Popular Articles from the CPM ICYMI Newsletter (September 2023 – December 2023)
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. The following are a few popular links from the past issues of the newsletter.
How to Create a Fillable Form in Microsoft Word (9/8/2023)
If you haven’t embraced document assembly tools but would like to create a few forms for use within the office, this article shows step by step instructions to create a fillable form in Microsoft Word. This is not a form to send to clients, (there are better and more user-friendly ways to gather information) but this could speed up work internally.
No, Don’t Write Down Passwords (9/15/2023)
Leo Notenboom has been providing candid and plain language tech advice since 2003. In this article he explains why writing down your passwords in a notebook is not the best idea, despite the recent advice found in the August/September 2023 issue of AARP magazine. He also explains why storing your passwords in your browser is problematic.
Compare Documents in Word | Quickly Redlining Legal Documents (9/29/2023)
Microsoft Word’s comparison features are a lot more sophisticated than you might think. Danielle DavisRoe illustrates the options for comparing two documents in MS Word. Got two PDFs? Some PDF software like Kofax and Adobe have document comparison too!
Artificial Intelligence Tools and Tips (10/6/2023)
Jim Calloway and Julie Bays from the Oklahoma Management Assistance program explain ways lawyers can leverage artificial intelligence tools in their practice in practical ways to help quickly accomplish tasks in minutes instead of hours.
Showing Value in Billing Descriptions (10/13/2023)
Have you ever had a client write down a bill? Or question an amount? Your bill is one of your most important client communications. Find ways to show the value of the work you do for clients, follow best practices for billing and send invoices that clients pay without question. You can also develop standardized descriptions for your whole firm to use if you do not already use billing codes with your clients.
Five Changes to Make Microsoft Office Saves More Reliable (10/20/2023)
If you have ever lost your work because you opened a new document in Word and started typing without creating a file name and identifying a location, follow these steps to help reduce the dreaded moment when you realize it is gone. One particularly interesting tip here is the “Save All” files button you can add in the Quick Access toolbar – one of the useful commands Not in the Ribbon.
Taking Screenshots, Your Guide for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and More (11/10/2023)
There are a lot of ways to create screenshots of your phone and computer screen. This tutorial expounds on the different tools that you may have and explains different use cases. The article also mentions how to zoom in, add annotations, blur out private information, where to store the screenshot, and much more. Even if you regularly take screenshots, you might find some of this information helpful.
Top Apps When Going Through a Divorce (11/17/2023)
Family law attorney Ketan Soni from Soni Brendle has put together a list of tech tools that you can use or share with clients to make communication, budgeting, child support, personal inventory, and even stress easier to manage during a difficult time. See also Jim Calloway’s Legal Technology and the Family Lawyer for some thoughts on how family law attorneys can leverage tech and advice clients.
How to Stop Judging | Relax and Start Enjoying Your Life (12/1/2023)
Gray Robinson suggests something easy to say but harder to do – stop judging. But if you can make this a goal and achieve it some of the time you will find that giving people the benefit of the doubt, or simply try to remove your personal lens and see things more objectively, will ultimately help your emotional well-being. The author suggests that by reducing judgement you can reduce your stress. A good message for the holiday season.
Transform The Look of Your Word Documents Fast (12/8/2023)
While the formatting of legal documents is dense and required by court rules, if you are sending a letter to clients, uploading a white paper, or otherwise have some leeway to make your document more pleasing to the eye this article shows you how to use Design Tab and Themes to instantly give a boring looking document a facelift.
Beware! The Corporate Transparency Act is Upon Us (12/22/2023)
The CTA (Corporate Transparency Act) goes into effect on January 1, 2024, and will impose Federal reporting requirements on many small businesses, including corporations, LLC or any other business entity formed by filing with a Secretary of State. This article provides a good overview of what is expected to be done and when.