Today's issue of TL NewsWire The feature article of today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a Windows utility that automates common law office document tasks. The Roundup section covers an online store for interactive legal forms, a virtual legal consultation and lawyer referral service, and a social news app. Also, if you missed last week's TL NewsWire feature article, you'll find an excerpt and link below.
NINE TIMESAVERS FOR COMMON LAW OFFICE DOCUMENT TASKS
Many small law firms suffer from a variety of document-related collaboration problems. For example, you email your colleague a Word document to review. Your colleague doesn't know where the original document resides on your firm's file server (or shared hard drive) so the final version ends up trapped in email instead of in its proper place.
Synergy Tools 1.0 … in One Sentence
Launched this month, Legal Matters Software's Synergy Tools 1.0 is a Windows Explorer companion utility that automates common law office document tasks.
The Killer Feature
Synergy Tools uses your existing file structure so it resembles Windows Explorer and even contains a button that takes you to the same location in Windows Explorer.
The Email Document Link button addresses the above email collaboration issue. Instead of attaching one or more documents to an email message, you email a link to the document. When your colleague clicks the link, the original document opens. Your colleague can work on the document without needing to know its location, and can reply to your email message when finished.
Other Notable Features
Lawyers of course also need to email documents to clients and others. This means leaving Windows Explorer to start an email message, and then returning to Windows Explorer to drag the document into the email message. In Synergy Tools, you select one or more documents, and then click the Email Document button. This automatically creates an email message with the documents appended as attachments.
The PDF format has become ubiquitous in law firms. Synergy Tools contains three PDF-related features. Convert to PDF converts any documents you select into PDF format using the same file name. Merge as PDF enables you to combine all selected documents into a single PDF file in the order you specify such as for deal books and ebriefs. Number PDF Pages enables you to apply a stamp to every page in a PDF file. You can use it for Bates stamping as it accommodates any combination of letters, numbers, and other symbols in sequential order.
Lawyers often need to efile PDF documents. Instead of navigating your firm's file structure, the Copy File Path button in Synergy Tools copies a document's file path to your clipboard that you can paste into your web browser's document upload window. The similar Copy Folder Path takes your web browser to the folder with documents you want to upload.
You'll also find two document management technologies in Synergy Tools. Document Date places the creation date at the beginning of the file name for all selected documents. This enables you bulk name documents created prior to adopting this best practice. New Version creates a new version of a document with a sequential number in its file name.
Finally, Synergy Tools includes Synergy Signature, which also exists as a standalone product. Synergy Signature enables you to apply your scanned signature in a Word or PDF document.
What Else Should You Know?
"After visiting with many law firms over the years, we found that most suffer from the same document-related inefficiencies," Legal Matters Software CEO John Ryan told us. "Synergy Tools eliminates each of these, dramatically improving productivity at a pay-once price any law firm can afford." Synergy Tools runs on Windows Vista and later. It costs $24.95. Learn more about Synergy Tools 1.0.
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