As most readers of this blog know, I am in a constant search to find the “best” way to manage my practice. As everyone knows, there is no “best” way to manage a law practice, but there is always improvement. So here are the bits of technology and old-school hardware I am using to manage my practice.

As you may also know, I use Linux for my operating system more than half the time. But since I still use Windows at the office, all the software I use is available for both Linux and Windows. There are two exceptions: Outlook, which I don’t really use any longer, and Acrobat.

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This list of 50 free PDF tools from Codswallop should round out every attorney’s digital toolkit. Nearly everyone should have a basic PDF creator by now. CutePDF is my favorite.

But this list includes tools for appending and subtracting pages from PDF files, creating interactive PDF documents (with amazing open-source publishing tool Scribus), and annotating PDF documents.

Take advantage of the great resources out there. And if you use an open source application, contribute to the project to keep it going!

If you got here from the CLE earlier today, I promised I would post the links to software, hardware, and services mentioned during the CLE. Here they are, after the jump.

Also, here is a previous post, “Learning to use your file system.” I touched briefly on this in the CLE, but 90% of what case management programs do as far as organizing documents, Windows, Mac, and Linux do better with nothing extra or special.

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Going paperless if your document production usually involves a ton of documents presents a problem. To get Bates numbering features in Acrobat 8.0, you need to buy Acrobat Professional, a $449 program. Since that is more than most will pay for Microsoft Office 2007, it seems a bit beyond the reach of most solo practitioners.

You could get IntelliPDF Bates, but $169 is still a bit steep for a one-trick pony.

Fortunately, CutePDF is a $49.95 full replacement for Acrobat Standard, and includes Bates-numbering features. And it is a piece of cake to use. Open your file, click the “header and footer” button or Tools > Header and Footer, and you’ll see the screen at right (click for full-size). Enter < b > (no spaces) plus the number you want to start at. If you want your Bates stamps to show up with other text, such as “Plaintiff 0001,” just enter that text before the < b > tag. Hit “OK,” and VOILA!