TechnoLawyer: Privacy/Security

Coming January 11, 2008 to Fat Friday: Steven Schwaber lays down the gauntlet on the feisty debate regarding biglaw associate salaries and the role of general counsel,  Andrew Simpson provides an interesting spin on a previous post about the litigation risks of voicemail, Myer Sankary reviews the State Bar of California's online MCLE programs and shares anecdotal evidence to rebut the recent assertion that lawyers cannot provide useful CLE, Harry Steinmetz reviews his Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse, and Charles Beach explains which word processor remains the only choice to handle his "real work." 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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a suite of PDF tools for law firms (see article below), a gadget that enables you to securely use the Internet on any computer, and eDiscovery software designed to expedite the document review process. Don't miss the next issue.

PDF: The Next Generation
By Taeho Lim

When law firms first discovered the PDF format years ago, they quickly embraced it thanks to its ability to preserve any document regardless of its native format. However, the PDF-related needs of law firms have grown. The ability to create PDF files is now just the baseline.

To meet these needs, DocsCorp has released pdfDocs Desktop 2.1. This new version of its popular PDF software contains a number of legal-specific features. In addition, pdfDocs Desktop 2.1 features improved integration with popular document management systems not to mention DocsCorp's own products.

The centerpiece of the new version is the Binder feature, which enables you to automatically "bind" together a collection of documents into one file, and create a table of contents, bookmarks, links, etc. with just a few clicks. You can keep the documents in a Binder in their native format or convert them into PDF format.

Perfect for closing books, deal books, eBriefs, etc., you can apply page numbering, time/date stamps, and information from your document management system. Using the new Numbering Sets feature, you can set up and automatically apply this information to any Binder. You can establish Numbering Sets across your firm.

Also on the automation front, pdfDocs Desktop 2.1 has a Bates stamp feature for discovery and other documents that require tracking. You can apply prefixes and suffixes, and you can use Bates stamps with the Numbering Sets feature described above.

Among the other notable features, you can automatically convert email attachments into PDF format to safeguard documents, redact, watermark, annotate, and repaginate PDF files, and create secure PDF files.

In terms of integration, pdfDocs Desktop 2.1 integrates with Hummingbird DM, Interwoven WorkSite, Open Text, TRIM Context, and Worldox out of the box. You can right-click on a document within your document management system to create a PDF version of that file. In other words, no need to check it out and check it in again. Your document management system will still provide an audit trail showing the PDF creation. You can also add documents directly to a Binder in this fashion.

pdfDocs Desktop 2.1 also integrates with DocsCorp's other products, including pdfDocs OCR Server (converts imaged text into editable and searchable text), pdfDocs formFiller (a soup-to-nuts PDF forms solution), and pdfDocs compareDocs (document comparison for any file type). Learn more about pdfDocs Desktop 2.1.

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 December 14, 2007 to Fat Friday: Eugene Curry responds to a thread on biglaw associate salaries and shares how he chose lawyers when he worked as general counsel, Chanler Sparler reviews the pros and cons of using Roboform for creating and managing passwords in his busy law practice, Edward Still offers three suggestions for improving CLE, Stephen Seldin reminisces about the glory days before Windows and fancy word processors, and Chas Watson reviews Amicus Attorney 7. 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.

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers an email and instant messaging security and archiving service, an online spreadsheet (see article below), and a simple billing program for Mac users. Don't miss the next issue.

Context Is King
By Taeho Lim

Why use an online spreadsheet when you have a perfectly good one in your Office suite? Context, my friends, context. Being online means you can share your spreadsheet with just about anyone or anything.

For example, Team and Concepts' online spreadsheet EditGrid enables you to create a spreadsheet, access it from any Web browser, collaborate with colleagues, send the data to other applications and databases, publish the spreadsheet on your Web site, etc.

Team and Concepts claims that EditGrid has a short learning curve because it looks and feels just like Excel. Familiar features include cut and paste, charts, auto-fill, number and cell formatting, and more than 50 keyboard shortcuts. EditGrid works with all major Web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Netscape. The iPhone Edition, currently in beta, enables you to use it on Apple's popular smartphone.

With EditGrid, you can collaborate on spreadsheets in real-time with anyone else. For example, you might create a firmwide expense report. When someone makes an edit, it flashes in red so you always stay up-to-date on the latest version. You can control access levels and privileges, and prevent others from editing specific parts of the spreadsheet. EditGrid even offers an in-application chat feature for communicating with your co-editors.

In addition to its familiar feel and real-time editing, EditGrid provides an API that connects your spreadsheets to your existing databases and legacy applications. The API is bidirectional so you can both send and receive data. Other spreadsheet features include Web publication, auto-save, revision history on a cell by cell basis, versioning and rollback, and integration with any public data source such as Yahoo! Finance.

EditGrid comes in two versions — Personal and Organization. The Personal edition is free whereas the latter costs $5/user/month and provides SSL security, shared workspaces (which can contain several spreadsheets), technical support, a custom login page, and administrative tools. If you prefer, you can run EditGrid internally on your own server, thus enabling you to integrate LDAP. Learn more about EditGrid.

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 the new version of a popular practice management application (see article below), the new version of a popular legal illustration application, and anti-spyware software that takes a unique "definition-less" approach. Don't miss the next issue.

Organize Your Practice from Top to Bottom Line
By Taeho Lim

It's uncanny how many offline problems make their way into our computers. For example, in the real world we lose and sometimes find personal items. Similarly, we often create files on our computers only to lose them. There is one advantage though — you don't need to hunt around with a flashlight to find missing files.

Instead, you can use search technology such as that in Software Technology's PracticeMaster Premier Version 14.2, the new version of its popular practice management software. PracticeMaster Premier's new Document Search tool goes far beyond generic search tools. You can limit your searches to specific clients and matters as well as other parameters such as date range. You can also search phonetically, which will pick up commonly misspelled words, homonyms, etc. You can search the content of any document in a client's file, including documents stored in iManage and Worldox. You can also search your email and email attachments. This same technology now also exists in the Conflict of Interest Search tool.

Another major new feature of PracticeMaster Premier is its enhanced integrated email. For example, you can easily convert an email message into a fee record. You can also apply an unlimited number of signatures to your outgoing email. If you want to continue using Outlook or another email program, but want access to your email by client and matter within PracticeMaster Premier, you can now do that thanks to a new configuration option.

Software Technology has also focused on ease of use in this release. The new Application Toolbar gives you one click access to PracticeMaster Premier and any other Software Technology products that you use such as Tabs3. The new Quick Clicks pane gives you one click access to your most frequently used functions in PracticeMaster Premier — Sorting, Filtering, Column Layouts, Convert to Fee, etc. You can have Quick Clicks hide and appear automatically based on your mouse cursor location. Also new, the PracticeMaster Toolbar for Internet Explorer enables you to easily capture your research and store it in PracticeMaster Premier, including a link back to the Web page.

PraticeMaster has a number of other notable enhancements, including easier to use Convert to Fee settings, one click conversion of calendar events into fee records, improved list preferences that make it easier to review contacts, email, and other information presented in a list, improved import filters for Outlook, Groupwise, AbacusLaw, Amicus Attorney, and Time Matters, a new document assembly toolbar for Microsoft Word, and of course Windows Vista compatibility. PracticeMaster Premier costs $295 for the first user license plus $150 for each additional user. Learn more about PracticeMaster Premier Version 14.2.

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 November 30, 2007 to Fat Friday: Ted Brooks explains how to manage your trial exhibits with TrialDirector, Wandal Winn explains how he digitized 3,000 family slides, Time Matters CIC Thomas Caffrey discusses why he won't join the Time Matters-Clarion discussion, Thomas RuBane offers a clever way to create strong passwords for free, and James Keuning reviews Best Skins Ever's iPhone skin. 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 November 19, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Barry Hubbard reports on how he uses Linux in his small practice, William Elias explains how to use your Treo 700p to provide wireless Internet access for your laptop, Susan Zachos provides a helpful tip for improving Time Matters' performance, Brian McCollum reviews RoboForm, and Gerri Martin points to some resources to help you choose your time-billing software (and we add to her list of resources with some our own recommendations). 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 November 16, 2007 to Fat Friday: Paul Easton reviews his Treo 680 and how it compares to BlackBerry and iPhone, Stephen Seldin discusses what he deems the fundamental problem with software, Paul Stanley reviews Password Keeper for BlackBerry Curve, Barry Weintraub has a tip for inexpensively automating estate planning documents, and George Wisely has a bone to pick with a recent TechnoRelease that contained a job opportunity for a lawyer to help build online applications for consumers seeking inexpensive legal services. 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 November 15, 2007 to Answers to Questions: David Hudgens discusses the key to managing case-related email, Kerry Hubick explains how he uses Microsoft Access for managing his intellectual property documents, Paul Purdue explains the shipping fees and training options associated with Tabs3, James Crowley recalls how he erased data from numerous hard drives while at CVS Inc., and Sonja Knauft shares her experience switching to a Mac, including practice management software. 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 November 8, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Anthony Elliott reviews the password management tool Password Safe, Harold Noack reviews his experience using Amicus Attorney with PCLaw (plus we provide some additional tips), Katrina Curfiss discusses the three key features of Tabs3 for time and billing, Adobe's Rick Borstein shares some helpful information about Acrobat Professional 8 and email archiving, and Karen Dunson reviews NCH Swift Sound for your digital dictation needs. 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.