One benefit of cloud computing is that it allows lawyers to back up their data offsite, thus providing a safety net in the face of onsite data loss caused by a computer or server failure or a natural disaster, such as a fire.
One of the benefits of using a cloud computing platform in your law practice is offsite data back up and business continuity. It’s a convenient and simple solution for data back up, it happens automatically and gives you one less thing to worry about. 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…
A virtual deal room is a convenient tool to securely organize and share large volumes of documents during the Private Placement process. An online document repository, or virtual deal room, is an attractive alternative to email for collecting and sharing this information in an organized fashion while keeping the data safe.
Recently, I have been talking to professionals that specialize in issuing private placements. A private placement is a funding round of securities that are issued to a select group of targeted, private investors. In my discussions, it has become apparent that there is an opportunity for professionals in this space to leverage the capabilities of a virtual data room, particularly if they manage more than one of these transactions annually.
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.
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.
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.
What I have learned is SaaS business forces you to focus on service. If a SaaS customer is not happy with your company’s support, s/he can “unsubscribe” with far less difficulty than if s/he was dealing with a locally installed system.
When I first went to trademark Firmex virtual data rooms as a software company, the trademark attorney told me that to trademark us as a product company I had to physically be able to “ship” something. “Send us a copy of your product on a disk with packaging.” My reaction was “huh?” – We have the internet – we don’t “ship” software on FEDEX trucks anymore, we let the internet take care of the distribution. According to the Trademark office, then, you’re not a software product company, you are a service company.
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.
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.
According to technology guru, Steve Blank, there are two types of risk for a Research and Development based company – market risk and technology risk. For example, technology risk applies to Life Sciences firms when they are searching for a cure for a terminal illness – it may take them 10+ years to prove the drug works. If they find the cure, however, there really is not a market risk; the product will be in large demand.
Recently, I have been reading Steve Blank (founder of 8 technology companies) on how to successfully take a technology to market. He has a tremendous blog with all his articles. Here is my summary of some of Mr. Blank’s key points.
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.
Firmex’s software engineers, busily developing hyper-secure code that drives virtual data rooms full of mission-critical documents that are accessed by 10,000s of users every month, should be treated to an open creative space that is as dynamic as their work.
Ad agencies and design firms, as creative shops, have always used the design of their spaces to inspire their employees to creative heights. But, really, it’s in every business owner’s interest, no matter what industry, to build an employee environment that invites creativity and productivity.
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.
A technical overview of recent data rooms and the speed enhancements for large transactions that are saving our clients considerable time and money when managing transactions with thousands of documents.
Because data room performance is important to our clients, we recently released the first wave of our new software architecture to address the growing demands of our customers.
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…
Cloud Computing, which is comprised of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS), allow lawyers to focus on practicing law by providing law firms with a cost-effective way to outsource the burden of server and software maintenance.
Last week we discussed the basic concept of “legal cloud computing”. Now, let’s try to gain a better understanding of the concept by addressing the basic components of “cloud computing.” Read more…
“An introduction to cloud computing for lawyers, this post explains how cloud computing can simplify the practice of law by increasing security, reducing overhead, and increasing flexibility, allowing attorneys to practice law anywhere, anytime.”
Over the last year I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about “cloud computing” and by now you’re probably wondering: what exactly is it? Read more…
Firmex, the leader in branded virtual data room infrastructure, today announced significant enhancements to its technology platform to support large projects.
At Firmex we are proud to announce significant enhancements on our virtual data room technology platform. The following is an extract of the press release made public today:
Firmex has released a new architecture that exponentially increases the speed in which users can review large volumes of documents.
“Since we do not charge for data or documents stored, our clients have increasingly been using Firmex for very large transactions. These transactions can run 10,000 to 100,000 document folders, each containing sets of documents”. Read more…
Firmex releases new enhanced functions that allow executed documents to be published directly from the deal room to external media in seconds.
Firmex is pleased to announce new enhanced functions that allow executed documents to be published directly from the deal room to external media in seconds. “After closing a deal, parties, often exhausted, tend to move on to other deals. Thus leaving the responsible party scrambling to pick up loose ends and create the closing binders” says Chris Gaffney, Director Client Services at Firmex. Read more…
