Law Technology

Not so fast Mr. Employeer ? You may not have a right to read my personal email.

Posted on November 20, 2009
According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, some courts are backing away from the blanket concept that all emails sent using company equipment and networks are company property.

Great tip ? using Google Local Business Center to attract new clients

Posted on November 19, 2009
Lawyerist.com has a great tip in its post here on taking advantage of Google's free Local Business Center to attract new clients. Using the Google Local Business Center, you can customize how your business listing appears in Google and Google maps.

Alternative Tools for Running your Practice (& Your Life)

Posted on November 17, 2009
The Codswallop blog has a great list of 100 alternative tools for collaboration, organization, calendaring and more in the article The Freelancer?s Toolset: 100 Web Apps for Everything You Will Possibly Need.

LexisNexis Sells HotDocs Software Business to UK Company

Posted on November 17, 2009
LexisNexis announced today that Capsoft of Scotland has purchased the HotDocs software business from LexisNexis. LexisNexis retains its Automated Forms group and will continue to provide HotDocs enabled forms including those found on its LexisONE website...

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Marketing Tip: Create a marketing plan.

Posted on November 16, 2009
This doesn?t have to be a tome, but should layout specific steps to take each month. Dedicate a set time each week and month to execute the plan i.e. every Monday from 11AM-Noon

That?s a Wrap! 2009 Wisconsin Solo Small Firm ConferenceWSSFC,

Posted on November 16, 2009
Wow, if you didn't make the 2009 Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference October 29-31 at the Kalahari resort in the Wisconsin Dells, you missed a lot! Here's just a brief overview of what this years 298 attendees received by coming:

If you Steal From a Client, Don?t let your Website Domain Lapse.

Posted on October 24, 2009
Perhaps an even worse fate is to take an advanced fee from a client on the same day your license is suspended, cash the check and then advise the client they can pick up their file but make no attempt to return the fee. Then, allow your domain registration to lapse and have the client purchases it...

Legal Implications of Cloud Computing

Posted on October 20, 2009
Whether we want to admit it or not, cloud computing is making an impact on the way we practice law as well as the way our clients approach computing and information storage. Lawyers need to have a t least a basic understanding of the benefits and potential pitfalls that this new technology will impose.

Marketing Tip: You need your own internet domain name.

Posted on October 19, 2009
While some people don?t mind sending email to an AOL, GMAIL or HotMail account, it lacks a sense of professionalism and indicates to the world that you don?t take modern communication practices seriously (and we won't even get into the privacy/confidentiality concerns many of us have with the services) .

Wisconsin Lawyer Learns ? If you?re going to Cite, Get it Right

Posted on October 16, 2009
The ABA Journal has posted an interesting story about an unnamed Wisconsin lawyer fined for getting a case citation wrong. The citation appeared in a footnote in a brief to the Court of Appeals; however, not only did the cited case not support the proposition put forth in the footnote, it wasn't even the right citation...

Marketing Tip: Create Your Brand

Posted on October 12, 2009
While your brand can include a logo, it is more than just a logo - your brand should represent you, your practice, your philosophy of business and practice niche areas. Your brand represents YOU and how you want the potential clients and the public to perceive you in the legal marketplace.

Illinoins State Bar Association announces new Illinois Lawyer Now Quarterly

Posted on September 28, 2009
Congratulations to Illinois which has announced availability of another publication in electronic format similar to the State Bar of Wisconsin's InsideTrack enewsletter. The Illinois State Bar has launched its new publication Illinois Lawyer Now Quarterly which joins Illinois Lawyer Now (Online) containing information and articles for lawyers licensed in Illinois.

Easy File Folder Navigation with QuickJump ? Compujurist Readers Save 20%

Posted on September 16, 2009
Techhit Software makes a number of Outlook utilities that I use regularly including SimplyFIle, EZDetach and MessageSave . On September 15, 2009 TechHit released their latest utility called QuickJump which is a Windows file navigation utility. A beta version had been in use by a number of firms and people including myself and I'm happy to see the commercial launch of this latest tool...

Avoiding Legal Malpractice Risks in Tough Times ? Use Best Practices

Posted on September 14, 2009
My friend, Dan Pinnington (director of practicePRO), article Legal malpractice risks change in tough times (But the best risk management strategies don?t) was recently made available to a wider audience and is worth reading. Dan provides sage advice and even though he is in Canada and this was originally aimed at Canadian lawyers, it applies to those of us here in the U...

Good deal on an external drive and CMS BounceBack Ultimate software

Posted on September 11, 2009
If you?re looking for a backup system for a single computer, CMS backup has a 250GB external drive plus a copy of BounceBack Ultimate for $99.00.

Do Lawyers need another legal search tool? LegalGrub thinks so.

Posted on September 11, 2009
Just when you thought it was safe to start searching the internet after the release of Wolfram|Alpha , a new legal research tool was announced today by Miles Technologies called LegalGrub.com . According to the announcement, LegalGrub.com is supposed to make lawyers research lives easier by conducting searches only "...

Review of Redaction Software: Redact-It by IGC

Posted on September 09, 2009
Using software tools to redact text from electronic case documents is obviously more efficient than printing out pages, striking out sensitive text with a black marker and scanning the altered documents back into your system. However, improperly redacting an electronic document can have disastrous consequences with the unplanned disclosure of information, such as in Hepting v...

Using a blog as your website: Mogilevsky Law Firm, P.A.

Posted on September 04, 2009
I came across a WordPress blog of Mogilevsky Law Firm, P.A. operated by Attorney Jane Mogilevsky that is being used as her website in, I think, a clever way. You don't realize it's a blog when you first look at it, since your eyes are drawn to the the separately framed topic titles which are actually posts.

Fraud for the holidays.

Posted on September 03, 2009
Scammers and con artists continue to become more sophisticated in their methods and have been preying on unsuspecting lawyers and law firms for over a year now. The time just before holidays is fast becoming a preferred period for these nefarious villains to try and hit law firms with their tricks...

Free Acrobat Forums with Rick Borstein

Posted on August 27, 2009
Thanks to my good friend Bryan Sims of The Connected Lawyer blog for pointing out that Rick Borstein from Adobe (and the author of Acrobat for Lawyers blog) will be conducting a series of 3 hour Acrobat Forums for Legal Professionals around the country in September and October 2009, starting with Chicago on September 15, 2009...

Ethics checklists for solo and small firm practitioners

Posted on August 25, 2009
Today's issue of YourABA e-news includes a link to Ethics checklists for solo and small firm practitioners. This is really a compilation of prior ABA articles, free CLE audio and sample forms on ethical issues facing lawyers. These are well worth reading and adding a bookmark in your browser so you can refer back to these as needed.

What do restaurants and law offices have in common? Customer Service!

Posted on August 20, 2009
If you haven't subscribed to the gruntled employees blog by Jay Shepherd (Shepherd Law Group), you should do so immediately. I always enjoy reading Jay's blog as he consistently provides insights and information on management and law firm operations often times relating real world nonlegal experiences everyday needs of law offices and lawyers...

RECAP Firefox plugin: Helps make Pacer records a public archive.

Posted on August 14, 2009
Slashdot posted Firefox Plugin Liberates Paywalled Court Records today which is a link to Timothy B. Lee's Bottom-up blog. It seems that Mr. Lee and fellow grad students have a created RECAP, a Firefox plugin that allows you to take Pacer court records that you've purchased and upload them to a public internet archive...

Can I use Twitter in my Business?

Posted on August 13, 2009
The folks at Twitter have created Twitter 101 A Special Guide to help answer this question. The guide contains tips and tricks as well as Best Practices, Case Studies and outside Resources. If you're wondering if you should be using Twitter in your practice, I'd recommend taking a look a this guide before you get started...

When You Go To Heaven?

Posted on August 10, 2009
We've all seen the pictures of the person sitting at the desk against a backdrop of a mountain of papers (or something similar) and many think, "Yeah, right." To prove that truth is stranger than fiction, checkout fellow Practice Management Advisor (PMA) for South Carolina Courtney Kennady's post When You Go to Heaven...

LexisNexis issues Technical Alert and fixes for MS Word Plug-in issues for TimeMatters and Total Practice Advantage Version 7

Posted on July 27, 2009
LexisNexis has also provided fixes for the MS Word Plu-in issue in TimeMatters Version 7 and Total Practice Advantage Version 7.

What do you mean my blog looks funny in IE (or Firefox or Opera or?.)

Posted on July 21, 2009
Ever come across a website or blog that just didn't look right on your computer at work, but looks OK at home? If you're using different web browsers, this in fact can can happen. While there are various standards for web development, various browsers interpret them differently or may not follow them at all.

Technical Alert for LexisNexis Total Practice Advantage TM Version 8.0 Customers Using the Microsoft® Word Plug-In

Posted on July 20, 2009
Lexis Nexis has issues a Technical Alert for users of its Total Practice Advantage Product version 8.0 (TPA8) and TimeMatters version 8 (TM8). This Technical Alert details the steps users need to take to insure that TPA8 and TM8 continue to work with MS Word properly by reactivating the Verisign Trusted Publisher Certification by July 23, 2009...

Articles on Recession Planning from the ABA LPM Section

Posted on July 16, 2009
The American Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section has assembled more than a dozen articles to assist lawyers with ways to save money and keep your doors open in this recession.

Free Web Based OCR

Posted on July 15, 2009
There are still a large number of lawyers who don't have OCR software in their offices. While they may have the ability to create images of scanned documents using their office digital copy centers, they don't have the capability to take advantage of the uses of OCR for converting these images into usable text that can be brought into their word processor...

Strong Passwords for Protection: A Contrarian View

Posted on July 13, 2009
...interesting review of the major threats to account security with the authors finding the major threats are those that strong passwords alone can't defend against. Some of the paper is rather technical, but the underlying premise is that the major areas of concern are from phishing and keylogging which the strongest passwords in the world can't defend against...

Try it for Free ? New Service connects Lawyers and Journalists

Posted on July 10, 2009
Paramjit L. Mahli and The Sun Communication Grouphave introduced theSCG PR Network for Attorneys and is offering a free one-month trial of its Amethyst level membership through July 31, 2009 to connect lawyers with journalists looking for commentary.

Best Practices in Blog Design: Designing the new Compujurist.

Posted on July 09, 2009
Designing (or re-designing) your blog can be a daunting task even for an experienced blogger. Here are some of the things I learned in redesigning Compujurist.

Power on the Go: Ecosol POWERSTICK - Don?t run out of power when you need it most.

Posted on June 26, 2009
My friend Courtney Kennady, Practice Management Advisor of the South Carolina Bar Association, recently shared with her fellow PMA's a link to David Pogue's June 25, 2009 article What?s in Pogue?s Travel Bag? . In this article, David discusses what he keeps in his bag when he is traveling...

Power on the Go: Ecosol POWERSTICK ? Don?t run out of power when you need it most.

Posted on June 26, 2009
My friend Courtney Kennady, Practice Management Advisor of the South Carolina Bar Association, recently shared with her fellow PMA's a link to David Pogue's June 25, 2009 article What?s in Pogue?s Travel Bag? . In this article, David discusses what he keeps in his bag when he is traveling...

How to Close a Word 2007 Document without closing Word

Posted on June 25, 2009
I've come to really like Word 2007 and the other Office 2007 applications. While the Ribbon toolbar took some getting used to, I know find it to be much more intuitive than the old Word toolbar. For those having difficulty or are afraid to upgrade to Office 2007 because of the Ribbon don't be dissuaded: think of it this way - we spent years being trained by Microsoft to use their old non-intuitive toolbar, with Word 2007 we have to 'unlearn' these bad habits.

This is one Worm that the Twitterverse doesn?t want to catch.

Posted on June 01, 2009
As Twitter becomes more popular with lawyers ( or anyone else for that matter), it becomes a larger target for people with malicious intent to use for their own nefarious purposes. The latest round of attacks has been occurring in the form of a worm which attacks when users click the shortened URLs in a Tweet.

CrossLoop Spreads the Love ? Announcing CrossLoop for the Mac

Posted on May 27, 2009
With CrossLoop available for both the PC and Mac, you now have an easy to us,e cross platform support program that's free, but which can also help you get professional assitance if you need it.

Red Gorilla Redux? Why you need to select your online storage company carefully.

Posted on May 20, 2009
The article discusses how some of the glamour may be wearing off the cloud storage mania of recent times. For many of us, this is like Deja Vu with what happend with many ASP's in the Dot.Com bust in the early years of this century, with the poster child being Red Gorilla.

Resources to help you in these tough economic times from the ABA

Posted on May 11, 2009
The American Bar Association has created a website for lawyers titled Economic Recovery Resources which provide information on resources and benefits for lawyers struggling in today's economy.

Track the Swine Flu Outbreak in the US on Google

Posted on April 28, 2009
Are you getting ready to rtavel for a deposition or meeeting? Perhaps have a planned vacation approaching? The Swine Flu out break has folks concerned all over he world. Lawyers are on of the groups that often travel for their work and so should be concerned if tgravelling to one of the affected areas...

Conference calls ? kick it up a notch!

Posted on April 15, 2009
Seth Godin posted about Reinventing the Conference Call on his blog recently and discussed the issues he has with the traditional conference calls. Seth thinks that there should be a chat room in addition to the conference call to encourage participation...

Conference calls - kick it up a notch!

Posted on April 14, 2009
Seth Godin posted about Reinventing the Conference Call on his blog recently and discussed the issues he has with the traditional conference call. Seth thinks that there should be a chat room in additon to the conferfence call to encourage participation...

Why should a lawyer care about Virtual Machines?

Posted on April 13, 2009
When it comes to technology, lawyers are often the last to take notice of changes that may be able to help them in their practices. This isn't due to any deficiency on their part, but rather to a lack of knowledge of what's happening in technology around them as a result of their profession...

Do you Feel a Twitch to Tweet?

Posted on April 08, 2009
Twitter has been described as micro blogging and now by my friend Jim Calloway as Megatexting in his recent article Twitter: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Jim's article is a counterpoint to one from the Oklahoma Bar Association' Web Services Coordinator Morgan Estes titled The OBA?s on Twitter! which combined form To Tweet, or Not To Tweet?

Help on MS Word from a Wisconsin Lawyer and Word User

Posted on April 08, 2009
Who knew that Wisconsin has a MS Word FAQ and links to resources compiled by Madison Criminal defense attorney Attorney Charles Kenyon right here in Madison? Thanks to the folks at Technolawyer a lot of us now know that Charles has put together this list of resources, links and updated guides for using Word.

LexConference TECHSHOW 2009 Videos are Up

Posted on April 07, 2009
See interviews of myself and Laura Calloway, the Director of the Alabama State Bar's Practice Management Assistance Program and 2009 ABA TECHSHOW Chair.

Compujurist makes TECHSHOW 2009 60 Sites List!

Posted on April 06, 2009
TECHSHOW 2009 came to a close on Saturday April 4 with the standing room only 60 Sites in 60 Minutes closing session. I had arrived ealry and had my netbook running to Tweet about the session and check on recommended sites as they came up. Imagine my surprise when I looked up and saw Compujurist on the huge screens on both sides of the room.

TECHSHOW 2009 Opens its Doors

Posted on April 02, 2009
TECHSHOW 2009 officially started this morning and if attendenace is down, its difficult to tell. I started the day of with my friend Britt Lorish Knuttgen of Automated Horizons on Hardcore Scanning for Law Offices of ANY Size as part of the Paperless Practice Track...

Keyboard/Scanner combo may be just what you need.

Posted on March 31, 2009
Scanning documents is invaluable in reducing the amount of paper that firms must maintain, not to mention how it improves lawyers? access to that information. However, while large multifunction copiers with scanning capabilities are being used in document centers in more and more offices, for many law practices maximum efficiency can be found by using desktop scanners at individual workstations instead...

Technology Loves me, It Loves Me Not!

Posted on March 10, 2009
Many lawyers seem to have a love - hate relationship with their technology: when it works like it is supposed to, we love it, but when it prevents us from getting a brief done or acts up in other ways we hate it.

Cover Your Assets: CrossLoop - Affordable IT Support for Small Practices?

Posted on March 03, 2009

Can I send confidential emails by Gmail? You can in New York.

Posted on February 24, 2009
May a lawyer use an e-mail service provider that scans e-mails by computer for keywords and then sends or displays instantaneously (to the side of the e-mails in question) computer-generated advertisements to users of the service based on the e-mail communications?

ABA TECHSHOW 2009:I?ll be there - will You?

Posted on February 17, 2009
The 2009 ABA TECHSHOW April 2 - 4, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois is rapidly approaching and so is the time to take advantage of early bird discounts!

What?s that sound coming from my Hard Drive?

Posted on February 03, 2009
If you've ever had a hard drive die, lock up or act strangely and start making noises and wondered what the noise meant you now have a resource to find out.

Get More out of a Google Search.

Posted on January 15, 2009
Google is a great tool and has a lot of features that, if we took the time to read the documentation, we could find and learn on our own. However, as is too often the case, that would require time we generally don't have so we usually only scratch the surface of its capailities without someone else pointing out features or tips and tricks...

There?s No Cure for Stupid - How Failing to Backup Killed JournalSpace

Posted on January 02, 2009
Seems the folks at JournalSpace, the popular blog hosting site, failed to pay attention to common backup strategies and best practices and didn't have ANY BACKUPS. That's right folks, none, nada, zip, zilch. Instead, they relied on a set of drives mirrored (RAID 1) on a server running OS X server.

All CLient IOLTA Funds protected under FDIC Rules

Posted on December 30, 2008
The FDIC announced in November that client funds deposited into an IOLTA account are fully protected irregardless of the amount deposited. Read FDIC rules in IOLTA Protection from the ABA for more details.

How to Create a Word 2007 Macro to Insert the Path File Name Anywhere in a Word Doc

Posted on December 22, 2008
Word 207 has made a lot of things easier and you can easily insert the file path and name into the header and footer of a Word 2007 document with a number of keystrokes. However, you can create a macro to insert the path and file name anywhere in the Word document, not just the header and footer.

How to Create a Word 2007 Macro to Insert the Path & File Name Anywhere in a Word Doc

Posted on December 22, 2008
Word 207 has made a lot of things easier and you can easily insert the file path and name into the header and footer of a Word 2007 document with a number of keystrokes. However, you can create a macro to insert the path and file name anywhere in the Word document, not just the header and footer.

Simplify saving Outlook email with SimplyFile

Posted on December 18, 2008
Simplify your life?we hear that advice time and again, but it?s usually easier said than done. Think about how you spend your time each day, including the ways in which technology has actually increased your stress levels rather than decreased them. Nowhere is this truer than with e-mail, which consumes much of every workday...

Easily create duplicate records in MS Outlook and other MS Office products.

Posted on December 05, 2008
One of the minor annoyances that many Outlook users encounter is the ability to easily and quickly duplicate a calendar appointment (when you don?t want to go through the steps of creating a recurring appointment) or duplicate an email message to save in multiple folders...

Save 10% through November 30, 2008 on another great Outlook utilitiy!

Posted on November 13, 2008
Through the end of November , TechHit is offering of Compujurist and other blogs that are part of the PMA Pipes feed a 10% discount on EZDetach. To take advantage of this special offer To receive a PMA discount, place an order via this link: http://tinyurl...

Wow, the 3d WI Solo & Small Firm Conference is next week!

Posted on October 17, 2008
I can't believe that the 3rdAnnual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference is next week October 23-25. The Conference is being held this year at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells and there's still time to register here.

13 Free Backup Tools

Posted on October 14, 2008
As attorneys, we have an obligation to safeguard our clients property which includes the files that we create for our clients. However, to too many attorneys, backing up important critical data is an afterthought at best or completely overlooked at worst.

David Pogue?s Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User

Posted on October 03, 2008
We all try to be as productive as possible with our technology. We spend hours learning how to use our software, take classes, read "how to" materials and also learn from doing. However, it never hurts to take a step back and review what may be considered "basic" tips...

Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference - Early Bird Registration and Hotel Discounts scheduled to end today.

Posted on September 23, 2008
It?s that time of year again ? time for the 3d Annual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference October 23-25, 2008 at the Kalahari Resort in the lovely Wisconsin Dells. Full details at the website: www.wisolosmallfirmconference.com or www.wssfc.org Early bird registration of $250...

Lifehacker.com: Best of the Best Picks

Posted on September 23, 2008
Lifehacker is a blog that bills itself as: "...an award-winning, daily blog that features tips, shortcuts, and downloads that help you get things done smarter and more efficiently." In reality, Liifehacker puts out reviews, tips and tricks, tutorials, downloads and more relating to technology.

Come one, come all to The Wisconsin Assoc. of Legal Adminstrators ACE conference

Posted on September 22, 2008
Each year WALA puts on their Annual Conference of Education & Exposition (ACE) which they bills as "...an opportunity for a vital exchange of information between administrators, legal managers, industry leaders,vendor partners and guests" and this year 's ACE is shaping up to be just that.

3rd Annual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference

Posted on September 13, 2008
Join me at the Kalahari Resort October 23-25, 2008 in the Wisconsin Dells for the 3d Annual Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Conference for 2 days of great CLE, networking and fun!

2 More Blogs Worth Following

Posted on September 12, 2008
Searching for blogs that are interesting and worth following can be a daunting task. I've come across 2 blogs that appear to be 1) interesting and 2) have useful information.The first is Ruth Sheperd's Arborlaw blog covering a wide range of topics and Raymond Ward's the (new) legal writer blog.

Use Chrome, Sell your soul to Google.

Posted on September 03, 2008
Do.No.Evil. - That is the Google mantra that we are all familiar with. In my post yesterday, I pointed out opinions that Google was in fact turning in on its partners with this move. Now The Register out of the UK has posted this story about a troubling provision of Chrome's EULA.

Marquette University Law School Announces Faculty Blog

Posted on September 03, 2008
Joseph D. Kearney, Dean and Professor of Law at Marquette University Law School has announced the launch of the new faculty blog for the university.

Google Chrome takes on Microsoft and Mozilla

Posted on September 02, 2008
Google has announced the release of it own Windows based web browser called Chrome. Downloads are supposed to be available starting at 2 PM Eastern Time today, September 2, 2008. The announcement was made on Monday September 1 (Labor Day here in the US) after a comic explaining the process behind the design of the new browser was apparently leaked.

Consumers 1, AT&T 0 after Washington State Decision

Posted on September 02, 2008
The Washington Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a consumer and against AT&T and it service agreement. The ars technica website has the full story here. This is truly a case of David vs. Goliath, with David taking down the giant with his sling and pebble.

Can I really reduce the paper in my practice?

Posted on August 18, 2008
Reducing the amount of paper in your law practice is a dream that most (if not all) attorneys have had at one time or another. There are a number of commercial tools that are available that can assist with this process, but their cost can vary from moderate to expensive.

Making your office a fun place to work.

Posted on August 14, 2008
LA provides the Legal Management Resource Center (LMRC ) which contains terrific articles and other materials many of which are free and don?t require an ALA Membership. One such article is Put On a Happy Face (and Mean It). Ponder these Points to Make Your Firm a More Pleasant Place to Workhttp://thesource...

Fair Debt Collections Practices Act - a Primer.

Posted on August 09, 2008
The ISBA Mutual Insurance Company recently posted an article on their website titled 'Debt Be Not Proud' providing an introduction to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. As a former collections attorney, I saw how easy it can be for attorneys to be guilty of a technical violation and to have a defendant's attorney file suit in federal court for such a violation.

RocketMatter offers assistance to Displaced Wisconsin Attorneys

Posted on July 25, 2008
RocketMatter, bills itself as "The web generation of legal software" and began offering it's online online practice management product has reached out to lawyers displaced by this summers floods.

Getting the most from Excel 2007 - 3 more

Posted on July 23, 2008
Excel is one of those programs that has a thousand and one uses in a law office, but getting the most out of it can sometime be a challenge. I am always on the lookout for ways to do more, easier with Excel

Thinking of Using GMAIL, Check Out: Why I became a Gmail convert

Posted on July 21, 2008
Putting aside any potential privacy issues with using Gmail as your primary email for your law office, one still cannot overlook the profound impact that Gmail has had on email.

What every lawyer needs to know about air travel today!

Posted on July 11, 2008
For lawyers who are required to travel due to their type of practice or even lawyers who are travelling for leisure, trying to navigate the rocks and shoals of rules, regulations, restrictions and ?convenience charges? can be rough sailing. There are a number of websites that can assist with selecting flights such as Kayak or AirfareWatchdog or SmarterTravel , or determining if the seat you?ve selected is a good one at Seatguru .

Dealing with the Deluge - Protecting Your Business Against Floods and Other Risks:Which Insurance Coverage is Right for You?

Posted on July 07, 2008
The severe storms that struck southern and central Wisconsin in early June left hundreds of homes, roads and businesses under several feet of water. The misery was compounded when many home and business owners, including law offices, found themselves without insurance coverage for their losses...

U.S. Secret Service and its Best Practices for Seizing Electronic Evidence

Posted on July 07, 2008
Think of this as your handy cheat sheet for grabbing electronic evidence when you don?t have a data evidence expert handy.

SBA Disaster Loan Program for Wisconsin individuals (renters, home owners), businesses and non-profit organizations

Posted on June 30, 2008
The U.S. Small Business Administration continues to provide information on its resources that are available to Wisconsin residents and businesses. The following information is the latest that has been provided by the US SBA Office of Disaster Assistance.

Getting More out of Google

Posted on June 30, 2008
While there are other search engines that are available for use to search the Internet, Google has ascended to primacy for most users. Some of the best ways to use Google are the least known such as its ability to work as a calculator, convert currency and units of measurement, track packages, find the location of area codes and more.

What is a lawyer?s ethical responsibility when client files are destroyed by flood or other disaster?

Posted on June 26, 2008
One of the many issues facing Wisconsin lawyers impacted by the recent flooding is figuring out what to do with client files that have been damaged? What are the ethical implications of losing these files due to the damage? For many attorneys, files have been soaked not only with water, but sewage, fuels and mud as well...

What every Wisconsin (and non-Wisconsin) lawyer should know about the US Small Business Administration Disaster Assistance Loan Programs.

Posted on June 26, 2008
Too often we take a jaded view of our government and how helpful its various departments and agencies actually are in times of disaster. That changed for me on Tuesday when I had a call and email waiting for me from Carl Sherrill of the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance...

More Freebies on the Web: PC World?s 101 Fantastic Freebies

Posted on June 24, 2008
PC World has posted its list of 101 Fantastic Freebies covering free utilities to tweak MS Windows, secure your computer, productivity applications, communications and more.

PC Magazine?s 529 Computing Tips (but who?s counting)

Posted on June 23, 2008
Ever wondered how to create a shortcut to today?s date in Excel or how to find enormous attachments in Outlook?

Dealing with the Deluge ? Get your faxes without a fax machine.

Posted on June 20, 2008
If you have been forced out of your office due to flooding, getting your faxes can be an issue. While you can forward the fax line to another number such as your home telephone line, this requires that you have a fax machine their and also ties up that line for voice calls...

Dealing with the Deluge: Flood Resources for Wisconsin Lawyers

Posted on June 13, 2008
Flooding is affecting attorneys and their clients throughout Wisconsin. The State Bar of Wisconsin has assembled resources for lawyers available here. They have also created the Wisconsin Lawyer?s Flood Assistance Bulletin Board for lawyers who need help and for lawyers who want to help their fellow attorneys...

Casual is OK - But Leave the flip flops at the Beach.

Posted on June 12, 2008
It seems like summer is finally here which means summer dress codes will be an effect at most workplaces. Here at the State Bar Wisconsin, we not only have a dress code but we also have a casual Monday policy. Like most employers, it is sometimes necessary for us to remind employees that certain items of clothing are inappropriate due to the fact that they may be too revealing, present an image that is unacceptable for a professional membership organization or are inappropriate in other ways.

All Chairs Are Created Equal - Or Are They?

Posted on June 11, 2008
There was an old joke among horse cavalry troopers after long rides which was they had gone 40 miles in the saddle with Major Assburns. I feel the same way when I have to sit for long periods of time in a cheap desk chair or one that was built for looks rather than function.

E-Discovery gaff waives Attorney-Client Privilege

Posted on June 09, 2008
It seems a number of factors were at work in this case including poorly defined keywords for the search as well as a failure to properly review documents that were not electronically searchable. The end result was that 165 privileged documents were turned over to the Plaintiff by Creative.

Missouri Solo & Small Firm Conference Turns 13

Posted on June 05, 2008
The Missouri Solo & Small Firm Conference is unequivocally the most successful solo and small firm conference. how's that for a statement from an attorney? The conference turns 13 this summer and has more than 800 folks registered to attend this 3 day event starting Thursday June 12 and ending on Saturday June 14.

Honey, I shrunk the Word Document.

Posted on June 02, 2008
I don?t know of anyone who hasn?t gone to print an MS Word document at one time or another and had a last page that had perhaps only a small amount of text on it. Trying to get your document so you could do away with this page with minimal text can be very frustrating...

?Book?em Danno? ? Back to My Mac catches thief!

Posted on May 12, 2008
Here?s a link to a story about a MacBook user using the Apple Back to My Mac feature to capture an image of the thief who stole her MacBook.

The Check?s in the mail or is it?

Posted on April 28, 2008
While it is hard to condense all of the things you should do, Ed provides some useful suggestions for dealing with clients who are avoiding paying your bill under one of his 5 scenarios.

Wisconsin Quarles Ex-Partner makes the news (and not in a good way)

Posted on April 25, 2008
The ABA Journal reports in this story that an ex-Quarles & Brady partner has been suspended for nine months for failure to turn over fees he earned as a trustee to his former firm.

Monster Cable vs. Blue Jean Cable: Will this be a Repeat of David vs. Goliath?

Posted on April 15, 2008
For many lawyers (myself included) Intellectual Property (IP) law is similar to trying to understand a foreign language; some of the word might seem familiar, but you know that you really don?t have a clue. Usually, threats of patent and trademark infringement don?t make the evening news and it?s an area of the law best left to the ?experts? However, occasionally an IP case comes along that captures the attention of the common practitioner.

Getting Vista and XP to Play Nice on the same network.

Posted on April 07, 2008
For those of you who live in a mixed household ? some Windows XP computers and some Windows Vista computers ? getting the Vista systems to share files with their XP brethren can be challenging, if not downright frustrating. In most instances, the problem arises because the Vista systems can?t ?see? the XP systems on the network.

You Want to Work From Where? Telecommuting as an Alternative.

Posted on April 04, 2008
Many law firms are looking for ways to retain good people without having to ?break the bank? to do so. One option that is being used more regularly is giving employees the opportunity to telecommute. No longer is telecommuting a rarity; organizations now exist to provide information and assistance such as the American Telecommuting Association, the International Telework Association & Council and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Great Utilities to Supercharge Windows!

Posted on March 28, 2008
Despite the perception that Windows has every utility you need to get the most out of it, the truth is that 3d party programs still play an important role in obtaining the best user experience. While Windows often includes features to do things such as defragment your hard drive, switch between open programs, view files, etc...

Outlook + Gmail = Goodbye Exchange Server?

Posted on March 26, 2008
c|net News Blog reports here that Cemaphore Systems is preparing to roll out a beta of its Software as a Service (SaaS) product Mailshadow for Google Appa a/k/a MailShadow G which will allow the use of Outlook with Gmail for multiple users without Exchange Server.

Backup your Gmail Account.

Posted on March 20, 2008
I?m a big fan of backing up your data (as I?ve made clear in prior posts including this one). Using traditional email programs such as Outlook, Thunderbird, Outlook Express, you have copies of your emails on your computer and can make backups of them.

Microsoft Office OneNote is no one-trick pony!

Posted on March 08, 2008
If you think of OneNote as an electronic three-ring binder, you?ll begin to understand how this product works. A notebook in OneNote is the equivalent of a binder, with each notebook section being the equivalent of a paper tab, and the pages inside being places to write down notes and collect and organize your information.

Lost and Found: Where do I find familiar commands in Word 2007?

Posted on February 14, 2008
For those that have switched to MS Word 2007 or are in the process of doing so, it can be a bit daunting trying to learn where familiar commands from Word 2003 are now located.

ABA TECHSHOW 2008 Wants You!

Posted on January 22, 2008
The ABA TECHSHOW is fast approaching and if you haven't done so already, you need to register today. If you want to learn about cutting edge legal technology for any firm size, then you won't want to miss this event.

Mac and the Dragon (Dragon NaturallySpeaking that is).

Posted on January 17, 2008
Courtesy of the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center comes word that Nuance, the maker of Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition software for the PC, has licensed its product to MacSpeech who is bringing it to the Mac.

Great Deals on 4 & 8 GB Flash Drives at OfficeMax

Posted on January 15, 2008
If you are looking for a USB flash drive, Office Max has the A-Data Classic 4 & 8GB flash drives on sale. A 4 GB drive is $24.99 and an 8GB drive is $47.99. WOW! They are available in store and on the OfficeMax website here and are enhanced for MS Windows Vista ReadyBoost use...

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum - Why Lawyers Should Read Blogs

Posted on January 15, 2008
My friend Bonnie Shucha, author of WisBlawg and Head of Reference for the UW Law Library, has an article on fellow law librarian and blogger Bev Butula and a story that Bev penned regarding the usefulness of blogs to legal professionals with the title of Bella is Bewildered About Blogs.

TimeMatters Ver. 9 Service Release 1 Now Available

Posted on January 09, 2008
LexisNexis has announced the release of Service Release 1 to its TimeMatters and BillingMatters version 9 software. For licensed users, SR1 can be downloaded from https://pm.lexisnexis.com/support/update, but you must have already created a Service Center account to do so...

Oops ?Microsoft Stumbles Again: Older File Formats Disabled in Office 2003 Service Pack 3

Posted on January 02, 2008
Slashdot is reporting that Microsoft has disabled support for many older file formats with the installation of Service Pack 3 in this post.

Getting Started in eCommerce Information.

Posted on December 26, 2007
If you have clients that are looking to get started in ecommerce or online sales, then the ABA’s new safeselling.org website should be one of the first places they visit. According to the introduction for the site: “Safeselling.org offers a resource for business people launching ecommerce enterprises and for businesses venturing into online sales...

Don?t Make Your Attendees Gargle Peanut Butter: Deliver a Performance Not a Presentation!

Posted on December 20, 2007
While most people can gargle peanut butter for an hour if they have to, having a speaker that not only conveys useful information but does so in an entertaining fashion can make even the most boring topics worth paying attention to for an hour or two.

Are You A Goldfish In A Shark Tank? Things Every Lawyer Should Know When Getting Started.

Posted on December 13, 2007
I remember back in March 1989 when I started with the firm of Alexander & Cicero, P.C. in Rockford, Illinois. I figured I?d be mentored by one of the firm?s partners who would ?show me the ropes? and work with me over a period of time to get acclimated to the firm and practice law, think of this as the ?Cinderella? view...

Christmas isn?t just about toys- it?s about tools to! Continued

Posted on December 08, 2007
Continuing with the theme that Christmas isn?t just about toys- it?s about tools to, here are some other great resources for unique tech gifts this holiday season.