Discoveries
New products and services
for lawyers
Do away with
paper messages
Legal
professionals can transmit phone messages and interoffice memos to
their handheld PDAs using a new add-on to PHONEslips software by Telexis.
Other
features include synchronized e-mail, address books, schedules, and
to-do lists. To use these features, at torneys must run their PDAs
on the PocketPC or Palm OS operating system.
Prices
start at $79.95 for single users and $199 for the two-user network
edition of PHONEslips.
For
more information and to obtain a free 30-day trial, visit www.phoneslips.com
or call (800) 301-8698.
Tap
big-firm case management in small firms
The
application service provider (ASP) version of Case Manager Pro 2.1
now allows small and medium-sized firms, and practice groups in large
firms, to access the case management software at a discount rate.
Case
Manager Pro, by Solutions in Software (SIS), helps attorneys share
information and manage documents, expenses, settlements, disbursements,
schedules, and workflow. The original product was created for plaintiff
attorneys who handle complex and mass tort cases and has been used
mainly in large firms.
ASP
technology lets lawyers in smaller firms license the same integrated
case management systems, with identical security and customer support
features, at a lower price. Users pay an initial setup cost of $1,000,
a monthly service fee of $200, and $18 per user each month.
For
pricing and activation details, call (214) 221-9995. For more information,
go to www.casemanagerpro.com.
Capture
notes digitally; display and edit with interactive lectern
Practitioners
and their staffs can now digitally reproduce notes and diagrams written
on a dry-erase whiteboard. The Camfire whiteboard camera, a new product
from SMART Technologies, captures high-resolution, digital color images
of a whiteboard's contents, which can then be edited and distributed
electronically. The product can be configured to capture up to four
4-by-8-foot white board images at once.
Two
versions of the camera are available: The Camfire PC, start ing at
$1,599, is integrated into and controlled by a personal computer.
The Camfire DCi, starting at $2,999, photographs the whiteboard through
a dedicated control unit.
The
SMART Sympodium, an interactive lectern console, lets attorneys simultaneously
present, edit, and save information in a courtroom or lecture hall.
It connects to a computer and displays the screen on the lectern and
to the audience. SMART Board software lets the presenter use a stylus
to write notes in multicolored electric ink, erase information, and
control applications. The lectern then captures and saves the edited
display.
Two
models, the IC-150 and IM-150 ($3,599 and $4,999, respectively), include
a console that can be built into a custom-made lectern and SMART Board
software. The L-150, which includes the console, software, and a lectern,
costs $7,999. The X-Port 30 Unit, included in the IM-150 and the L-150,
features a control panel that switches among up to three peripherals
such as computers, document cameras, VCRs, and DVDs.
For
more information, call (888) 42-SMART or visit www.smarttech.com.
Dial
phone through Palm handheld
Legal
professionals can automatically dial phone numbers stored in their
Palm handhelds with BeamDial, a wireless dialer.
Users
choose a client's number from the Palm's address book and select the
dial option. The accessory, while plugged into a phone line or a hotel
data port phone, receives the selected phone number from the Palm's
infrared port and dials it. For long-distance numbers, BeamDial connects
through the least-expensive long-distance or international service
and dials all access codes. It can also redial numbers stored in the
Palm.
The
dialer costs $49.95, and free software is available online. For more
information, visit www.beamdial.com
or call (818) 887-3637.
Serve
papers globally, automatically
The
Internet-based firm Serve-em.com recently launched its new automated
process-service clearinghouse. With this service, lawyers can send
legal documents to any location in the United States and abroad and
track the delivery online 24 hours a day.
Previously,
legal delivery services focused on local jurisdictions; long-distance
national and international deliveries were often more problematic
and processed as special requests rather than as a regular service.
To
arrange a delivery, contact Serve-em.com on the Internet or by phone,
fax, or e-mail, and say that the papers are ready for delivery. Serve-em.com
automatically sends a confirmation, either online, by fax, or by e-mail,
and dispatches a courier to pick up the documents. The company then
assigns the job to a process server in the receiving law office's
area.
After
the courier picks up the documents, they are scanned and monitored
until the papers are served. Upon final delivery, the sender is notified
and a proof of delivery is shipped overnight.
Other
features include 24-hour customer service and a free skip-tracing
service that allows delivery of papers to people at unknown locations.
Routine
process service costs $98; same-day rush service is available for
$198. For more information, call (800) SERVE-EM (737-8336) or visit
www.serve-em.com.
Secure
PDFs
SecurSign
2.0, a server application from Appligent, lets attorneys add security
and authentication features to their PDF documents.
It
includes features that encrypt or add digital signatures to documents,
preventing unauthorized modification or reproduction of confidential
material. Password protection restricts access to authorized individuals.
SecurSign
is compatible with the Adobe Acrobat digital signature mechanism in
Acrobat 4.0 and 5.0. It is available for Windows, Linux 7, AIX, Mac
OSX, Solaris, and HP-UX.
Prices
start at $2,495. For more information, visit www.appligent.com
or call (610) 284-4006.
Revamp
your estate-planning software
New
editions of Trust Plus and TrusTerminator estate-planning and trust-termination
practice software are now available from Cowles Legal Systems. Version
11 of both programs features a new customization tool that allows
users to import client and contact information, automatically incorporating
external document coding and formatting.
This
version of Trust Plus also helps attorneys draft estate plans by providing
sample document drafts and a checklist for use during first-time meetings
with clients. The system includes legal drafting aids, citation access,
marketing materials, and practice management tools.
The
updated TrusTerminator helps organize the trust-termination process
when clients die with revocable trusts as part of their estate plans.
The software creates documents for tax-identification-number applications,
state-specific deeds for distribution of assets to beneficiaries,
and worksheets to gather asset and inventory information.
Trust
Plus software costs $3,990, and TrusTerminator costs $2,990. A package
in cluding both titles is priced at $4,990. For more information,
call (800) 366-1730 or visit www.cowleslegal.com.
Information
for "Discoveries" is provided by the individual companies and does
not reflect an endorsement of any product by TRIAL or ATLA.
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