Futurelawyer

Why Have A Remote Lawyering Backup Plan? Ask The Hurricane.

After a day and a half of plus 75 mph winds, 24 inches of rain, downed power lines, and worse, I now have a real example for other lawyers who tell me that I don't need redundancy in my Internet and computer use. BTW, we in Pinellas County got the weakest part of the storm. South of us there is true devastation, and we should all be thinking of our colleagues there. I have 3 options for shelter during a storm. My home, My office, and the RV parked at the office. I have 3 methods of connection to the Internet, my cable modem at the office, my smart phones and smart hotspot from TMobile, and the Starlink Satellite dish on top of the RV. In this case, the power went out at the office, but stayed on at home. So, we rode out the storm at home. Had the home power gone out, we would have gone to the office; and, finding that power out, would have powered up the RV generator, which provides power for AC, lights, the Starlink dish, and charging capability for the smartphones. An 1800 watt solar powered generator acts as a backup to the gas generator on the RV. As long as cell service is available, I can use the TMobile hotspot for up to 100 gigs of bandwidth, and each smartphone supplies another 20 gigs if needed. The cost of all of this is not as much as you might think. The TMobile hotspot is $50 a month. The Starlink RV plan is $135 a month. The generator is powered by the sun, and has a 100 watt solar panel that folds up with a handle. Solar panels on the house keep the monthly electric bills manageable. My next big purchase will be a whole house solar battery for the house, which provides some backup to power outages at the house. I have several small backup batteries that can charge a notebook computer and smartphones up to 5 to 10 times. We can't control what fate brings us in the way of natural disasters; but, we certainly can prepare for them. Now, since I will be working from home the rest of the week, I am going to light a cigar, pour a couple ounces of single malt, and chill out in my chair. Enjoy the suck.

 

#WhyIAmASolo - The FutureLawyer Can Practice Law Anywhere.

Okay, sometimes being able to practice anywhere can be problematic. But, I swear, I can enjoy myself even if I always have my office with me. I just turn everything off, and go places. Of course, just in case, I have my Smartwatch, Smartglasses, and Smartphone with me at all times. You never know.

 

How Long Has The FutureLawyer Loved Gadgets?

When Chester Gould began Dick Tracy in 1931, it was an homage to Eliot Ness, during a time in which the good guys went after the bad guys, and their exploits were chronicled in the paper based newspapers and comic books. In 1946, Dick acquired a two way wrist radio, which later became the idea for a wrist phone that sent video back and forth. As a young boy, I was fascinated with the wrist communication device, and it sparked the later development of the SmartWatch, using tech developed for Smartphones. It also informed my lifelong interest in gadgets and computers, and was the principal driver of my pursuit of tech that could amplify my law practice. So, thank Chester Gould and his creation for what you are reading today.

 

"On January 13, 1946,[7] the two-Way Wrist Radio became one of the strip's most immediately recognizable icons, worn as a wristwatch by Tracy and members of the police force. This radio wristwatch inspired Martin Cooper's invention of the mobile phone, and may have inspired later smartwatches.[8] The two-Way Wrist Radio was upgraded to a two-Way Wrist TV in 1964.[9] This development also led to the introduction of an important supporting character, Diet Smith, an eccentric industrialist who financed the development of this equipment. In a conspicuous coincidence, the idea of a radio built into a wrist watch played an important role in the story line of "Superman – The Talking Cat" broadcast on the Mutual Broadcasting System on January 9 through 28, 1946 (episodes 878 through 891)."

 

So, the next time you take a call or text or email on your wrist, you can thank a comic book character. And Dick Tracy.

InseeGo MiFi 5G Hotspot - Don't Leave Home Without It.

t-mobile-inseego-5g-mifi-m2000 In the early days of the Internet, RV travel lacked an important function for traveling lawyers. In the Nineties, when the Internet was necessary to keep in touch with the office and my law matters, I was plagued with the nagging feeling that I had no control over what might happen in my absence. I remember returning from one vacation in the days before the Internet, and I found out that a matter had blown up, and gotten worse because I couldn't be reached. Then, as time passed, I got better at creating portable device solutions, and connected via early modems. I once sent an email to the office using a huge 300 baud modem with a handset that hooked to a payphone in Yosemite National Park's giftshop parking lot. I once spent an hour rummaging around under a motel room bed so I could hook up a modem to the room phone line. Then, when WiFi started becoming more ubiquitous, I could connect to hotel and RV campground systems; but, as we all know, public WiFi is not secure, and RV campground WiFi is usually slow and spotty. Through decades of effort, however, and with the advent of the greatest Internet wireless speed increase in history, the time of fast 5G broadband is here. Now, I can carry broadband speed with me wherever I go, and T-Mobile's almost total coverage of the continental U.S. makes me a mobile warrior wherever I go. I can check and respond instantly to Emails and texts. I can research, and prepare and file pleadings in any County in the State of Florida, from anywhere in the U.S. I can watch TV anywhere I go. The price, all things considered, borders on insignificant. 100 Gigabytes of data for $50 a month. That allows me to use the 5G Inseego MiFi device continuously for several weekends a month. I just plug it in when we park the RV, turn it on, and connect two TVs, a computer, monitor and peripherals, and an interior security camera, and a Waggle dog monitor that monitors internal temperature in the RV. I also have a couple of Bluetooth powered soundbars that fill the coach with surround sound. I will be traveling with this setup for the Florida Attorney's Title Fund Convention, and the Florida Bar Convention in June, and will be presenting the Wanderlust - How To Be A Digital Nomad presentation with Michelle Gilbert at the Bar Convention. If you want to be as effective an advocate on the road as you are in your office, pay attention. The tech is here now. Since I don't do much litigation anymore (I am old), I haven't had the opportunity to do hearing practice via Zoom from a remote location; but, the tech is available. So, saddle up, road warrior. Free yourself from the constraints of place. You can be a lawyer wherever you happen to be.

#FridayDoseOfReality. Yes, Lawyer, You Already Have A Disaster Recovery Plan.

Pandemics, and Hurricanes, and Death of a Partner, oh, my! In case you weren't made aware by recent events, stuff happens. Is your law firm ready? If you haven't thought about this issue, your plan looks a lot like Dilbert's plan, illustrated below. Of course, the best way to deal with computer disasters caused by technical failure or natural disasters or other calamity is to prepare in advance, there are tools to preserve your ability to be a lawyer. It means being able to do everything you need to do even if your physical world is crumbling. This means backing up your programs and data on a regular basis. It means imaging your drives. It means cloud backup of your essential files. It means redundancy in your backup plan. It means using two step authentication for your cloud software and websites used by the firm. It means locking active files in steel cabinets when you are physically out of the office. It means strong password security. It means off site storage of imaged drive data and backups. It means being proactive about training your personnel in security protocols. It means having backup plans for accessing the Internet, like MiFi Hotspots.  Need I go on? Now, make a plan, and start implementing it on Monday. Otherwise, know that if you don't have a Recovery plan, you already have a Recovery plan. It just isn't very good. Sorry if I have ruined your weekend plans. Someday, you'll thank me. Help, Help!

Practicing Law In An RV On The Road - No Expensive Hotels For The FutureLawyer.

I am honored this year to get back into Florida Bar Committee work, and am a member again of the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Technology, ably chaired by a young dynamo, Beau Blumberg (Oh, to have the energy of youth again). I will be on a two person panel on June 22d, and will be discussing the tools and strategies involved in practicing law as a mobile warrior; specifically, traveling around in an RV with everything needed for a law practice. I try to get away for at least a weekend a month; but, I have long carried a notebook computer with me to handle legal emergencies and to stay in touch, even early in my career when I stayed in hotels. When I recently got back into RVs, it occurred to me that the RV could serve as an office away from home. This year, we are getting back to pre Pandemic live conferences, and the Attorney's Title Fund Assembly and The Florida Bar Convention are back to back between June 15th and June 27th. But, I won't be paying huge sums to stay in hotels, or sleeping in a strange bed, or lacking home style food. We will also be able to do laundry in the RV, and I can kick back and watch Internet TV during down time. We will be talking about bringing the Internet with you when you travel, security protocols for Internet access on the road, such as Hotspot based WiFi and VPNs, and connecting a notebook computer to an external keyboard and mouse, and a big screen monitor. A portable printer provides hard copies when necessary, modern smartphones can scan documents into pdf format, for manipulation and use. Eink notepads eliminate the need for paper tablets and paper note storage, and when you get tired of being in the RV, you can take the computer outside. This photo is a recent shot taken at Ft. Wilderness Resort and Campground in DisneyWorld, where I will be camped during the Florida Bar Convention. A boy, his computer, his cigar, and his Scotch. Life is short, too short to practice law in an office.

Boox Note Air - EInk Tablet That Does It All.

Boox Note Air. I have lived with, and used, the Boox Note Air for several months now, and it has become my daily driver tablet in my law practice. It has replaced the color Android tablet, paper tablets, and smartphone on my desk. I take client conference notes on it. I follow my daily calendar on it. This morning I have already read some pages from Jay Glazer's great new book, Unbreakable, using the Kindle app. I have read a little of Sun Tzu's Art of War, on the Aldiko app, to get ready for the battles of my day. There are thousands of free Ebooks out there in the public domain, and the Note Air tablet is like carrying around a world class library. I can browse the web using Chrome's browser, check my email, look up a file on Google Drive, and anything my Android smartphone can do. There are compromises, of course. The black and white Eink screen lags a little as the processor isn't the fastest, and the interface can be confusing. But, once learned, it is adequate. Normally this is a $600 machine; but, as this link shows, you can get an Open Box device for around $350. There are dozens of other things the tablet can do; but, this isn't the place to discuss them. If you are tired of taking notes on paper, and losing them in paper files, get one of these. There are other EInk tablets around; but, finding one that is also a full function Android tablet isn't easy.

Google Is Bringing A Completely New User Interface To The Web.

Google is bringing a completely new interface to the web. Practicing law in the Googleverse has become my main driver during the day. I love how Google (GSuites) is bringing the ability to connect to all of its services from the GMail main page. Just click and run your law practice from the GMail webpage. I forward my website email to GMail, so I have everything in one place. I can follow tasks, calendar, Google Keep, Contacts, Zoom, Google Meet, and more. My GSuites subscription is only $12 a month, and gives more robust security to my Google apps. If you have an active litigation practice, you probably want a dedicated case management system; but, for my purposes, the Googleverse covers everything I need. One of the best things about GMail and its other apps is that everything is synced through every device, from phone to smartwatch to notebook computer and tablet computers. Google on.

Samsung Tab S5e 4G LTE - Sometimes, The Old Tech Is Better Than The New Tech.

Tab S5e - The Lightest And Thinnest Tablet Ever. I am known, if for anything, as being an early adopter of tech. I own just about every tech gadget that has been introduced in the last 30 years of the computer and Internet revolution. I have purchased, and used, if only for a little while, over 40 Smartwatches, dozens of Smartphones, and many tablets and notebook computers. So, when I say that the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, with 4G LTE connectivity, has been in my bag or carried on my person for two years, I must like it a lot. At 400 grams (.88 pounds), it is thin and light, and I bring it out whenever we travel, or go to a restaurant, or a Doctor's office, or anywhere that a notebook computer (even a 3 pound ultralight) would be too much. Believe it or not, while you really will see a difference in the performance of the new 5G phones, and a 5G Hotspot has enough speed for several computers for the family when you travel, a tablet used for browsing the web, perusing social media, reading EBooks and newspapers, and Email and other stuff, works just fine at 4G LTE. The newer tablets, right on up to the current crop of 5G Tab S7s, weigh 1.3 pounds, and are bulkier. Half a pound makes a big difference when you are carrying a tablet around. The world renowned Samsung screens on the older tablets like the S5e are brilliant and the color pops. You can still buy the S5e, for less than $400 in some places. The new, heavier, tablets start at $700 and up. As much tech as I have purchased in the past 30 years, lighter and thinner is always better. Your tablet or other computer can't be too thin or too light. The best part is that, unlike body weight, you can shave the pounds off of your tech instantaneously. Just buy smart.

Rick's Newsletter - Law, Technology, Poetry, Computers, And Fun.