I sat on a panel with productivity guru Merlin Mann today. We talked about a range of issues, from information overload to paperlessness to Getting Things Done and the Franklin-Covey method, all with reference to the life of lawyers.
If you are not familiar with Merlin Mann, check out the video below, “Inbox Zero,” which changed my e-mail life.
Description from MCLE:
The Paperless Office
Presented by Sam Glover; moderated by Peter BergeFriday, June 6, 2008, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. CDT
1.0 law office management credit
Tuition: $75The “paperless office” concept has created a trendy buzz in law office management circles. With new, reasonably priced hardware and software, it can also be a reality for any size office. What the paperless office offers is a great key to efficiency. In this webcast, attorney Sam Glover will provide a practical discussion of how a law office can move toward a more paperless existence. Mr. Glover will provide an overview of the technology and procedures needed and practical tips on how to save money and increase efficiency.
Presented by Samuel J. Glover, Attorney at Law, Minneapolis; moderated by Peter H. Berge, Minnesota CLE, St. Paul.
Here is MCLE’s description:
Part of the ongoing “Tech Tuesday” webcast series, streaming the first and third Tuesday of every month.
In this Tech Tuesday program, Sam Glover will be the guest speaker. Sam is a solo practitioner practicing consumer law in Minneapolis, and is also the author of the SoloSmallTech.com blog. Sam will be discussing how to use software you probably already own—such as your e-mail client, word processor, and desktop search software—to form an effective and safe case management system.
Presented by Samuel J. Glover, Samuel J. Glover & Assoc., Minneapolis; moderated by Todd C. Scott, Minnesota Lawyers Mutual, Minneapolis, and Peter H. Berge, Minnesota CLE, St. Paul.
You can register here.
Users of Linux and now Mac OS X (with the new Spaces feature) will be familiar with virtual desktops. I find them to be invaluable an productivity aid. In short, virtual desktops allow the user to spread open windows across two or more “virtual” desktops. For example, I usually have my personal windows (browser with Gmail, iTunes, etc.) on one desktop, and my work windows (Outlook, client files, OpenOffice.org) on another desktop.
Microsoft does offer Virtual Desktop Manager (link to download), but it is not a very good implementation. It lacks the ability to easily move windows from one desktop to another if you don’t want to see every open window on the taskbar.
I just started using Dexpot, a lightweight virtual desktop manager for Windows XP and Vista. It has all the right options, including the ability to set custom keybindings for switching from one desktop to another, and makes it easy to move windows between desktops, as well.
If you want to give it a try, Lifehacker has a tutorial on getting up and running with Dexpot.
None are quite as good as Linux with Compiz Fusion (shown above is the Cube, one of the flashier and more intuitive features available in Linux), but they go a long way towards improving productivity in Windows, especially for those without a second monitor.
Michael D. Day in Connecticut uses paperless practices to increase efficiency, security, and to reduce costs (link requires registration; BugMeNot does not work). It sounds like he and I use paperless practices in much the same way and for the same reasons.
This seems like an astoundingly good idea that would turn any operating system that implemented system-wide tagging into the ultimate lawyers’ platform:
One of the greatest features introduced by Gmail was the move from folders to tags as a way to organize e-mails. Then Thunderbird added and expanded on the same feature, and blogging software has jumped on the tagging bandwagon, as well.
As an organizational tool, tagging is incredibly useful. It does away with the need to store everything in a hierarchy or database and gives the user the ability to instantly find all relevant information.
So why not allow system-wide tagging? In other words, I would love to be able to tag everything related to a subject. Say I am working on a project–the Smith project, a blog post related to Exaile–and want to find everything related to it. What if I could search by the “Smith” or “Exaile” tag and pull up every e-mail, contact, task, appointment, and–this is the key–document, image, mp3 file, etc. on my computer or network?
In other words, take one of the best features of Web 2.0, the ability to organize with tags, and integrate it into the operating system.
Edit: Looks like there are already a few tools like this out there. For Linux, MetaTracker will be incorporated into the next Ubuntu release, 7.10. For Windows, Tag2Find offers similar features. I haven’t tried either out, yet, so I’m not sure they are a full solution, but I’m eager to give them a shot.
Free is better, and open source is superior. There are fantastic free and open source alternatives to the software lawyers use every day. Here are my top 5 most valuable free applications for lawyers:
Office 2007 is pretty, but from a user perspective, it is an upgrade hardly worth the pricetag. Plus, Microsoft’s rejection of Open Document Format, which is becoming the world standard (and should be the courts’ standard, if they can de-Microsoft their thinking), is troubling. OpenOffice.org, or OOo, is a fantastic alternative. It is also in wide use worldwide, and sponsored by Sun Microsystems. This is a full replacement for Office, minus Outlook, and attorneys can make the switch and not look back. Among other things, OOo can save to .doc format, and makes it easier than ever to create PDF versions.
2. TrueCrypt
As I have said many times, encryption is no longer optional. Law firms that do not encrypt client data are risking lawsuits if and when client data is stolen. TrueCrypt is a serious piece of encryption software that makes encryption easy and convenient. My favorite feature is the ability to back up the encrypted container so that my backups are encrypted, as well.
It is a bit eerie how much Norton and McAfee resemble the viruses they protect your computer in. Virus-like, they invade every nook and cranny of your operating system, bogging your computer down. Uninstall them and go with a free alternative that protects just as well and doesn’t slow you to a crawl.
4. GnuCash
Looking to move beyond your outdated accounting software? GnuCash is a double-entry accounting package that should do the trick just fine. If you like sending Quicken files to your accountant, you
can do that, toowill have to make do with printing out HTML reports (see comment, below).
5. UltraVNC
UltraVNC (and numerous other free VNC applications) lets you access your computer remotely from anywhere. Setup takes just a bit of knowhow, but once you are up and running, it is amazingly smooth. Best of all, you can access your computer using any VNC with any operating system for maximum versatility.
Finally, if you do use free, open-source software, support the project by donating.
I am giving two seminars in July and August.
On July 10, I will present on “The Paperless Office” via MCLE Webcast from 9-11. Then, on August 15, I will present on going paperless, file security and encryption, and case management software at the Ramsey County Bar Association’s “Technology Tools & Crises: What Small Firms Need to Know” at Hamline University School of Law from 8:30-11:45.
If I have piqued your interest through this blog, you may want to consider attending to get some “nuts and bolts” information about doing the paperless thing, security, and case management software (or the lack thereof).
Virtual desktops are a very useful tool for organizing your virtual workspace. Windows, OSX, and Linux all have their versions. Linux has by far the most polished and natural-feeling virtual desktop setup (and with Compiz or Beryl, the sexiest, as seen above). Windows Desktop Manager is fairly clunky, but functional. There are also many third-party options for Windows. OSX introduced virtual desktops in v10.5, called “Spaces,” which works similarly to Linux’s native virtual desktop management.
The Web Worker Daily recently put together a “top 7″ online note taking apps. If you like do to things online, then note-taking applications are a pretty nifty method of tracking your to-dos, especially if you subscribed to the Gospel of GTD.
To my mind, Google Notebook is clearly the best of the lot, but that is an opinion formed with little actual knowledge of the other options. If you are into the online notepad, check these out.
[via Lifehacker]
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