The Busy Lawyer’s Guide to Legal Technology

The day will consist of the following presentations:

9:00am - 10:00am    Essential Law Office Technology: Key Technologies and Services
Technology advances quickly and it's not easy (or impossible) to keep up with it while also trying to practice law and manage a practice. This seminar will define and explain the technologies that can help any lawyer solve problems, improve client service and make life easier. Learn about the essential software, hardware and services that can help you protect client confidentiality, organize case information, manage your practice more efficiently and improve profitability.

10:00am - 10:10am    Break

10:10am - 11:10am    Champagne Technology on a Beer Budget
Believe it or not, you can get great technology on a tight budget. However, some things are too important to let cost be your most important decision variable. Whether you’re ready to start a firm or overhaul your firm’s existing technology, this seminar gives you a legal technology roadmap with a focus on keeping the costs as low as possible. We’ll cover everything from low cost accounting and case management systems, how to lower printing costs, computer configurations, security and encryption options, VoIP phone systems, and more. We will also help you prioritize your purchases so you’ll know what to focus on. You literally can’t afford to miss this seminar.

11:10am - 11:20am    Break

11:20am -12:20pm    The Evolution of Speech Recognition Software--You Won’t Believe How Good It Has Become
Lawyers have to draft pleadings and documents, capture time entries in accounting software, respond to emails, and enter case-related information into a file (or case management system). All of those things typically involve a keyboard, and unfortunately, many lawyers just aren’t good typists. Years ago, it was common for support staff to handle such things. But today, a high percentage of lawyers have limited or no access to support staff simply due to the cost. As a result, today’s lawyers have to be far more self-reliant in the generation of work product. Thankfully, speech recognition technology can resolve these issues. You talk, and the software types exactly what you’re saying. This technology can be used for automatic transcription, time entries, and any drafting task without ever touching the keyboard. Speech recognition has definitely arrived, and this seminar shows you how it works and what you need to incorporate it into your practice. We’ll focus on the popular Dragon Legal version 16 software application.

12:20pm -1:00pm    Lunch Break

1:00pm - 2:00pm    Communication Breakdown - It's Always The Same (But It's Avoidable)
A high percentage of malpractice practice claims and practice management problems are caused by communication breakdowns. Communication problems create dissatisfied clients, decrease productivity, cause conflict internally and externally. The growing number of communication channels only compounds the problem. We'll explain technologies and techniques that will help you improve communication, lower your stress, improve your service, generate happier clients, and lower your malpractice risk.

2:00pm - 2:10pm    Break   

2:10pm - 3:10pm   Security Is A Team Sport - Simple, Easy Tech Security Measures Every Lawyer Should Consider
Rule 1.6 stipulates that a lawyer must make reasonable efforts to prevent the disclosure of confidential client information. The comments to Rule 1.6 require lawyers to act competently to safeguard client information, and use reasonable safety precautions when transmitting a client communication. The exact meanings of "reasonable efforts," "act competently" and "reasonable precautions" may be subject to debate. However, doing nothing certainly won't meet the standard. The good news is that you don't have to be a security expert or techie to protect yourself and your office. Learn how to cover all the bases of computer, smartphone, tablet, email, wireless and document encryption. We'll also cover the fundamentals of backing up your electronic data. Half of the battle is simply knowing what questions to ask and it's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. Establish best practices in your office and discover the inexpensive or free tools that will make sure your confidential information remains confidential.

3:10pm - 3:20 pm    Break

3:20pm - 4:20pm    How To Protect Yourself and Preserve Confidentiality When Negotiating Documents Via Email
Opposing lawyers routinely email versions of a document back and forth during the negotiation process; and many instruments are never reduced to paper until they’re ready to sign. This approach is unquestionably fast and convenient compared to mailing or faxing paper documents. However, electronic document exchange presents many issues that practitioners need to be aware of and risks to protect against. In this seminar, you'll learn when it's appropriate to use word processor files and when it's appropriate to use PDFs. We'll cover how to track your changes in a document and how to ascertain what changes were made by others (even if there are attempts to conceal those changes). You'll also learn how to add comments and annotations to Word or PDF files, how to lock documents down to prevent further changes, and how to avoid including hidden (and potentially damaging) information in the files you're working with (this hidden information is known as metadata). Finally, using plain email arguably affords you no reasonable expectation of privacy. We'll also discuss your email encryption options which ensure that only the intended recipient can open your emails and/or attachments thereto.

Speaker:
Barron Henley, Esq., Owner, Affinity Consulting Group