inspired law practice

How CLE providers can use social media – Law Firm Web Strategy

inspiredcat — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:09:25 -0600

How CLE providers can use social media – Law Firm Web Strategy:

iLawpractice and our approach to social media: Blog - check. Twitter - check. Facebook - in progress.

From our ACLEA Keynote Speaker, Jordan Furlong.

why you should use Evernote: for the uninitiated

inspiredcat — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:24:00 -0600

Even if you’ve never been a note- or list-maker, you will find a place in your world (personal, professional, or likely *both*) for the ubiquitous note-taking/storing/organization app Evernote.

Evernote is ubiquitous because most every blogger has written about it, uses it and most apps worth their salt engage it in some manner.

For the uninitiated, Evernote defines itself as a way to ‘remember everything.’ [nice tagline]

With Evernote, you can save a webpage, text note, image, audio file, or just about any kind of file. You can sort saved bits into notebooks, organize with tags, notes about the notes, link notes, and more.

Evernote lives on your desktop as an app, on you smart phone or iPad as an app, and in the cloud. So you can access it from anywhere, as all installations linked to your account will stay in sync.

So why should you use Evernote? Here are some of the ways I use it, some of which may resonate, or inspire you to think of ways to integrate its ubiquity into your workflow.

Compiling research. No matter the subject, if you’re doing research online I can think of no better way to compile and save it than with Evernote. For legal reserach, you can copy screen shots or copy/paste entire cases as text files directly into Evernote. If you’re like me, you may switch back and forth between different research apps. Evernote serves as a general repository no matter the source of the info. Store with tags (or detailed notes, as I do) and you can locate the research easily when you need it.

I also use Evernote to store research on any subject. I currently have notebooks for my newsletter, blogs (several), gift ideas, furniture inspiration, recipes, app inspiration, various areas of the law, practice management inspiration, tech inspiration, mac inspiration, marketing, NaNoWriMo, website inspiration, my father’s state representative campaign … you get the picture.

For everything in my life that requires me to collect information, I have a bucket (notebook) in Evernote in which to put it.

Tracking expenses. Another handy use - with Evernote, I ‘save’ the payment confirmation screen when I make any kind of online payment. I thus have an immediate record which streamlines my bookkeeping. I also scan (using my Doxie Go and Eye-Fi) receipts and store them in Evernote - categorized quickly at the time of upload so I can easily tabulate at year’s end.

Keeping up with usernames, applications and license codes. Evernote notes can be encrypted from the desktop apps, but I personally wouldn’t store passwords (or any confidential info) in a file that was synced via a ‘public’ cloud service (e.g. controlled by someone other than you). But it’s a great way to keep up with usernames for all of the websites you visit - even with apps like 1Password and Lastpass, you may need this info if you’re working on someone else’s computer. And I’ve got a running list of my many Mac apps (most downloaded) as well as the license codes stored safely away. Not something I need everyday, but if my hard drive crashes and I have to re-download, I’m covered.

Sharing information. You can create shared folders, invite users and treat Evernote as your own personal pin board. Perfect for planning an event or travel that involves many people - everyone has instant access at all times and can contribute. Again, IMHO, this is the only way to share information and keep everyone updated, instantly.

And referring back to research - if you’re collaborating with others on a project, Evernote is the ideal way to manage the information collected. With a shared folder, everyone on the project can upload/save to the folder, add comments and access at anytime. This feature alone has changed my collaborative workflow for the better.

Kids. This probably applies to more than just kids, but I use Evernote to store all kid-related information. Camp sign-ups, progress reports, notes from teachers - all get downloaded or scanned into Evernote, available at a moment’s notice.

And with Evernote Peek, you can create digital flashcards and study materials for your kids, using a smartcover or Peek’s digital version to ‘peek’ at questions and answers. It’s turned studying into a game for my kids.

Rolodex. I think I remember what that was … and I think I use Evernote in the same way. I scan all business cards in, add notes and/or tags, and I’ve got a constantly updated database of all the people in my life.

A few random notes about how I use Evernote:

The Chrome extension Evernote clipper makes it super-simple to instantly create a note from any website. There is no easier way to save a screenshot, add some notes and be able to find the info later.

And because the clipper is so instant-easy, some kinds of information - recipes, for example - start out in Evernote then get transferred to another app, like MacGourmet.

I share (via Facebook, Twitter, email) directly from Evernote, which makes it super-easy to find info - no matter how long ago the note was saved - to share today.

I now use a separate task app (To Do Queue for Mac and iPad), but I’ve used Evernote to organize my running to-do list. And I still use it to make my grocery list - some things are always on the list (paper towels) and I can add as needed. And my husband and kids can add, because it’s saved in a shared folder.

And Evernote is one of the apps super-charged by ifttt, a web-based app that automates tasks between your online apps - e.g., you can create a task that automatically saves every Facebook image you upload into Evernote. With ifttt, you can connect Evernote to other online apps in amazing ways.

I could go on, but this post is already too long. Next time I’ll just write an e-book. Or I’ll do a post for Evernote power users.?

-Caitlin

why your firm needs a wiki

inspiredcat — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:03:00 -0600

You’ve likely heard the phrase ‘institutional memory’ - it’s the idea that, somewhere, someone in the organization knows how things are done. Ideally, this is true - that somewhere, someone can be located who can answer the questions, explain the process, fix the problem. But is this reliance on institutional memory ideal? No.

[What is? A wiki - but more on that in a moment.]

Your firm shouldn’t be relying on a person (or even a few people)for this purpose. Like us, you’ve probably learned the hard way that relying on a person to be the repository of important information - to be the living, breathing ‘institutional memory’ - can have dire consequences.

I, unfortunately, can share a personal example. We had an assistant. A bright, capable, knowledgeable assistant. She set up all kinds of systems and got all kinds of things done. We would simply say, ‘can you please do this?’ And it was done.

One day, we had to ask her to leave. (Good people sometimes make bad choices.) When she left, she took all of her knowledge of all of these systems and processes that she had created for us. She didn’t do so intentionally, in that all of this information rested within her brain. When she took her brain with her, all of this information went, too.

We were left scratching our heads about more than a few things. Important things. First, shame on us for putting ourselves in this position. But it’s really easy to do. We’re busy practicing law, doing work for our clients and otherwise keeping the lights on. The ‘stuff’ our assistant did - that was assistant’s work and not something we felt we needed to bother with understanding (or even knowing?).

When we started the process of recreating the institutional memory of our firm’s admin procedures, we decided to do it in a way that would live and grow, regardless of who was doing the work. And it also allows those doing the work to contribute to the repository, as processes and systems are improved and modified.

Here’s where the WIKI comes in. Ah yes, the wiki. You know, like in ‘wiki’pedia? It’s a written repository for knowledge, that users can edit, thereby improving the content. (Or at least, that’s the idea.)

Your firm can use a wiki as a central location online, accessible by everyone who needs access (support staff and attorneys), to provide all of the information relevant to running your firm.

A question about how to set up your firm’s approved email signature? It’s on the wiki.

Someone wants to know how to use some fancy function on the new copier? It’s on the wiki, because the wiki contains the copier user guide (and all maintenance records, too).

You need to know what intake form currently is being used for estate planning clients? All approved intake forms are, you guessed it, on the wiki.

Everything you can think of that anyone in your firm may need to know about those things that you think are important - it all goes on the wiki.

Yes, setting one up takes some technical effort and some time to gather all of the institutional memory from wherever it may be residing. But when that key employee walks out the door, you may miss the person, but you won’t miss the information. Because it’s in the wiki.

about that yin and yang ...

inspiredcat — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 16:41:00 -0600

Balance through technology? Bear with me, there is a connection.

In the natural world, yin and yang describe opposites that, when brought together, create a connected and interdependent world. And by this coming together, these opposites exist only in relation to the other.

The result is a dynamic existence of complimentary - and not opposing - forces that manifest harmoniously. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

Not much different from the binary world of 1 and 0 that forms the foundation for the wondrous technology that we all depend upon in our daily lives. Alone, the individual numbers mean nothing. Together, they create magic.

I think the two actually have a lot in common. I think that the beautiful balance of yin and yang can be enhanced - maybe even created? - with the help of technology.

I also think that achieving some yin to go with all that yang in our lives as lawyers is probably the most important thing that we can do for ourselves as individuals. Balance is crucial to success, to happiness, to pleasure, to all those things in life that we believe are positive and worthy of achieving.

Inspired Law Practice (ILP) exists to promote the creation of balance through the use of technology in the practice of law. There are two parts to this effort (of course!).

The yin? We see this as creating an opportunity to help lawyers understand their work (and their selves, both professionally and personally) and how this relates to and impacts how they work. Yin is who we are and how we work.

And the yang? The yang is technology - all of the complicated, sometimes maddening and almost always elusive stuff out there in the world that has the potential to support and balance our yin. To make us more productive, more efficient, simply better at what we do (whatever that may be).

At ILP, we seek to help fellow attorneys discover their yin and then we help connect them to the yang. The result, we hope, is a happy balance. And happy lawyers.

-Caitlin