy to setup a report that shows the transactions and the balance for every customer."

About Quips
A Quip is a brief member contribution for which we don't have room in our Answers to Questions or Fat Friday newsletters. Instead, Quips appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. You can subscribe here.