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Greetings!
April is an under-rated month. It gets lost in the gap between winter and spring. April can be wet and stormy. But it is also a bridge to the warmer weather that leads to May's flowers, June's weddings and graduations, and July's vacations.
April is also Records and Information Management Month. It was created in 1995 by a not-for-profit professional association consisting of records managers, archivists, corporate librarians, imaging specialists, legal professionals, IT managers, consultants, and educators to focus attention on the importance of document and information management. Maintaining, protecting, and preserving your client and firm documents and information is not only a sound business practice, for law firms it is an ethical imperative.
In this month's newsletter, we cover a broad range of law office technology topics that are central to the documents and data you create, preserve, and protect. Included are our regular Microsoft Word tip, an important announcement concerning an incompatibility between PCLaw and the newest version of Internet Explorer, Amicus 2008 to Amicus 2011 upgrade discounts, and a reminder to attend the ABA TECHSHOW 2011.
Also in this month's newsletter are our regular features including our Affinity University class schedule, event listings, Green Corner, and our Current Versions list.
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 2011 ABA TECHSHOW April 11-13 in Chicago
The wait is almost over. The 25th ABA TECHSHOW is just days away. It takes place April 11-13 at the Hilton Chicago. If you want your law firm to be more efficient and profitable through the use of technology, this is a must-attend event. Affinity Partners Steven Best, Esq., Debbie Foster, Barron K. Henley, Esq., Britt Lorish, and Paul J. Unger, Esq., will be speaking at TECHSHOW 2011. Paul Unger chairs and Britt Lorish serves on the TECHSHOW 2011 planning board. View a video message from Paul Unger and many other law office technology leaders on why you should attend TECHSHOW 2011.
For more information or to register on-line, click here. |
 Attention PCLaw Users - Important Notice Concerning Internet Explorer 9
Microsoft has released a new version of its web browser - Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). According to LexisNexis, makers of PCLaw, there is a serious incompatibility between IE9 and all but the latest version of PCLaw. Do not upgrade Internet Explorer to version 9 unless you have already installed PCLaw version 10 Service Pack 5 (SP5) Hotfix 3 (HF3). If you have an earlier version of PCLaw, installing IE9 will render PCLaw inoperable.
Fortunately, if you have an earlier version of PCLaw and you inadvertently install IE9 (or it was installed as part of Windows Update), once you uninstall IE9, PCLaw will again be opera ble. If you want to use IE9, make sure you upgraded your installation of PCLaw to v10 SP5 HF3. From within PCLaw, go to Help>Live Update from the Web or click here.
If all of this sounds highly complicated, don't hesitate to contact us. Any of our PCLaw consultants can help you with either your browser issues or with upgrading your PCLaw software.
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 Affinity University
Classes in April
Affinity University is the leading source for web based training sessions for the legal community. All of our classes are one hour, making it easy and affordable for lawyers, paralegals and support staff to take time from their day to improve their efficiency and productivity. No software is required and sign up is simple. View our currently scheduled classes for April here.
4/6 - Dragon NaturallySpeaking Basics
4/6 - Dragon NaturallySpeaking Productivity
4/21 - Tabs3 Reporting
4/21 - Tabs3 Billing
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 Events in April 4/11-13 - Affinity Partners Steven Best, Esq., Debbie Foster, Barron K. Henley, Esq., Britt Lorish, and Paul J. Unger, Esq., will be speaking at the ABA TECHSHOW 2011 in Chicago (see article above for details).
4/15 - Barron K. Henley, Esq., of Affinity Columbus is one of the speakers at the West Virginia Bar's annual meeting at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.
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 Amicus Attorney 2008 Support Ends June 1, Upgrade Discounts OfferedAs of June 1, 2011, Gavel & Gown Software will no longer be providing support for Amicus Attorney 2008 and Amicus Accounting 2008. If your firm is running Amicus 2008, there are substantial discounts until May 31, 2011, for upgrading to Amicus 2011:
- 30% off Amicus 2011 upgrade licenses.
- 40% off Amicus 2011 upgrade licenses with the purchase of an Annual Technical Support Plan.
- 50% off Amicus 2011 upgrade licenses with the purchase of an Amicus Maintenance Plan.
If you have questions about upgrading Amicus 2008 to Amicus 2011, or wish to take advantage of these substantial discounts, please contact your Affinity Consulting Group office.
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PCLaw and Time Matters Workshops Coming in May
Make the Most out of your Software - Learn How to Maximize PCLaw and Time Matters for Your Practice.
When it comes to technology, simply having it and knowing the best ways to use it in your day to day business can be two different things. Join instructors Steve Best, Alex Macdonald & Art Roehrenbeck in Columbus, Ohio, for one of our upcoming workshops where we'll teach you the ins and outs of two of the leading legal software packages: PCLaw and Time Matters. In three days' time, you and your staff can learn the functionality of business-critical applications that you need to take your productivity to the next level.
PCLaw "Back Office" Workshop - May 16 & 17
Time Matters "Basic" Workshop - May 26 (AM)
Time Matters "Advanced" Workshop - May 26 (PM)
For more information, click here or contact Alison Lukan at alukan@affinityconsulting.com or 614.340.3444.
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Microsoft Word 2010 Tip of the Month - Change Default Font 
For some reason, Microsoft has made Calibri the default font for Word. But most legal writers prefer a serif font such as something from the Times Roman family (warning - discussing fonts is much like discussing sex, politics, or religion - there can be strong disagreements).
To change Word's default font to something more appropriate for legal documents, press Ctrl-Shift-F to open the Font dialog. Select the font of your choice. Click Save as Default, choose "All documents based on the Normal.dotm template," and click OK. |
 Affinity Consultants Attend Tabs3/PracticeMaster Forum
The annual Forum for STI Resellers and Consultants was held March 25th and 26th in Lincoln, Nebraska. The forum is a chance for authorized and certified STI resellers to learn from one another and meet with the owners and employees of Software Technology, Inc., the makers of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster. This year's Forum coincided with the release of version 16 of Tabs3 and PracticeMaster. Forum content was focused on all of the great new features of version 16 including E-mailing Statements and enhancements to Contact Management and the Outlook Synchronization.
Affinity Consulting Group was represented at the Forum by consultants from both the Roanoke and Miami offices. Britt Lorish, Stacy Devlin, and Lauren Dunne from Affinity Roanoke attended. Stacy Devlin gave a presentation on the 10 most underutilized features of PracticeMaster. Britt Lorish was part of a panel discussing all of the enhancements available in version 16. From Affinity Miami, Sandy Adams, Michelle Motyka, and Joel Sierra attended. San dy Adams participated in a panel discussion on Hosting and Cloud technology. Michelle Motyka hosted the Pre Forum, which took place on March 24th, an afternoon of discussions on topics of interest to legal technology consultants and their clients.
Both Affinity Roanoke and Affinity Miami are in the 2011 President's Circle, which is awarded to the top performing STI resellers and consultants.
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Time Matters 11.0 Released by LexisNexis
Starting this month, Time Matters and Billing Matters 11.0 will be available. Version 11.0 introduces the new Time Matters Mobility service as well as other enhancements:
- The Time Matters Mobility service provides secure access to critical matter information, time and expense entry, and client contacts from web-enabled mobile devices such as Apple iPad, Apple iPhone and BlackBerry, Android and Microsoft Windows 7 Mobile devices.
- Microsoft Windows Terminal Server support eliminates the need to install Time Matters/Billing Matters or Time Matters with Total Practice Advantage on each desktop or laptop to give firm members and remote offices access, significantly reducing the support burden on IT staff and total cost of ownership.
- Improved Time Matters and Time Matters with Total Practice Advantage integration with LexisNexis PCLaw allows batch expense records to be sent to PCLaw and accelerates the transmission of billing items between the products.
- New and updated integrations with HotDocs User 10, Tabs3 Billing v15 (client/server version), Intuit QuickBooks 2010 and 2011, Corel WordPerfect X5, Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 4 and Fujitsu ScanSnap desktop scanners enable firms to leverage their previous technology investments.
These new features and enhancements are available at no additional cost to LexisNexis Total Practice Advantage customers, as well as Time Matters and Billing Matters customers who currently subscribe to a Time Matters and/or Billing Matters Annual Maintenance Plan (AMP). For details on upgrading to Time Matters or Billing Matters 11, contact your
Affinity Consulting Group office.
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 SpeechExec for iPhone - Dictation on the Go
Last month we reported on the release of version 7 of Philips SpeechExec Pro Dictate and SpeechExec Pro Transcribe software. Read more about them here.
This month, Philips has released
SpeechExec for iPhone. With this application, you can record dictation on your iPhone and send it for transcription from anywhere in the world. It integrates seamlessly with other Philips SpeechExec products.
For more information on any Philips SpeechExec product, including SpeechExec for iPhone, contact Affinity consultant Phil Metcalf.
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 Affinity Offers Managed IT Services
In addition to our expert consulting services in the area of law office software, Affinity Consulting Group offers a fu ll range of Managed IT services. Small and medium-sized law firms can rarely afford a full-time IT staff. Let us be your IT staff.
For information on the many IT services we can offer your firm, contact your Affinity Consulting Group office.
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 Green Corner - Computers Becoming More Energy Efficient
Computers are becoming more energy efficient. Today's new desktops and notebooks use substantially less electricity than the computers we used just a few years ago.
For example, in 2008, Dell set a goal of reducing the energy using of all of its computers by 25% by the end of 2010. Improved design and technology allowed them to meet their goal, and then some. Their business-oriented Dell OptiPlex 980 (small form factor) and OptiPlex 780 (ultra-small form factor) desktop computers use 48 percent less energy than the preceding models. If your computer is three years old or older, upgrading makes sense for many reasons (faster processors, more hard drive storage, improved operating systems, the ability to run newer software), but it can also save you money every month in lower electric bills. |
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 Current Versions of Law Office Software
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|  The Affinity Consulting Group Law Office Technology Blog has up-to-date information on hardware, software, and tips for using technology in your practice. Click on the icon above to visit now.
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