Futurelawyer

So, You Want To Be A Blogger?

I hear from a lot of people who want to write a blog. They want to get their stuff out into the wide world. But, before they do, they need to follow some basic rules. I have found this list instructive, and recommend it. Of course, before you read it, the primary rules to follow are to avoid poor grammar, avoid misspelling of words, follow competent sentence structure, and be yourself. The rest, as is said, depends on your talent and ability.

Windows Key Commands - Make Your Computer Do Your Bidding.

Windows Keyboard Shortcuts. Graphical interfaces are great. It is fun to move a mouse around and click on icons and things to get things done. However, the keyboard that allows us to type letters and numbers has been also a way, since the beginning of computing, to get things done as well. These keyboard shortcuts can make your life easier. One of my favorite pair of commands involves keeping other people's noses out of my business. If I am accessing sensitive client data, and someone comes into the room, I need a quick and easy way to hide the evidence, as it were. Try using the Windows key (the little wavy flag with 4 little windows between the Control key and the Alt key), in combination with letters. For instance, Win D will immediately minimize all open windows and return you to the Windows desktop. Win D. Windows Desktop. Get it? Then, if you are going to be away from your desk, or a masked intruder with a gun bursts in, try Win L, which will lock your computer immediately. Of course, if he points the gun at you, you are likely going to give up the password anyway; but, hey. Nothing is perfect. There are many Win key commands. Try some.

 

The Future Of Seminars Is Here - 2021 Attorney's Title Fund Assembly

For the last few days, I have been attending the Attorneys Fund Assembly online. In pre-pandemic days, I would travel to Orlando, stay in an expensive hotel (even with member discounts), sleep in an unfamiliar bed, sit in a big auditorium with several thousand of my closest friends, and try to keep the office going back home. While remote computing helped, and smartphones, texting and email helped, it was common to see lawyers in the lobby trying to put out fires. Yes, seeing old friends and getting face to face with vendors was nice; but, this week, as this photo shows, I was taking notes on my Remarkable 2, following the written materials on my Samsung tablet, and running two browsers, one with the video online presentations, and the other with the standard tabs that I use every day. I may never travel to a Convention or Seminar again. 

How To Be A Windows God.

How To Enable God Mode In Windows. You, too, can be a Windows God. Windows is a complex operating system, but eminently customizable. It also has many hidden apps and tricks that can solve problems, and adjust the environment to suit every user. If you add a simple line of code, you can bring up a list of every one of the tips, tricks and adjustments possible. I keep the God Mode icon handy, and use it whenever I need to help out. Try it and see whether you can make your day better.

Cloud Storage Shoot Out - Google Drive Or Microsoft One Drive?

Google Drive Versus One Drive. These days, one of the safest places for your files and data is the cloud. We all have Gigabytes worth of programs and data stored on our computers, and, while a local saved copy of our files and an image of our entire hard drive or SSD is important, we all live in the cloud these days, and it is a perfect place to store our files for easy on the go access, and a safe place for the files. While nothing is absolutely safe, data security is a mission critical aspect for the companies that provide the service. Google and Microsoft have competing storage services, and which one you choose depends on how you use your computer. This article will give you a good comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of both. For me, I use the Deion Sanders approach. I use both. I live in the Googleverse, so the automatic storage and syncing of my Google data is appealing. However, I also use Windows products, and OneDrive is a great place for Windows users. Pick your poison, or use both. Cloud storage is surprisingly inexpensive.

You Can't Practice Law Remotely Without Being Able To Do Legal Research.

How To Set Up A Mobile Hotspot On Android. I have written a lot about mobile computing and being able to practice law away from a fixed location, like an office. I have been doing it for over thirty years. I started out for fun, as it was a way to use my fascination with computing and gadgets for a practical purpose. When the Internet blossomed, I was always looking for a way to connect on the road; in the early days, with connection to a phone line, and, later, with portable modems. When mobile hotspots became available, I carried them with me, and used them for a shared WiFi connection. Public WiFi, as you know, is notoriously insecure, and anyone with basic knowledge can intercept anything you are sending and receiving over the network. Using a dedicated connection is better, and piping through a VPN is the best. But, these days, you don't need to carry a mobile hotspot. You already have one in your SmartPhone. I have additional Smartphone lines for several uses; one of them I carry as an emergency spare. But, TMobile provides unlimited data on its phones, and I can set one up in the RV, or a hotel room, or pretty much anywhere with cell service, and share that data with my notebook computer. Email, legal research, web browsing, and all of the other things we do with computers, I can now do anywhere. We've come a long way, baby.

Two Of The Scariest Words A Lawyer Can Hear.

Record Retention For Lawyers. Lawyers say, hear and repeat some pretty scary words. Liability, Lawsuit, Damages, and other words that strike fear into the hearts of men. But, lawyers are fearful also. And, when somebody says "records retention", I get chills up my spine. Okay, not really. But, we are, more than most professions, keepers of some very sensitive and essential data, and we are duty bound not only to retain it; but, also to keep it confidential. So, the topic of records retention can be pretty scary. It is also a pain; because, time spent on it is not compensated. I don't get paid to retain information. It is an obligation. Digital storage has made retention easier; but, keeping data in digital form means I can't touch it, or see it, or unlock a door and put my hands on it in a paper file. I must keep it secure, however, and that is pretty scary. I remember a scary time in my early career when a letter I wrote for a client became important in a high profile matter, and I had to dig around in an old storage unit to find it. It was actually examined for rust around the paper clips to determine it was genuine. That was a scary time. But, I had retained it for years, and was glad I did. Now, I scan everything, and have a digital copy of documents I wrote 25 years ago, all stored on my notebook computer. Most of them will never be important to anyone; but, I can find them with a word search on my computer. And, I have staggered backups of the files, and the drives, and other copies of copies. If I need them, I will be able to find them. This hour and a half seminar might help you learn to systematically store and save important files and data. Pretty scary; but, you have to do it, grasshopper.

 

Want To Find Something In Windows 10? Search Everything.

VoidTools - Everything. Forget Windows search. Forget opening up a Windows search bar and trying to find the file you have been looking for. After using Windows 10 a while, we all accumulate thousands of files and images, and looking for them is a nightmare. This free tool sits at the bottom left on my taskbar, and I use it multiple times every day. Simply named: "Everything", it is a quick and dirty file name search that literally looks for files by name. In seconds a list of every file on the computer with the search term in the file name, in its location. Click on it and you are there. Since lawyers represent clients with names, it is ideal to find every file or document that refers to a particular client instantly. You're welcome.

We Are A Society Of Doers. Maybe We Should Spend Some Time Thinking About It.

A Missing Item On ToDo Lists. Execupundit has a habit of making me think. This time, however, he has got me thinking about thinking. We are always taught that things get done only if we prioritize them, list them, and then dutifully check items off the list. Lawyers are trained to schedule actions in a case, and list making is taught at the earliest levels of education. This is a very efficient way to get things done. But, doing things is always the focus. We don't spend enough time thinking about what should be done. Thinking is often denigrated in our performance oriented society. Others consider us lazy unless some overt activity is going on. One of the benefits of solo law practice is that we get to spend a lot of time sitting at a desk, thinking. We get paid for the thoughts in our heads. Of course, we have to spew knowledge on occasion; and, it is too easy to become sedentary; but, on the whole I think a lot. Now, if you want to discuss what I am thinking about, that is another topic, entirely. Try to set aside some time, every day, to just think. Maybe schedule it, and put it on your ToDo list.

WordPerfect Versus Word - Can't We All Just Get Along?

WordPerfect Wars. I have been using WordPerfect and its predecessors for 2 decades. I have thousands of documents formatted for WordPerfect, and I know the software like the back of my hand. However, my chosen profession has adopted Microsoft Word as the dominant word processing software, so I must navigate between two worlds. The good news is that both formats must coalesce into a document standard to be used and passed around for collaboration, and, if filed in a Court, have to be ultimately converted into a PDF file. So, I have learned to get along with everyone, and my document world is a happier place. In fact, both document processors have gotten quite good at converting back and forth. They had to, because so many of their customers demanded it. These days I work primarily in WordPerfect; but, I publish to PDF for efiling and email transfer. I work with Word documents sent to me, and send them on their merry way. I guess you could call me a word processing multi-tasker. Now, go get some work done. It really doesn't matter how you get there.