Author:

JenniferI am an attorney and businesswoman experienced in showing firms and professional organizations how to apply Law Practice Management tools pragmatically, efficiently and cost-effectively. I also help attorneys establish a Social Media presence for their firms and better understand how Social Media can impact the growth and development of their practice.

Am I now a cyborg?

Posted by Jennifer – May 17, 2012

Alfred Hitchcock

 

So…the other day I developed a craving for a book I had when I was a child. Now, my parents loved to read as do I, and my father really loved to read short story anthologies from Hitchcock, Bradbury, and the like. Since I read what was around, this meant that as a child I read all sorts of crazy books, none of which were really age appropriate.  I also read encyclopedias, but I digress. The book I wanted is a nice, thick volume containing a lot of old-fashioned short horror stories.

I used to have hundreds, maybe a thousand books, but due to a mold issue I had to get rid of most of them years ago. I was slowly buying new books, but the day came when I realized I might as well just switch to e-books. Now I own very few traditional books, and it is a rare night that fails to see me pick up my Kindle, turn off the lights, and happily read for a while.  As it happens, the last regular book I read was the one I reviewed on law office technology and that is hardly bed time reading.

Anyway, it turned out the book is not available in electronic format so I had to actually buy it and wait for it to come in the mail. It arrived yesterday and since I was up early this morning I thought I would read a chapter or two. With the lights off I picked up the book and started to read. As I tried to read in the dark I found myself extremely confused as to why I couldn’t read the words. It was then that I realized that books do not have back-lights. I shook my head, sighed at myself and thought, gee, people will find this funny, I should post about it on Facebook.

Hmmf.

YouTube has simplified its embedding and removal of related videos

Posted by Jennifer – May 16, 2012

No long ago I wrote a post showing how to avoid advertising for other law firms when you embed video from YouTube on your website, on Facebook, or in a blog post.

YouTube automatically provides related videos when you embed a video and those related videos often include your competition. This is obviously something you want to avoid. The directions I provided will still work for some older videos, but a lot of newer videos now use a different code and require a different methodology to remove related videos. Fortunately the new process is actually easier.

The first step is to go to the video you want to share. Scroll down and you will see an icon that reads “share” It looks like this:

 

Once you have clicked on Share you will see a link with the option to Embed. That looks like this.

 

 

Click on Embed to see your options.

 

 

Make sure the option “Show suggested videos when the video finishes” is not checked. As you can see, you can also easily adjust the size or choose other options as well. Once you are ready, copy the code and paste it where you want to embed the video.

LawPay working with PBA

Posted by Jennifer – May 16, 2012

When Ellen and I needed to choose a credit card processing company, the choice ended up being quite easy. We decided to go with LawPay. Even before we decided to offer credit cards for Freedman Consulting, LawPay was our number one recommendation. The reason for this is that LawPay, being a lawyer specific company, understands all of the ethical requirements of attorneys. It is easy to make a mistake with trust accounting and a credit card, so a company that knows the rules is crucial. I also found the individual with whom I was connected quite pleasing. My contact is named Lloyd Blaine. If you contact him, tell him I said hey.

The sign up process takes some time, as it does with any credit card company, but once you are set, the relationship goes quite smoothly. I know this, because I have had absolutely no reason to contact LawPay since we completed the process.

You can imagine then, that I was pleased to hear that the Pennsylvania Bar Association has formed a relationship with LawPay, offering a special rate to PBA members. Check it out on the LawPay website.

Office 365 – A Quick Explanation

Posted by Jennifer – May 16, 2012

I’m a big fan of Microsoft’s cloud based exchange, offered through the service it calls Office 365. It isn’t perfect, but once you get it set up properly (and overlooking the rule limitation issue I discussed previously) I find it to be an excellent service.

Ben Schorr gives a nice summary of the options available through Office 365. Check it out here.

Book Recommendation – ABA Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide

Posted by Jennifer – May 9, 2012

My colleagues and friends of many years, Sharon Nelson and John Simek wrote a book with Michael Maschke called “Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide – Critical decisions made simple.” The book is put out by the American Bar Association.

Upon my request, Sharon sent me a copy of the book shortly after it was published. I recently finished reading it and now I’d like to share my thoughts with you.

Very simply, if you have questions about how to make technology decisions for your firm, this book is a great place to start. The guide provides solid and unbiased advice on the best choices for hardware and software, and looks at topics including: how to securely access data when you are out of the office; smartphones; social media; case management; and protecting your office from malware and spam.

The book is well written and easy to read and understand, even if you don’t know much about technology. Since I know Sharon and John, I have no doubt that the advice they provide is on the up-and-up.

So, if you plan on making some technology decisions this year, or simply want to stay on top of what law firms are (and should be) using these days. Plunk down the $89.95 and check it out.