The Illinois Trial Practice Weblog

Netbook Computers: A Growing Trend

Are netbook computers are better-suited to college students than bigshot lawyers? Maybe so, but they've evolved to the point where they'll do what most lawyers would want them to do.

If you're looking for a small computer for short trips, you should at least give the growing line of netbook (or "subnotebook") computers a look--just make sure your fingers fit the keyboard!

Some netbook choices--

• The EE PC by Asus;
• The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 Laptop;
• The HP Mini 100 Series;
• The Acer Aspire One;
• The Lenovo Ideapad S Series;
• The MSI Wind Netbook.

To learn more, see PC Magazine's "Netbook Buying Guide."

News for Illinois Lawyers: the ISBA Website, Redesigned

The Illinois State Bar Association wants you to know that it has redesigned its website--

We’ve redesigned our Web site to improve its usability and appearance. The presentation of the home page and navigation has been dramatically simplified so that you can find what you’re looking for much faster.

The home page now better highlights the Daily Legal News links, ISBA News, and ISBA CLE offerings. Check the site daily to get the most current scoop regarding what’s going on in the legal field around Illinois and around the country.

The redesigned website also includes a link to Fastcase, an online legal research tool that's free with your ISBA membership.

For more details about the redesign, including additional new features that haven't yet been rolled out, look here.

Tech Tips for Taking Your Law Firm on the Road

Thanks to a variety of Internet-power tools -- some free, some not -- it's easier than ever to work from the road, even outside the country like I'm doing this month in Argentina.

My trip wouldn't have been possible without Skype, which works nearly flawlessly and cuts down phone costs from about $5 per minute to just two cents. To make my set-up just like the speakerphone in my office, I use a Polycom C100S, which is designed to work with Skype and automatically removes all echo from the calls.

Some other tools to consider--

• Reliable Wi-Fi is a necessity, and it's easier to find than ever. Here's a helpful article from PC Magazine: "Access Everywhere: The Definitive Guide to Wi-Fi."
• Here in Buenos Aires, there are wireless networks everywhere, all of them free. When you are traveling outside the U.S. to a place like this, don't forget to bring your iPhone: as long as you turn data roaming off and rely exclusively on wireless, you can get your email and browse the Internet without any extra charges. See these tips from AT&T: "iPhone Tips for International Roamers." Thanks to the ubiquitous wi-fi in Buenos Aires, my iPhone is keeping me connected even when I'm walking on the street.
• Another useful service is MyFax.com, which allows me to receive all my faxes via email. There are many similar services. When I get important mail, my secretary simply faxes it to me, and it shows up on my iPhone or computer as a scanned document.
• Although I'm not completely set up to work "in the cloud" -- the new term for software that resides online -- I get a lot of use out of Google Calendar and Google Notebook. The information that I've stored there travels with me wherever I am. Meanwhile, there are a number of other useful Internet-based application that I haven't tried yet, but which sound very useful. Take a look at this amazing article from PC Magazine to get an idea: "My Week in the Computing Cloud," by Kyle Monson.

Finally, after I'm done working, I can stay connected to the news back home -- the presidential race, the stock market crash (or giant bounce, depending on the day) -- by hooking into my TV at home using Slingbox. It's inexpensive, works without a hitch, and allows me to watch the Daily Show every evening. Not bad!

Litigation-Related Software Reviews, for Free

A new site, litiReviews, collects and compiles reviews of litigation-related software that you can browse for free. From the site--

Welcome to LitiReviews, the largest collection of free legal and litigation software reviews on the web.  All reviews (150+) are full-text, and have been published in legal magazines, journals, websites and blogs. LitiReview links to copies of reviews available on the internet, or hosted by us at the author's request.

The site also has an RSS feed, if you want to be notified of new reviews in an RSS reader.

Dictation in the 21st Century: What You Need to Know

Here's a useful article from Law.com: "Legal Dictation Needs to Talk Digital," by Enrico Schaefer--

Lawyers have traditionally dictated documents such as pleadings, correspondence and memos.

But today, with digital software, we can use dictation to manage our firms, matters and extranets.

We can dictate documents from airport lounges, and within minutes those files are being typed by support staff and sent on their way via our Web mail account.

In the article, Schaefer tells you how to give up those tiny mini-cassettes in favor of more efficient digital solutions, using a PC, a hand-held device, or a cellphone. The article contains links to all the latest and greatest 21st-century dictation devices.

Filing Online in Illinois: Not Quite Ready for Primetime

From the Krane County Chronicle: "Online court filings in the future," by Kate Thayer--

The state’s high court wants to make filing cases and court documents easier with an initiative that would allow lawyers to file online.

The “E-Business” initiative would provide a uniform system for all of Illinois’ 23 judicial circuits for court filings, said Joe Tybor, Illinois Supreme Court spokesman.

“It means lawyers won’t have to make a trip to the courthouse,” he said, adding that would cut costs to clients.

It's a great idea that works great in federal court. For Illinois state court lawyers, though, online filing is going to take some time to implement. According to Tybor, it will be "three to five years," because Illinois counties are not all on the same software for filing cases.

Original link from the the ISBA Trial Practice Update.

Resources for Backing Up Online

From PC World, an article of interest to solos: "Mobile Computing: Online Backup Services."

Most traditional backup methods copy your computer files onto some kind of media, be it an external hard drive, a CD or DVD, or a USB keychain drive. These methods are convenient and quick, and many (particularly external hard drives and DVDs) offer plenty of inexpensive storage space.

The problem is that most of the time, most people keep the external hard drives and DVDs in the same office or building as the computer they're backing up. So, should a disaster--hurricane, earthquake, fire--occur, both the computer and the data backup could be destroyed. ...

That's why I'm a firm believer in online backup services, which save your most critical computer files on a secure, off-site server over the Internet. If you've backed up regularly online, you may lose your computer in a disaster or to a theft, but at least your key files will survive.

The catch? As is explained in the article, backing up online is expensive.

Thanks to Celia Elwell for the link.

All the Online Reference Sites You'll Ever Need

Here's an article to bookmark from the newsletter of the ABA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division: "Sites For Sore Eyes: Fun and Handy Reference Sites That Rock!" by Jim Calloway and Courtney Kennaday--

It’s not all about Google, people! There actually are websites that make your search easier and give you better results than the wild hits search engines often produce.

There are a number of references sites listed in the article, but the recommendation of Refdesk.com -- a site I didn't know about -- is one you definitely shouldn't miss. Thanks to Celia Elwell for the link.

The Paperless Office Wiki: Everything You Need to Know

Everything you need to know about "paperless offices" for law firms is now contained at a wiki created by Christinne Newman, Philip Devin , and Kim Ross-Winston. The intro--

The intent of this wiki is to provide you, the end user, with valuable information that may aid you in understanding a paperless office. Specifically, we touched on basic concepts such as the meaning, historical background, philosophy, pros and cons, technology, costs, tips, how-to-links and the like. Because we are not experts in this field and our knowledge of this topic is minuscule, we have conducted extensive research and evaluated online information sources to provide you with the most authoriative, objective, reliable, timely, and extensive coverage on the topic of the paperless office.   

There's lots of good information, including tips about hardware, software, and cost.

Related paperless-office posts from the Illinois Trial Practice Weblog:

1. "Do Away with Paper Entirely? Not Me"    
2. "Notes on a Paperless Office by Ernest Svenson"    
3. "One More About the Paperless Law Office"
4. "The Paperless Law Office: A Report from the Trenches"
5. "The Paperless Office: How-To."

E-Filing Resources for Newbies

Those who don't practice regularly in federal court might still be in the dark about e-filing. Some resources:

• The ABA's Electronic Filing Resource Page contains some basic information about state and federal e-filing systems, as well as a list of vendors and helpful links;
• The ABA's page of Electronic Filing Court Rules will be helpful to any lawyer with a national practice who needs quick links to e-filing instructions throughout the country;
• The Electronic Public Access page of the federal judiciary can help with new or forgotten PACER accounts or passwords.

Thanks to Celia C. Elwell, a paralegal in Oklahoma City, for these links. In Illinois, e-filing is underway in pilot programs in Cook, DuPage, and Will counties. Information here.