For Lawyers On The Go: How To Build Your Complete Law Firm Mobile Office
For lawyers on the go, a mobile office is a necessity. Whether you're flying, riding in a vehicle, staying in a hotel or headed to the courtroom, you must have constant access to data- and lots of it. This list of tools may not cover every program you currently use and you may have your preferences. But if you need a great mobile office, you could do much worse than to grab these useful tools to take with you on the go.
Mobile
The first tool you need is a mobile device. You undoubtedly already have a smartphone but for the best compatibility with apps and other software, you should have either an Android or iPhone, along with either an iPad or Android tablet. Faster is better so if you can get 4G, do it. The new Samsung S-4 has (up to this point) blown all competitors away with its unbeatable features and superior Knox security, which also separates the phone into two sections- one to keep your personal data private and one to keep your business data secured.
Contracts and documents
Contracts and other legal documents are extremely important to your law firm practice. You can use program such as HotDocs, Dealbuilder, Brightleaf and Neota Logic to automatically create contracts and other documents.
To automatically review and analyze your contracts, you can use apps such as DiligenceEngine, KIIAC, KMStandards and Seal.
You can create documents using Microsoft Office but there are competent alternatives such as Google Docs and OpenOffice. You can also create legal forms using LEXIS Practice Advisor and Practical Law Company.
Some of the best apps for sharing and storing documents are Dropbox and Box. These are cloud services that provide access to your documents at all times, from any device. While Dropbox does provide encryption for files during transfer and during storage, you may wish to have more control over the encryption of your documents. In that case, you can use encryption software such as Ensafer or Sookasa.
To automatically review and analyze your contracts, you can use apps such as DiligenceEngine, KIIAC, KMStandards and Seal.
You can create documents using Microsoft Office but there are competent alternatives such as Google Docs and OpenOffice. You can also create legal forms using LEXIS Practice Advisor and Practical Law Company.
Some of the best apps for sharing and storing documents are Dropbox and Box. These are cloud services that provide access to your documents at all times, from any device. While Dropbox does provide encryption for files during transfer and during storage, you may wish to have more control over the encryption of your documents. In that case, you can use encryption software such as Ensafer or Sookasa.
Budgeting
Your budgeting can be handled by using a Google Docs Spreadsheet or by using EditGrid, another useful tool for spreadsheet management.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
The easiest way to describe CRM is that it encompasses all aspects of interaction that your law firm has with the client. There are many specialized and customized CRM programs available. A couple of the most popular apps are Salesforce, SugarCRM and Zoho.
Project management
There are many programs that claim to be project management software, but there are only a few that can stand up to the test. Basecamp and Teamwork are two extremely competent project management tools. There are others that are more specialized toward legal matters such as Clio and Rocket Matter.
Outcome prediction
One handy tool you may find useful is an outcome prediction tool such as Lex Machina. Law firms use Lex Machina to provide IP litigation and transaction solution services to clients and prepare winning business development presentations that quantify experience and compare with competitors.
Backup
Storing your data online makes it quickly accessible and makes your practice run more efficiently. But you need to use a backup service such as cloudHQ in order to ensure that you are prepared in case data loss were to occur. The cloudHQ service provides an automated and continuous backup of all your important documents and files. In the event data loss were to occur, restoring your data is simple and quick so there are no interruptions in your work.
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