Tools and Tips from ABA Techshow 2011
Last week I did two posts about the ABA Techshow, one focusing on blogs and social media and the other on websites. If you are a reader of the Lawyer Meltdown Newsletter, you also know that the April edition covered many of the tips and websites the Techshow presenters talked about. (If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe to the newsletter here, or get a copy of the April Lawyer Meltdown Newsletter with the Techshow tips here.)
I won’t repeat the same tips I covered in the newsletter, but here are some additional ones that I thought looked interesting. I’m more familiar with some than others, but you can make your own judgments. Keep in mind that many of these programs are “in the cloud,” and all have different levels of security and/or encryption.
Practice Management/Case Management
One of the most common questions I receive from lawyers is about practice management software. In my newsletter I mentioned some of these programs, but here again is a list of programs that help lawyers (especially solo and small firm lawyers) accomplish these tasks.
Billing and Time Entry
Another question I hear frequently from lawyers is about time and billing programs, including programs to help you ‘automatically’ track your time, particularly on a mobile device. Although I’m an advocate of fixed fees, I recognize that some lawyers (through no fault of their own) cannot escape from hourly billing. In that case, you might try:
- Time59
- Timesolv.com
- Blacktrack.com (for Blackberry users)
- TimeClock (for Android devices)
- TimeWerks (for iPhone)
Document management and automation
While HotDocs is one of the most popular, you’ll need to spend $800 to get the developer version of the software to create templates). Consider Pathagoras, at $379 for a single user, which will allow you to create templates and forms. You can also consider these additional document automation programs:
- WhichDraft.com (for contracts)
- Exari
- Wizilegal
- Rapidocs (part of DirectLaw)
Dropbox, Netdocuments and Sugarsync are all programs that can help you manage documents, synch between multiple devices and share documents with others
(You can also look at the recent Andy Adkins report/comparison of practice management software here).
Password generation tools
Almost every time you do something on the web these days, you need to create a password. With all of the efear about identity theft, it’s wise not to keep using the same passwords over and over. But how do you generate new passwords (and remember them) every time? Try a password generation tool like LastPass or 1password.
Project management and collaboration
The new ‘buzzword’ in the legal industry, project management has become a big deal in part because of the increasing popularity of unbundled legal services and fixed fee arrangements, as well as the vigilance of clients who are more concerned than ever with ensuring that they get value from their legal spend. Some programs to help lawyers with managing projects for and collaborating with clients include:
(Thanks to the presenters at ABA Techshow, and Steve Matthews and Tom Mighell in particular, for many of these tips)!