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Home » Technology
DATA SECURITY

Are you following these 8 steps for law office cybersecurity?

December 25, 2022 by

Cybersecurity is a critical issue for your law office, as you handle sensitive and confidential information on a daily basis. This includes client data, legal documents, and financial records. A breach of this information could have serious consequences, including financial losses, damage to reputation, and legal liability. How does your office stack up against these eight basic recommendations for law office cybersecurity? Network security: Law offices should have secure networks that are protected by firewalls and regularly updated with the latest security patches. They should also have a virtual private network (VPN) in place to encrypt internet traffic and protect it from being intercepted by hackers. Device security: All devices connected to the network, including laptops, smartphones, and tablets, should have strong passwords and be equipped with up-to-date antivirus software…. . . . read more

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TELEWORK

Still managing remote staff? 8 tips to do it better

December 24, 2022 by

As lawyers continue to drag their feet about returning to work at the office, many legal support staff also want to continue to work remotely. Unless your law office is taking a hard stance about working on the premises, it’s likely you will continue to supervise some of your team from afar. While managing a remote workforce can present its own set of challenges, it can also be a highly effective way for law offices to expand their reach and attract top talent. So let’s review some tips for effective management of remote law office staff. Clearly communicate expectations: One of the key challenges of managing a remote workforce is ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals. It is important to clearly communicate… . . . read more

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TECHNOLOGY

6 tips for choosing legal practice management software

December 3, 2022 by

By Diane Camacho There continues to be a tremendous push in the legal community from practice management software companies. This has evolved from the use of cloud-based software. What should practice management software do for you? Keep all your client information in one place. Keep all your information available to you on the go. Allow you to enter your information one time for all applications. Provide document automation. Provide document management. Efficiently track your time and produce bills. Either produce financial reports or sync with a financial management platform like QuickBooks. From my experience in the legal community and particularly working with small firms and solo practitioners, I’ve accumulated the following tips on legal practice management software. Tip 1 Each of these programs have a sweet spot. Some do billing… . . . read more

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REMOTE WORK

Digital presenteeism: Faking you care, faking you’re even there

November 17, 2022 by

By Lynne Curry A surprising number of employees, determined to hold on to their “work from home” status and aware that managers and others suspect remote employees of working less than their required hours, practice digital presenteeism. Digital presenteeism involves remote employees demonstrating they’re hard workers by responding to additional emails, attending additional meetings, and contributing comments in every meeting. According to a recent job trends report, the average remote employee works 67 additional minutes daily in an effort to convince managers they’re fully engaged in their jobs, https://www.flexjobs.com/remote-jobs/company/talentwise. The same report reveals that a record 85% of managers find it difficult to know for sure if their remote employees are productive. The problem—these actions erode morale and don’t equate with higher productivity. Said one mid-level manager who called me this… . . . read more

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PRODUCTIVITY

Voice technology can give you an extra set of hands

August 17, 2022 by

By Philips Dictation From robotics to augmented reality and beyond, the growing prominence of technology’s role in business has been fascinating. But there is also concern that some types of technology, such as AI, may threaten people’s jobs by performing functions or even “thinking” as humans do. However, the reality is that the development of AI-related technologies, especially speech-to-text, is designed to complement human work—not replace it. There are many ways the rising popularity and adoption of speech-to-text help enhance workflows and make the day easier and more enjoyable for employees in all kinds of roles. Utilizing advanced voice solutions also helps prepare employees for future technological evolution in the workplace, keeping them on the leading edge with desirable, transferrable skills. For support staff, this is a win-win, as evidenced by these key benefits… . . . read more

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HUMAN RESOURCES

5 ways to help your staff cope with inflation

July 21, 2022 by

By Paul Edwards CEO, CEDR  Solutions Inflation is on everyone’s minds right now, and understandably so. Most Americans are aware that the purchasing power of a dollar is always decreasing to some degree, but rarely does the rise in the cost of living have such a powerful impact on our daily lives or feature so prominently in the public discourse. As you may already know, financial pressure on American consumers reached an all-time high this year. Based on The Consumer Price Index—the best-known indicator of inflation—inflation rose to 8.6 percent in the 12 months ending in May 2022, marking the most extreme spike in that figure in over 40 years. The Impact of Inflation on You and Your Team Employees are justifiably concerned by this sudden and dramatic hike in the cost… . . . read more

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PRODUCTIVITY

4 ways to use voice technology to save time

July 21, 2022 by

The expectations from today’s business professionals continue to increase with an ever-changing modern world. Heaps of documentation and document creation needs add on to often already heavy workloads. Yet, there is limited to no help managing administrative tasks. As a busy office manager, there are always work processes to be improved, time to gain, and more efficient ways to bring to screen and paper what needs to be documented. When handling our day-to-day work, we often don’t think of how we could work more efficiently and are caught up in outdated processes. We try to create our documents the most straightforward way we know—by typing them ourselves. But what if you could make a small change that could be a huge time saver? As suggested by Phillips Dictation SpeechLive, here… . . . read more

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TECHNOLOGY

A primer on document management systems

June 29, 2022 by

Are you wondering how to modernize your office’s system of managing documents?  A document management system, or DMS, refers to the tools and processes your organization uses to store and manage documents. A modern DMS will often provide robust search capabilities, metadata tagging, access controls, and increased security processes to protect files. NetDocument, a cloud content management platform where legal professionals do work, offers this primer document management systems: In the past, document management meant a combination of filing cabinets, boxes, shelves, folders, binders, scanners, thousands upon thousands of printed pages, and designated square footage in the office to hold it all. Document management has evolved to align with today’s digital workplace by storing electronic  files and documents either in an on-premises or cloud-based DMS. These tools bring with them… . . . read more

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PRODUCTIVITY

Artificial intelligence can boost billable hours

June 7, 2022 by

Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents one of the latest advances in legal technology. Rather than replacing attorneys and support staff, AI can help lawyers and other legal professionals do more to serve their clients with greater efficiency and less expense. Teaching computers to learn One significant advantage of employing AI is the ability of machines to learn tasks that previously required the time and effort of lawyers, according to a blog by SMI Aware, a social media evidence collection and preservation service. Likewise, AI enhances the ability of lawyers to extract pertinent case information by directly typing a query in a search field—or directing the machine to perform a given task. Of course, before computers can perform these tasks, they must be “taught” to do so by humans. Connecting various concepts, such as… . . . read more

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STAFF MEETINGS

Zoom hiders: Camera shy or disengaged?

May 19, 2022 by

By Lynne Curry Question: For our mandatory manager meetings, I show up on time so my attendance is noted, and then get through the meetings by multi-tasking. It’s easy enough to hear what’s said as I get other work done. I cover this up by always making a positive comment on at least one of the manager’s proposals. I leave my video off, though, and when the manager chastised me, I compromised by turning it on at the beginning, saying “hi” to everyone, and turning it on anything important is happening, and when I’m speaking. I thought this was a reasonable compromise, so imagine my shock when my manager said my leaving the camera off was a key reason I wasn’t one of the three managers being sent to a… . . . read more

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