Yesterday's TechnoLawyer community AQ (answers to questions) email featured Affinity's Steve Best responding to a question about the stability of practice management software. Steve correctly notes that what users perceive as software bugs are more often environmental problems with local network hardware or issues with one or more of the computers on the network. Most practice management software, such as Amicus Attorney and Time Matters (the two programs mentioned in the TechnoLawyer email), are databases running over a network. One bad network card or cable anywhere on the network can wreak havoc with any networked database, including practice management software, causing the software to behave unpredictably and leading to possible data loss or corruption. Steve's advice for those experience stability problems with their existing practice management software is to find and correct the source of the problem rather than pay the high cost of switching to a different practice management application. A certified consultant in that software can best help resolve these issues. Here is the text of Steve's comment: As a certified consultant for both Amicus Attorney AND Time Matters, I think it is incredibly important to advise everyone that BOTH products essentially do the same thing. They are both fantastic products! Each, of course, has strengths and each, of course, has weaknesses. Mr. Gann complains that Amicus Attorney is unstable, but the fact is that Amicus Attorney is typically a very stable product and my company has proudly installed it in hundreds of firms and supported it for over 10 years. The truth of the matter is that Amicus Attorney, Time Matters and all central database software products can be sensitive to their environment. Because they are reliant on a stable network, any failure on the part of the software is just exposing possible problems on your network. It is much more common to find an environmental problem on the network than to find a bug in a software. In the grand equation, software is the constant; the network, servers and workstations are the variables. Software developers do the very best they can to ensure a stable product. Even the best results in a test or BETA environment couldn't possibly catch every single glitch or bug (yes bugs do exist ... don't get me wrong). I am a FIRM believer in NOT switching from one software product to another based upon stability alone. My good friend and colleague Debbie Foster often reminds us that EVERY software product has ten problems. She correctly advocates the "devil you know theory," and it absolutely applies to software. Switching from one software product for another trades the first software's ten problems for ten different problems. Honestly, if your refrigerator doesn't keep food cold, don't blame the souring milk. I would, quite frankly, stick with what you have until you have mastered every nuance of the product and embraced its best features. And, get the best training you can. If you then feel that you've simply outgrown the product, investigate switching, hire a consultant to help you (don't balk at hiring a consultant ... we are experts ... remember clients don't need lawyers, they can represent themselves, but they hire you because you are an expert ... so practice what you preach ...), and above all do your due diligence. I've gone to firms that abandoned Amicus for Time Matters and went back, and I've worked with firms that left Time Matters for Amicus and switched back. And, kudos to all of you for having case management software. And before you switch, check the software system requirements, evaluate your network, your virus detection software and the like. In all honesty, if Amicus is unstable on your network, what makes you think Time Matters will run any better (and vice versa)? If you are not a member of the TechnoLawyer community, you should be. Join here and sign up for useful emails such as the weekly AQ email.

AMICUS ATTORNEY UPGRADE PROMOTION for JUNE 2010 We are pleased to let you know that during the month of June, Amicus Attorney is running an upgrade promotion to the 2010 product line. All Amicus customers will receive: •20% off Amicus 2010 upgrade licences; or •40% off Amicus 2010 upgrade licenses with the purchase of an Amicus Maintenance Plan (3 year commitment that locks in your annual upgrade price). If you've not yet seen the benefits of Amicus Attorney 2010, please review them HERE . And, please contact your Amicus Certified Affinity Consulting Group consultant to obtain a quote. Remember, this sale ends on JUNE 30th.

Affinity-Atlanta's Steven Best was interviewed by Worldox Tech Talk TV at the recent Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) conference in Boston. He explains the breadth and depth of services offered by Affinity Consulting Group in this 3.5 minute video. Steve focuses on how to reduce the burdensome flow of paper through the law office. See the interview here.

Gavel & Gown Software, the developers of Amicus Attorney, have announced the release of Amicus Attorney 2010. Amicus 2010, both Small Firm and Premium Editions include new features that many users have been waiting for: color coding on appointments, progressive proirities on To-Do's, appointment adjournments (keeping track of when appointments get re-scheduled), improved document generation (it's really time to stop cutting and pasting from an old document to a new document), a firm member in/out board, and improved matter intake forms. Firms who've purchased Amicus' "maintenance plan" in 2009 are entitled to a free upgrade to Amicus Attorney 2010 while the maintenance plan is current. If not, upgrade licenses are on sale through the close of business (eastern time) on Friday, January 29th.

On October 15, 2009, the President of Software Technology, Inc., announced that Version 15 of Tabs3(R) billing and PracticeMaster(R) practice management software is compatible with Windows(R) 7. Software Technology, Inc. is also a Microsoft Gold Certified partner. As always, before upgrading your PC to Windows 7, we strongly advise consulting with your Affinity Consulting Group partner company for advice on how that upgrade may affect other software or hardware in your office.

Gavel & Gown software announced discount promotions on Amicus Attorney valid through December 31, 2009. Amicus Attorney is the world's leading practice management software for law firms. Amicus Attorney software solutions are designed specifically for law firms. With Amicus software, legal professionals will improve the efficiency and profitability of their firms and get the most out of the time they spend practicing law. Amicus products are used by tens of thousands of law firms around the world every day to manage their busy practices. New Amicus Attorney customers are offered a: 15% discount on Amicus Attorney 2009 licenses 30% discount on Amicus Attorney 2009 licenses if an Amicus Maintenance Plan is purchased. Amicus Attorney customers who do not currently have Amicus Accounting are being offered a: 30% discount on Amicus Accounting 2009 licenses For details, contact your Affinity Consulting Group partner company.

I've had an eFax web-based faxing account for over a decade. It has served me well. I junked my dedicated fax machine many years ago. But now I am considering switching to a less expensive alternative that links to, and leverages, my Skype account. First, a bit a about Skype before we get to faxing. If you don't have a Skype account, you should. The basic account is free. A free account allows you to call other Skype users computer to computer. But the real value with Skype comes from its paid (but inexpensive) subscription and on-line number services. The subscription is just $2.95 per month and allows you to call any land-line, cell, or VoIP telephone number in the U.S. and Canada. An on-line number gives your Skype account, which can be run on multiple computers and even on cell phones (it runs on my Windows Mobile smart phone, for example), its own phone number. With that number, anyone can call you from a regular or cell phone without using their computer. If you want to add an on-line number to your Skype subscription, it is just $30 per year. If you want to leverage your Skype account even more and break away from using a headset with your computer to make or receive calls, add one of the many Skype-compatible phones at the Skype store or on the web. Back to faxing. PamFax is both a service and software that integrates with your Skype account. Just select the file you want to send and pick a fax recipient. PamFax prices are lower than eFax. Efax Monthly Subscription $16.95 Setup Fee (one time) $10.0o $.15 per page for received faxes per month after 130 free pages $.10 per page for sent faxes per month after 30 free pages PamFax Monthly subscription $5.84 ($70.09 per year) Setup Fee $0.00 $0.00 per page for received faxes (unlimited) per month. $0.089 per page for sent faxes per month. Both services provide you with your own fax number to receive faxes from ordinary fax machines as well as other web-based fax accounts. I noticed that PamFax does not yet offer numbers in a few U.S. area codes. I have not yet switched to PamFax. I have business cards with my eFax number. But I may be ready to redesign my cards anyway. This is in interesting option.

I have written my last paper check. Well, not entirely. There are still times when I need to write a check, such as for appellate filing fees in my cases. But otherwise, I am through. I am avoiding paper checks not due to any new technology employed in my practice. It is because for each of the last two days someone has passed a counterfeit check bearing my routing and account number at two different Walmart stores, neither in my community. I am not missing any paper checks. None have been misplaced or stolen. Instead, it appears that someone obtained my routing and account numbers from a paper check I wrote somewhere (I write only a handful each month, so there are not many possibilities) and then printed a batch of counterfeit checks bearing my information. Because many retailers, including Walmart, now use electronic debit systems and immediately return the paper check to the customer, there is no clear paper trail for law enforcement to follow (nor any chance of obtaining fingerprints from the check). Fortunately, at least Walmart has video recordings of transactions at checkout counters. Most also have video cameras recording the comings and goings in the parking lot, so it is often possible to associate the culprit at the checkout with a particular vehicle in the parking lot. I pay the vast majority of my bills by credit card or using my bank's on-line payment service. That service can pay large vendors electronically. But you can add anyone as a payee and have the bank mail a paper check mailed to that person or business. The great thing about the bank mailing a check is that the bank's check does not contain your account information. That omission provides greater protection from identify theft and the type of check fraud I've experienced the last two days. Trust me. Being a crime victim is no fun. I hope the culprit enjoys his new Blu-ray players purchased with checks written on my account - NOT! You may want to avoid writing paper checks in any situation where it is not absolutely necessary.

If you are interested in law office technology, you should subscribe to Law Technology News (LTN). U.S. subscriptions are free. But you need to answer a few questions to receive your free subscription. The current issue includes an article by attorney Jason Havens about his firm's experience with LogMeIn Pro for remote control and access of the firm's computers. He reported that LogMeIn Pro increased his firm's productivity substantially. At Affinity Consutling Group, we've used and installed remote access solutions including LogMeIn for many years. We can help you decide which software and service works best for your firm.

Adriana Linares and Debbie Foster have just launched their new Podcast, called Legal 3.Oh! produced by the LegalTalk Network. It is available for download here, or you can subscribe to it in iTunes! Search Legal 3.Oh! in the iTunes store and subscribe for free! Here is the description of the podcast: In this first edition of Legal 3.Oh!, co-hosts and legal technology consultants, Adriana Linares and Debbie Foster offer their insights that can unravel some of the complexities of technology for lawyers. Hear three good reasons why practice management software might help. Adriana and Debbie welcome special guest Dan Berlin, President of Software Technology Inc. to talk about what you need to know about practice management software and how it can work in your law firm.

We firmly believe that lawyers benefit greatly from practice management software designed expressly for law firms.  Ordinary personal information managers (PIM's) such as the Palm Desktop or Microsoft Outlook, even when they share info over a network or the Web (which may be difficult or require additional hardware, software, or services), come up short primarily for one reason:  They have no ability to organized information based on a case or matter.  Instead, they organize information based on contacts.  That is not how firms organize their files.  Look in your file cabinet.  Your files are likely organized by case or matter, not by contact.

I remain absolutely convinced that practice management software is much more useful to a law firm than the much more limited category of personal information managers such as Outlook or Palm Desktop.  The principal shortcoming of PIM's in a law office setting is that they organize information around contacts and events, not cases, matters, or files like practice management software.  Yet, there remain some solos and small firms that opt to stick with PIM's for a variety of reasons including cost and simplicity.