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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Coming in the
June/July 2006 Print Edition
June/July 2006 Print Edition
FEATURE: Billing Right
COLUMNS:
• Tech Setters
• eMarketing Edge
• MS Tip of the Month
• WP Tip of the Month
DEPARTMENTS:
• Product Reviews
• News
• Just Released
• Fresh Pick of the Month
• Calendar
• Industry White Papers (sponsored section)
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Setting up a Mobile War Room
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How to Use Blogging Software
Without Becoming a Blogger
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Electronic Evidence Best Practices
Click below to visit LOC's Web site.
Billing Right
Five law firms share their
time and billing program picks.
With so many time and billing programs to choose from, how does a firm decide which one is right for its attorneys? A firm’s size, location and practice areas all are factors in selecting a program. Law Office Computing asked firms in its readers’ top five most popular practice areas according to the 2005 Readers’ Choice Awards — civil litigation, corporate law, family law, real estate and estate planning — to discuss their preferences for time and billing programs and how their choices have affected their practices. Read Full Story
Faruki Ireland & Cox
Tuning in to clients’ needs.
Faruki Ireland & Cox is a nationwide firm focusing on complex business litigation such as commercial disputes, antitrust, securities, intellectual property and more. Our staff consists of 40 attorneys, six paralegals and two Information Technology staff members. Read Full Story
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Marketing to the Media
Reaching the press with technology.
For marketing purposes, media training for lawyers can pay off big for their firms, and technology makes training available without having to send your staff to a remote conference. A recent Web audio conference titled “A Marketer’s Guide to Media Training for Attorneys” serves as a prime example of how the Internet has made live media training available without having to leave the office. Read Full Story
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Increasing the Number of Undos
If you make a mistake while editing a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation or simply want to make a change, you can undo the
last several actions by pressing “Ctrl+Z” or choosing “Undo” from the “Edit” menu. However, unlike Word, PowerPoint is
set up to make only a limited number of changes — 20 by default. Sometimes having a limited amount of undos isn’t enough.
Read Full Story
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Wrapping Text
In the past four print issues of Law Office Computing, I discussed some of the options available on the right click image
editing menu that appear when you right click an image in a Corel WordPerfect document. This e-tip finishes that discussion.
Read Full Story
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Attorneys might view Apple Computer Inc.’s newest iPod purely as an audio player for music. However, a novel look at this diminutive device reveals its varied uses, many of which are applicable to the practice of law. Apart from audio playback, the fifth-generation iPod, available in 30GB and 60GB versions for both Macintosh and PC platforms, can be used as a video viewer, voice recorder, photo viewer and more. I used the 30GB iPod and found I was able to play back and create video depositions. You are not limited to using the device’s 2.5-inch screen to view the video. The iPod can be hooked up to a presentation device, such as a projector or television, to view video. Read Full Review
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Once in a while, someone finds a new use for an old tool. Or perhaps it isn’t a new use as much as an application of an existing use in a new area. Inspiration 8 by Inspiration Software Inc. is software developed as a tool for educators and can be a valuable tool for attorneys as well. Inspiration offers powerful tools you can use to brainstorm in planning aspects of your case, such as your discovery plan or the interrogation of a witness. You also can use it to help organize your thoughts for the overall presentation of your case and for opening statements and closing arguments. People learn and process information differently. Some people process information best if presented in a visual context. Inspiration software was designed to facilitate those who are visual learners, and is the only outline creation program I have found that helps you process information in that fashion. Read Full Review
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Federal Data Breach Bill Faces Opposition
A recently approved federal data breach notification bill has consumer advocacy groups and Congress facing off. Approved by the House Financial Services Committee in a 48-16 vote in March, the Financial Data Protection Act of 2005, or H.R. 3997, is intended to give financial services companies a national standard for securing sensitive personal information and notifying consumers in the event of a data breach. Read Full Story
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Solosez, an e-mail discussion group that provides solo practitioners with an online resource to share and obtain information, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary. Read Full Story
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LexisNexis launched Collier Research Suites to help attorneys research consumer bankruptcy laws enacted in late 2005. Designed for solo practitioners and small firms, Collier Research Suites provides information on new laws, as well as access to bankruptcy case law, public records and forms. The Essentials Edition of the suite includes the Collier Pamphlet Edition; the Collier Consumer Bankruptcy Practice Guide with Forms; bankruptcy code, bankruptcy cases and bankruptcy rules; Shepard’s; federal legislation and legislative tracking; and the Bankruptcy Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations. For more information, call (877) 810-5324.
Apple Computer Inc. released a public beta of Boot Camp, software that lets the latest Macintosh computers natively run Windows XP. Available now as a free trial beta, the software lets users choose between two operating systems at startup time: Mac OS X or Windows. Boot Camp requires an Intel-based Mac with a universal serial bus keyboard and mouse, or a built-in keyboard and TrackPad; Mac OS X Version 10.4.6 or later; the latest firmware update; at least 10GB of free space on the startup disk; a blank recordable CD; and a single-disc version of Windows XP Home Edition or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later. The software will be included in the release of Mac OS X Version 10.5, also known as “Leopard,” later this year. For more information, e-mail bootcamp@apple.com.
CaseCentral introduced CaseCentral X2, an electronic document workspace that allows legal professionals to share documents and create privileged work product in a single online environment. The software allows legal teams to confidentially prepare their work product by making privileged markups on a document made by one reviewer invisible to other reviewers looking at the same document. CaseCentral X2 uses an advanced systems architecture that constructs an electronic lockbox to separate private and public documents. For more information, call (800) 714-2727.
RTG Data Systems released RTG Conflicts, software to help law firms avoid conflicts of interest. The program maintains a complete list of a firm’s clients and matters, and potential clients and opposing parties are checked against this list for possible conflicts. The firm also can store information about opposing parties, corporate officers, family relationships and more. RTG costs $95 for a single-user license, and a free demonstration is available on the company’s Web site. For more information, call (310) 394-6457.
WorthMore Software announced CaseWorth, a tool designed to help personal injury and other legal professionals quickly calculate lost income, medical expenses, subrogation payments and more. The “Future Earnings” module estimates future lost income, the “Damage Summary” screen shows a running total in one place with the ability to drill down for closer inspection, and the “Settlement Calculator” tracks all demands and offers. After completing calculations, users can print a “Settlement Statement” for the claimant to sign. Pricing begins at $1,000, which includes one lawyer license and two paralegal licenses. For more information, call (479) 587-8132.
OklahomaSolo
The recently launched blog OklahomaSolo is helping to shed some light on the process of going solo. Created by law student Luke Anthony of Tulsa, Okla., who will graduate from the University of Tulsa College of Law in December, OklahomaSolo provides tips, anecdotes and helpful links for attorneys who are considering opening a solo practice. With postings that outline the costs of phone service and research tools for a new law office, OklahomaSolo’s trial-and-error perspective will give readers an idea of what it takes to open up a law office.
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May 22 through May 23
New Orleans, New Law: Community Revival With Technology
Sheraton New Orleans Hotel
New Orleans
This event is designed to help Louisiana law firms rebuild their practices after Hurricane Katrina by providing free consultations and garnering donations for a legal technology resource center. Sponsored by the Legal Electronic Document Institute, the American Bar Association Law Practice Management Section and the Louisiana State Bar Association, the event is set to offer continuing legal education classes and will feature technology consultants and vendors from around the country to discuss computer tools that can be used in a legal practice. There also will be free products or discounts of products showcased by vendors at the conference. For more information, visit www.legal-edocs.org/NewOrleans,NewLaw.htm.
July 16 through July 19
Social Work and the Law: The Cutting Edge of Forensics
The Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel
Chicago
Organized by the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, this conference is geared toward forensic social workers, as well as legal professionals and educators in corrections and law enforcement. The conference will focus on forensics-related topics such as technology, research and policy discussions. For more information, visit www.nofsw.org/confbrochure.html.
Click here to view the entire calendar of events.
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Sponsored section
The Bell Curve & Document Indexing/Imaging
Let’s apply the “bell curve” from statistics class to the document collections produced during discovery. Out of every thousand cases, how many involve 1,000,000+ documents? 100,000+?100+? And what does this distribution suggest regarding document indexing and the possibility of using Adobe Acrobat PDF files for document images? Click here to read the entire article.
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