Legal blogging has changed in recent years, but when used in tandem with social media, blogging remains an effective way for lawyers to showcase their expertise and network with other attorneys.
In recent weeks, much has been said about the future of legal blogging. In early September, Bob Ambrogi kicked off the discussion by proclaiming that legal blogging is far from dead. Scott Greenfield then chimed in, noting that although legal blogging isn’t dead, there are few quality legal blogs out there. Eric Lipman at Legal Blog Watch then continued the conversation, asking its readers if legal blogging was a dead or dying species. Read more…
Lawyers with iPhones get all the attention, even though they’re the minority. Blackberry users need apps too! Fortunately, there are a variety of useful Blackberry apps for attorneys.
You hear a lot about iPhone apps for lawyers, but what about Blackberry apps? After all, the vast majority of lawyers use Blackberrys, so apps available for this device should certainly not be overlooked.
Fortunately, there are a number of useful Blackberry apps for attorneys. Read more…
Social media can be a useful tool for you , as a lawyer—as long you first set goals and then engage in social media in a targeted and efficient manner.
Lately, it seems like everyone is raving about social media’s potential as a business tool. But can it really work for lawyers, who provide professional services, as opposed to companies that sell products or consumer-oriented services, like a hair salon?
The short answer: yes, social media can work for lawyers–because its more than just a marketing tool. In fact, it can be used to benefit lawyers and their practices in a number of useful ways. Read more…
There are a number of tips and tricks that will make your time spent online more efficient and effective. The first tip is to use Feedly as your RSS feed reader—it’s a great tool that, among others things, makes it easy to read and share online content.
Many lawyers understand the importance of networking, but let’s face it — running a law practice takes time and no one ever seems to have enough of it. In fact, the lack of time is one of the main reasons lawyers offer as an excuse to avoid online networking. Read more…
With cloud-based services, you simply pay a monthly fee and the SaaS provider hosts the software for you, at no additional cost. You don’t have to worry about keeping track of and installing software updates.
One of the most common benefits touted by cloud computing proponents is the economic benefit of switching to the Cloud. With SaaS, there’s no need to purchase servers and software; no need to pay expensive annual licensing fees or software upgrade fees; no need to hire IT staff to maintain the servers and stay on top of software updates. Read more…
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…
Strategic inflection points indicate the astonishing ways in which the economics of industry change as time progresses.
I am reading Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove, the legendary CEO of Intel. In the book, Grove focuses on dramatic changes to the economics of an industry, which he calls “strategic inflection points.” One “inflection point” he discusses is the disruption the PC brought to the computing industry.
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.
The Checklist Manifesto, a compelling book by Dr. Atul Gawande, explores the crucial improvements that following the template of a basic checklist can make to one’s life and workplace.
In The Checklist Manifesto, Dr. Atul Gawande examines how the use of checklists can significantly improve workflows and outcomes in the work environment. He focuses primarily on the aviation and construction industries, and analyzes where and how checklists are used. He speaks as well about his experience in a WHO-sponsored initiative bringing checklists to surgical operating theatres around the world. There are, I believe, possible applications of his ideas within a law firm.
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.
The “why” of a business venture, for Sinek, is not simply the act of making money; rather, it points more to a cause, vision or purpose. He says most of us in our daily lives are pre-occupied by the “what” and the “how” – but are not driven by “the why.” I think Sinek’s correct – we spend much of our time just “getting work done” and don’t remind ourselves of “why” we even care to do it.
I watched an interesting talk by Simon Sinek on what makes certain companies or people achieve greatness. To explain his thesis, Sinek makes a very important distinction in defining what it takes to achieve entrepreneurial success: some people know “what” they do, some people know “how” they do it, but few people consider “why” they do it.
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.
There is a strong correlation between the electrification of industry, a hundred years ago and the cloud computing industry today.
In 2008 Nicolar Carr published a bestseller called “The Big Switch: from Edison to Google,” it’s central thesis being the strong correlation between the electrification of industry, a hundred years ago and the cloud computing industry today.
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.
At Firmex we provide virtual data room solutions to lawyers who seek to enhance and streamline their document exchange processes. Saving time for our clients is essential to Firmex and as such, the iPad, with its intelligent efficiencies, is appropriately aligned with our conviction.
On March 18, Firmex participated in the ALM’s Virtual LegalTech for the first time. In honour of the inaugural venture, our team held an iPad giveaway contest.
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.
The recent advent of the kindle, the iPad and other paper eliminating devices serves as an interesting marker of just how archaic a practice it is to produce physical books for an industry as fast paced as M&A. Using a virtual data room to manage this process can accelerate the transaction process from the beginning, help manage costs and provide security measures that often fall through the cracks
Most of Firmex’s clients are now using the internet to distribute seller’s books or confidential information memorandums when managing a sell-side M&A transaction. However, there are firms that are continuing to create physical books, which can range from 50 to 200 pages. These books are typically distributed to a large number of potential buyers, particularly if an advisory firm routinely markets transactions to a database of private equity firms.
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.
Firmex is in the business of providing M&A advisors, lawyers and corporate executive staff a secure online data room for sharing critical operational, legal and financial documents with 3rd parties. Recently, a group of lawyers were convicted for trading insider information which was gleaned from picking through other lawyers’ client documents and another company was saved from losing all their documents in a fire by storing everything in their Firmex virtual deal room.
Firmex is in the business of providing M&A advisors, lawyers and corporate executive staff a secure online data room for sharing critical operational, legal and financial documents with 3rd parties. Not surprisingly, as the company’s CEO, I run into resistance from senior partners and executives about putting critical and highly confidential company information on the Internet. They are worried that it’s “not safe.”
