Word 2010: Setting Default Font & Spacin. .
I’ve have friends call me all the time, inside and outside the legal industry, because I know a few things about computers. Regarding Microsoft Word, the number one complaint is always this:   “Mike, every time I open up Word it’s set to Calibri, 11-pt. font, and is double spaced with 10-pt. after-spacing. How do I set it to something normal so that every time I open up a new document, I don’t have to waste my time trying to figure out how to fix it?”   I’m glad you asked. When you open up Word 2010, and type a sentence or two, this is what it might look like (depending on your default settings):  

Reverse Mentoring for Tech Skills
A busy first quarter has put me way behind on both my reading and blogging.  Yesterday, while trying to catch up, I came across an article from the February 2012 issue of Law Technology News by Brendan McKenna on reverse mentoring.  See Could Reverse Mentoring Fly at Law Firms?   Traditionally, law firm mentoring involved a more experienced partner taking a young associate under their wing and helping them learn both the law and how to practice law.  Reverse mentoring is where the young associate returns the favor by teaching older attorneys about today’s technology.  I see reverse mentoring going on all the time.  In fact, I engaged in it years ago when I was in practice.   Reverse mentoring makes perfect sense and it probably happens within your firm right now.  It will work even better if you formalize the process and set aside time every week or month for it.  I should also point out that firm management should make some allowance for the time spent mentoring and not billing.  If you don’t, your young associates won’t be very excited about doing it.   Need some ideas to get started?  Online legal research, mobility apps, and working remote are good places to start.  Once you start, you will find other topics.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Dro. .
DropBox is a file sharing service that I started using a couple of years ago.  It seamlessly syncs files over multiple computers and mobile devices.  It works so well that I have several clients with multiple offices that use it as their file server.  Its the perfect solution for firms that are just starting out and have multiple offices. This past year I have been hearing comments that DropBox is not “secure”.  These voices in the background are starting to get louder.  One of them is my good friend and E-Discovery Guru Tom O’Connor.  Tom is not the sort of person to jump on the fear band wagon when it rears its head, so I take his advice seriously.  His concerns, not with DropBox per se, but online file storage in general center on maintaining confidentiality of client documents and include: What country does your data reside in? Does the storage service claim to own your data? Do their employees have access to your data?    

Lawtopia’s ABA TECHSHOW Success!
I’m sitting at Chicago’s O’Hare airport on my way home from the 2012 American Bar Association TECHSHOW. While I didn’t win the huge lottery, I can say I had a very successful trip. I was a regular attendee and speaker for most of the first decade of ABA TECHSHOW but took a long hiatus to spend more time with family. Living in and around New York City, I’ve spoken at several of the LegalTech conferences and have visited the vendor exhibits almost every year the show has been held.   LegalTech began in the mid-1980’s by Price Waterhouse for their large firm clients. This year, the exhibit floor was dominated by electronic discovery vendors.  Very few of the products or services shown were those purchased by solos or small firms. None of the education sessions were focused on the needs of the 80+ per cent of lawyers.   In contrast, the ABA TECHSHOW is all about the education sessions and serving the needs of sole practitioners and small firms. The exhibit floor is dominated by products and services geared towards automating small and medium law firms.   Lawtopia was out in force this year.  We had a booth and all ten partner companies were present.  We met many lawyers looking for our help and trying to navigate the range of options available.  Lawyers asked us whether they should stay with their existing product, switch to a different premise-based solution, or subscribe to a cloud application.  With our depth of product knowledge and years of experience, we were happy to help them evaluate and select the best product for that firm’s need.  With all of us in attendance, we used the opportunity to meet with many of the vendors whose products we support or want to make available to our clients.   The last time I was at TECHSHOW, I had been Chair of the Computer and Technology Division and a Council Member of the Law Practice Management Section of the ABA.  This year, I enjoyed the opportunity to see many old friends and acquaintances f. .

3 Things to Try Before Calling Tech Supp. .
Computer problems always seem to occur at the most inconvenient time: When you’re in the middle of drafting a contract that you haven’t saved yet, at 6pm on Friday when and you’re almost done entering your time, or right when you’re about to hit your highest score on your online Texas Hold ‘em tournament. But before you take a baseball bat to your PC while screaming profanities about your IT guy, here are a few things to try:1. Make sure everything is plugged in. I know it sounds silly. But you wouldn’t believe how many calls we get from people that didn’t realize their mouse wasn’t plugged into the USB port, or the Ethernet cable fell out when you kicked off your shoes to air out your toesies and accidentally bumped your PC. 2. Make sure it’s turned on. It’s easy to forget the most basic of things. Once, I patiently waited for my 5-cheese DiGiorno pizza to cook for 40 minutes, only to find out that I forgot to turn the oven on. Oops. So always double check the switch on your wireless mouse, the power button on your PC, and your monitor to make sure it’s turned on. 3. Reboot. Yes, restarting your computer is a pain, but it will solve about 75% of your computer issues. Chances are your computer hasn’t been turned off for a few days, a week, or even…dare I say it…a whole month (tisk, tisk). Restarting your computer gives essential processes a time to refresh and rejuvenate. So give your computer a chance to catch its breath, go grab a cup of coffee, and soon you’ll be BFFs again. Oh, and try not to fib to your IT guy by telling him you’ve already rebooted. We can easily look this up…not that we’re judging.Don’t get me wrong, we love hearing from our clients. So feel free and ignore everything above and give us a holler. But for the do-it-yourselfers, we hope this helps alleviate some of your IT woes.   Originally Posted by Accellis Technology Group on Legal Loudspeaker.

Copying a Document Path from Worldox
Every Worldox user knows that the program has some great features.  Here’s one that many people might not be aware of.Worldox links with many programs but, every once in awhile, I use a program that requires me to browse Windows Explorer to find a document in Worldox.  There are two issues.  First, I have to know the path of the document and, second, I need to know the document number.  There is a trick that makes this much easier.When prompted to find a document via Windows Explorer, minimize that screen and run a Worldox search for the document. Once you find the document, you will see the document number, assuming your display shows the document number.  Next, right click on the document in Worldox and select Edit then Copy Location to the Clipboard. See below. Minimize Worldox.  Reopen the Windows Explorer window and paste the location into the search path.  Depending on the program, you may need to remove the document number from the path before you start the search.  See below. When you hit the Enter key, Windows will open to folder you have specified.  If you remember the document number, find it in the list.  If you don’t, just reopen Worldox to look it up.  Select it in Windows Explorer and you are ready to go. This technique saves me about a minute every time I need to browse for a document in a program that does not support Worldox. Originally posted to Jeff Krause's Practice Management Blog.

Entering Time in PCLaw Using the Quick T. .
Most PCLaw users enter time in aggregate at the end of the day or week using the Time Sheet.  However, PCLaw created the Quick Timer for those who love using timers or prefer to enter a their time when a task is completed – without opening PCLaw or running multiple programs at the same time.       

A Preview of Worldox GX3: Game Changer?
Announced at Legal Tech New York 2012, and releasing to the general public soon, Worldox GX3 is set to turn the document management software community up-side down.   Worldox is a document management system designed by World Software Corporation for legal and other professional service firms. It is highly regarded and known as a top tier solution for any firm in need of a document management solution.  Now in its third product release, it’s about to change the way we work both in and outside of the office.  

TMMobility and Security Tips
If you are setting up TMMobility in version 11, you know that you need to implement strong passwords for each of the mobility users.  If your firm has not used security settings in the past, you may want to add security groups so that you can limit which users can access the security settings (as well as other settings such as Program Level, Form Styles, etc).  

Offline Viewing of Dropbox Files on Your. .
A client asked me a Dropbox question this week.  I should have known the answer but the question had never occurred to me before. I had to figure it out.  These types of questions make great blog posts.  If one person is asking the question, there are probably more.The client was boarding a plane in a few hours.  For the first time, he planned to take his iPad rather than his laptop.  He had copied a number of documents that he needed to Dropbox.  However, when he disconnected from his wireless network, he could not access the documents.  They were only available when connected to the Internet.  He wanted to review these documents while on the plane.  How, he asked, could he save a local copy of the documents on his iPad?The answer is simple but I did not know it until I looked it up.  Dropbox files are not automatically saved to the iPad.  In order to save a file locally on your iPad, it must be indicated as a Favorite.  You indicate a file as a Favorite by highlighting it in Dropbox and tapping the star in the upper right of the screen.One more thing.  In the Dropbox settings on your iPad, there is a Local Storage setting.  By default, this is set a 500MB.  If you need to store a lot of files locally on your iPad, you may need to adjust this setting.For those of you who have never tried Dropbox, it is a useful tool.  It allows you to share files between your desktops, laptops, tablets and smart phones.  If you sign up using this link, you can get 2GB of free storage and I get 250MB of additional storage for my account.   Originally posted to Jeff Krause's Practice Management Blog.

Lawtopia Exhibiting at the ABA TECHSHOW
  Lawtopia will be an exhibitor at the ABA TECHSHOW on March 29-31, 2012 in Chicago. If you're going, stop by booth 508 and enter to win a Kindle Fire! 13 of us will be at the show this year and we want to chat with you!   The ABA TECHSHOW is the leading national technology conference for lawyers. It brings together the best and brightest in legal technology. Whether you're reviewing new products that improve efficiency and make day-to-day activities easier, or examining technology requirements for firms of all sizes, the ABA TECHSHOW is an event that brings lawyers and technology together in a format that appeals to both technology newbies and the techiest of techies.   Can't attend? Follow us on Twitter @LawtopiaLLC for live tweets from the event!    ABA TECHSHOW vendor materials:  Lawtopia Company Brochure  Worldox GX3 Brochure  Time Matters Brochure  PCLaw Brochure  Amicus Attorney Brochure  Tabs3 / Practice Master Brochure  Clio Brochure Timeslips HotDocs NetDocuments Advologix  

Lawtopia Joins Clio Certified Consultant. .
Lawtopia, a team of Attorneys, CPAs and IT experts providing technology services to the legal industry, has joined the Clio Certified Consultant program.   Clio is a cloud-based practice management system geared toward solo and small firm lawyers. As Clio Certified Consultants, Lawtopia now offers a cloud-based alternative to traditional client-server practice management systems. This also gives Lawtopia priority access to Clio’s technical, development and migration teams and exclusive training on integrating Clio with other desktop and cloud-based systems.   Clio President and Co-founder Jack Newton comments, “Legal and IT consultants continue to play an integral role in helping their clients shift from traditional desktop-based software to cloud-based applications. The fact that Lawtopia has joined our Clio Certified Consultant Program program demonstrates that legal IT consultants recognize the validity and increasing popularity of cloud-based systems like Clio and the instrumental role they can play in helping their clients transition to the cloud.”   ABOUT LAWTOPIA, LLC Lawtopia is a nation-wide team of Attorneys, CPAs and IT experts focused on driving law firm efficiency and profitability. Lawtopia supports a range of industry leading legal technology products and services including practice management, billing and accounting, document management, document automation, cloud solutions, and more. With 10 offices throughout the U.S., Lawtopia serves law offices, of counsel, legal departments and government organizations across the nation. Visit http://www.lawtopia.net, email solutions(at)lawtopia(dot)net, call 1-866-306-9007 or follow on Twitter @lawtopiallc.   ABOUT CLIO Clio is a comprehensive web-based practice management product specifically designed for solo practitioners and small-to-medium-sized law firms. Clio can be accessed using PCs and Macs as well as mobile devices including iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices.   Secure and eas. .

Technology Trends & Best Practices for F. .
On November 10, 2011, Carol L. Schlein, Esq., President of Law Office Systems, Inc. and partner of Lawtopia, LLC, will be speaking at the 2011 Meadowlands Seminar for the New Jersey Association for Justice program on Technology for Family Lawyers.Her topic will be on "Technology Trends and Best Practices for Family Lawyers.”  For a sneak peek, please check out her presentation.

Leveraging Technology in your Law Practi. .
Carol Schlein spoke to solo and small firm attorneys for the New York State Bar Association’s “Building a Successful Solo/ Small Firm Practice: Taking Steps to Achieve Success”, held on Thursday, November 3rd, 2011 in New York City.Her topic was “Running Your Practice Efficiently: Best Practices for Solos. Check out her presentation for further information.

Accellis Technology Group Joins Lawtopia
Lawtopia is proud to announce the addition of Accellis Technology Group, Inc. With offices in Cleveland and Pittsburgh, Accellis expands our geographic coverage to the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania but, more importantly, Accellis brings a group of talented and experienced legal technology specialists to Lawtopia. For more information about Lawtopia and Accellis, read the official press release.

Top 10 Ways to Minimize Risk Webinar
On November 10, 2011, Lawtopia Founding Partner Jeffrey S. Krause will be presenting a webinar entitled Top 10 Ways to Minimize Risk When Running A Law Firm.  The webinar is sponsored by LexisNexis and will be co-presented with Christopher T. Anderson, a Georgia attorney who is now Product Manager for LexisNexis Firm Manager. As an owner of a law firm, it’s critical that due diligence is being used to minimize risk for you and your law firm. After all, it is your professional responsibility to ensure you are keeping complete and accurate records of your client and matter activities, protecting client privileged information i.e. backing up the data, restricting access to information and knowing who works for you. Learn what some of the biggest reported disciplinary actions are today and how you can prevent them from occurring in your law firm. Register for Top 10 Ways to Minimize Risk When Running A Law Firm. Jeffrey S. Krause is a Wisconsin attorney and is the owner and founder of Krause Practice Management, LLC and a Founding Partner of Lawtopia, LLC. Lawtopia is a partnership of nine of the most successful legal technology service providers in the country.  Our members include attorneys, experienced law firm staff, certified public accountants and information technology professionals.  Every member company brings a wealth of experience providing legal technology services to clients of all sizes. Christopher T. Anderson is the Product Manager for the LexisNexis Firm Manager application.   Mr. Anderson is an attorney, and prior to working with LexisNexis, he was the managing partner of an eight-attorney, full-service law firm in Georgia.

PCLaw Workflow Essentials: Managing Matt. .
Founding Partner Patty Davidson will present October's LexisNexis PCLaw Feature Friday Webinar.  Patty will go through workflow essentials in PCLaw, presenting options and defaults to create the most efficient data environment. Patty will also show how to enter and track time, fees and expenses using various windows and components in PCLaw, as well as identify various ways to correct the different entry types. Patty Davidson has been working with law offices for the past seventeen years. Her affiliation with the legal community started when she accepted the position of Executive Director of the metro bar association in Las Vegas, Nevada. She worked closely with lawyers and law firms for eight years in that capacity. During that time, it became apparent to her that law firms, like many businesses, were very good at their profession, but not always as good as managing the day to day administrative work. To register for this webinar, please visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/489563033. Contact Patty Davidson.

Lawtopia Wins Two Platinum Awards at PMA. .
Lawtopia is proud to announce that, for the second year in a row, it has been recognized with two Platinum Achievement awards from LexisNexis at the Practice Management Annual Conference (PMAC). For 2011, Lawtopia won Top Sales Time Matters.  Lawtopia members include some of the most well-respected Time Matters consultants anywhere and this award reflects our long-standing commitment to Time Matters and our Time Matters customers. Legal Technology is what Lawtopia does and we spend a lot time thinking about it, writing about it and speaking about it.  Last year, Lawtopia was recognized with the Marketing Impact award.  This year we continued that tradition by earning the award for Social Media and Thought Leadership.

2011 Practice Management Annual Conferen. .
Lawtopia is proud to announce our participation at the 2011 Practice Management Annual Conference (PMAC), in Orlando Florida!Register today for two full days of sessions filled with valuable product information, practice management insight and the newest technology.It’s an exclusive opportunity to learn firsthand from LexisNexis® product experts and peers alike, the latest techniques and best practices to help you build your skills—and your business. Click to view the agenda.If you're unable to attend, or too excited to wait, here is a sneak peek to download our Presentations with Members of Lawtopia.

Keys to a Paperless Office
Hear from your peers on the best practices for going paperless. What are the challenges, how do youovercome them, what are the biggest benefits and what would you do differently? Attend the small panel presentation along with Lawtopia's, Neil Johnson, at LexisNexis Practice Management Annual Conference (PMAC) in Orlando on Friday, 9/23/2011 at 1:15pm - 2:15pm.