Perform a couple quick searches in the Google Keyword Tool and it quickly becomes clear that there is a huge demand for legal documents online.
Legal Documents, 5,400 monthly searches. Free legal forms, 8,100 monthly searches. Power of attorney form, 27,100 monthly searches. And these examples are just a drop in the bucket.
When people need a legal document like a contract, agreement, or an NDA and they don’t want (can’t afford, can’t wait, etc) to hire a lawyer, they go online. And this is what they find:
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Inevitably every practicing attorney will have to compare “identical” or similar documents in an attempt to find subtle differences or changes. Make use of existing programs to quickly find the differences—saving time and serious eyestrain.
Adobe Acrobat Professional can compare two PDFs and highlight all of the differences. Under the “documents” tab, select “compare documents.” Acrobat will quickly highlight the differences on both documents. When opposing counsel files an amended pleading, this is incredibly useful. One downside, however, is that Acrobat highlights every change, including spacing and punctuation. At the same time, better safe then sorry, and sometimes seemingly minor changes are actually not so minor.
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Meetings are getting a bad rap these days, but I find them very useful to help me complete a project, especially when it has no clear deadline. Those kinds of tasks can end up sitting on your work plan for weeks, since they are always lower priority than the things due right now. But you can use meetings to get things get done sooner, rather than later.
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News Flash: Microsoft Word and Corel Wordperfect are not the only word processing software out there. Not even close. At all.
This great article from DonationCoder looks at 14 different word processors in good depth. DonationCoder reminds us that some people really need the features of a desktop publishing system like Word. Many writers, for example, simply write in Notepad.
As lawyers, form and content are both important, but in reverse order. Apart from captions, our layout needs are primarily outline numbering, block quotes, and signature blocks. We write contracts, letters, briefs, and research memos. Do we really need Word, WordPerfect, or OpenOffice.org? Before you spend a dime on new or upgraded software, read this article, consider your needs, and purchase (or simply download) accordingly.
(It is no secret that my own choice is OpenOffice.org Writer. Sure, it isn’t quite as good as Word. But Word isn’t $200 better, either.)
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