Presentation-New New Thing

On February 4, 2001, Seth Rowland made a presentation at ABA Techshow the presaged what has now come to pass. It is worth looking at the presentation to see what is now "our Present". The review covered "Super Cell Phones," "Super PDAs" and "Webpads". While the vendors are different, the prediction was quite accurate.

LINK TO PRESENTATION: The New New Thing

TechnoFeature: Cutting the Cord: Practical Tips for Setting Up a Virtual Law Practice

Geography can often get in the way of your firm's plans for world domination. But thanks to technology, you can overcome such hurdles. In this article, technology consultant and practice management expert Seth Rowland discusses several innovative law firms, ranging from a solo practitioner to a mega-firm, that have embraced some aspects of virtual law practice. He explains the technology they use to "cut the cord" and expand beyond the "four walls" of their physical office. This article contains 1,803 words. As published in TechnoLawyer on May 26, 2009.

Legal Technology on Venus

Have you ever noticed that the hottest computers are sold on the basis of "size", "speed", "endurance", and "raw power". These are the traits used to sell technology on Mars -- the domain of MEN. With nearly 2/3 of lawyers being men, Mars dominated sales pitch have worked. However, Venus is in ascendance. With half the new law graduates being women, and with a legal support staff which is over 3/4 female, the savvy marketer cannot ignore Venus. And, if the focus is on technology adoption and the true productivity gains that can be accomplished through technology, one must consider the point of view of those living on Venus. This article introduces my partner, Rose Rowland, as knowledgeable representative of and our resident expert on Venusians.

The TabletPC Revolution

In this article, legal technologist Seth Rowland predicts that the Tablet PC will revolutionize the way lawyers work and interact with their clients. With the evolution of fully powered Tablet PCs and wireless networks, the Tablet PC has emerged as a productivity force that can now serve an important purpose in client meetings, not just as an expensive note-taking device. With the proper software, the Tablet PC can bring attorney and client closer together and foster greater productivity. Could a Tablet PC empower your legal practice? Read this article to find out. This article contains 1,776 words.

What's the Big Deal With GoTo?

The "Connected" Lawyer of Today Is Wired with Technology. Whether armed with a BlackBerry, Palm Treo, or Motorola Q, the modern lawyer constantly communicates with his/her clients, colleagues, and the court. Text messages, e-mails, and documents fly across the airwaves and wires 24-hours a day. With the expectation of "24x7" service comes the need for access to information "24x7" - far more information than the hard-drive of a PDA-Phone (or even a laptop) can store.

Wiki Wiki on the Web

Isaac Asimov, the science-fiction writer, envisioned an encyclopedia of a future galaxy-spanning civilization, containing all knowledge accumulated by a society with trillions of people and thousands of years of history. It would be called the ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA. The Galactic Empire was crumbling, and Hari Seldon, a mathematician and social historian predicted 30,000 years of anarchy, unless something was done. To this end, he set up a Foundation of encyclopedias to catalog all human knowledge, thereby allowing civilization to reemerge from anarchy in a scant 1,000 years.

Don't Touch That Template!

Have you ever sat down with a salesman for a demonstration of document assembly software, whether it be HotDocs, SmartWords, GhostFill, Rapidocs, PowerTXT, WinDraft, Cincom, PDF Plus, ReachForm, or ProDoc? In the blink of an eye, they whip together an automated template to draft an employment agreement or a last will and testament. With their software, they tell you, document creation will take minutes, instead of hours (or days). Quality and consistency will be vastly improved. Your practice (or office) will be able to handle a greater volume of work without adding new employees and increase its profit margin dramatically.

Are these guys selling Snake Oil? No ... and yes.

Technology Investment and Staffing Ratios

When law firms and corporate law departments approach technology investments, they typically ask: "How many staff can I eliminate if I adopt this technology?" More often the question is framed "What technology will have the greatest impact on staffing ratios?"

There are two assumptions in such a question. First, that technology will lower staffing ratios. And second, that lowering staffing ratios is a GOOD thing.

Observations on Pathagoras

Stephen Bird wrote: "Once you see how Pathagoras works with folders, standard clauses, and so on, its elegance becomes apparent. If you're considering a document assembly program, I strongly recommend you read the two short pages "For Busy People" at http://www.pathagoras.com/busypeople.html download the free demo, install, and then start using Pathagoras based on the Busy People suggestions."

Document Assembly Blog

Presentation-New New Thing

TechnoFeature: Cutting the Cord: Practical Tips for Setting Up a Virtual Law Practice

Legal Technology on Venus

The TabletPC Revolution

What's the Big Deal With GoTo?

Wiki Wiki on the Web

Don't Touch That Template!

Technology Investment and Staffing Ratios

Observations on Pathagoras

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