Center For Practice Management, Tip of the Month

Tips from the CPM ICYMI Newsletter (July-September 2020)

Every week subscribers receive the ICYMI enewsletter from the NCBA Center for Practice Management. The newsletter highlights tips, tools, trends, and techniques to help your law practice. Following are a few popular quick tips from the past issues of the newsletter.

How to Enable Ransomware Protection Feature on Windows 10

If you have a computer running Windows 10, Microsoft’s remarkably robust Windows Defender is already installed. However, if you want it to help protect your machine against ransomware you will need to turn that feature on. This article tells you how.

Microsoft is Bringing New Time Management Features to Outlook

The latest and greatest features for MS Outlook for Microsoft 365 often roll out in the browser version first. This article provides a run-down of the newest calendar features in the browser, the mobile version and what may be coming (or already available) in the Windows version of Outlook.

Craig Ball’s New Exemplar Preservation Letter

Thanks to Sharon Nelson at Ride the Lightening for highlighting Craig Ball’s eDiscovery preservation letter drafting aid. The letter lists and describes twenty-one types of ESI that are potentially relevant.

The Lowdown on NC Lawyers Taking Credit Cards 

There has been a repeated refrain during the pandemic regarding the importance of getting the bills out and getting paid. One bit of advice that is constant is “take credit cards”. But what should a NC lawyer know? What are the options and ethics to consider? Are there other types of e-payments a lawyer can take?

Amid COVID-19, people under 30 may finally kill email

The next generation of lawyers will eschew email, preferring other communication tools like video conferencing and chat tools. Law firms will need to understand how best to work with their younger clients and learn how to maintain records with these new communication tools.

Convert Your Recording into Text with Word’s New Transcribe 

MS Word now lets you take a recording and transcribe it in Word (speech to text). Jim Calloway from the OBA Management Assistance Program points out why this is a super useful feature for lawyers, including transcribing notes dictated to your phone or transcribing a recorded discussion. Now, the Transcribe tool is only available on the online version of Word, and only to Microsoft 365 subscribers.

A Home WiFi Alternative That Works Like Magic? 

If your wifi is slow or spotty due to the constant use by all your family members there are a few steps you can take to increase speed and coverage. This tip via John Simek at Sensei Enterprises Inc and explained by Jim Calloway is another device you can consider if you need a boost for your internet.

7 Tech Gadgets to Help You During the Pandemic

Some of the gadgets suggested to help you during the pandemic are of questionable value (Phone Soap) but others – like a good webcam – are vital.

How to Blur Your House on Google Street View (And Why You Should)

If someone has your home address they can “drive by” from afar via Google Street View. Whether you have a client who is trying to escape an abusive partner or you would rather not have anyone cybersnoop on your house, follow these steps to request your house be blurred in Google Street View.