Futurelawyer

Amicus Attorney - Upgrade to 2008 - Practice Management Software

Link: Amicus Attorney - Upgrade to 2008 - Practice Management Software. I just received, and installed, the upgrade to Amicus Attorney V+ Client Server. The upgrade is Amicus Attorney 2008, and it rocks. The interface is cleaner, and the software loads and runs much faster. Everything looks and works better, and the upgrade to Amicus Attorney 2008 is highly recommended. This is, by far, the most elegant and best case management software available. I use it for telephone message support, case management, and I use ProDoc's SOS system for time and billing. FutureLawyer recommended.

Web-Tones: It's the Apps Stupid

Link: Web-Tones: It's the Apps Stupid. I love this post from WebTones today. Applications drive the market. Web Applications drive the Internet. Legal applications drive the law practice. What part of this do lawyers not understand? Big Law tends to focus on infrastructure, and skimp on software and training and implementation. You can't just write a big check for new state of the art computers for every desk in the firm, write a check for a huge server architecture, write a check to put a BlackBerry or Smartphone in the hands of every lawyer in the firm, and expect the firm to become immediately more productive. Applications, applications, applications. Training, training, training. When I was doing law firm consulting, I got a chuckle out of the partners who were too "busy" to sit in on software training, or who fancied themselves as experts who didn't need me to tell them about the software, or who "knew this stuff" better than I did.

ProDoc Small Office Suite (SOS) Practice Management System

Link: ProDoc Small Office Suite (SOS) Practice Management System. I have been using ProDoc's excellent small firm case management and billing system for a couple of months now, and I find I can't live without it. I still use Amicus Attorney for primary case management, but the time and billing and trust accounting functions in SOS are easy to use, simple, complete, and a wonderful bargain. The software is subscription model based, and only costs around $25 a month. That is less than I spend on lunch with the kids at McDonald's. The upgrades are current, and automatic, and you won't have to pay several hundred dollars a seat. While the link to ProDoc's excellent forms sets for Texas and Florida aren't available for other states, SOS can be used stand-alone anywhere.

Amicus Small Firm - Practice Management & Accounting Software

Link: Amicus Small Firm - Practice Management & Accounting Software. I have been using Amicus Attorney software for case management functions for a long time. In my opinion, it is the easiest to use, and the most functional, of all the practice management systems out there for lawyers. This article from Gavel and Gown, the publishers of Amicus Attorney, highlights the program's functions, and introduces you to the elegant desktop interface.

ProDoc Small Office Suite (SOS) Practice Management System

Link: ProDoc Small Office Suite (SOS) Practice Management System. I have been living with the Billing features of ProDoc Small Office Suite for a month now, and, although it doesn't yet integrate with Amicus Attorney, it has greatly simplified my time and billing. I don't need a full accounting solution, as my solo practice is ably handled by my accountant. I hate accounting anyway. SOS keeps track of my time and billing, and I am transferring my trust accounting to it as well. While ProDoc is designed for Florida and Texas lawyers, with form sets for automated drafting, SOS would work for any small law office, and is especially well suited to solo practitioners. While I do my calendaring, contact management and case management in Amicus, SOS will also function well in those areas. It is simple to set up and use, and I think I am hooked.

Google Code - Google's Developer Network

Link: Google Code - Google's Developer Network. Do you fancy yourself a programmer? Do you want to create Web 2.0 applications for your specific law practice needs, or for other lawyers? Then, Google Code page is for you. This beta will be allowing home brew developers to use Google's tools to create mash-ups on the fly. Just as the Web has made content publishers of us all, the future Web will allow us to create our own applications. Brave new world.

Visual Strategist - Master Your Information

Link: Visual Strategist Home. I met Kyle McFarlin at LexThink's BlawgWorld conference in 2005. At the conference, he was demonstrating a new class of knowledge management software: MindJet, and his company's add-on, Gyronix Results Manager. Kyle is now training companies and users all over the place in the use of this intriguing new way of managing the thought process. I admit that I have been slow to adopt the computer-generated thought outlines created by MindJet and Results Manager. However, I can see that, if you get into the habit of using them, you will become more organized in the thinking process, and more productive. So, Kyle, I need some training. Help me.

Professional quality legal and law enforcement graphics.

Link: Professional quality legal and law enforcement graphics

Recently, I was given a review copy of SmartDraw Legal Edition. After using it for a while, it is my opinion that any technically literate lawyer can create graphics for litigation and other legal related purposes, that rival those created professionally for many hundreds of dollars. The legal edition is replete with templates and images that effectively permit the reconstruction of any scene, table, or chart. It will create timelines, accident reconstruction diagrams, estate planning diagrams and just about any other legal purpose one could name. A free trial is available, and the per user cost of the software is under $300 until January 27th. After that, it will cost you $449 per seat. The legal edition contains over 50,000 graphics, thousands of medical diagrams, and over 800 templates. All in all, you can now take control of your graphic exhibit creation for a very small cost. What's not to like?

ProDoc - document assembly software, automated legal document for attorneys

Link: ProDoc - document assembly software, automated legal document for attorneys. The new version of ProDoc is out, and, if you are in Florida, California or Texas, the smooth new interface, and improved operation, is something to smile about. If, like me, you spend half of your time producing documents, you have got to take a look at this software. If you are in another State, try to find a company that is doing the same thing. I am anxiously awaiting the new Litigation form bank, and I use the Will drafting portion of the program all the time. Just another way that technology has made lawyers more productive.

CaseSoft | DepPrep

Link: CaseSoft | Case Analysis Made Easy. CaseSoft made knowledge management an essential part of litigation preparation. One of its tools is DEPPREP, a handy little software program that helps litigators prepare witnesses for depositions. It is a slide show format, and touches all the bases. You can leave your client alone with the program, and let them educate themselves (if you trust them alone with your computer). It is inexpensive ($99 when I last looked), and might even jog your memory about stuff you need to know when asking the questions. You can download a free trial. I have blogged about it before, but it deserves a second mention.