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I can never figure out what to do when I receive a MicroSoft Publisher document. Publisher has no Mac or Linux equivalent and, unlike most other programs, there is no conversion available. The best solution one can come up with is to find a way to convert the Publisher file to pdf. A little searching came up with PDF Online. The site is covered with ads; but it does what it says it will; i.e., convert the Publisher file I uploaded and email it back to me as a pdf attachment. There was no charge. You can’t ask for more than that.

Legal Ease Blog: Do Something! Review your client list - is it time to weed out some clients?

Another Excellent Short Practice Piece By Allison C. Shields:

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Do you have some some clients that you would rather not work with? Do you cringe when you know a particular client is on the telephone or wants to schedule a meeting with you? Do you have clients that consistently fail to see the value of the work that you do? Are some of your clients uncooperative? Do you have clients that fail to pay their bills on time? Do some of your clients question everything you’re doing? Do you have clients that are disrespectful to your or your staff? Do you avoid some clients because their work is boring or outside of your comfort zone?

If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, it may be time for you to fire a client or two.

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For the entire article click here.

PLoL Offers Free Case Law Online

The March 18 New York Law Journal carried a short piece on a new website, the Public Library of Law (PLoL for short), which purports to be the largest collection of free case law anywhere. Here’s a rip from their main page:

Searching the Web is easy. Why should searching the law be any different? That’s why Fastcase has created the Public Library of Law — to make it easy to find the law online. PLoL is the largest free law library in the world, because we assemble law available for free scattered across many different sites — all in one place. PLoL is the best starting place to find law on the Web.What is available on PLoL?Cases from the U.S. Supreme Court and Courts of Appeals

Cases from all 50 states back to 1997

Federal statutory law and codes from all 50 states

Regulations, court rules, constitutions, and more!

PLoL also includes free links to paid content on Fastcase. PLoL is already the Web’s largest free law library, but with additional links from Fastcase, it is one of the most comprehensive law libraries in the world.Check out the site at www.plol.org.

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The above post is courtesy of our fellow section blogger, Paul Gillan, whoseSupraspinatus (health law) blog is worth a place on your favorites, bookmarks, andfeeds.

Economic Stimulus Payments Information Center

Updated March 10, 2008

Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million households. To receive a payment, taxpayers must have a valid Social Security number, $3,000 of income and file a 2007 federal tax return. IRS will take care of the rest. Eligible people will receive up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples), and parents will receive an additional $300 for each eligible child younger than 17. Millions of retirees, disabled veterans and low-wage workers who usually are exempt from filing a tax return must do so this year in order to receive a stimulus payment.

But there are more details to know about. Find out more here and visit this page regularly for the latest updates.

Legal Ease Blog: Do Something! Review Your Retainer Agreement

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Aside from your jurisdiction’s ethical rules, the single most important document that defines your relationship with your client is your retainer agreement or engagement letter. When was the last time you reviewed your agreement?

Here are some essential elements to include in your retainer agreement:

1. Scope of work: Does your agreement accurately and specifically reflect the work you will perform for the client (and the work you won’t perform under the agreement?) If you’re retained for a litigation matter, does your retainer agreement include working on an appeal? Does preparation of a will for a client include a health care proxy, living will and durable power of attorney, or are will those services require a separate agreement (and a separate fee)?

2. A time limitation. Don’t leave yourself open for problems with clients that fail to return your retainer agreement. Your agreement should state specifically that the provisions contained within it (including the fee) are only valid if the agreement iss signed within a specific period of time (i.e. 2 weeks. one month, etc.) Make it clear that if the agreement (and retainer fee) are not received within that period of time, you are not obligated to represent the client.

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Read the rest of this retainer review at Legal Ease Blog and for help reviewing your retainer agreement and/or other forms or procedures in your office, feel free to contact Allison Shields, the author.

 

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This author does the best job of anybody I’ve seen lately at writing clear, concise, super-useful, practical, articles for solos and small firms. 

 

Rocketmatter

Here’s a Case Management System, which is entirely web-based.

With Rocket Matter, your calendar, contact, and billing information is:

secured on routinely updated enterprise level servers

stored in a highly secured facility where several municipalities maintain mission critical systems

placed on a network monitored by security experts 24 hours a day

available to you anytime, anyplace via encrypted connections

backed-up daily to comply with malpractice standards

Early adopters will receive a signing bonus; i.e., a discounted rate of $50.00 per month per lawyer and $15.00 per month per staff person.

Check out their blog for more info.

 

Billing for Lawyers-Update

I have used TimeSlips for many years. Even though my Mac version was “orphaned” 9 years and two corporate owners ago, it just keeps chugging along. The PC version is updated regularly. Sage owns the product now and sells a host of complimentary and supplementary programs.You can see a free demo online and download a free trial here. At $499.00 TimeSlips is more expensive than it was when I bought it about 16 years ago. TimeSlips operates on the basic model of filling in all of your information on an electronic time slip. The program has more flexibility than anything else I’ve seen. You can enter time in any units..keep running time or enter episodically (for those who bill monthly-when they can get to it)…the program also can be used for flat fees and the new “value billing” if you wish to bill without using an hourly rate. You can keep track of multiple lawyers and paralegals, all at different rates for each person or for each client. The invoice templates are quite good and you can customize with your own graphics. You can charge interest; e.g., 9% after 30 days. You can add messages to the invoices, including aged balances. You can round off to minimum time units.The time slips are fully searchable and the program can provide reports on who you are billing and how much. I find the historical reports useful to classify clients into A, B, C, or D…you can see who the time wasters are and get rid of them on an objective basis. The only draw back I see to TimeSlips is the initial learning curve is higher than for some other programs, which do much less. The Mac version is easier to learn. The PC version has training materials available, along with seminars. Take a look at the free demo and see what you think. Your choice may depend on who will be using it and how “user-friendly” they think it is. Here are some shareware and open source programs. Another possibility would be web-based invoicing. These systems are usually fairly easy to use, require no particular software be purchased, operate on a subscription basis, and are simple enough for staff or lawyers. Here are some examples: BillingOrchard can be used with BaseCamp, a contact/knowledge management program, or on its own. Blinksale is another online billing program. If your bookkeeper is using an Intuit program, such as QuikBooks, you should consider using their online timekeeping and invoicing system. Finally, if you use HotDocs…LexisBackOffice–PCLaw can use the data entered into HotDocs to do your billing. This is the most expensive of what I’ve mention ($700.00 and up); but it is the most widely-used legal billing program in the PC world. Try the demo and see what you think.

Women Lawyers–Back on Track

The ubiquitous Nicole Black has another very interesting blawg. Her goal is to provide women lawyers with resources and information about the legal field and to explore how they do/can happily and successfully fit into it.

To that end she’ll be aggregating articles relating to women in the legal profession and will provide a weekly round up of relevant and interesting posts from the legal blogosphere as well.

Nicole will post her own commentary on issues surrounding women lawyers in the form of a video blog (vlog) once each week.

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Hat Tip to LegalEase Blog.

Flexadex

Flexadex Online Address Book

It’s an application that runs right in your web browser.No downloading required.It’s FREE.Access your addresses, contacts, or whatever other infoyou choose to store here, from anywhere in the world.You can store up to 1000 entries, for FREE.It has intuitive functionality, with no frivolous features to slow you down.It’s fast… AND it’s flexible.Sign up for your own Flexadex.

Try the demo.

ePrintable.com

FREE Printable Calendars : Printable Custom Calendar from ePrintable.com

ePrintable.com is a website where you can generate printable weekly planners and monthly and yearly calendars for free. With just a few clicks you will be able to personalize these calendars by adding an image and any text you’d like. Just select the calendar type and choose from their collection of pre-selected images and quotes, click the button, and your printable 2008 calendar is ready to be printed out! Don’t forget to bookmark this site if you like it!