Many lawyers think that it's impossible to be paperless at trial. It's not, but you have to understand that "having a paperless law practice" doesn't mean you never deal with paper. So let's see how this plays out at trial. And, let's start with an obvious real-world observation. Most courts aren’t set up to be all digital. They receive exhibits in paper form. And so guess what? You're going be dealing with paper. Does this fact mean that your whole carefully crafted quest to … [Read more...]
Ethical considerations of online file storage
Last September the New York State Bar Association issued Opinion 842 (link to official site) which addressed the question of 'cloud storage' or online storage of client information. In today's world, where cloud storage is cheap and easy to use, lawyers are increasingly embracing online storage services such as SugarSync and DropBox. The NY Bar opinion is a good starting point for any discussion about the ethical implications of online storage, even if you are located in a state other than New … [Read more...]
How quickly can you find and process information?
Did you know that according to the Wall St. Journal, 1 hour a day is wasted in most offices looking for missing information? This factoid is something I frequently mention whenever I'm giving a talk about 'going paperless.' Everyone nods their head when I say this, and the expressions of the head-nodders are always one of exasperation. Paper is inherently hard to wrangle and so we lose a lot of information just because we can't find the paper that contains it. But that's only part of the … [Read more...]
Presenting a MindMap with iThoughtsHD
I recently appeared before the New Orleans City Council to argue that food truck vendors should be allowed to operate in the city, addressing various issues such as health concerns, regulatory oversight, parking, zoning, etc. I could have used Powerpoint slides, but instead I decided to use a mindmap. I presented my mindmap using an iPad Mini and an $9.99 app called iThoughtsHD. The presentation went extremely well, and I’m now convinced that presenting from a mindmap on an iPad is a powerful … [Read more...]
Weekly Tech Highlights
Here are highlights from our Twitter posts for the past two weeks (Sept 7–21), with some additional commentary. Evernote is an amazing tool for gathering and organizing digital information. Lawyers could definitely use it as a tool for handling legal research. The trick to Evernote is getting familiar with it. If you’re interested check out this tutorial on iTunesU. Evernote is free for basic stuff, and only $45/year if you use the advanced features. If you have an iPhone or iPad, here’s a … [Read more...]
Paperless Chase – presenting in Baton Rouge on July 6th!
The Digital Workflow team will be presenting "Paperless Chase CLE: Creating and Maintaining a Paperless Office" in Baton Rouge on July 6, 2012 at the Crown Plaza from 9a.m. - noon (4728 Constitution Avenue, Baton Rouge, LA 70808) The course is for 3 general CLE credits and we'll be giving away a Fujitsu ScanSnap at the end so that one lucky attorney can get a jumpstart on becoming paperless. Tickets can be purchased HERE. The Paperless Chase seminar is taught by Ernie Svenson and Dane … [Read more...]
The Paperless Chase rolls to Lafayette on April 19th!
Becoming paperless takes time and some planning, but the shift is worth the effort. We've had a lot of interest from Lafayette lawyers on our live paperless seminars and thought "why not take this show on the road?" So here we come! The Digital Workflow team will be presenting "Paperless Chase CLE: Creating and Maintaining a Paperless Office" in Lafayette at Louisiana Immersive Technologies Interprise on Thursday, April 19th from 1p.m. - 4p.m. Bonus: We'll be giving away a Fujitsu ScanSnap at … [Read more...]
Proposed language for an engagement letter used by “paperless lawyers”
I include the following paragraphs in my client engagement letters, with helps me rest assured that my "paperless lawyering" approach won't get me into hot water with the Ethics folks. I am not saying you need to do this to avoid trouble, but if you do use language like this you won't ever have to worry about it. The first two relate paragraphs to retaining files, the first to make it clear that I don’t keep any unnecessary paper (which is most paper). The second is about digital signatures, … [Read more...]