Nicole is an attorney in Rochester, New York. She co-authors Criminal Law in New York, a Thomson West treatise, is a newspaper columnist for The Daily Record, and is the co-author of the book “Social Media for Lawyers: the New Frontier“, which will be published by the American Bar Association in the spring of 2010. She is also the founder of lawtechTalk, a consulting company that educates businesses about emerging legal technologies and Internet and Web 2.0 technologies using educational screencasts.
Information gathering and note-taking apps can help busy attorneys manage the constant stream of information and avoid information overload.
Sometimes, in this new Web 2.0 world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with information. Organizing the flow of information, for both work and personal uses, is one way to manage the constant stream of information and reduce information overload. Read more…
There are many ways attorneys can make use of a virtual data room in their practice, including efficiently managing and storing data, securely transferring large volumes of documents outside the firewall and much more.
As I’ve discussed in the past, online collaboration platforms generally allow for far more secure communication than email and offer attorneys a secure online location for collaboration.
Web-based scheduling applications can greatly simplify the process of determining a mutually agreeable meeting time.
One of the more annoying tasks that many of us encounter on a nearly daily basis is attempting to coordinate a meeting or phone conference amongst a group of people. Generally, an agreed upon date and time is arrived upon only after a flurry of emails have gone back and forth between participants.
Information gathering and note-taking apps can help busy attorneys manage the constant stream of information and avoid information overload.
In this new Web 2.0 world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed with information. Organizing the flow of information, for both work and personal uses, is one way to manage the constant stream of information and reduce information overload.
Managing cloud computing risk using new products and services.
One of the primary concerns expressed by lawyers and other business owners when considering moving data and processes to the Cloud is risk. Understandably, business owners are wary of outsourcing confidential information and express concerns regarding the security of their data. Another concern involves the sense of lack of control over company data and the inability to monitor the software processes used to organize the information.
Today, let’s explore a few other apps made specifically for the iPad that lawyers can use in their day-to-day practice.
I recently discussed useful iPhone apps for lawyers and a while back I explained how I thought lawyers might use iPads in their law practices. Specifically, I noted that iPad apps with annotation capabilities for pdfs would likely be some of the most popular with attorneys.
Since my last post on the iPhone, the intelligent device is becoming an increasingly popular phone with lawyers, especially small firms and solos. One of the reasons for its popularity is the large number of law-related apps that are available–and more are available every day.
Since my last post on the iPhone, the intelligent device is becoming an increasingly popular phone with lawyers, especially small firms and solos. One of the reasons for its popularity is the large number of law-related apps that are available–and more are available every day.
The North Carolina State Bar offers guidance to lawyers interested in using SaaS-based platforms in their law practice.
The North Carolina State Bar (NCSB) recently issued a proposed formal ethics opinion (proposed 2010 FEO 7), which may assist lawyers in assessing the risks of using a particular cloud computing product in their law practice.
Legal virtual assistants can help make the practice of law simpler and more efficient.
A knowledgeable, reliable, and smart administrative assistant can be the key to making your life as an attorney much simpler and more efficient. And now, with the increasing ease with which we can communicate and share information online, virtual legal assistants are becoming an appealing and affordable alternative for many law firms, large and small alike.
In this post we’ll discuss one pressing legal issue that remains unsettled: whether law enforcement must obtain a warrant before accessing data stored in the cloud.
In prior posts we discussed the ethical and security issues that lawyers should consider when deciding whether to use cloud computing platforms in their law practice. In this post we’ll discuss one pressing legal issue that remains unsettled: whether law enforcement must obtain a warrant before accessing data stored in the cloud.
Billing and time tracking software can help to alleviate some of the problems encountered when attempting to track billable hours.
For most attorneys, billing and time tracking is a necessary evil. Tracking billable time can be an arduous task, but it’s important to stay on top of it; often practicing attorneys become so frantically busy that they are unable to recall what happened during the day. This scenario can be extraordinarily frustrating since lost time is lost money.
Lawyers considering whether to use cloud computing platforms in their practice must think about important security issues.
In prior posts I discussed basic cloud computing concepts and the ethical issues triggered by cloud computing. There are also security issues that lawyers must consider when deciding whether to use cloud computing products in their practice. Read more…
Virtual data rooms allow lawyers to store documents online, offering lawyers and their clients convenient access to important legal files.
In my last post we discussed how digital dictation systems can offer busy lawyers much-needed flexibility in the creation of legal documents. The next step, once you’ve created documents using digital dictation, is to store your documents online using virtual document management and collaboration systems. These convenient and efficient online platforms offer lawyers a 21st Century alternative to traditional document management systems.
Digital dictation is an efficient, time-saving alternative that offers lawyers many benefits over traditional dictation methods.
Most lawyers are familiar with old-fashioned analog tape dictation. First, you dictate into a hand held device, which records your voice onto a tape. Then you drop the tape, which holds an assortment of dictation projects, arranged sequentially rather than in order of importance, into your secretary’s desk. It’s a familiar song and dance and one that most attorneys despise. Eventually you receive the transcribed result of the dictation, which then needs to be reviewed, edited and returned to your secretary, who then must revise the document, return it to you, etc.
Tips regarding how the iPad can be used by attorneys in their law practice.
I’ve had my iPad for a few weeks now and am slowly but surely discovering how it fits into my daily routine. After using it for a while, I continue to believe that the iPad is primarily a media consumption device, but it does have some utility for lawyers and will become increasingly more useful as more third party applications are released.
Handy voice command apps that transform an attorney’s iPhone into an information gathering and transmitting tool.
A few really interesting iPhone apps were recently released that could prove very useful to lawyers, each incorporating speech to text dictation into their platforms in various ways.
With cloud computing, just as with any other type of storage of confidential client information, lawyers have the ethical obligation to exercise reasonable care to ensure that the cloud computing provider will preserve confidentiality and security of the data.
Lawyers have ethical duties to protect sensitive client data. When it comes to storing information in “the cloud,” just as with any other form of storage, taking steps to ensure that confidential client data is protected is imperative. Unfortunately, there are very few ethics opinions that have been issued on this topic, causing many lawyers to fear the potential ramifications of storing confidential client files via the cloud computing model.
Ignite Law was organized by the inimitable Matt Homann, founder of LexThink, and sponsored by ABA TechShow. At IgniteLaw, 16 speakers (myself included) were selected by the votes of their colleagues to discuss their perspectives on the future of the law industry.
ABA TechShow took place in Chicago from March 25-27th. The convention opened with a “bang,” featuring a conglomerate of “rapid-fire presentations” from IgniteLaw.
Web-based law practice management software provides lawyers with flexibility and ease of use.
Law practice management software is crucial to managing the complexities of any modern law practice. However, traditional law office management software can be expensive, cumbersome to navigate and prone to such frequent glitches that your IT consultant becomes a permanent fixture in your law office.
Law practice management systems can help attorneys streamline the process of handling a case from start to finish. Choosing the right system for your law practice makes all the difference.
Legal practice management software is a must-have for most law offices. It streamlines the process of handling and managing a case from start to finish. Law case management systems allow busy attorneys to keep track of contacts, documents, and calendaring, among other things, for each case that is added to the system; many offer time tracking and billing features as well.
Virtual LegalTech is an economical, innovative way for busy attorneys to learn about and stay on top of the rapidly changing legal technology issues that affect their law practice.
On March 18th, 2010 ALM Media Events will be holding live CLE events at Virtual LegalTech for the second time ever.
Virtual data rooms offer law firms an encrypted method of communication that is far more secure than the unencrypted email currently being used by many lawyers.
As discussed last week, the unencrypted email systems used by most law firms are inherently insecure and place confidential client data at risk.
Lawyers may not realize that email is inherently insecure and that the encrypted client communications offered by many cloud computing platform are a better, more secure alternative.
Email security in its current form is inherently flawed and many lawyers are unaware of this disconcerting fact. Most emails are no more than mere postcards, the contents readily viewable by anyone who cares to look.
Lawyers and law firms can avoid costly air travel delays by taking advantage of innovative alternatives to face-to-face business meetings, such as virtual data rooms or online workspace services, which offer a cost-effective way to organize and deliver content online.
Let’s face it, these days, business air travel is a costly proposition—it’s expensive and takes up valuable time. Read more…
At LegalTech NY 2010, the problem of information overload was tackled during one of the Keynote panels and it was agreed that creating tools that allow for access to better, more pertinent information is key.
Two weeks ago, thousands of attorneys and other legal professionals descended upon Manhattan to attend LegalTech New York, hoping to catch up on the latest legal technologies and innovations. Read more…
