The Mac Lawyer : Ben Stevens : Using Macs In The Practice Of Law

Just a few short weeks ago, I announced that the Macs In Law Offices (MILO) forum had surpassed 800 members in its roughly 18 months of existence.  In the seven weeks since that post, we have now had over a hundred more people join, increasing our membership to over 900 members.  

I believe that MILO is the premier online forum for attorneys who want to maximize the use of Macs in their law practices, and my co-founder Grant Griffiths and I are thrilled that apparently so many others agree.  If you want to find out more about MILO and/or wish to join (it's free), click HERE.

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After reading last week's Guest Post by Todd Juneau, Paul Meyerson submitted a comment suggesting some additional ways to get the most out of Boot Camp.  I asked him to expand his thoughts into a Guest Post, which I am now pleased to share with you:

As a Mac consultant in New York City for Templeton & Associates, I have a number of clients around the city that occasionally require Mac-PC interactivity.  If at all possible, we try to keep our users on the Mac side, but occasionally there is an application or two that just need Windows.  For those clients, I had been recommending Parallels, as Todd mentioned, although VM Ware's newest offering, Fusion v. 2.0, has me seriously leaning towards that application.  I've found in personal use that VM Ware is MUCH faster to boot, takes less of the Mac's resources (Parallels can slow the Mac to a crawl while it's trying to load up), and is just more compatible than is Parallels on a wide range of Windows applications.  However, ultimately, both are emulation software, and as a result are much slower than even an entry level PC -- even if that PC was running the languid Vista!  

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So let me be sure that I've got this right...  Microsoft decided to sink $300 million into an ad campaign to try to convince people that Vista isn't really the bloated, buggy debacle that everyone knows it to be.  In fact, they have even resorted to calling it by another name (Mojave) to make it seem more palatable.

As if that weren't bad enough, they decided to drag Jerry Seinfeld down with them in this poorly conceived ad campaign.  I will freely acknowledge that I am not a marketing genius, but after viewing their first commercial, even Wile E. Coyote could tell that it stinks.  I have seen it several times, and the only thing that it tells me is that for some reason, Vista makes you want to shop for shoes -- huh?!? 

Wouldn't that $300 million have been better spent on actually making Vista better?  Apple seems to think so, and they released their own ad (Bean Counter) recently to make that very point.  This ad (like almost all of the "I'm a Mac" ads) is cleverly written and right on point.  I imagine that the anxiety level of the folks in Redmond must continue to rise as they see Macs' market share increase with every passing month, but throwing money away on a pointless ad campaign seems to be the wrong approach.

What do you think?

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The following guest post is from Todd Juneau, a registered patent attorney in Alexandria, Virginia:

I wanted to share a recent experience I had loading Windows on my Mac machines.  In summary, I am very pleased with my Mac/Windows setup.  A few years ago, I switched from Windows to Linux to Mac OS.  After a few years, I wanted to install a law office practice management suite.  Unfortunately, the ones I liked, ran on Windows.  After much research trying to find a "work-around", I tried to load Windows on my various Mac machines.

I used Boot Camp to let me run Windows on my iMac.  It partitions the drive, lets you load Windows XP SP2 (or Vista), and gives you a way to switch OS's by re-booting.  Which (rebooting) by the way is extremely fast.  Apparently, iMac's are very happy running XP; my experience has been the same: fast.  I know that Parallels and other VM software lets you run both OS's at the same time, with fast switching, but I avoided this approach due to concerns I had about having a slow machine.

Once XP SP2 is loaded (you can buy XP SP2 at Best Buy), then you can run all your favorite Windows programs natively.  Of course, you'll need to do all the XP updates (SP3 works well on my iMac) and you'll need to get some antivirus software -- I used ClamWin since it is free and a fast download.  I didn't want my XP exposed to the internet without it - since Windows "announces" itself to networks, viruses can infect exposed machines within minutes, or less.

I'd recommend looking into getting the Mac Mini if you already have a flat screen and keyboard/mouse devices,  Get the bigger one (the bigger Mini), with more memory and better combo-drive.  Then, use your own flat screen, and a wireless keyboard/mouse set up -- check out Logitech EX110 -- it's about $40.  That way, you'll have a "Windows" keyboard, which works well on the Mac OS side, instead of a "Mac" keyboard that is missing some of the special Windows functions -- sound, shortcuts, etc.  It's all so very compact.

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I posted a few weeks ago about an attorney who uses his Mac to create online videos to attract clients.  After reading that post, one of my readers, noted Nashville trial lawyer Eddie Davidson, sent me a link to his website to show me how he used his Mac to create a video to help explain his trial philosophy, "Trial As Story."  What I found unique was how he was able to integrate actual courtroom video in with his Mac-generated video to communicate his message.  I urge you to take a few minutes to click HERE to view Eddie's video, which runs less than three minutes.

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I am heading to Tucson, AZ today to attend the American Bar Association Law Practice Management Section Fall Meeting at the The Westin La Paloma Resort.  I was recently appointed to serve as an advisor to the Technology Core Group and a board member of the Law Practice Today webzine, and both of these groups will hold meetings at this conference.  I have enjoyed my work in the past with the ABA, and I appreciate being asked to serve in these additional capacities. If any of my readers will be at this conference or in the Tucson area between now and Friday, please let me know and perhaps we can meet in person.

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One of the very best websites for those considering switching to Macs is the aptly named Switch To A Mac.  This excellent site has published a ten part series of article that addresses and analyzes virtually every possible question regarding the switch.  I have listed the various topics below, and I recommend that any possible switchers check them out to help with their decision:

1. Part One: Key Questions
2. Part Two: Where To Start?
3. Part Three: What Kind Of User Are You?
4. Part Four: Mac Hardware Benefits and Purchasing
5. Part Five: The Misconception Macs Are Too Expensive
6. Part Six: Learn To Use Mac OS X
7. Part Seven: Easily Use Your Files On A Mac
8. Part Eight: Setup a New Mac 
9. Part Nine: Choose Your Mac
10. Part Ten: Expectations and Mindset
11. Part Eleven: Buying a Mac - Tips and Advice
    

Source:  "How to Switch" series, published at SwitchToAMac.com.

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My good friend, David Swanner, recently published the following list of the top five free iPhone applications for lawyers:

1. Jott for iPhone :: Use this application to turn you iPhone into a powerful voice recorder that turns whatever you say into written notes. Perfect for on-the-go note taking, or transcribing conversations. Simply touch anywhere on the record screen, then tap again to stop recording. Use Jott for iPhone to create to-do lists that can be crossed out with the swipe of a finger and back up your notes on the Jott server for free. Jott is constantly being revised and via your Jott account you can now send hands-free texts and emails as well.
2. Air Sharing for iPhone :: This application allows you to take any of your documents with you on the go. View Word, Excel, jpegs, and much more at the touch of a button. Air Sharing for iPhone makes flash drives a thing of the past--and you get to view to the document on demand. The application is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux, and uses included software to transfer files straight to your phone without having to connect your iPhone to your computer at all, hence the Air Sharing name. Upload files quickly and easily to your iPhone for fast and easy access.
3. Remote Desktop Lite :: Especially convenient for users of Microsoft XP Professional, Remote Desktop Lite allows you to access your work computer from your iPhone. The application runs off of wiFi, or the phone's network, and is fully secure. With this and other applications, the need to lug your laptop around is virtually eliminated. Set up your iPhone to use your remote desktop and see everything on your computer, just on a smaller screen. The setup and use of the program is simple and quick, and keeps you in touch with everything you need from your home or office computer.
4. Evernote :: Now you can take your note taking to a new level with Evernote for iPhone. Type in text, take a snapshot, or record your voice to add to your notes. This excellent tool ensures that you get the most amount of information recorded as possible, so you have everything you need when you return to the application. The best thing about this application is that once you set up your free Evernote account, you can access the pictures, text, and sound recordings from any computer or web-enabled mobile device, in addition to your iPhone. Since it is web-based, you never have to worry about losing your notes again--they'll always be backed up.
5. iProcrastinate :: Don't let the name fool you. This software is an excellent task management tool for people who are constantly moving. Let the application keep you on track and manage your time more wisely with iProcrastinate. Rather than having a whole lot of fluffed-up features, iProcrastinate is intuitively written and is extremely easy to use. You can use it for the simplest to the most daunting of scheduling tasks with the greatest of ease. Color-code your schedule for ease of locating what you need, when you need it. This is an amazing tool that will help keep your mind at ease when you need to know what's coming next.

Of course, you can find out more about these applications at the links above or by visiting the Apple App Store.  My readers are also invited to submit comments with their own favorite iPhone apps.

Source:  "Top 5 iPhone G3 Applications for Lawyers" by Kelly Kilpatrick, published at David Swanner's South Carolina Trial Law Blog.

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Have you heard of Wordle?  If not, you may want to check it out.  Wordle generates "word clouds" from text that you provide, with these clouds giving greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text.  You can "wordle" selected text, a whole document, or an entire website / blog. 

In addition to just be a cool toy to play with, I think that Wordle can be an effective tool for attorneys interested in analyzing specific documents.  For instance, if a personal injury attorney sends a demand letter to an insurance adjuster, he might be interested in first seeing what the focus of the letter is from the word cloud produced.

When I plugged in The Mac Lawyer, it produced the following word cloud:

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As my readers are aware, I presented two seminars at the ABA TechShow 2008 this past March in Chicago.  One was "How Lawyers Practice Law and Serve Clients with Macs -- Really!" which I co=presented with Jeff Richardson.  Our written materials from that session were recently republished in the September 2008 Law Practice Today webzine, as follows:

While most lawyers are wedded to the PC, these two lawyers enumerate the advantages of the Mac, for work, for home, and for the pure enjoyment of it.

For over a decade, every one of the hundreds of press releases issued by Apple has ended by noting that "Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh." Apple's critical role in the early days of personal computers is beyond debate, but for a period of time in the 1990s, Apple seemed to have lost its way. Its computer lineup was confusing, its market share reached an all time low, the company's stock price fell to $5 a share (in current share prices), and Dell CEO Michael Dell famously quipped that if he owned Apple, "I'd shut it down and give the money back to the shareholders." 

Since then, the company has had a resurgence. Apple's computers and software have received rave reviews, its market share is at the highest point since the Mac was first introduced in 1984, Apple has taken over the digital music market with the ubiquitous iPod, the company is already a formidable presence in the cell phone market with the iPhone introduced just last year, and at the time of this writing (January of 2008) Apple's stock price has risen to over $200 a share.

With a record number of people now switching from PCs to Macs, the question for lawyers is: should you switch too? And if you do, should you maybe just switch for your home computer, or also for your office as well? Most importantly, what do you gain and what do you lose by making the switch?

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The following guest post is from Gerry Oginski, a Mac-using medical malpractice & personal injury trial lawyer in Great Neck, New York:

As the internet has taken hold and more lawyers have recognized the benefits of marketing online, one marketing tool is defining the standard of advertising on the web. Online videos. It is the newest, hottest tool available for lawyers to communicate their message on the web. Admittedly, attorney videos are one-way communication, but they offer significant advantages over every other advertising medium.

Most attorneys have failed to understand the true value of video and how it can improve their chances of a potential client calling them over their competitor. Legal marketing experts agree that the sooner you start to see the value of video marketing, the sooner you'll see the results. Legal marketing expert Larry Bodine recently commented that putting video on your website is "...a great opportunity to present how you look, how you talk, what you're like, and make yourself more attractive to clients. It's a great business-getting technique." The key to encouraging a website visitor to call you, is with video. Static websites and fancy graphics just do not cut it any more, and fail to distinguish yourself from your competitor. Tom Foster, CEO of Foster Web Marketing says "If you get in early by putting video on your website, you can take advantage of good search placement on the video search engines."

If you thought that internet video was for the MTV crowd, you'd be wrong. If you thought that video for your website was only for geeky techno-lawyers, you'd be wrong too. If you thought that putting a video of yourself online was useless, you'd definitely be wrong. In fact, Google thinks you're so wrong that they recently paid one billion dollars to buy a video sharing site called YouTube. To give you an idea about the reach that internet video has, consider a ten minute video clip by comedian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham: his video has been viewed over 60 million times. Most attorney videos are viewed in the hundreds of times, but it shows the potential that video has. Plus, if done correctly, does not cost you anything more if it is watched 100 times or 100,000 times.

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Daniel Coolidge is an intellectual property attorney in Unity, New Hampshire, and he is a recent convert from PC to Mac.  What might make his conversion more meaningful to you is the fact that he also has a degree in computer engineering.  Dan recently published "One Lawyer's Journey from the Dark Side: Leaving Microsoft and Learning to Love the Mac" in the September 2008 ABA Technology eReport.

His article explains the reasons for his "conversion," many of which are the same as other attorneys who have made the switch.  Dan said, "I type my own documents, and I used to live with an almost constant subliminal rage.  I referred to it as the wheel-spinning ratio: the ratio of time trying to fix something on the computer over productive time."  He said that Vista was the straw that broke the camel's back and made him realize that "there had to be a better way."

He summarized his conversion experience as follows:  "And what was most delightful to me was, the longer I used the Mac, the lower became my background level of rage. The Mac just worked. The wheel-spinning ratio dropped nearly to zero. For the first time in years, the computer had become a delightful tool, aesthetically pleasing and regularly useful."

Well said, Dan, and welcome to the fold.  I hope that you'll share more of your Mac experiences with us in the future.

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