Readability for IE

“Readability™ is a simple tool that makes reading on the Web more enjoyable by removing the clutter around what you’re reading. Follow the steps below to install Readability™ in your Web browser.” Copied from: http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/. This site has a short video to help you set up Readability on your Favorites Bar.

 Readability for Firefox

 “Readability is a new Firefox add-on that makes reading web pages simpler and more enjoyable. The system strips the superfluous information and shows the main content in a single column of easy-to-read text. It is also a precious tool for printing the web pages in less.” Copied from: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/46442/

Safari Reader

“Safari Reader removes annoying ads and other visual distractions from online articles. So you get the whole story and nothing but the story. It works like this: As you browse the web, Safari detects if you’re on a web page with an article. Click the Reader icon in the Smart Address Field, and the article appears instantly in one continuous, clutter-free view. You see every page of the article — whether two or twenty. Onscreen controls let you email, print, and zoom. Change the size of the text, and Safari remembers it the next time you view an article in Safari Reader.” Copied from: http://www.apple.com/safari/whats-new.html#reader

Go out to lunch….For many solo lawyers, working through lunch and eating from a Styrofoam box on their desk may seem like an effective time management arrangement. But that is not always the case. Try to arrange several days per month of scheduled lunches with other lawyers, with referral sources, with other professionals (like accountants,) with past clients or potential clients. People have very busy schedules and yet most everyone takes time for lunch. It will usually be refreshing and might even be fun. While it is very possible that you may generate referrals or legal work from some of these lunches, do not behave as if that is that point. Be yourself and even if it turns out your lunch companion is not the most witty or charming person in the world, enjoy the break from the daily routine.

 Don’t go out for lunch…Feeling sluggish?  Out of shape?  Diminished energy?  Attitude suffering? Don’t laden yourself down with yet another high-calorie lunch.  Lace on the running shoes – and go out for a run or a walk. Enjoy the sunshine and the relief that a change of circumstances, fresh air and the sense of accomplishment of getting back into shape can bring.  Better yet – find a group of people who are outside of your usual group of suspects to run or walk together.  This way you can pep up the brain cells with extra oxygen and enjoy a change of perspective and a change of circumstances…all at once. It may be very possible to generate referrals and work from some of these runs or walks.  You will enjoy the break from your routine, arrive back at the office feeling reinvigorated and have had a chance to talk out problems with a sympathetic ear – thereby improving your attitude and possibly bringing back a fresh perspective to the tasks at hand.

 TIP ONE – Practice Management Advisor Reba Nance from the Colorado Bar recently wrote this great tip for sending email directly from Word.

Composing and Sending an E-Mail Without Ever Leaving Microsoft Word – Word 2007, 2003 and 2000
Many of us spend much of our time in Word.  Wouldn’t it be nice to easily compose and send an e-mail in Word rather than having to minimize Word, open Outlook to send the message, and then go back to Word?  Here’s how to do it in Word 2003 and earlier versions:

For Word 2003 and earlier versions —
1)  Open a new Word document and type the text of the e-mail as a normal Word document
2)  Click on the E-mail button on Word’s standard toolbar (you’ve probably never noticed it). To find it, hover your mouse over the icons until you see the word E-mail appear (the button will say Send to Mail Recipient in Word 2007)
3)  Enter the recipient’s e-mail address, just as you would if you were typing in Outlook
4)  Click on Send a Copy

Word will automatically paste the text of the Word document (where you typed the text of your e-mail) into the Introduction area of the box on top, send your e-mail via Outlook, and then return you to the Word document containing the text of your e-mail.  You can then exit the Word document without saving it, and go back to your original Word document.

For Word 2007 – If you use Word 2007, the E-Mail icon is not on the toolbar.  You must first add it:
1)  Click the Microsoft Office Button (the graphic in the upper left-hand corner), and then click Word Options
2)  Click Customize on the left, and then in the Choose commands from box, click on the down arrow (the default is Popular Commands)
3)  Choose All Commands from the drop-down menu
4)  Now scroll down the list until you see Send to Mail Recipient.  Highlight it and then click Add (in the middle of the page) to add the command to the Quick Access Toolbar
5)  Click OK
6)  The E-mail button should now be on the far right-hand side of Quick Access Toolbar (Look for Save, Undo, Open, etc.  It should be the one on the far right-hand side of that list and say Send to Mail Recipient.  It will now be there any time you open Word (so you won’t have to do this again).
7) Then, repeat steps 1 through 4 above.

 TIP TWO – Practice Management Advisor Nerino Petro from the Wisconsin Bar wrote this quick tip.

If you want to PERMANENTLY delete Outlook email messages quickly and easily, Microsoft has provided a very simple way of doing so on a message by message or folder by folder basis:

Hold down the Shift key and press the Delete key.

That’s it; nothing fancy or complex. When you delete a message this way, it bypasses the Deleted Items folder and is gone for good. If you do this with an Outlook Folder, it permanently deletes the entire folder.

TIP THREE – Michigan attorney Julie Fershtman noted the valuable grouping of articles on the ABA Law Practice Management Section’s Solo Resource Center page  http://www.abanet.org/lpm/solo/ .  There are several good articles here including A Googled, Webbed, Less-Papered, Freebie-Based Law Practice  by Sam B. Craig and Do Lawyers Really Need Practice Management Software? by Allison C. Shields.

If “information overload” or “information disorganization” is driving you nuts, check out Evernote http://www.evernote.com/ .  The free version is amazing, and the purchased version at $5/month is even more powerful.  This application works on practically every platform, integrates across devices, and is so easy to use; it is almost guaranteed to be a major contributor to your sanity. 

A very comprehensive review of Evernote is available from: http://ptech.allthingsd.com/20100120/evernote-review/ .    This is the introductory paragraph: “What if you could collect, in one well-organized, searchable, private digital repository, all the notes you create, clips from Web pages and emails you want to recall, dictated audio memos, photos, key documents, and more? And what if that repository was constantly synchronized, so it was accessible through a Web browser and through apps on your various computers and smart phones?”

The  Evernote review at http://thebloggingacademy.com/evernote-review-10-reasons-why-you-should-download-and-try-evernote/  includes “10 Reasons Why You Should Download and Try Evernote.” 

Read these reviews and see if this tool might be a valuable addition to your arsenal of information management solutions. Try the free version and upgrade to the paid version if you determine you need the additional features.  The comparison chart is available at: http://www.evernote.com/about/premium/

If you subscribe to and receive the hard copy version of “Law Practice,” sponsored by the ABA Law Practice Management Section, you know the July/August edition is very valuable.  The on line version of “Law Practice” is available at http://www.abanet.org/lpm/magazine/home.shtml .  This “Special Issue: Avoiding Malpractice” has feature articles written by Daniel Pinnington, William Freivogel, Jim Calloway, Justice Carole Curtis, Christian Stiegemeyer, Malcom Mercer and David Ries in addition to the regular columns.

Dealing with malpractice claims can bring your practice to a standstill.  Most attorneys today cannot afford to expend the time and energy required to deal with such claims regardless of the validity of the claim.  Instead, spend the time proactively doing your best to insure your practice from the risk of malpractice.  There are also new risks in the form of scams, social media, risks associated with a virtual practice and safeguarding client data.

The articles in this edition of “Law Practice” will help you evaluate your risk and determine what preventative actions to initiate. Be proactive; insure your days are spent practicing law on behalf of your clients, not in defense of your oversights or mistakes.

“The End of Lawyers” by Richard Susskind is a great read to get you thinking about the future of the practice of law.  You may or may not agree with his predictions, but reading the book will certainly make you think about how you can have a positive impact on the future of your law practice.  Doing everything the same way and expecting different results is not likely to enhance the success of your practice.

Especially if you are in the process of evaluating and upgrading the technology systems used by your office, consider the following concept adapted from his book:

Success will require working more quickly, more cheaply, more efficiently and to a higher quality using different methods of working. 

Susskind doesn’t suggest you should deliver less to your clients, he contends that you can deliver more and better service if you advantage technology in your practice.  Think about it.

The topic this article doesn’t discuss is provider coverage.  If you live and do business in an area where  AT&T coverage is not the greatest then the iPhone may not be the best choice for you no matter how badly you would like to be among the owners of the new iPhone 4. 

Coverage maps:

AT&T:  http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/#?type=voice . Zoom in to double check the extent of coverage in your area.  There is also a check box that lets you add 3G coverage to the voice coverage map. 

Verizon: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/CoverageLocatorController

Sprint: http://coverage.sprint.com/IMPACT.jsp

Read the PCWorld article and check out the coverage in your area before you make your decision - buy the right phone with the right coverage.

Remember –   “If you’re interested in ‘balancing’ work and pleasure, stop trying to balance them. Instead make your work more pleasurable.” 

Hint – quote from famous person who is sometimes on TV.  Don’t just go Googling for the easy answer.

Read Dan Pinnington’s article on the latest scam hitting primarily Family Law Practitioners.  http://avoidaclaim.com/?p=460  You can’t afford to ignore this warning.  These scams are getting more sophisticated and difficult to spot.

Dan’s article also points out that the time frame immediately preceding a holiday weekend is an especially active time for fraudsters to hit so you need to be extra cautious over the next couple of weeks.

All of your bells, whistles and sirens should go off loud and clear “if you receive an email message asking you to assist with the collection of spousal support arrears.”

Remember – “Let’s be careful out there.”   

(From what TV show? Hint the show title initials are HSB)