Welcome to ESQ LawTech Weekly
Welcome to The ESQlawtech Weekly, a weblog dedicated to law office technology tips, tools, and tricks for lawyers. Come here regularly and learn how law office technology resources can help you manage and expand your practice. We concentrate on providing you with the most current information on law office technology, law firm management, and law office management, and you will benefit by being a regular part of our community.
If you have not fully explored law office technology, and considered how addressing law office management through technology could enhance your practice, you are in for a treat. Virtually all of our tools are free to lawyers, and we never stop working to make sure you have the best of the best at all times.
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Marketing Your Practice in 140 Characters or Less
Are you using social media tools such as Twitter a free service that allows members to publish brief text updates—known as tweets—that answer the question, “What are you doing?”
Looking for other lawyers to follow on Twitter? 145 Lawyers and Legal Professionals to Follow on Twitter.
Like it or not, you are a salesperson!
I recently had the good fortune of picking up a book written by master salesman, Zig Ziglar. If you know anything about Mr. Ziglar you know that he is an authority on selling, and becoming a sales professional. His works are incredibly clear and insightful.
In “Ziglar on Selling”, Mr. Ziglar reminded me of something I already knew, which is that everyone is in sales, including attorneys. We don’t like to admit it, but we are salespeople just like so many others whether they be in business, or in a profession.
Now, I know that many of us don’t like to consider ourselves to be salespeople. There is a conflict in our perceptions of what we do that doesn’t allow us to view ourselves as “selling”, but let’s be honest with ourselves here. When, you are negotiating a deal, you are selling your client’s position to the opposition in hopes of getting your client the best possible deal, right? I know that you are going to tell me that’s negotiating! But, what is negotiating if it’s not selling?
My iPod is not a Toy!
I’ve always been one to have the latest and greatest electronic toys available, so when I purchased a 60 Gig iPod I was simply continuing a typical trend for me. By the way, this is a habit I’m trying to break, but in the meantime, I have to say that this purchase was one of the best I’ve made in my history.
My original purpose in purchasing the iPod was to put personal development content on it, so I could stop shuffling around an ever growing caddy of CD’s. Now, I have over 15 Gig of instructional, personal development, and motivational material that I can listen to wherever I go. This has been one of the best investments I’ve ever made. There’s no way I’d listen to all this stuff all day long if I couldn’t have it stored in one convenient place.
Now, I simply plunk it down into a docking station and I can listen to it on the stereo in my office, and when I leave to hit the road I put it into the docking station in the car and I can listen through the car speakers. Of course, when I’m working out I use the earbuds! I have a long flight coming up in May, so I can’t wait to put it to work when I go.
If you’ve been rationalizing such a purchase I strongly recommend it as long as you put content worth listening to on it!
Accept-By-Phone: Can Your Merchant Account Do This?
Very few of us consider the importance the payment options we offer play in our marketing.
There are clients who would like to hire us who make the decision to go elsewhere simply because they can’t pay cash immediately. While this should not be the primary factor in their decision to retain an attorney, we can make sure it’s not an issue by simply offering the ability to pay by credit card.
Having a merchant account is not only a convenience to the client, but it also helps improve cash flow and reduce administrative costs. Accepting credit cards eliminates waiting for checks by mail, and then having someone make a bank run to get them deposited. Credit card payments don’t bounce either!
Identity Theft Raises Issues on Credit Reporting.
Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America. Check out this article to see why so many people are concerned about access to credit data.
There are currently several fee based services that help protect against identity theft, but legislators are looking to give consumers the ability to “freeze” their credit histories to avoid identity theft before it occurs.
It seems like a reasonable measure, especially considering the expense and inconvenience associated with restoring credit after identity theft occurs.
Philly Inks Deal on Citywide WiFi.
The City of Philadelphia has signed off on a deal that will provide citywide WiFi to residents for under $20.00/mo. Earthlink will build and manage the network.
I expect to see this model roll out in more cities across America, especially as more people become disenchanted with their Internet access choices. I just installed a T-1 line to get away from Comcast cable, and now I’m cancelling my cable too in favor of a new Internet television service that you’ll hear more about later.
Hopefully, increased competition will mean lower prices and better service selections.
The Law of Trespass; Old Theory, New Application.
Can you be a victim of trespass on the Internet? One court in Los Angeles County, California thinks so. Apparently, a victim of a spyware download alleged trespass as one of its theories of relief after he downloaded a “free"screensaver, and had his computer inundated with spyware and adware programs.
The Court refused to dismiss the trespass claim, ruling that the plaintiff’s allegations asserting that the defendant’s spyware and adware damaged his existing software, reduced the efficiency of his computer system, and that the removal of the spyware and adware required the time and expense of a computer specialist, adequately stated his claim.
See the entire article at Findlaw’s Modern Practice.
BlackBerry Showdown Force RIM to Show Hand.
The fate of Research In Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry will be in the hands of a federal judge in Virginia, on February 24, but RIM insists that it will not be a knock out punch, because it’s “workaround” solution is standing at the ready.
RIM says that a simple software download that will be made available to customers if an injunction is entered in favor of NTP, will make it possible for Blackberry devices operating in the United States to function on a new platform that attorneys say does not infringe NTP’s patents. RIM has also filed patent applications itself on the soon to be announced workaround.
See the whole story here at CNET.
For the Blogger in You.
I recently read a review of three popular blogging software programs and was surprised that one of the most functional, feature rich, and easy to use programs I’ve come across wasn’t mentioned. I’ve used Movable Type, and Word Press, both of which were mentioned in this article and as I indicated there, neither of these programs hold anything over Expression Engine.
In fact, I find Expression Engine to be very flexible, and easy to use. Of all the interfaces, I think it’s the easiest to understand, and it comes with an impressive array of standard templates to get you started.
I think Expression Engine is characterized as a “content management system”, rather than a mere blogging platform, which may be why it escapes review when people start talking about blogging software.
Frequency Beats Duration In Marketing.
Many law firms produce newsletters on a quarterly basis, and the main reason is that they are expensive and a major production to create.
The fact is that clients respond just as well if not better to shorter publications, made available to them conveniently, and in a format that easily digestable by them. That’s why email news and tips sent out twice monthly is more effective than a quarterly newsletter.