Law Office Technology

What’s One Smartphone App You Can’t Do Without?

What’s One Smartphone App You Can’t Do Without?
from ABA Journal Posted May 27, 2009
By Molly McDonough

http://www.abajournal.com/news/whats_one_smartphone_app_you_cant_do_without/

Technology audits can pay off big-time- July 2009 Issue ABA Journal by Dennis Kennedy

"Technology audits can pay off big-time"
July 2009 Issue ABA Journal
by Dennis Kennedy

http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/countdown_to_savings

But, as the article and one of its comments suggests, Get Help!

Add Outlook Signature to Amicus Premium

 

Go to Communications and go to Actions –> Outlook Email –> Set Outlook Signature

 

This will your outlook signature from Amicus

Missouri Solo and Small Firm Conference

I will be in Missouri this upcoming week for their state’s Solo and Small Firm Conference.  I will be working the Clio booth, which is Practice Management SaaS for attorneys. 

For more info on Clio, click here: http://www.goclio.com/

For more info on the conference click here: http://members.mobar.org/sasf2009/index.html

Advanced Search in PCLaw

A client asked me the other day how to run a report to see a list of all matters and their billing rates.  To do this you need to go to Reports –> Client –> List of Clients.

This will list all the clients\matters and what rate they are billed at, plus a whole lot of other information.  If you have a lot of matters this can be a hard report to get information from and you do not have the option of exporting it to excel to sort.

The Adv. Search… feature will help you filter this list to find some real information for you to use.  One example is using the Advanced Search to filter to view just one type of billing rate.  Lets say we wanted to see all matters that have the allstate billing rate. 

This will now only bring up matters that have the allstate (alst) billing rate.  We can save this filter to use it again if we need to.  \

Until the time where you can export the full report to PCLaw, this is your best bet for sorting matter information.

If you have a Windows Mobile Phone, You Need Mobile Shell 3.0

Kind of over Windows Mobile, the iPhone is cooler and the Blackberry is more stable but I am keeping my brick.  SPB just came out with Mobile Shell 3.0 which really does add functionality to Windows Mobile for $29.

 

 

 

Check it out here:  http://www.spbsoftwarehouse.com/pocketpc-software/mobileshell/

Twitter is Useful.

I have been kind of skeptical of the whole twitter concept for a while.   I guess it is partly because I am working all the time and seldom find time to tweet my great ideals, finding it is better to flesh them out in  blog entry.  At the end of the day it is hard to go through my twitter account because of all the tweets.  That changed today and I finally get twitter.  Chelsea’ went to court in Baton Rouge and I could not make it, but one of my friends did, and he twittered the entire trial.  I have to admit, I have been checking my phone every 30 seconds and when Chelsea’s won, I jumped up and shouted.  I then explained to the law firm I was at, that I finally was unable to unlock all records in the Amicus Database and this made me very happy.

This was way more addictive then ebay but also, on the serious side, it was a great window to the general public on how the legal system worked.   

 

 

Chelsea’s is endanger of closing

I know this has nothing to do with legal technology but Chelsea’s Cafe just lost its liquor license.  After Gustav, when Lawot’s office had no power for two weeks, the owner of Chelsea’s (Dave) let me setup up shop in his restaurant which had AC, Internet and Power.  It allowed me to service clients and make some money while stay refreshed and well fed. 

This past week the ATC (Alcohol Tobacco Commission) revoked Chelsea’s Liquor License because they are allegedly operating  as a bar and not a restaurant even though Chelsea’s meets the legal requirements (Food Sales over 50%) to operate as a restaurant.

Here is what one of the ATC Attorney’s had to say:

“If it looks like a bar, acts like a bar, smells like a bar, it doesn’t matter what your numbers are,” DeJohn says about the ratio of food and liquor sales, a part of the permit which Remmeter had proven was in compliance.”  225

What a great statement!  Maybe that's how we should approach the law.  If the authorities think a person looks like a criminal, who cares what they have actually done.  The position of the ATC is totally ridiculously and should be an embarrassment to the legal community.  Laws should be based on facts and not someone’s opinion.   

Chelsea’s operates in a building that has been a bar\restaurant\entertainment venue for 40 years and shares a corner with 3 other bars,  (One that mysteriously operates as a restaurant although food is rarely served there.  I guess they have not pissed off the ATC).

Here is the Craig Bayer is Chelsea’s a Bar Test?

Where did Clark’s entire family go to eat when he graduated?

Chelseas

Where did my family go for my last birthday?

Chelseas - Point being that Clark and and I don’t usually take our parents to bars. (expectation on bogies)

Who has the best Grilled Cheese, Rib Eye,  Artichoke Ravioli,  Pork au Jus, Sausage and Peppers, and Humus in Baton Rouge?

Chelseas – Read the Reviews on Yelp and Urban Spoon

What Restaurant proudly displays a picture of Craig and Clark play rocking out on their wall?

Chelsea's  (and the chimes, but we snuck that one up)

Not ramble on, but how does Sullivan’s not get in trouble?  They do the exact same thing as Dave minus the silicon and frosted tips?  Maybe there really is a conspiracy to replace anything original in Baton Rouge with Franchises, Strip Malls, and Condos!

For more info check out: http://www.ilovechelseas.com/

Craig Speaking at the Annual ALA Event

http://www.alanet.org/conf/2009/pop_sesDetail.asp?sesId=15

In this session, the speaker will discuss how an extranet can provide better service by giving clients access to their files. But like any new technology, there are ethical and security questions that must be addressed. This open service works best for clients that appreciate the ability to access their own documents rather than those who prefer to have their documents digitally delivered by the firm. After participating in this session, the attendees should be able to:

• Identify the technology, ethical, and security issues involved in setting up an extranet
• Evaluate the potential value of creating an extranet for client access
• Determine what is best for their firms and clients

Audience: Attendees should have at least five years' experience and have a working knowledge of extranet technology.

CPE: 75 minutes

Field of Study: Computer Science

Audience: A

Speaker: Craig Bayer is a principle at Law Office Technology, a firm specializing in Line of Business Applications for the legal community. Previously, he was the head of IT for a Baton Rouge, Louisiana law firm, and he now travels throughout the southeast consulting and speaking.

Advanced Search in Windows Vista

I had a client tell me today that he preferred searching in XP to Vista.  In XP he could search by modified date and in vista, he would have to first type a query and then click advanced options to choose the date modified.  There is a keyboard shortcut in Vista that allows you to skip this step.  If you click on the Windows Button and F  you can open up search and clicking advanced search will allow you to set parameters, like date modified and file size without typing in an actual query.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/75451-advanced-search.html