TechnoLawyer: Privacy/Security

Coming February 15, 2007 to Answers to Questions: Carolyn Thornlow, a legal tech consultant, reviews Tabs3 versus QuickBooks for legal time-billing, Thomas Caffrey explains how to use Time Matters to track client referrals, Craig Bayer gives three reasons why he recommends Word to his clients over WordPerfect, Charles T. Lester, Jr. shares his experience getting Acrobat 7 to work with several scanners, and Brant Gluth reviews a utility for encrypting files on your hard drive and in email. Don't miss this issue.

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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 February 2, 2007 to Fat Friday: Joe Sewell discusses the security benefits of Linux, William Lloyd shares how he avoid eyestrain despite using three monitors, Ernest Marquez discusses setting up Amicus Accounting and its pricing, Matthew Gould reviews Time Matters' support policy, and Mazyar Hedayat offers up his thoughts on making your work (or life) public on the Web. 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 January 26, 2007 to Fat Friday: Andrea Cannavina reviews Treo smartphones and its competitors, Kurt Schoettler discusses the importance of password strength (especially for lawyers), David Caracappa explains why winning the lottery would prompt a career change, Daniel Schultz explains how he makes use of a dual monitor setup, and Craig Humphrey takes a stab at defining Web 2.0. 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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers a suite of security utilities for your laptop, an online personal finance tool that taps into Metcalfe's Law, and a network appliance that enables everyone at your law firm to securely send and receive large attachments. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Transfer Large Files Securely Without Attachment Limits
By Dennis Kennedy
In the old days, sending a large document meant using a FedEx Pak instead of a FedEx Envelope. Nowadays, sending large electronic files poses more of a challenge than simply choosing the next size up in packaging. Notwithstanding multi-gigabyte mailboxes, many e-mail servers (including Gmail) impose limits on the size of file attachments. Plus, e-mail servers are notoriously lacking in security (by design actually). Free file transfer sites can handle large files, but also lack sufficient security. So what's a law firm to do? Dust off its FedEx number and send CDs and DVDs?

No way! Accellion's Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance (SFTA) Version 5.0 provides law firms with a secure option for sending and receiving large files both internally and externally. Accellion has a history of providing secure file transfer solutions on a global basis to enterprises of all sizes. As a dedicated appliance for business file transfers, SFTA requires minimal IT administration and support.

When you use SFTA to send files to third parties, they receive a secure download link. To send or receive a file, all you need is a Web browser. Your firm can set up accounts for its employees and clients in minutes. Accellion claims that some firms may witness an 80% reduction in e-mail load.

New in version 5 is the ability to send and receive entire folders, thus preserving a directory structure (especially useful for your client's discovery documents). Version 5 can handle files and folders up to 10GB in size.

New administrative tools enable you to control usage throughout your firm. Like previous versions, SFTA simply plugs into your network and starts working. SFTA uses the SSL standard, and generates an audit trail. Much easier to use than even FTP and SFTP, which require software on both ends, SFTA works with your existing network and software. Optional plug-ins exist for integration with Outlook and Lotus Notes, which enable you to use your e-mail program instead of a browser.

SFTA comes in a wide array of configurations, starting at $3,500. You can start small and add capabilities as needed.  Learn more about Accellion Courier Secure File Transfer Appliance (SFTA) Version 5.0.

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, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Gerald Pinzino suggests six simple tips for keeping your wireless office network secure and weighs in on the WiFi analogy debate, Craig Humphrey discusses new integrated desktop and enterprise search tools, Norton Townsley offers up a solution to keep formatting and fonts in a PDF file, Katrina Curfiss reviews PracticeMaster for civil case management, and Craig Bayer reviews PCLaw for time-billing. 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 December 12, 2006 to TechnoFeature: Someone hacks into your network and destroys all your case files. A Katrina-like hurricane devastates your area. Your office building burns down. The chances may seem slim, but these things can and do happen. Will you be ready? In this article, legal coach and consultant Edward Poll shares his top ten tips for securing your law firm's network before disaster strikes. Learn how to prepare so that if something goes wrong, you won't miss a beat.

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.

Coming December 1, 2006 to Fat Friday: Ed Detlie reviews Dymo Stamps online postage service, Thomas Daly explains why automating documents doesn't work for his complex practice, Steven Finell discusses the importance of dates in file names (and the best way to display them), Don Winston sings the praises of a recent TechnoFeature about document management software, and David Caracappa reviews CrypInfo for password management on your desktop and handheld device. 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 09, 2006 to Answers to Questions: Jon Calhoun puts the Word v. WordPerfect debate to rest, Michael Penny suggests several ways to keep client files secure while in the hands of a computer repair technician, and William Lloyd reviews his experience using a HP LaserJet 4345 multi-function printer in his solo practice. 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.

In today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, lawyer and legal technology legend Dennis Kennedy covers the latest version of a popular litigation support suite, the latest version of a popular document comparison and security suite, and a free teleconferencing service. Don't miss the next issue.

Below you'll find one of the three articles from today's edition:

Blazing New Trails in Litigation Support
By Dennis Kennedy
The growing importance of electronic discovery has resulted in an increasing number of choices among litigation support tools. But which of these tools will endure as the market inevitably consolidates and shakes out? No one can say for sure, but CT Summation and its Blaze LG, Blaze LG Gold, and iBlaze tools seem like a safe bet for several reasons — a long track record, a large installed base, and parent company Wolters Kluwer's financial commitment.

The CT Summation Blaze LG product family features tools that enable you to store, organize, and search scanned documents, electronic documents and e-mail, transcripts, case chronologies, and more. The product family also has robust OCR and PDF capabilities. And now, just in time for the new electronic discovery amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, CT Summation has released version 2.8 of Blaze LG, Blaze LG Gold, and iBlaze with new capabilities for quick review of electronically stored information.

You can allocate documents into discrete review sets for each reviewer, and then you can use the new quick review to consistently identify, classify, and organize documents with mere clicks. The classification tools include category "tags" (e.g., author, responsive, or type of document) and issue "tags," which you can apply to documents instantly. Also included are "Folders" for organizing these documents. You can define Folders however you please — your own collection, by team, for a specific deponent, etc.

Version 2.8 was designed in response to user feedback and emphasizes improved usability. For example, other new features include spell-checking in the database fields to reduce errors, autosave, the ability to correct/re-unitize images, an "Update Bates Range" tool to automatically add new Bates numbers, improved loading and export tools (including the ability to validate load files before loading documents and the ability to export data to Microsoft Excel), redesigned online help and user documentation, and much more.

Learn more about Version 2.8 of the CT Summation Blaze LG Family.

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 October 6, 2006 to Fat Friday: Mark Lieb discusses the increasingly important role that Litigation Support Professionals play in today's law firms and shares some recruiting tips, Cathy Furlani reviews her experience using both PCLaw and QuickBooks (at two different law firms respectively) for legal accounting and time-billing, Mike Hoffer suggests another technique for creating memorable but secure passwords, and Kevin E. Rockitter shares the best piece of career advice he received as a young lawyer (and how it has held up over the past 20 years). 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.