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Think Strategically


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Think Strategically About Your Resolutions

(Originally published on January 13, 2014 on Law Technology Today. Read original post here.)

Think Strategic About Your Resolutions

Happy New Year! The beginning of the year is a time for your firm to resolve to make some changes and stick with them throughout this year – unlike that gym membership. Consider the following five firm resolutions for the New Year:

  1.  Change your passwords: Recent data security compromises at stores like Target and other security breaches involving simple passwords should compel you to update your debit card PIN numbers and change your usernames and passwords from your old standbys. Many of the security breaches will try to take advantage of those folks that use the same username with the same password over and over again. Consider using email aliases for your account name so for your Amazon account, your username (and corresponding email address) would be amazon@yourlawfirm.com. Keep track of all of these accounts and passwords with a password saving program and not a sticky on your desk or under your keyboard (you know who I’m talking about).
  2. Go paperless: A paperless office can be a steep goal if you are surrounded by paper as you read this, but now is the time to start. Start scanning everything on your desk and utilize a great desktop scanner like the ScanSnap Xi500 (about $410 on Amazon) and the job will not be as hard as you think. From there, for every open and active physical case that you touch (save closed and inactive files for a later date), see what documents can be scanned and converted into an electronic case file. If you produce more paper, come up with a plan to make that paper go away (check out #3 below). By creating a paperless workflow, the paper will decrease in your electronic files will increase.
  3. Create and document workflows: Going hand in hand with your paperless office resolution is a way to organize your electronic files so your firm (and you) can find everything. Utilize practice management and document management systems to help you too. From snail mail to electronic mail, create and document the workflow for all of the documents coming into your firm and include where are they stored, how are they scanned, who they are distributed to and where the documents should end up. When new employees start and they are properly trained in your standard document procedures, the firm benefits by increasing efficiency of even new employees. Engage your staff in helping produce this documentation since they touch so many of these documents. By creating and documenting workflows for your firm, it will help you stick with your paperless resolution and ensure success for two resolutions at the same time.
  4. Update your website: If your clients do not recognize you from your website pictures, it is time to update your website. Your website is the first point of contact with potential clients. Put your best foot forward this year and make sure that your content and pictures are updated, accurate and best represent your firm. Look at your website from the clients’ point of view and engage others to look at it critically to see what can be improved and updated. Not all the work has to be done at once, but an updated look and feel to a site is essential for new clients looking at your site for the first time. Plan to include videos in your website to increase your rankings on Google. They can be produced with a video camera that you have in house or even from many cell phones. Don’t wait and think you need a video production studio to produce your videos. Get them out there!
  5. Update your hardware: The expiration for Windows XP is fast approaching. There is even a Windows XP Death Clock out there – windowsxpdeathclock.com – to help you count down the days until Windows XP will no longer be supported by Microsoft. (It is April 18, 2014.) Update your old Windows XP machines, before this date, to at least Windows 7 Professional. You can still order Windows 7 from the major hardware carriers like Dell and Lenovo. Don’t wait until April to get rid of you Windows XP machines; it will be a target for hackers the day after the support ends.

By thinking strategically and resolving to look at each of these areas within your firm, your firm will benefit throughout the year and beyond. Wishing you all the best in 2014.

Dropbox


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Using Dropbox for Your Client Documents? Encrypt it!

I use Dropbox every day, and I love it! It’s a great way to store documents and have them accessible in multiple locations on multiple computers. However, while this convenience is great, security needs to be considered when using Dropbox for client documents. Dropbox files are not encrypted, so the security of your clients’ documents is in your hands. Encrypt your Dropbox!

When I talk about encryption, I don’t want to lose all the non-techies. Basically, when a document is not encrypted the documents and sensitive client information is stored without anything other than a password. If it falls into the wrong hands, they can read it. Encrypted data is stored as ones and zeros so if your data is compromised, it can’t be read. You hold the only encryption key, and your data can only be unlocked and read by you.

There are a number of Dropbox encryption tools on the market including True Crypt (www.truecrypt.org – one of the few options for the Windows XP users (Yikes!) out there, but that is another post), Box Cryptor (www.boxcryptor.com) and Viivo (www.viivo.com). Some are easier than others to install and use.

My personal choice for Dropbox encryption is Viivo.

Viivo encryption

I like Viivo because it’s easy to install, easy to use and free. When you install the software, you follow the step-by-step directions, including setting an encryption password. As part of the process, Viivo will ask you to relocate your Dropbox to the encrypted Viivo folder.

Your documents will now live inside the encrypted Viivo folder and will look the same as they did when they were in your Dropbox folder, but they will have an extra layer of protection. Rather than going to the Dropbox folder for your documents, you go to the Viivo folder. Viivo even installs it right where you are used to going to your Dropbox:

viivo location

By adding the additional step of encrypting Dropbox, you will be improving your firm’s security and protect your client data and confidential files. You will know that if there’s ever a breach in security at Dropbox, your data is protected. Dropbox is a powerful tool that can provide quick storage and improve the mobility of your practice, but take the extra step that will help protect you and your clients’ data. Encrypt!


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Should I stay or should I go? Legal Technology Conferences

As an attorney, if you have never attended the ABA TechShow in Chicago, it is worth the trip. With more than 50 educational sessions (many for CLE credit) and more than 100 vendors attending, it is a big bang for your buck to get up to speed on technology fast. Whether you would like to know more about hardware (from scanners big and small to the latest in off-cloud storage solutions), software (from legal-specific iPad apps to practice management systems, e-discovery, document assembly, and every type of cloud-based software), or advanced technology tips and tricks (from apps to sites to time saving tools), the ABA TechShow has something for everyone.

Any attorney would benefit from a technology conference and exhibit. Besides earning most of your yearly CLE credit in one shot, you can develop a technology plan that can last for years.

Of course, the ABA TechShow is not the only show out there. A few upcoming legal technology shows include:

  • Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) – April 14-17, 2013 – National Harbor, Maryland
    For more information – http://www.alanet.org/conf/2013/default.html
  • International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) – August 18-22, 2013 – Las Vegas, Nevada
    For more information – http://conference.iltanet.org/
  • NC TechShow on November 1, 2013 – Cary, NC – Law Practice Management Section of the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) – More details to come soon.

If your schedule is too packed right now, plan on attending next year and put one on your calendar now so you can schedule around it. The ABA TechShow next year is March 27-29, 2014 in Chicago. Mark your calendars now!

Attend a legal technology conference and exhibit and get excited about technology that will save you and your firm time and money. You will find it is worth the trip.


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ScanSnap: Still the Right Tool for Going Paperless

As a legal technology consultant and small business owner, I run into the same issues as attorneys – too much paper.  I hate paper as much as the next person but it seems to be a necessary evil.  From receipts, to bills, to tax forms, paper still surrounds us, so how can we ever hope to reach the dream of a “paperless office?”

I have been recommending Fujitsu ScanSnap desktop scanners for many years in the quest to eliminate paper and clutter. It is an essential tool for start-up law firms, as well as larger firms who want to begin the process of reducing their paper.  The amount of billable time saved from walking to the large multifunctional printer/copier alone is worth the purchase price.

I use the ScanSnap model S1500 and the solidly built, duplex, color desktop scanner is a workhorse upon installation. Not only is the hardware superior, but the license of Adobe Acrobat Standard that comes as part of the package makes this scanner hard to beat.

I recently had the opportunity to look at the ScanSnap iX500, the latest version of the wireless scanner released from Fujitsu.  While they tout wireless access for the device, it’s not what you think.  My vision was that I could eliminate another wire from my computer to the scanner, but that is not the case.  Instead, it allows you to scan documents directly from your ScanSnap to your mobile device – iPhone,  iPad and Kindle or whatever your chosen flavor would be.  A great option for on-the-go types, but I’ll have to wait for a future release for a shareable ScanSnap.  In the meantime, this new model is one step closer.

I will continue to recommend the ScanSnap scanner in any make or model.  I still haven’t gotten rid of my paper; however, I am working towards the elusive “paperless office” and ScanSnap is still my device of choice.