Digital Edge Podcast Hosts Outlook Guru Ben Schorr

I forgot to mention earlier that the August edition of our podcast, the Digital Edge: Lawyers and Technology, is an interview with Ben Schorr, author of The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft® Outlook 2007. I've known Ben for several years now and Sharon Nelson and I had fun interviewing him. Listen to the podcast to get a few Outlook tips without buying the book. But, you will probably decide to buy the book if and when you get Outlook 2007. I have to admit Outlook 2007 has been one of my favorite upgrades of the year.

2008 Summer Reading List: The 2008 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide

I guess I should finish my Summer Reading List series before summer is finished!

The 2008 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide is subtitled "Critical Decisions Made Simple." The co-authors are Sharon D. Nelson, John W. Simek and Michael C. Maschke. This book was just published in March, 2008, so don't think you should wait for next year's version just because it is now July.

This book is an incredible resource for a new lawyer just setting up a practice or a small firm where none of the lawyers are particularly tech-savvy. The most surprising thing about this book is how easy it is to read. One would assume that it is a reference guide primarily to be used when a question occurs or a project is planned, but it is actually meant to be read and, due to its brevity, (113 pages plus a Glossary and Index) it can be read fairly quickly. The fact that this book will actually be read and not just sit on a shelf is its greatest strength. If you are someone who is frequently confronted by technology terms you do not understand, this book can be the complete solution for you.

The book is chock full of the author's opinions, which makes it entertaining and useful. However, the book's greatest strength is perhaps its weakness as well. Brevity requires significant trade offs. I'd probably be more of a fan if the book was 20% larger because a few of the topics left me wanting more. (There are only two pages on scanners and three on billing software to cite the two most notable examples.) But the chapter on scanners is followed up by great overviews on servers and networking hardware. Have you ever tried to find beginner level explanations of servers?

To be fair, I'm not the target audience for this book, nor is a large law firm IT professional. If you need this book, you know who you are and you can get a great education here. The purchase price is quite reasonable at $79.95, less for ABA Law Practice Management Section members or those whose state bars provide the books at a discount.

You can download the first chapter and the table of contents here. One reviewer gives us his favorite quotes from the book here.

2008 Summer Reading List: The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft® Outlook 2007

I just got my copy of Ben Schorr's new book, The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft® Outlook 2007, and have only spent a few moments with it. I'm excited about this book personally. I trust Ben's judgment. I was a co-presenter with him on a couple of law practice management panels at the ABA meeting in his home state of Hawaii a couple of years ago. (Yeah, tough duty, I know.) Ben's a law office technology consultant and IT guy who has a talent for explaining things where everyone can understand them. As much as I hate Vista, I think there are a lot of positive things about Microsoft Office 2007. I really like Outlook 2007. We all use e-mail every day now and there are so many Outlook features that most lawyers ignore like flags, tasks and mail merges. If you upgrade to Outlook 2007, someone in your office needs to read this book.

Since I have not read the book yet, I will defer to Laura Calloway's detailed review here. But after reading her review, I'm sure you will want to take a look at this publication if you are an Outlook 2007 user. Oklahoma Bar members who are not ABA Law Practice Management section members can contact my assistant, Sharon Dotson, for discounted pricing on this book.

2008 Summer Reading List: The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together

A snappy, short and informative title can really help sell a book. According to that index, I must jokingly note that my friends Tom Mighell and Dennis Kennedy scored one out of three with The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together. However, what they have scored is a timely and important book released at just the right time. OK, great content can sell a book, too. This book could be quite valuable to knowledge workers outside of the legal profession. It is bargain-priced and you really shouldn't miss it.

Right now most of you reading this blog post probably make scant use of online collaborative technology. Most of you would never dream of doing something as basic as sharing your desktop with opposing counsel over the Internet to speed review of a document you are negotiating. (And, of course, few of you know how.) Here's my bold prediction. By the end of next year, many, if not most, of you will be making using of this type of technology and some of the other tools noted in Dennis and Tom's book. Collaborative project management software is ideal for large legal projects with several team members. For just a taste, read Dennis' American Bar Association Journal column for June, 2008 SharePoint: A Killer Legal App.

So even if you think opposing counsel will never access any part of your computer absent an order from the U.S. Supreme Court or hiring a team of seasoned hackers, you may want to purchase this book just to see what everyone else may be doing. (And, remember most of collaborative technology is about working with your own team members and clients anyway.)

If you want to read still more about the book, Jordan Furlong concurs with my views.

2008 Summer Reading List: Solo by Choice

We are definitely into the 2008 summer reading season now and so I am going to feature some great summer reading materials over the next few weeks--all in the law practice arena.

I can almost hear some of you chuckling now. Reading about law practice ideas in your summer recreation time probably sounds very unappealing. I'd agree for the most part, but for the solo or small firm lawyer or the lawyer who is seriously contemplating a move in that direction, I will suggest one book that you might consider dropping in the beach bag (next to the trashy novel or thriller, of course!) The book is Solo by Choice by Carolyn Elefant and it may contain more great advice, inspiration and common sense per page than any other book a small firm lawyer can locate. At three hundred pages, you will find that you actually can read it from beginning to end. The $45 price is affordable to even the most cash-strapped beginning lawyer.

In fact, I have to confess that I've been negligent in not mentioning this book, which came out near the first of the year, before now. Many of you should know Carolyn Elefant from her ground-breaking blog, My Shingle, with its numerous resources for small firm lawyers. If you have looked at Carolyn's blog output, you know that she could easily pen a 300, 500 or 1000 page book entirely on her own. But Carolyn made the decision to include many other voices and opinions in the book, from familiar experts to practicing lawyers from across the country. This makes Solo by Choice a very rich and easy-to-read information source indeed.

I could say more. But in the months that this book has been available, it has received detailed reviews from Inspired Solo Sheryl Sisk Schelin,  Scott Greenfield of Simple Justice and, quite recently, from Al Nye the Lawyer Guy. The reviews are all raves. If you are considering a jump to solo practice, buy this book. If you are a solo or small firm lawyer and could use ideas, inspiration or affirmation, buy this book. If you are very thrifty, then buy this book from Amazon instead of the official site linked above. Just buy it. Congratulations, Carolyn. We appreciate the hard work that led to Solo by Choice.