Finally, a sync I can support! Google Sync will now sync your Blackberry’s built-in contacts with your Gmail contacts. This is huge, especially if, like me, you use Gmail for email. Before, I had to do a complicated dance with Plaxo in order to get my contacts onto my Blackberry. Now, it should happen automatically and over the air.

Good stuff once again, Google!

Navigate to m.google.com/sync to get Google Sync on your Blackberry.

A blog is probably the most effective way to drive potential clients to your (virtual) door. Well-written, attractive, and well-configured blogs consistently appear at the top of search engine results, and often result in earned media exposure for the blogger.

What is a blog?

A blog is just a frequently-updated website. It is a simple, easy way of publishing content to the web. Many of the websites you visit every day (CNN and the New York Times, for example) probably have the bones of a blog, but you may not even know it.

Earn great search engine results

Picture your ideal potential client. When faced with a legal problem or a need for legal advice, how will your potential ideal client find a lawyer?

Only a tiny percentage—11% or less—of middle-class Americans use the phone book. Most start with Google.

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There it is, the first smartphone available from a major carrier with a free and open-source operating system. Ain’t it pretty? That is Android Linux. On your phone. Hot.

The launch is not until tomorrow at 10:30 EDT, but Engadget already found the picture above. You can follow the launch at T-Mobile’s special site for the G1.

So does this mean Linux is ready for the pocket, even if some people think it is not quite ready for the desktop? Seems so.

Meet the T-Mobile G1 | Engadget

I do, to an extent, but I think I am in the minority in that respect. I use Gmail, Google Calendar, Remember the Milk, Plaxo, and Freshbooks to manage my email, calendar, tasks, contacts, and timekeeping and billing. I even use Google Docs for drafting forms and some documents, although rarely for specific clients.

While the cloud lacks the secure feeling of having my own data in my own office, the cloud offerings I use are backed up more often (sometimes near-constantly) and more securely than I could ever manage on my own. I do, however, sync all my cloud information locally so I have a backup copy if I ever need it.

The only time I regret relying on the cloud is when I follow my wife to a small town where the hotels still do not have internet access. But in such cases, a pen and paper usually works just fine until I am back in range.

Do You Trust the Cloud? | Lifehacker

I just noticed this morning that my Gmail quota nudged over 7 GB. With just over 5500 messages, that means I have used only 7% of my quota. Still not quite as good as Yahoo!’s unlimited storage, but then again, Yahoo! mail is not nearly as good as Gmail.

If you don’t already have a Gmail account, do yourself a favor and get one. You can check mail from other accounts and keep using those addresses, and you get to take advantage of the great productivity features of Gmail.

The rumor mill thinks so. I am getting ready to throw over my Blackberry Pearl when the new handsets show up. Screw the iPhone, I’m going to go make sure my tent is patched up for camping in front of the T-Mobile kiosk at the mall.

(Disclaimer: I am probably not going to camp out for a phone. Ever. Or even buy an Android phone right away. But I am really excited.)

Rumor: T-Mobile prepping Android phone for Oct. 1 | BoingBoing Gadgets (via everyone)

A few weeks ago, I started using Google Calendar to publish a free/busy version of my calendar on my website. I am so glad I did.

Scheduling—especially for busy attorneys—can be a royal pain. It often involves several phone calls or e-mails, at least, and it can be much worse when you are trying to schedule something with an attorney who sends scheduling information like “I am free at 2:00 on the 3rd” and nothing else. As if it is inconceivable that you would have anything on your calendar at that date and time. All that back-and-forth is a big waste of time.

Now, I just point opposing counsel, potential clients, and others to my public calendar and ask them to give me a couple of options when I am free.

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Linux is pretty.

Every Friday for the last few weeks I have posted interviews with solo and small firm attorneys who talked to me about their marketing strategies, online and offline, high tech and old school. Today’s (belatedly posted) interview with Tom Tuft is the last interview.

My last interviewee is Tom Tuft, of Tuft & Arnold Law Office, PLLC. We actually collaborated on a CLE for the Ramsey County Bar Association this winter, which was well-attended and well-reviewed. Like me, Tuft is interested in technology, although he is a gadget man (he carried a Fujitsu ScanSnap in his briefcase), while I prefer one gadget—my laptop.

The Tuft & Arnold website is a good example of a clean, nice-looking, and effective website. It has a lot of information about the firm, its practice areas, and some “handouts” for prospective clients.

Like my own practice, Tuft’s clients tend to hire him only once. This kind of practice requires a fundamentally different marketing approach from a practice with clients who have ongoing legal needs. Instead of cultivating current contacts, one must constantly try to reach new people and new markets.

Keep reading for the full interview.

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Law.com’s Legal Technology page has a useful article on how to find what you are looking for more accurately with Google.