Amicus Attorney Cloud Edition was officially released in October 2012 and has since made strides with offering new features to optimize a user’s experience.  Their developers have kept Amicus Attorney’s traditional desktop version tools like firm reports and calendar sharing while offering some web-based efficiencies such as the recent activity list or a global search […]

According to a recent article in the Plain Dealer, Cleveland is quickly becoming an ideal place for young lawyers to live. The affordability of Northeast Ohio, coupled with a large legal industry, makes Cleveland an attractive place to live for attorneys. When comparing the buying power of Cleveland residents to New York or California, Cleveland […]

A Practice Management System (PMS) is one of the most important tools in any law firm. But nobody wants to invest time and money into a program that quickly falls short of their expectations  a year down the road. During the selection process, you’ll probably use a number of resources to help you determine which […]

With Gavel & Gown’s recent release of Amicus Cloud, our team has been spending time converting clients from desktop versions and training those brand new to the Amicus Attorney format. My role as a consultant is often to explain to users how their office workflow and productivity can dramatically improve on a new product. Shortly […]

A VAR, or Value-added reseller, is a company that adds features or services to an existing product and then resells it as an integrated product or complete “turn-key” solution. VARs can add value to both software and hardware acquisitions. For instance, you might know that you need a PC but do you know if you […]

By utilizing the “Outlook Anywhere” service in Microsoft Exchange, firms can provide full-featured, anywhere access to the native Outlook application for staff and attorneys. This means that firm members can access and operate their exact same workplace Outlook mailboxes from anywhere rather than only having access while in the physical office space. This should allow […]

After several months of beta testing, Gavel & Gown officially announced the release of Amicus Attorney Cloud Edition today. We were present at the original demonstration by Ron Collins at the ABA TECHSHOW in March, and have been waiting ever since to compose a full review for our readers. Compared to other cloud-based practice management […]

With so many advancements in the world of technology, lawyers have thousands of options for technology tools throughout their practice.  The pace at which new products are being introduced – all promising to save you time and money – has never been faster. The challenge is deciding which of those technologies are truly valuable to […]

I’ve have friends call me all the time, inside and outside the legal industry, because I know a few things about computers. Regarding Microsoft Word, the number one complaint is always this: “Mike, every time I open up Word it’s set to Calibri, 11-pt. font, and is double spaced with 10-pt. after-spacing. How do I set […]

Computer problems always seem to occur at the most inconvenient time: When you’re in the middle of drafting a contract that you haven’t saved yet, at 6pm on Friday when and you’re almost done entering your time, or right when you’re about to hit your highest score on your online Texas Hold ‘em tournament. But before […]

A lot of law firms outsource their Microsoft Exchange Server to a third-party provider instead of purchasing a server and hosting Microsoft Exchange internally. The advantages are that the third-party absorbs the cost of hardware, software, management, and leaves the law firm with just a monthly investment of $10-$25 per month per user, depending on […]

According to a recent Cisco survey, seven out of ten (70%) young employees break their companies’ IT policies regularly. This is dangerous for your law practice for a multitude of reasons. Below are the Cisco stats; each will come with subsequent analysis so you know what this means for your law firm. The most common […]

The 2012 version of Amicus Attorney Premium Edition boasts bold new features that really add a lot of value to the software. Let’s take a look: Documents Amicus really turned up the heat with fully integrated document management. In 2012, under your Office, Dalies, Favorites, Files, Calendar, etc., tabs, there is now a Documents tab. Here you can […]

When linked with a ScanSnap scanner, Worldox, a leading Document Management system for law firms, allows you to scan documents of any kind directly into Worldox with the press of a single button. This eliminates your need to scan to your desktop, open the document, and do a Worldox Save. This can save you a lot of time. Here’s […]

A new study from Cisco indicates that young professionals want to work at a place that accommodates social media, device freedom, remote working, and a blended personal and professional lifestyle. These decisions are now beginning to play a heavy role in where our nation’s youngest innovators choose where to work and, more importantly, where not […]

“There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy We see a lot of law firms that refuse to invest in their IT infrastructure for a few seemingly good reasons. Many are overwhelmed by the amount […]

I get this question time and time again. “I understand that using a faster computer or case management system can save me time, but how exactly does that translate into more money in my back pocket?” Here’s how. First, let’s take a moment to explain how technology, when used properly, saves you time. ABC Law […]

The iPad was a game-changer. It served as the perfect medium between our smart phones and home & work computers. It’s not to say that it does anything exclusively, but it does seem to be the best mobile platform for particular tasks. The tablet has a bigger screen than our cell phone does, which makes […]

I just finished reading I Am Now an App™ and  Run! Hide! The Lawyers Are Being Replaced By Machines, two excellent articles that address the concern about how the legal industry is being affected by programmers. In short, systems designed to make lawyers’ work more efficient are, post-Internet, being directed outward, toward the client, and […]

Metadata, in its most simple definition, means “data about data”.  So what’s wrong with data about data? Leveraging metada­ta contained in a document contract created using Microsoft Word, you can learn who originally created a docu­ment, the names of the last ten editors (except in Office 2007), and the names of the com­puter and network drives […]

In legal marketing, technology has given lawyers more options than ever. It is easy to make, post, or tweet announcements to stay visible. Desktop contact management technologies and email marketing services also make it easy to stay in touch with clients and referral sources. These options may look wonderfully appetizing and make you want to […]

Managed Services is one of the fastest growing sectors of the technology industry. Law Firms and professional service organizations need more predictable, proactive IT services to deal with rampant security threats, evolving technology, and to level spending patterns. A Managed Services Provider (MSP) will protect your IT environment and stabilize your budget. But not all MSPs are […]

I stumbled upon an infographic which shows a timeline of events regarding the recent hacking of Sony’s online networks. This is pretty much the nightmare of a lifetime. Repeated attacks throughout the world, clients’ personal information stolen (including credit card numbers), servers brought down, and a 25 day interruption of services. Here’s the highlight reel: Hacking of […]

Back in 2009, LexisNexis announced that it would “sunset,” or discontinue support for, its Billing Matters software by the end of 2013. Effective immediately, that’s no longer the case. In response to repeated customer requests and after careful consideration, LexisNexis has decided to reverse their previously announced decision to sunset Billing Matters. So why the change […]

Lawyers need email – there’s no doubt about that. Not only does it serve as a vital link between attorneys, other firm members, and clients, but it also serves as a billables-generator; clients will email you and can charge them for the response. Email reduces material costs such as envelopes, ink, and stamps, while delivering […]

Courtesy of a rapid acceleration in Personally Identifiable Information (PII) regulations, banks are cracking down on their legal partners. The ensuing chaos has foreclosure and bankruptcy firms around the country scrambling to bring their IT up to snuff in order to prevent losing valuable relationships with the banks that send them business. Our clients are […]

Engadget reports that Symantec pitted iOS’s security against Android’s in an effort to help corporate IT staffs try to figure out which of the two devices is best to hand out to employees. Each had advantages and disadvantages but iOS got the best marks, this largely attributed to Apple’s App Store approval process. The study, […]

One of the best tools for effective marketing may be sitting right in front of you: categorizing your contacts. You do not need an elaborate software package or web system to do this effectively. This capability probably exists in whatever you are already using. Before focusing on the technology, it is helpful to examine the […]

Dear friends, family & fellow professionals, As your IT guy, many of you have gotten my help in the past for problems such as viruses, spyware, malware and strange pop-ups you’ve gotten after your 8-year-old wandered around the World Wide Web.  Once these things were resolved, I often get call-backs from people who manage to […]

There are two things you can do with all those pesky emails – you can back them up or you can save them in an archiving system. But which is better for law firms? E-Mail Backup Backing up your email database means you are taking a snapshot of a given point in time of everything […]

We are all aware of the theft of a massive list of customer emails from Epsilon, a third-party marketing company. We also know how damaging this can be for companies like Epsilon, and the companies that do business with Epsilon (companies like Walgreens, TiVo, Capital One Financial Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Verizon Communications, even Sears). […]

With most manufacturers you pay a residual annual fee for your practice management software. I know – you like paying this fee almost as much as you like paying for air at the gas station. And rightfully so, you’ve paid for the software, you’ve paid to have it installed and you pay to keep it working. Well, […]