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Law Office Technology

7 03, 2012

Are Smartphones Confidentiality Risks for Lawyers?

2019-04-01T21:03:49+00:00By |Comments Off on Are Smartphones Confidentiality Risks for Lawyers?

Jared Correia  of LOMAP posted some important factors attorneys should consider in response to a question he frequently gets: Should solos use a smartphone as their primary telephone? He pointed out a number of concerns that the lawyer should address, including the ability to “wipe” a lost or stolen phone, and Plan B for practical issues such as dead zones and dead batteries, for a mobile lawyer.

I would like to add another security issue that should be taken into account. All lawyers, including those who also have a regular land line at the office, should give some thought to this. More and more issues are surfacing about apps having unexpected access to data stored on or transmitted by smartphones. Today the Washington Post reported that “Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has called on the FTC to investigate Apple and Google after reports that smartphone and tablet apps could pick up more data from consumer’s phones than they realize.”

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23 02, 2012

Are Lawyers Acting Like Elderly Aunts?

2019-04-01T21:04:48+00:00By |Comments Off on Are Lawyers Acting Like Elderly Aunts?

A few months ago my 81 year old aunt asked me to help her with emails on her laptop. She had finally succumbed to years of pressure from family members to get a computer.  Now she could be included more in the family conversations and picture swapping. She could easily keep in touch with loved ones across the country.  But she still wasn’t using her laptop.

When I sat down with her, I discovered two main problems. First, she didn’t really understand some very basic concepts, like how the mouse worked. She had trouble remembering that she needed to point and click. Second, the interface was unfriendly to an elderly person. She couldn’t keep up with where the mouse pointed, and kept losing the cursor when it zipped across the screen. With a few adjustments, I slowed down the reactivity of her mouse and made the cursor bigger and bolder so her old eyes could keep up with it. Then I “co-piloted” with her as she sent some emails, gently reminding her what to do, until she had enough practice to fly on her own. […]

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3 06, 2011

Leveraging Dictation Technology to Save Time and Overhead

2019-03-21T19:30:36+00:00By |2 Comments

Lawyers used to dictate drafts of correspondence and documents for their assistant to transcribe, in order to improve their efficiency over handwritten drafting. As word processing software became more user-friendly, however, lawyers began doing more and more of their own typing. Most found it easier to draft when they could immediately see and edit their work product. Today both solos and big firms save on overhead by using fewer, and sometimes less skilled, administrative assistants, which increases the need for lawyers to type more.

Some of those cost savings may be illusory, however. […]

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15 03, 2011

Should A Solo Buy Law Practice Management Software?

2019-03-21T20:06:29+00:00By |3 Comments

When a client calls unexpectedly about his matter, do you fumble to find the information you need, while the client wonders why you can’t answer the question? Do you have trouble sorting through all the appointments and deadlines on your calendar to identify the ones that relate to a particular case? Do you rely on your increasingly overloaded memory bank for conflict checks? Do you waste time locating old emails or pink message slips? Do you lose money because you can’t remember how much time you spent on a dozen different phone calls during the day? Do you ever wish you had access to something on your desk while out of the office? Have you lost hope of ever getting organized? […]

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10 03, 2008

Speech Recognition Software May Be Worth the Price Now

2019-02-10T23:15:55+00:00By |Comments Off on Speech Recognition Software May Be Worth the Price Now

Speech recognition software seemed like a pipe dream for many veteran lawyers who never really learned to type. Many tried it a few years ago and found it a disappointing experience. Today, however, the technology has improved enough that even today’s law students (who probably learned to use a keyboard before they learned to ride a tricycle) are finding it valuable to use. To see how it works in a legal application, check out Robin Hood’s video on YouTube. Robin is a law student who created a video demo of using Dragon’s Naturally Speaking voice recognition software.

Before you race off to buy the software, however, you should make sure your computer has adequate processing speed and RAM. Check out the Amazon.com reviews of the software to see what real users say you need. As you know, the minimums stated on the software box rarely suffice for getting the results you are looking for. If you are interested in the software because you are such a Luddite that you need help with mere typing, you might want to get some help with the initial installation of the software and with training it to recognize your accent.

I haven’t personally tried the more current version of this software, so I can’t give you my opinion. I thought some small firm lawyers might be interested in watching the  above video to see how the progam works for someone other than a salesperson. You can watch the sales video, too, which demonstrates how the software can type as fast as you speak. If you don’t want to invest in the expense of additional administrative personnel, or can’t find quality help in a small town, this software might be a bandaid for you. With a price tag of under $100, it is probably worth the price to save a little […]

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