It's About Time

Goodbye FolderShare...Hello Dropbox

For years I used Microsoft's free product, FolderShare, which is now being replaced with Windows Live Mesh.  I was a big fan since I have computers in both Chicago and Boca Raton and like to keep the infomation identical on both computers.  When traveling back and forth between locations, there is no need to copy or transfer files.  Files were always synchronized within seconds.  It was always assumed that Microsoft would eventually start charging for this "free" service.  That hasn't happened yet.  What's worse is they replaced the FolderShare product with Windows Live Mesh, which requires Windows 7!  Because I support a number of legacy software products, it is necessary for me to keep at least one computer loaded with XP. 

I was very sad to see this happen, however  I found a great alternative...Dropbox.  Dropbox not only syncs my computers, but also stores my files "in the cloud".  It's free for up to 2GB of data.  You get 50GB for about $100 a year.  I gladly paid for the extra space.  It gives me additional peace of mind knowing that I can access all my documents on line as well.  In addition, it also keeps the deleted files and allows you to share folders.  Best of all, Dropbox doesn't care if I'm syncing with a Mac, Windows 7 or Windows XP. 

Find and Open Windows Files FAST!

I have been using QuickJump for several months now and find it an indispensable tool.  QuickJump is brought to you by TechHit, the same people who publish the SimplyFile product for Outlook.  

If you are like me, you have thousands of folders with many more subfolders under those.  Finding and opening a file requires going through several levels:  My Documents; Clients; Client Name; Client Subfolder.  That's a lot of mouse clicking and scrolling.  With QuickJump, you just press CTRL+SHIFT+J.  A window opens where you can start typing the name of the Subfolder you want to go to.  A list of possible folders appear so you can choose something different than the top choice.  So now, to open a folder, you just press CTRL+SHIFT+J, type the first letters of folder until you see the correct one appear and Enter.  Presto!  you are in the correct subfolder without a lot of scrolling and clicking.  It's much, much faster.  They have a free 30-day trial available if you just want to give it a try.  The cost to purchase is just $29.95...well worth it!

Can Law Firms do Business without a File Server?

Can you move your business to the "cloud"?  I just read an interesting article written by Seth Rowland for Technolawyer.  He gives a good overview of cloud computing and how it might impact your practice.  I'm going to try to give you a synopsis of what he had to say.

File Server Costs

When you look at the total cost of ownership, you need to include ongoing operational expenses, maintenance and support agreements.  Factor in the costs of software along with the installation, configuration and training.  The average costs breakdown something like this:

• $8000.00 - Server Hardware
• $6000.00 - Server and Network Configuration
• $3000.00 to $8000.00 - Software for 5 users
• $17000.00 to $22000.00 Total initial costs

• $1000.00 - $3000.00 - Annual Software maintenance
• $2000.00 - $4000.00 - Server Maintenance

• $3000.00 - $7000.00 Annual Recurring total

These fees do not include the intangibles such as security, administration, daily backups, test restores, application of updates and patches and a host of other tasks.

Alternatives

Practice Management:  There are currently four good hosted options:  AdvologixPM, RocketMatter, Clio and HoudiniESQ.  You can try these for free and then pay a monthly fee for each user.  The prices range from $50 to $100 per user per month.

Online Backup:  You have consumer products like Carbonite, Mozy and IDrive.  Business-level software includes JungleDisk, Barracuda Backup Service, Iron Mountain and Rackspace Backup.

There are also hosted options for online document management as well as hosted Exchange server with Blackberry and SharePoint.

So what's the downside?  Security is one of the big concerns everyone has about moving to online data storage.  The reality is that most service providers provide secured encryption data transfer.  The security of a cloud provider is far greater than the network security found in most small law firms when it comes to protection from hackers and intruders.

Data ownership is the other issue.  Your agreement with your service provider specifies your rights to data ownership.  You should read this carefully.  Most provide a mechanism for local backup.

Access Risk:  What if the Internet goes down or the service provider is offline?  The reality is that if the Internet goes down, you will have difficulty conducting business, since so much is done via email.  If your server goes down you could be out of business for hours or days; if your server hard drive fails and you can't recover your backups, you've lost a lot more than just time.  It can take several days for a retrieval service to recover data from a crashed hard drive and there is no guarantee that they will restore everything.  

On the other hand, cloud service providers have up-time commitments that range from 99.9 to 99.999%.  Some even support off-line mode if you are in transit without an Internet connection.  Remote access to the cloud is generally far superior to remote server access.  

CONCLUSION

Cloud computing isn't for everyone, however there are very real benefits:  freedom of movement; pay only for the processing power and storage you need; add up to 100 users; grant secure access to clients via custom portals; there is no need for disaster recovery in the event of a fire or other natural disaster. 

I think most firms will start by trying one or two applications and gradually move more and more of their operations to the cloud.  I encourage you to try out one of the free trials that are offered. 

Lose Your Desktop and Print From the Cloud — Lawyerist

Lose Your Desktop and Print From the Cloud — Lawyerist

The Connected Lawyer » What Going Paperless Means to Me

One of the problems that I have when describing my paperless practice to others is the fact that my practice is not really paperless. I use plenty of paper. In fact, a couple of days ago, I mailed out close to 100 pages of paper in court filings and courtesy copies. Because of this, I have, at times, had trouble explaining exactly what I am talking about.  Read more by clicking on this link:  www.theconnectedlawyer.com

Create Adobe Hyperlinks

The good people at Adobe have created a nice online tutorial to help you create more sophisticated Adobe PDF documents.  In this lesson, you will learn how to:

• Combine several documents in a "binder"
• Use the bookmarks like a table of contents
• Create links within your document as well as in separate documents

Try this tutorial if you would like to sharpen your Adobe skills.

Adobe Online Workspaces

If you use Adobe 9, there is a new on-line service available for you.  Adobe is now offering an online workspace that will allow you to easily collaborate and share documents.  This is good news if you are working with several people on a project.  Instead of emailing the documents back and forth, you can have them in one place where everyone can have access. 

There are some other neat features like web conferencing and PDF conversion tools. 

There is a basic version available for $14.95 a month. 

Practice Management Software for Outlook

I just read about a new add-on product for Outlook:  Credenza.  It looks like it might be the answer for people who like the consolidation features of Practice Management programs (email, documents, time entries and phone calls all in one client folder), but aren't interested in the high cost; extensive set up time and learning curve associated with those products.

While I'm not an attorney, I have used practice management programs in the past mainly because I liked the idea of having everything in one client folder.  These programs are generally very expensive and require a lot training and great deal of time to set up before you can even begin to use them.  They are just chock full of features, however, most people use only the basics and many times, these programs aren't used at all because they are just too cumbersome.  

I just went back to using Outlook.  It is lacking in many of the features I want, but it is easy to use.  I might give Credenza a try.  It just adds a few more things to the existing Outlook screen that allow you to add your client files, time sheets and track phone calls.  They give you 15 days to decide whether or not it will work for you.  If you decide to keep it, pay just $9.95/month.  Sounds reasonable enough for what sounds like a really simple solution.

I'd love to hear from anyone that has used this product and what they like or dislike.

How to go "Paperless"

Are you still thinking about going "paperless", or maybe you have decided, but don't really know where to begin.  Now you can read all about it in the book called Paperless:  Real-World Solutions with Adobe Technology

This book will provide you with inspiration as well as instructions.  This is a good reference book everyone, even if you are fully entrenched in a "paperless" office.

On-Line PDF Conversion Tools

Most of us can't live without PDF, however, the price of a full copy of Adobe can be a financial burden in many companies and firms.  I recently found this article on the "Best Free Online PDF Conversion Tools".    The "free" refers to a free trial copy.  If you want to keep it, you still need to pay for it, however, the cost is less than one of the advanced Adobe versions and in some cases, you get more features.