Law Office Technology

Which Task Codes to use when writing off time

When Clients have to write off bills or time, I often get questions about which task code to use.  PCLaw out of the box comes with the following Write Down task codes.

 

Code	Description	Type
BD	Billing Adjustment Down	Write Up/Down
WD	Write Down	Write Up/Down
TR	Time Reduction	Write Up/Down

 

TR - Time Reduction

In System Settings of PCLaw you have the option to Auto track Time Reductions.

If you record a time entry of 1 hour and then change it to 0.75, PCLaw will change the entry to 0.75 but also add another entry for 0.25 that has TR as a task code and is set to never bill.  Therefore the client will never see the reduction but the firm can track it. 

BD Billing Adjustment Down vs WD Writing Down

That brings us to the Bill Down  vs Write Down.  Which one do you use?   For an example in PCLaw, I wrote off two bills, one using Write Down and one using Billing Down.  I then ran a Write Up/Write Down Journal.

For Rodger’s Matter I used Bill Down and for Barry’s Matter I used Write Down.  As you can see from the report,  they both did the exact same thing, in that they reduced each timekeepers fee journal. 

If I run  a Client WIP, Billing and Collection Summary for Barry, I get:

If I run  a Client WIP, Billing and Collection Summary for Roger, I get:

 

If we were to do this with every report in PCLaw, we would get the same thing.  As long as you chose Bill Down or Write Down,  PCLaw will take care of the rest.  It really does not make a difference which task code you use.   When I setup a client with PCLaw,  I usually just delete BD – Bill Down,  and instruct the client to use WD – Write Down. 

4 Great CLE Events in Louisiana

 

I will be speaking at 4 events around Louisiana in May.  Great chance to learn about changes in legal technology and get some CLE.   

Managing your Office with Essential Legal Technology from Lawtopia

 

• COVINGTON, FRIDAY, MAY 10th  – Marriott Courtyard Covington, 101 Northpark  Blvd., Covington
• BATON ROUGE, MONDAY, MAY 13th  – Baton Rouge Bar Association Middleton Bar Center, 544 Main St., Baton Rouge
• LAFAYETTE,  THURSDAY, MAY 16 -   City Club River Ranch, 1100 Camelia Blvd., Lafayette
• LAKE CHARLES,  FRIDAY, MAY 17th – Reeve’s Uptown Catering, 1639 Ryan St., Lake Charles

How to Access Amicus Anywhere from your Mobile Device

On your smartphone, Amicus defaults to the Time Tracker App, even if you go to www.amicusanywhere.com.  If you want to get to Amicus Anywhere:

1. Click on Showing…

 

2. Scroll to the bottom and Click on Go to Amicus Anywhere

5 Legal Tips for ABA TechShow

Its time again for the ABA TechShow.  Here some tips to help you survive. 

5.Lou Mainati’s

http://www.yelp.com/biz/lou-malnatis-pizzeria-chicago-9

Easy walking distance from the Hilton,  where I go to get an authentic Chicago Deep Dish Pizza. That or Saborr0. 

4 White Place Grill

http://www.whitepalacegrill.com/

This is the closest 24 hour dinner to the Chicago Hilton.  You will need to take a cab.  After 2am it is pretty easy to get a seat.

3. Harold’s Chicken Shack

http://www.yelp.com/biz/harolds-chicken-shack-chicago-8

Skip the lunch at the show and come here.  Its behind the Chicago Hilton and has some of the best fried chicken you will ever eat.  People always ask me why my business cards are so greasy. 

2. Kitty O’Sheas

http://www.hiltonchicagohotel.com/restaurants-bars/kitty-o-sheas/

The Cheers of ABA TechShow.  Everyone meets here before they go out and ends up here for a night cap.  I recommend the Kitty Burger, it is the most Irish meal they have.

1.  The Chicago Hilton Helipad. 

 

For legal reasons, I don’t think we are allowed back,  but if you manage to sneak your way into the Conrad Hilton Suite, get ready to have flash backs from the movie The Fugitive. 

How to chose Between Microsoft 365 and Google Apps

A big part of our business is moving legal clients from in-house Microsoft Exchange to the cloud.   When our company does “cloud migrations” we have to decide whether to use Microsoft 365 or Google Apps. 

	365	Google Apps
Cost	$4 per User	$4 per User
Storage	25GB per user	25GB per User
Outlook 2010,2007	Yes	Yes
Outlook 2011*	Yes	No
Direct** Clio Sync	No	Yes
Direct** Amicus Sync	N0	Yes
Direct** PCLaw Sync	N0	No
Direct TimeMatters Sync	Yes	No
Amicus Cloud	Yes	No
Gmail Interface	No	Yes
Web Mail	Yes	Yes
Easy Migration	Yes	Yes

* Outlook 2011 is the Mac Version of Microsoft Outlook.  It is a pain in the ass to deal with.  On my Mac,  I run Parallels and Windows Outlook 2010.   Another thing to consider, if a program says they have Outlook integration, it means Windows Outlook not Mac Outlook.     Hey, if it weren't complicated I would not have a job.

**Direct means that the software syncs via the application and not Outlook.  Clio, Amicus and PCLaw all have applications that you can install in Windows Outlook that syncs To Dos, Contacts, and Calendar.  For each user that wants to sync you have to install this in Outlook and their computers need to be on and Outlook running for the sync to work.  In a Direct Sync Environment,  nothing needs to be on.  Clio and Amicus support a direct sync with Google Apps.  Clio is also working in a Direct Sync with 365.  TimeMatters and Amicus Cloud has a direct sync with 365.  Direct sync is the way to go. 

 

Still confused?  Here are some questions I ask clients during our tech audit:

Are you in a Mac Environment running Outlook 2011?

365

Are you using Clio or Amicus Attorney?

Google Apps

Are your users familiar with Gmail?

Google Apps

Do you hate Microsoft?

Google Apps

Are you running TimeMatters or Amicus Cloud?

365

Do you hate Google?

365

Data Escrow with Clio

When you move your data into the Cloud with a SaaS (Software as a Service) provider there is the perception that you lose control of the data.   Most attorneys are worried about the cloud provider going out of business, suffering a hardware failure, or the inability to move to a competing product in case of a price hike or diminished service.  By sticking with traditionally installed software, all three of these concerns could be avoided.

Clio, a leading cloud based Practice Management Software has a Data Escrow feature that allows you to backup all of your data (including documents) to Amazon Web Services.  This allows a law firm to have complete control of their data while still getting all the benefits of the cloud. 

Setting up Data Escrow

Step 1: Sign up from Amazon Web Services.  Under 5gb of storage is free

Step 2:  Go to Security Credentials –> Access Credentials –> and Create an Access Key ID

Step 3: In Clio go to Settings –> Clio Settings –> Data Escrow

Take the information from Amazon Web Services and plug it in here. 

Viewing Your Data

Step 1: Log into Amazon Account and go to S3

Step 2:  Chose what data you want to view.

Documents contain all the Documents you have uploaded to Clio.  So if you have a Word or PDF  Document that you attached to a Clio File, it is here you can open or download it.

If you go into the Exports Folder, you see the following:

These are CSV’s (Comma Separated Values) of all your data.  This can be viewed in Excel or imported into a new practice management system. 

As you can see from above, if you use Clio or similar products with Data Escrow,  you have full control of you are your client’s data while still having all the benefits of cloud computing. 

How to setup NetDocs to work with a Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanner

NetDocuments has an integration with the popular Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanners. Our firm has been recommending these for years, everyone that has one is a raving fan.

 

Installation of the Link with NetDocuments

 

In NetDocs go to Settings –> Workstation

 

Make sure the first option under Auto Import is selected and make a note of the location of your Auto Import Folder. 

 

In ScanSnap Scan Button Settings make sure the Application is set to Scan to Folder.

Click on the save tab and make sure the Image saving folder is pointed to the NetDocs Auto Import Folder. 

 

Now, when you scan a document, the NetDocs profiler will automatically come up. 

How to Survive Windows 8

This summer I took a train trip up north.  While I was gone,  my friend Clark needed to borrow my laptop  for a Fantasy Football Draft.  I had it with me, but my Asus Tablet with an external Keyboard and Mouse were at my home.  Before I left for my trip I decided to  download the latest version of Windows 8, but had not had a chance to use it.  Clark needed to connect a Flash drive to the tablet and open up an excel file, pretty simple tasks.  After an extremely frustrating hour,  we could not do it.  We could not figure out how to open a file in Excel!   That should have been my first clue that Windows 8 was flawed but I held off judgment for the past 5 months. 

Imagine for moment that you are back in high school.  Spanish is a very popular language so the next year, the principal decides that all classes are going to be taught in Spanish.  That is what Microsoft did with Windows 8.  They saw that Tablets are popular, so they decided to make every computer like a tablet.  They butchered their operating system by removing the Start Menu and forcing everyone, regardless if they were on a  Desktop or Tablet to swipe to get where they wanted to go.  That is a really bad idea, especially because Windows 8  sucks on a Tablet.  Its even worse on a desktop. 

The other big problem with Windows 8 is that in a lot of instances, you are forced to buy it,  especially if you are getting a new computer.  I ended up with 3 copies, a Tablet, a MacBook via Parrells, and a brand new Dell Laptop.  Instead of forking over some serious $ to downgrade to Windows 7,  I found a utility called Start 8 by StarDock.

For $4.99,  you get the Start Menu back, which all practical purposed makes your computer like Windows 7.  I have been using it for 3 weeks now and it has been flawless. 

So if you have a Windows Computer DO NOT upgrade to Windows 8.  If you are buying a new machine,  try to get Windows 7, but if that is not an option, download Start 8.   

Setup NetDocs to Auto Login

 

 

NetDocuments (NetDocs) is a legal SaaS/Cloud Document Management System (DMS).  When I help firms setup Cloud Based Systems, I try to make the transition as seamless as possible.  If  a document was on a firms  internal network,  they would just open it up through Word.  Therefore if we moved to a Cloud Based System, I don’t want the attorney to have to enter in a password when they attempt to open a document.  If they are using a client’s computer, that is a completely different story.

Besides Documents, NetDocs has a great way of linking with Microsoft Outlook called EMS Folders.  However, the first time you open Outlook, it asks you to enter your NetDocs Username and Password.

 

Fortunately, NetDocs has an automatic login procedure.  You have to go through the simple process of installing a Email Certificate on your computer and then registering it with NetDocs.  Once you do that, no more passwords.   

Step 1: Get a Personal Email Certificate

http://www.instantssl.com/ssl-certificate-products/free-email-certificate.html

Step 2:  Apply for the Certificate

 

Step 3: Get an Email from Comodo and install the cert

Once you click on the above link, the cert will automatically install

Step 4:  Login to NetDocs and Register the Certificate

 

Once this done, you no longer have to supply a password to login. 

How to Upgrade to PCLaw 12

 

Here is a presentation I did for LexisNexis last summer on how to Upgrade PCLaw.   I also have created a PCLaw Upgrade Checklist that is useful in the upgrade process.  If you are still worried / unsure about doing the upgrade,  feel free to just hire me.  I am located in Louisiana but I can do the upgrade from anywhere and on the weekend so there is little down time for your firm.