June 2012
Feature - Symphony Profiler for Worldox
FREE Paperless Office Webinar
AU Classes in June
June Events
FL Trust Accounting Rule Changes
Affinty Partners Present ALA Webinar
Affinity Joins Clio Consultant Program
Word Tip of the Month
IRS Rule Affects Credit Card Transactions
Mini-Review - Doc Scan for iPad
Dragon Myths Busted
Tech Gifts for Grads & Dads
Managed IT Services
Green Corner
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Going Paperless - Symphony Profiler Batch Scanning for Worldox   

- Greg Bray, VP, Sr. Consultant 

 

Reducing the flow of paper through your office yields productivity benefits that are hard to match with any other technology advancement.  Scanning and document management have long been near the top of our list of recommendations for almost any law firm.    

  

We tested the new version of Trumpet's Symphony Profiler batch scanning software in our Tampa office.  As with almost every software product we recommend and support, we test and use it ourselves to assure we can provide you with a hands-on perspective on how the product will work for your firm.  We were sufficiently impressed with Symphony Profiler that we decided to feature it in this month's newsletter.   

  

Symphony Profiler, (previously known as Express Profiler), is used to streamline the scanning process in a law firm using Worldox, by following the adage that it  is generally preferable to scan large quantities of documents in a single process, and then use a software application to separate out individual documents and save them to your Worldox document management system directly.Symphony Profiler

  

Symphony Profiler does this with the use of barcoded Cover Sheets, which are pre-printed ahead of time and issued to each Worldox user based on the number of documents they might scan together in a batch. In our office, most of the consultant Worldox users have a single sheet, whereas the administrative team has 20-30 cover sheets each because they often scan 20-30 different documents at one time (i.e. the mail). 

 

Read the complete Symphony Profiler feature article. 

Paperless Office Join Us for a FREE Paperless Office Webinar

We are presenting a free 30-minute webinar, The Paperless Office: How to make it a reality in your practice, on June 15 at 11 a.m. and again on June 22 at 3 p.m. Attendance is limited.  Sign up now for this informative program. 

Register for June 15, 11 a.m. EDT
Register for June 22, 3 p.m. EDT
Affinity University - Classes in June   Affinity University Logo

 

Affinity University is the go-to resource for online training on the legal software you and your team use every day. Focusing specifically on real world tips and tricks, our certified experts provide training on popular Practice Management, Time/Billing/Accounting, Document Management, Productivity Software and even Microsoft Office.  If you "attend" a live AU webinar, you can watch it again within 30 days of the original live date at no additional charge.  

 

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Word - Share and Compare **
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** Recent Addition to Affinity University.

In addition to our live AU classes listed above, classes are available "on-demand" for viewing individually as your schedule permits.  Many of our most popular AU classes are available for on-demand viewing as part of discounted bundles. We offer discounted bundles for Microsoft Office, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Amicus Attorney Premium Edition, Amicus Attorney Small Firm, PracticeMaster, and Tabs3.

      

Special Notice to Local Bar Leaders and Members: Contact us to learn more about our local bar program.  Send an email to training@affinityconsulting.com.

EventsSpeaking Engagements in June                  

June 7 - West Virginia Association For Justice Convention And Seminar, Charleston, WV. (Paul J. Unger, Esq.)

June 8 - Arkansas Bar Annual Meeting, Hot Springs, AR. (Paul J. Unger, Esq.)

June 12
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Word And Legal Drafting Don't Mix...and Other Urban Legends About Microsoft Word, Columbus, OH. (Barron K. Henley, Esq.)





June 17 - Paper Reduction, Document Management & PDF Workshop For Lawyers, Akron, OH.  (Barron K. Henley, Esq. Paul J. Unger, Esq.)
 
(Debbie Foster Barron K. Henley, Esq.)

June 21 - A Lawyer's Guide To The Internet, Columbus, OH.  (Paul J. Unger, Esq.)

June 22 - State Bar of Arizona Annual Convention, Phoenix, AZ. (Jennifer Ramovs, Esq.)


June 27 - NACUA 2012 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.  (Barron K. Henley, Esq.)

Wire transfers Trust Accounting Rules to Change in Florida...Will Your Firm Be Ready?

- Sandra H. Adams, Affinity Partner

Florida Bar Rules 5-1 regarding Trust Accounting Records and Procedures is being updated with changes that will affect all lawyers practicing in Florida. The changes will go into effect once they are approved by the Florida Supreme Court which convenes in the Fall. Some of the changes have already been approved by the Board of Governors and are awaiting approval by the Florida Supreme Court.  However there are also rule changes that are pending approval by the Board of Governors. In this article, I will discuss all the pending changes and how they impact lawyers.

 

Read the Complete Trust Accounting Rules Article.
ALA Affinity Partners Debbie Foster and Barron K. Henley Present ALA Webinar June 20 

Affinity Partners Debbie Foster and Barron K. Henley, Esq., present
Technology Management:  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for the ALA on June 20.  This two-hour live webinar will address Technology Audits, Plans, Investments, and Tips & Tricks.  The webinar is available to ALA members and also non-members (at a slightly higher cost).
 
Clio logo Affinity Joins Clio's Certified Consultant Program

At Affinity, we believe the best practice management solution is the one that works for your firm.  Among the options to explore are cloud-based services. Clio is a cloud-based practice management system geared toward solo and small firm lawyers, helping manage everything from intake to invoicing.  Affinity is now part of Clio's Certified Consultant program.

As Certified Consultants, Affinity benefits from intensive Clio training, and priority access to Clio's technical, development and data migration teams. Such benefits further enhance Affinity's cloud-based alternatives to traditional client-server practice management systems.
Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010 Tip of the Month - Convert a List to a Table 

Many legal documents contain lists.  Lists might include names, assets, debts, exhibits, etc. While lists are useful, converting a list to a table may give you greater flexibility over size and formatting as well as add advanced functions.  This month we show you a quick way to convert a text list to a table.

Read the complete Word Tip of the Month.

Attend our three MS Word AU classes this month:  Word Basics is June 12; Word Styles is June 20; and Word Share & Compare is June 27.  
New IRS Section 6050W Affects Law Firm Credit Card TransactionsCredit Card Terminal 
   
Effective January 2012, all credit card processors and 3rd party payment aggregators (PayPal & Square) will be required to report gross card transactions to the IRS. The gross dollar amount of all transactions will be reported on a special 1099-K, regardless of returns or any processing fee deductions.  This has implications for law firms.

 

Read the Complete Article

Mini-Review: Doc Scan HD Pro for iPad
- Scott Bassett, Esq., Senior Editor, Affinity Publications  
HD Doc Scan Pro
In keeping with our "Paperless" theme for June, let's look at a way an iPad 2 or a third generation "New" iPad can help you move toward a paperless office.  The admittedly mediocre rear-facing camera in the iPad 2 and the much improved rear-facing camera in the new iPad can be used for more than just taking photos of friends and family.  Either camera can be a productivity tool when coupled with the right app. In this case, the right app is Doc Scan HD Pro $3.99. 

Read the Mini-Review of Doc Scan HD Pro.
Affinity Consultant Dispels Dragon Myths  DNS Legal

- Phil Metcalf, Affinity Speech Solutions Specialist 

 

This was my third year to attend ABA TECHSHOW in Chicago and hang out in the Nuance Booth and talk to lawyers about using Dragon NaturallySpeaking in their firms. Several people stood in line to talk to me about how they decided to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking for their legal dictation. What I learned from them is somewhat surprising.   

 

Read the Complete Article

Grads and Dads Gifts Tech Gifts for Grads and Dads

June is the month to honor and appreciate new graduates and the dads who supported them along the way.  We present a selection of gift ideas in three price points.  Each price point includes two selections.

Read our Gift Suggestions for Grads and Dads.
 
Managed IT Services Affinity Offers Managed IT Services

In addition to our expert consulting services in the area of law office software, Affinity Consulting Group offers a full range of Managed IT services.  Small and medium-sized law firms can rarely afford a full-time IT staff.  Let Affinity serve as your IT staff - we can manage your technology resources for you and correct any problems, often before you know anything is wrong.

 

For information on the many IT services we can offer your firm, contact your Affinity Consulting Group office. 

Green Corner - Energy Saving Discrete Graphics Cards
   Low Power Discrete Graphics Card
Most lawyers don't play cutting-edge computer games on their office computers.  So the need for a power-eating monster graphics card in a law office computer is minimal.  However, there is a case to be made for installing a discrete or dedicated graphics card in any office computer that is going to be connected to a large high-resolution monitor or perhaps to provide outputs for two or more monitors.  That is when the basic integrated graphics built-into the computer's motherboard may not be adequate. 

Read the rest of this month's Green Corner.