WestlawNext: Read Our Exclusive Report

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a new online legal research service (see article below), a Web-based document assembly tool, an iPhone app for legal research, a content management system for law firm Web sites, and an online forum for anonymous legal product reviews. Don't miss the next issue.

What's Next in Online Legal Research?

The more advanced a technology, the simpler it becomes to use. For example, using an online legal research service once required buying dedicated hardware. That hardware eventually gave way to software. Now, lawyers use their Web browser. So what's next for online legal research? That's what one of the major players asked a few years ago — and answered this week.

WestlawNext … in One Sentence
West's WestlawNext is a "reimagined" online legal research service designed to make it easier and faster to find what you need.

The Killer Feature
In case you hadn't noticed, West has given its iconic legal research service a new name to underscore the improvements it has made. "This is no mere cosmetic redesign," writes Bob Ambrogi of Lawsites. "WestlawNext completely changes the search interface and the search engine behind it."

A global search box enables you to enter a broad search using natural language or Boolean search terms. WestlawNext returns all documents and information ranked by relevance. You can then drill down into specific data sets such as statutes, cases, secondary sources, news, etc. You can also filter results by West key number, topic, court, judge, party, etc. In other words, you no longer have to select what to search before you search.

"We recognize that an attorney's worst nightmare is being surprised by a piece of information that they could have found through a legal search," WestlawNext's vice president of product development Mike Dahn told us. "We've created a new legal research system that delivers the confidence that when legal research is complete, it's complete."

Other Notable Features
When you know what you want to search, you can just enter it along with any other search terms. For example, the parties of a case, the name of a treatise, a jurisdiction, the title of an article, etc.

As you work in WestlawNext, you can customize your screen. For example, if you're researching cases, WestlawNext displays a "case summary" for each opinion that summarizes the case and shows your search terms in context. When you click on a case, WestlawNext lists negative citations if any and related secondary sources for you to explore. The "reading mode" removes all these tools so you can focus on the document.

WestlawNext tracks your search history for up to one year so you can retrace your steps. You can save searches by client/matter, and search within searches to narrow them. You can also save the documents you find in folders (My Research Folders), as well as annotate documents and highlight important passages. When you paste from a document, WestlawNext includes the citation in Bluebook or another standardized format of your choosing.

What Else Should You Know?
West offers WestlawNext in a variety of configurations to suit your needs. It works in all major Web browsers on Macs and PCs. Learn more about WestlawNext.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

iPad: Read Our Exclusive Report

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers Apple's latest mobile marvel (see article below), and a ton of LegalTech-related product announcements. Don't miss the next issue.

The Legal Pad Reinvented?

What lies between a smartphone and a laptop? Apple attempted to answer this question today at a closely-watched press event. Everyone knew Apple would announce a tablet, but what would it look like and what would it do?

iPad … in One Sentence
Announced today, Apple's iPad is a multi-touch tablet computer based on the iPhone operating system.

The Killer Feature
New operating systems need third-party applications or else they usually fail. The iPad runs a new operating system, but because of its iPhone OS roots, it can run most iPhone applications either at the original size in a black box or in full screen mode (expect some fuzziness).

Apple hopes this ability to run the existing 140,000 apps in its App Store will help sell iPads while developers begin working on apps designed specifically for the iPad.

As you would expect, the iPad will ship with a number of native apps created by Apple, including Calendar, Contacts, iPod, Mail, Maps, Photos, Safari, and YouTube. Apple will separately sell a trio of productivity apps — Keynote (presentations), Pages (word processor), and Numbers (spreadsheet) — for $9.99 each.

Other Notable Features
Measuring 9.56 x 7.47 x 0.5 inches thick and and weighing 1.5 pounds, the iPad sports a 9.7 inch multi-touch, LED-backlit glossy screen. Apple designed its own CPU for the iPad — the 1 GHz Apple A4. The iPad offers 10 hours of battery life.

Like the iPhone, the iPad features a software keyboard that appears when needed. However, unlike the iPhone, Apple will sell an optional external keyboard ($69) that plugs into the iPad's dock connector.

Thanks to the accelerometer, you can hold the iPad in any position and the screen will re-orient. Other hardware features include an ambient light sensor, VGA out (requires an adapter), Bluetooth, a speaker, and switches for home, power, mute, and volume.

As with the iPhone and iPod touch, you can access the App Store and iTunes from the iPad. In addition, you can purchase books from the iPad-only iBooks app, which is essentially an electronic bookstore.

What Else Should You Know?
Apple will offer two models of the iPad — WiFi only or WiFi and 3G with the 3G data provided by AT&T in the United States. The WiFi model will sell for $499 (16 GB), $599 (32 GB), and $699 (64 GB). The three 3G models cost $130 more each respectively. AT&T will offer 3G service without a contract for $14.99/month (250 MB) and $29.99/month (unlimited). The iPad ships in March. Learn more about the iPad.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

Customer Manager: Read Our Exclusive Report

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a shared online contact management system (see article below), an accounting and billing application, an online tool for scheduling meetings, a hosted blogging service, and an iPhone time-tracking app. Don't miss the next issue.

Contact Management in the Cloud

Even if you work hard to keep all of your important contacts in Outlook (or whatever you use), invariably you'll need to contact someone whose information you lack — perhaps a new client or a client who usually works with a colleague of yours. Whatever the reason, a firm-wide address book would solve this problem — and you may as well make it accessible from anywhere while you're at it.

Customer Manager … in One Sentence
Many law firms find QuickBooks indispensable, but also frustrating because of all the client contact information locked inside.

Intuit's Customer Manager is a shared online contact management application.

The Killer Feature
Many law firms find QuickBooks indispensable, but also frustrating because of all the client contact information locked inside.

Customer Manager syncs with QuickBooks, enabling you and your colleagues to access and edit QuickBooks contact information from any Web browser — and also add new contacts.

Customer Manager also displays financial data for each client, including the current balance and open invoices. Given the sensitive nature of this financial information, Customer Manager will soon enable you to apply user permissions so that you can restrict access.

Other Notable Features
In addition to syncing with QuickBooks, you can import contacts into Customer Manager from Excel and Outlook. Customer Manager also has a search engine for finding contacts using any information such as a phone number. You can add custom fields to Customer Manager such as client and matter numbers.

In addition to managing your contacts, Customer Manager also provides a shared calendar, shared tasks, and groups. You can use the calendar to schedule team meetings, reserve conference rooms, etc. Shared tasks enable you to view work in progress, and assign tasks to subordinates. The groups tool can filter information. For example, you can view all clients with overdue invoices.

What Else Should You Know?
Customer Manager for Mobile is a free companion app for BlackBerry and iPhone. Customer Manager costs $9.95/month for up to five simultaneous users. Intuit sells customized plans if you have more than five users. Learn more about Customer Manager.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

TimeMap 5: Read Our Exclusive Report

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers timeline creation software (see article below), metadata management software, a Web-based task manager, an online widget for appointment scheduling at your law firm, and an iPhone app for listening to CLE courses on the go. Don't miss the next issue.

Show Them What Happened

Every case consists of a series of events. And in most cases, the events are in dispute (summary judgment being an exception). When the dispute involves not just the facts, but when they transpired, no amount of verbal gymnastics can compete with a visual timeline. Pedagogical studies have shown that children can understand timelines and other informational graphics before they learn how to read. Other studies show that such visuals also enhance comprehension among adults. So, how can you create timelines for your cases?

TimeMap 5 … in One Sentence
LexisNexis' TimeMap 5 enables you to create and present event-based timelines.

The Killer Feature
While timelines can wow an audience, they can become unwieldy to edit.

TimeMap's new Spreadsheet View enables you to add to and edit your timeline in an Excel-like environment. You can navigate the spreadsheet using the Tab key, and toggle between the spreadsheet and the timeline with one click. If you attach an exhibit or other file to an event, the spreadsheet displays a paperclip that you can click to view the document.

Other Notable Features
The new version of TimeMap also gives you more control over the labels on your timeline. For example, instead of displaying the specific dates, you can use terms like "Summer 2010." You can still see the actual date in the Spreadsheet View. You can also hide the month, day, or year as necessary (e.g., if the timeline covers a short time period, you may not want to list the year).

TimeMap now offers global search and replace. Thus, you can begin creating a timeline even when you don't know all dates, names, locations, etc. You can enter filler text and replace it later. You can also search for and find any text in your timeline.

To make your timeline more visually compelling, TimeMap now enables you to add graphics and photos to fact, text, and picture boxes in your timeline (.bmp, .emf, .ico, .gif, .jpg, and .wmf). TimeMap ships with some clip art, and integrates with Microsoft Office's Clip Organizer.

What Else Should You Know?
TimeMap 5 runs on Windows 2000 or later. Pricing starts at $417.60 for a two-year subscription. You can download a 30-day free trial. Learn more about TimeMap 5.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.

OffiSync: Read Our Exclusive Report

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a utility that links Microsoft Word to Google Docs (see article below), a Webbook, an online application for reviewing discovery documents, an online marketing research service, and an iPhone app for your postage needs. Don't miss the next issue.

Force Google and Microsoft to Kiss and Make Up

Microsoft Word excels at document creation. But when you need to collaborate on a document with someone or access a document from another computer life becomes difficult. By contrast, Google Docs excels at collaboration because only one version of each document exists accessible from any computer. But try to actually write in a Google Docs document and your mood will quickly sour. Even selecting text is a chore. Too bad you can't use the best attributes of each word processor.

OffiSync … in One Sentence
OffiSync links Microsoft Word documents to Google Docs when you need to collaborate with others.

The Killer Feature
Some people think the Internet works best as a conduit rather than a destination. For example, would iTunes offer as good a shopping experience if it was a Web site rather than an Internet-enabled application?

With OffiSync, you work within Microsoft Office even when using Google Docs. You can save documents to Google Docs in Word format. You can even create folders and move documents around on Google Docs without ever using your Web browser. Similarly, you can share documents with others through Google Docs using your Outlook address book.

Other Notable Features
OffiSync enables you to set permissions for viewing and editing documents. If you share more than just the occasional document, you can also use OffiSync in conjunction with Google Sites, an extranet-like application with more flexibility than Google Docs. For example, Google Sites offers virtual file cabinets that you can use for a specific matter. You can apply the same security settings to every document stored in the cabinet.

Other features include the ability to search your Google Docs account, integration with Google Web and Image Search, and document comparison and change management.

What Else Should You Know?
OffiSync works with Microsoft Office 2003 or 2007. You can choose from two versions — Standard or Premium. OffiSync Standard, which is free, lacks native file support and Google Sites integration. OffiSync Premium costs $12/year or a one-time fee of $30. Learn more about OffiSync.

How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.