by Brian Focht | Nov 18, 2013
Part VII in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience So, you’ve actually taken the steps to improve your firm’s website. You updated all of your attorney bio pages and re-wrote the description of your firm’s practice areas to provide potential clients with the information they need. You started posting blog articles and even put up a couple videos describing your biggest cases. Now it’s time to find out what works and what doesn’t. How do we do that? Analytics. Sure, it’s nice to have basic information about how many page views your website has in a day or month, but as I’ve said numerous times, a website is advertising. Or, as expressed perfectly by FindLaw’s Strategist: “When it comes to marketing your law firm, your website is your online presence.” You’re spending money on your site, so you need to be able to determine whether you’re getting value for your money. That’s where analytics tools come in, and they can be phenomenally valuable. Here are my 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience: (My preferred analytics tool is Google Analytics, a free system that links to your site. If you use WordPress, Jetpack offers a very basic analytics tool, but it doesn’t provide nearly as much information. If there are other analytics programs... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 8, 2013
Part IV in my series reviewing three of the top cloud-based case management software services available to attorneys. Part I: Clio Part II: Rocket Matter Part III: MyCase Part IV: Review and Comparison Over the course of my last few posts, my cloud-based case management software review has discussed three top services individually: Clio, Rocket Matter, and MyCase. Evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in several key areas that I consider to be highly important for case management software, I attempted to provide an in-depth look at the services that could prove useful to small and mid-size law firms, looking for a more cost-effective alternative to the incredibly pricey practice management options currently available. By focusing on the case management software that each service provides, I deliberately ignored the billing/timekeeping/accounting functions available. I did this partially because I really wanted to focus on how effectively these systems handle case management, and partially because to be all inclusive would preclude the in-depth analysis I wanted to do. Now, the fun part: which of the services is best: Case/Matter Information: Clio MyCase Rocket Matter I’ll be honest, it was really difficult to decide between Clio and MyCase on this one, so it came down to a single factor: contact roles. Clio allows users to designate the role of case contacts on a case-by-case basis, whereas MyCase does not. The ability to designate a contact as an attorney in one case and an arbitrator in another, or a treating physician in one case and an expert witness in another, is crucial in litigation. Both Clio and MyCase put all the most important information... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 7, 2013
Part III in my series reviewing three of the top cloud-based case management software services available to attorneys. Part I: Clio Part II: Rocket Matter Part III: MyCase Part IV: Review & Comparison My reviews will focus on how effectively the services provide case- and matter-management. My reviews will not discuss the accounting/timekeeping/billing aspects of the services. Instead, I will focus on the accessibility/presentation of case information, contacts, calendar & tasks, documents, document assembly, and unique features each service provides. Product: MyCase by MyCase, Inc. Price: $39.99 per month for attorneys, $29.99 per month for staff MyCase advertises itself as “an affordable, intuitive and powerful legal practice management software designed for the modern law firm.” A full-service cloud-based case management software service, MyCase’s biggest selling point is that it is the only case management system that offers an integrated client portal, allowing you to keep your clients updated on everything going on in their case. Case/Matter Information Accessing case/matter information easily and quickly is a major strength of MyCase. The matters are organized by name, and can be further organized by practice area, so that you can easily access your cases (particularly important in a firm with a large number of cases). The main screen for individual matters is nicely organized, with the basic case information available immediately. Tabs give in-screen access to the case’s calendar, notes, tasks, messages and contacts. Custom fields for each case are given a prominent location on the case information screen, proof that MyCase has placed great importance on a user-controlled experience. Another great benefit is direct access to case-specific Workflows (see Unique Feature,... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 6, 2013
Part II in my series reviewing three of the top cloud-based case management software services available to attorneys. Part I: Clio Part II: Rocket Matter Part III: MyCase Part IV: Review & Comparison My reviews will focus on how effectively the services provide case- and matter-management. My reviews will not discuss the accounting/timekeeping/billing aspects of the services. Instead, I will focus on the accessibility/presentation of case information, contacts, calendar & tasks, documents, document assembly, and unique features each service provides. Rocket Matter by Rocket Matter, LLC Price: $59.99 per user, per month Rocket Matter advertises itself as “the blazingly fast, leading legal billing and law firm management software.” As I will discuss in greater detail below, Rocket Matter clearly sees itself as a billing software first, as demonstrated by the testimonial quotes contained on their main page (two address billing, none address case management). However, they have grown to be one of the most used cloud-based case management software systems on the market. The real question is, how does their case management portion stack up? Case/Matter Information Rocket Matter emphasizes it’s ability to provide billing and accounting to small firms, and its focus on the accounting side is probably felt the greatest in the display of case/matter information, which is sadly neglected. That said, Rocket Matter really does a lot of things right in this area. Rather than putting case information and details in the most prominent location, as Clio and MyCase both do, Rocket Matter puts your upcoming calendar appointment and tasks front and center for each case. The case information, including a full calendar, your to-do list, and... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 5, 2013
Part I in my series reviewing three of the top cloud-based case management software services available to attorneys. Part I: Clio Part II: Rocket Matter Part III: MyCase Part IV: Review & Comparison My reviews will focus on how effectively the services provide case- and matter-management. My reviews will not discuss the accounting/timekeeping/billing aspects of the services. Instead, I will focus on the accessibility/presentation of case information, contacts, calendar & tasks, documents, document assembly, and unique features each service provides. Clio by Themis Solutions Price: $49/month for lawyers, $25/month for support staff. Clio advertises itself as a cloud-based “practice management, time & billing and client collaboration platform for small- to mid-sized law firms.” Advertising bank-grade security for your information and a fully-functional iPhone app, Clio offers all the basic aspects required to serve as case management software for lawyers. Case/Matter Information One of the biggest strengths of the Clio case management software is the matter display tab. The design is simple, and allows for easy organization of your cases. However, the true beauty of Clio’s system comes when you open one of those matters. Without scrolling (unless you’ve added an obscene number of custom fields), all of the basic information for your matter is displayed on screen. Just beneath the case information section is a series of tabs: Client, Transactions, Contacts, Tasks, Calendar, Notes, Time, Expenses, Documents, and Communications. Each tab allows one-click access to a summary page for the respected area. Want to see which of your contacts are linked to the case (and for what role)? Just click on the contacts tab, and they’re displayed without your... read more
by Brian Focht | Nov 4, 2013
Part VI in a continuing series on improving your firm’s website Part I: 7 Tips to Improve Your Bio Page Part II: 5 Best Practices for your Practice Areas Part III: Video is a Game Changer Part IV: 4 Reasons You Should Blog Part V: 3 Videos You Need to Have Part VI: 4 Reasons to Ignore SEO Part VII: 4 Steps to Know (and Track) Your Audience Based on the number of articles that I see every day, it would seem that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is quite an important issue today. At least for internet marketing companies. Their pitch? Let us come in and re-work your website so that you’ll rank at or near the top in search engine results. These searches, referred to as “organic searches,” are the ones where you type in a word or phrase that the engine uses to pull your results. By knowing how those results are organized, marketers claim they can optimize your website to exploit those systems. Sadly, their pitch routinely works, especially on lawyers. If you’re getting frustrated with the level of success (or lack thereof) you’ve achieved from your internet marketing, you definitely want to look for ways to improve. However, here are 4 reasons to ignore SEO as part of your strategy: 1) Most attorneys do not benefit by improving their search engine rankings. With the narrow exceptions of attorneys who handle traffic and DUI matters, and to a considerably lesser extent, personal injury lawyers, most attorneys’ business does not come from organic searches. Before even considering paying a marketing service for SEO improvement, ask yourself whether your ideal client is... read more
by Brian Focht | Oct 30, 2013
Implementation of new technology is a risky proposition for lawyers, particularly trial tech. The jury trial is the true public face of the legal profession, even if the majority of lawyers will never participate in one. Your client’s perception of your competence may depend entirely on your skills in the courtroom. You win or lose based on how you conduct yourself in front of the jury – after all, Robert Frost called a jury “12 people gathered to determine who has the better lawyer.” Successful use of technology can be a significant boost to your presentation. On the other hand, attempt to implement technology unsuccessfully, your bungling may overshadow your otherwise skillful performance, and your client could get punished as a result. Here are 4 Tips to prevent Trial Tech from Ruining Your Case: 1) Do NOT use technology for the sake of using technology. As tech-savvy as I claim to be, I admit (somewhat proudly) that I have never used anything more than a large notepad on a tripod in a closing argument. Why? Because one of my strengths is that I am a good storyteller. Flashy images and pictures of accident scenes, projected images of medical records, and video of depositions do not compliment my particular style in the cases I’ve tried. However, when you’re in need of illustrating incredibly complex topics, such as presenting an IP dispute to a jury, then video animations may be your absolute best bet. Your use of technology in trial should compliment your style. Your presentation should never be dictated by the available trial tech. Technology can be a great way... read more
by Brian Focht | Oct 28, 2013
It can be tough to keep up with the newest offerings in the world of apps these days. So this will be my first installment of what I hope will be a monthly series to help keep you updated on the newest apps to assist you in your law practice, for both iOS and Android. This month has been packed to the gills with product announcements all over the tech industry, not least of which was Apple’s iPad event. Without further delay, here are the Best New Apps for Lawyers from October 2013: iOS TweetBot 3 by Tapbots, $2.99 for a limited time, $4.99 regular price. For attorneys who rely on Twitter as part of their social media strategy, or just as part of their daily routine, Tweetbot was already a valuable tool. Tweetbot’s best feature, though, was that it always made using your Twitter account less tedious and, dare I say, a lot more fun. Functionality may have come after form for Tweetbot, but this complete redesign makes Tweetbot 3 an incredibly functional way to enjoy using Twitter. Rebuilt from the ground up, Tweetbot 3 incorporates a new interface design that closely resembles the slick new artistry of iOS 7. Additionally, you are now able to mute Tweets from certain people, hashtags or keywords (as Gizmodo suggests, potentially to ignore things like spoilers for TV shows) without having to unfollow anyone. Extra functionality has also been added to allow you to sync your activity between your phone, tablet and computer. Cannonball eMail by Cannonball Corp., free. Why would we need another email client, you might ask? Well, if... read more
by Brian Focht | Oct 25, 2013
Everybody loves a deal. From outlet malls to Overstock.com, Americans enjoy the prospect of getting something at a “discount.” Recently, the model used by companies like Groupon has become popular: get companies to offer discounts to customers, but make the customers purchase the right to the discount. The marketer plays middle-man, organizing the discounts, and collecting the payments. And just like every advertising medium known to man, everything went smoothly (joking) until a lawyer wanted in (not joking about that part). The result: mass confusion… … at least that’s what the ABA’s new opinion on the issue would have you believe. Several states, including New York, North Carolina, and Arizona, among others, have already issued ethics opinions regarding lawyers on Groupon-type services. Without the ABA’s help. (As I’ve said before, the existing rules still apply!) Those opinions, while slightly different, each provided a framework for attorneys in those states to use Groupon-type advertisements ethically. I suppose in an attempt to rectify differences between the various state opinions, the ABA decided to issue an opinion of its own. “Much better to have one rule, even if it is confusing, vague, and provides little actual guidance, than several clear-cut rules that vary slightly” is what I imagine the justification was. Here’s what they came up with: Two Types of Groupon Advertising The opinion’s first step towards ambiguity was identifying two different types of advertising to be addressed in one opinion (BAD IDEA): The first, described as a “Coupon Deal,” involves purchasing a coupon for a discounted rate on legal services (e.g. pay $25 now, get five hours for 50% off). The... read more
by Brian Focht | Oct 23, 2013
While researching the apps that I included in my recent review of jury selection apps a few weeks back, I came upon an app that offered the most unique approach to voir dire I’d seen in an app. Although the app didn’t really fit into what I was hoping for in a jury selection app, the promise of the app brought me back, and after spending some time with it, I’m definitely more impressed. Jury Strike for iPad, designed by Atlanta attorney Jennifer Jordan of the Jordan Firm, was designed to assist attorneys in her firm to pick juries. Based on her own trial experience, the app allows attorneys to create a list of general voir dire questions, follow up questions, enter personal information about jurors, and track juror challenges. This is what you get when an attorney designs an app to meet their own needs rather than what they perceive others need: … an innovative app that beats every app on the market for General Voir Dire. It Helps Me Do… The biggest point that Jury Strike advertises is the ability to ask general questions to a panel of jurors, which is something that none of the other jury selection apps have really tried to address. And they should keep advertising it, because it’s awesome. It Helps Me By… Jury Strike begins by prompting you to enter some basic case information (case name, judge, venue, number of jurors, row width, and seating direction). Next, you move on to your questions. Here’s an area of voir dire that the other apps in this group seem to completely ignore: there are... read more
