Legal Technology

Dwarf Computers: Runt Stars of Portability?

Every week, some enterprising vendor decides it can make a gadget to replace a laptop and look what was delivered: PDAs that can surf the Internet, poorly, and phones that play videos, poorly.  What wouldn't lawyers give to be able to sail through airport security without the weight, bulk and inconvenience of lugging a Targus notebook bag. Author Alan Cohen looks at some "hyped" laptop alternatives that, under certain circumstances, might succeed where so many others have failed: giving lawyers the ability to leave their laptops -- but not their productivity -- behind.

Journey into Transactional Law

I always had a difficult time starting research in transactional law, be it insurance, real estate, or securities. The end point was well-grounded in client goals; but it's the journey that makes the difference between a successful or failed transaction. Now, LexisNexis has mapped out a new journey for a successful transaction with Transactional Advisor.

The Transactional Advisor is a new service aimed at attorneys who conduct transactions in areas of law such as bankruptcy, business and compliance, commercial, corporations, insurance, international, real estate, securities, and tax. The Advisor hopes to help attorneys: anticipate emerging transactional matters that affect current and prospective clients with expert commmentary; analyze legal issues with the help of Matthew Bender publications; and download legal forms for use. In addition, attorneys will be able to advise clients on transactional risk and conduct due diligence research.

For example, in the Transactional Advisor's Corporate, Business & Compliance Center, compliance and disclosure requirements can be found in a variety of sources such as Matthew Bender’s Corporate Governance Law and Practice, and Liability of Officers & Directors. The Advisor's Environmental Practice Center includes information from sources such as the Environmental Law Practice Guide, Environmental Law in Real Estate and Business Transactions & Treatise on Environmental Law, and the Law of Hazardous Waste, covering everything from audits to underground storage tanks, and more. And in the Insurance Practice Center, the NAIC Model Laws and Attorney General Opinions are together with enacted statutes and regulations.

The Transactional Advisor appears to be a good place to start, and perhaps end, a successful journey into transactional law. Godspeed.

Practice Makes Management Software Perfect

When you bought your practice management software, did you expect it to revolutionize the way you practice law? Do you now find that you pretty much use it as an electronic calendar, and as a place to file the information from business cards you get at trade shows? Don't be embarrassed -- you're not necessarily a Luddite just because you can't learn everything this powerful software can do in one day. Consultant Storm Evans offers some tips to painlessly build your practice management expertise over time.

How was that Date Calculated?

As an attorney, you never want to hear "how was that date calculated?" after you missed a deadline. This is a much better question to ask yourself up front, especially if your are calculating a date with the court for you and your client. Now, Compulaw has caught on to that bit of calendar culture.

CompuLaw's Vision Web Portal version 3.3 includes a new feature: "How was this date calculated?" It provides a quick and easy way to identify each step of CompuLaw’s date calculation process. So, whether your are checking on your own dates or another's, you can verify just how it was calculated by Compulaw.

Streamlining Document Creation and Assembly

By nature, lawyers create content. And any software that helps us generate and distribute content is good for the business and, ultimately, clients. That's why my ears perk up when I get wind of new or revised tools to automate and streamline document assembly and creation; especially tools that are compatible with a staple in the legal industry: Microsoft Office.

Recently, the Sackett Group rebuilt (.NET/C#) their MacPac production and automation software from the ground up, enabling lawyers to automate content generation. MacPac version 10 combines content management and document assembly functionality and includes new macros and templates (MS-Office 2003 and 2007) as well as an SQL-server database for shared content and global author perferences. It utilizes XML-based content to use with Microsoft Office.

The Sackett Group is not alone in creating automation stations for document production. Esquire Innovations has also announced the release of their version 5.0, compatiable with Microsoft's Office 2007 and Windows Vista. Like MacPac, Esquire boasts a comprehensive and integrated template and macro creation and automation tools that are compatible with Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista.

If you do not presently use automation tools to streamline document creation, both The Sackett Group and Esquire Innovations are good places to start your research. And if you do have them, make a note that there's something new to check out.

Attorneys Delivered

When I first started a solo practice, I got some advice on how to generate clients: advertise, advertise, and advertise. And in that order. Well, just how do you advertise and distinguish yourself on a dime -- sometimes a nickel.

One answer is the Web. But that's the short answer, because advertising on the Web can be as passive as setting up a Web page and as active as engaging in some search engine optimization to get found. Yes, that's search engine optimization or SEO to manage your site and your links so that the main search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN can allow potential clients to find you.

Now if you know what SEO is and how to do it, fine. You're probably doing it now. But if you do not, check out Attorneys Delivered. There, you can see what some real SEO experts can do to accelerate your marketing efforts on the Web.

Next Step for NextPage

I had a conversation today with NextPage and my memory was refreshed on a product that has been in the making for years. NextPage started out in the document manage space, leveraging P2P technology. They sold off that portion of the business to FAST, which in turn was bought by Microsoft. But they kept a part of their business that focuses on document retention, litigation readiness, and legal hold management. Some companies see the writing on the wall. Some companies, like NextPage, put it there.

NextPage technology focuses on the client to classify and track content, whether created on a network share, laptop, or USB device. Indeed, that's where the action is. Once documents are classified using metadata, NextPage can apply policies, including litigation holds, to the content and monitor and report on compliance. Policy management can be conducted by a managed service through NextPage or software located on the customer's site.

Today, NextPage has integration with Microsoft Office 2003 products: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. In its next revision, NextPage will support Office 2007 products.

Video Depositions

Trial consultant Lynn Packer brought his video deposition center to my attention as part of a project he did for the Utah-based law firm Siegfried & Jensen. If I wore a hat, I would tip it for Mr. Packer.

Mr. Packer's DepoDisplay technology records the audio and video components of a deposition and enables parties to view and interact with digital exhibits using a large LCD screen. During the deposition, parties can mark exhibits on a laptop PC in real time to display on the LCD. This eliminates the need to shuffle paper back and forth at a deposition and lets the participants focus on the content, rather than the format, of exhibits.