Category Archives: Technology

US District Court Countdown to NextGen

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Do you practice in the US District Court for the District of Oregon? Are you ready for NextGen – the new version of Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF)? If not, act now because time is running out. Here are the pertinent timelines and to-dos.

Effective date for NextGen

Tuesday, January 21, 2020.

When CM/ECF will be Offline

From 3:00 p.m. on Friday, January 17, 2020 through 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. During this time, notices of electronic filing will not be issued.

Court-Imposed Deadlines 

Court-imposed deadlines falling on Friday, January 17, 2020 are extended to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21, 2020. Standing Order 2019-13.

Time-Sensitive Filings Must be Submitted by Email

The Clerk’s Office will accept via email time-sensitive filings, such as filings nearing statute of limitations deadlines, requests for emergency injunctive relief, and notices of appeal.

Counsel or self-represented parties who are concerned about whether a filing must be submitted to the Clerk to ensure its timeliness should also submit the filing by email during the period when CM/ECF is unavailable.

Documents must be submitted to filings@ord.uscourts.gov and will be deemed filed as of the date received. Any documents submitted via email during this time will be entered on the docket by the Clerk’s Office as soon as practical after CM/ECF is operational. Standing Order 2019-13.

Upgrade Your PACER Account Now

Attorneys will NOT be able to log in and file with their current CM/ECF user names and passwords after January 21, 2020. To avoid any interruption in filing:

Note: Attorneys are required to have individual, upgraded PACER Accounts. Shared accounts may not be used.

All Rights Reserved 2020 Beverly Michaelis

 

Resolve to Improve Your Practice in the New Year

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What are your New Year’s resolutions?

 

You don’t really have to choose, because in 2020 you’ll see posts on all these topics and more!

STREAMLINE YOUR PRACTICE IN THE NEW YEAR

We begin the year with a Fresh Start.  If you’ve ever felt disorganized or overwhelmed, this post is for you.  No habit or office system is written in stone.  You can make adjustments, update your practices, or create new procedures. For a kickstart, visit this blog next Monday.

BETTER CLIENT MANAGEMENT

Recommitting to marketing and client retention begins with understanding how to control and relate to clients.  Download my free eBook, Tips for Improving Client Relationships.

SHOW ME THE MONEY

Collecting fees is a battle every lawyer fights. We’ll start the new year with a deeper understanding of fee agreements, billing, and collections.

BETTER TECH FOR EVERYONE

Every year brings new tech tips, gadgets, and websites worth your time and investment. If you just can’t wait, check out 2019’s Technology Tips for Busy Legal Professionals, featuring workflow automation, the importance of practice management integration, better email management and document drafting with apps, ink-to-digital notebooks, specialty legal keypads, smart conference room cameras, how to create a free online business profile, ethically-compliant business texting, online contract lawyering resources, AI-powered legal research, and more.

Happy New Year!

Tumalo River

All Rights Reserved – Beverly Michaelis 2020

Looking Back at 2019

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Looking back at 2019 we covered a lot of ground. From posts on your career and well-being to eCourt, court procedures, finances, security, technology, and more. Here’s the recap:

Career

eCourt and Court Procedures

Finances

Security

Technology

Well-Being

Workflow and Office Systems

Odds & Ends

Happy (almost) New Year’s Eve and Happy New Year!

All Rights Reserved 2019 Beverly Michaelis

20 Apps for Lawyers

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It’s been a while since we talked apps. From the first iPhone/iPad educational tracks at the ABA TECHSHOW, iOS apps for lawyers have only grown. We’re an attractive market with money to spend, even if our profession tends to be slow in adopting new technology.

This begs the question: which new (or newer) apps are among the best? Which of the tried and true are still worth using? Check out my curated list of the top 20 most-mentioned apps for lawyers:

Calendaring and Docketing

SmartDockets, DocketLaw, and CourtDaysPro promise to help users quickly and easily calculate deadlines using federal and state automated court rules. Choose the court, the trigger, the date and time, hit “Calculate” to get the result, and post to your calendar.

Courtroom Presentations

Looking for courtroom presentation software? TrialPad is the most popular kid on the block. The developer, LitSoftware, boasts “Whether you need to display a document in an evidentiary hearing, annotate a photo during a deposition, or compare, highlight, and call out two documents for a jury, TrialPad makes it easy. And while you can plug and play in the courtroom or the boardroom, you can also present wirelessly with AppleTV.” TrialDirector is free, and a good alternative if you have limited exhibits and no need to display video.

Credit Card Processing

SquareRegister lands high on the popularity list, but isn’t the best when it comes to trust accounting compliance. Honestly, you’d be better off with LawPay or Headnote.

Digital Signing Apps

Jeff Richardson of iPhoneJD favors SignMyPad Pro for digital signature capture. I’m a fan of DocuSign and HelloSign, which integrate with some of the more popular cloud-based practice management programs.

Encrypted Messaging for Lawyers

If you care about secure client communications (and you should), eielegal is for you. It offers “encrypted information exchange,” thus the name, and also creates an archive of conversations. As you’ll recall from a post two years ago, texts are part of the client file and should be preserved. The eielegal app solves that problem, as does Zipwhip.

File Sharing, Storage, Markup, and Management

Dropbox remains the most popular app for file sharing and storage. While the standard version will get you far, the advanced version at $20/month is a great price point for unlimited file storage. Advanced data protection is available for both.

Want to read, markup, sign, and share docs? Consider iAnnotate.

Readdle Docs and GoodReader are the kings of file management – superior to iOS’ “Files” app. Both allow users to open, access, and work with files regardless of where they are stored.

Legal Research

Everyone loves the Fastcase app but if you’re looking for an alternative, consider Westlaw or LexisAdvance.

Reminders

Sometimes free is best. The built-in iOS Reminders app does a stellar job of creating time- and location-based reminders. Tell your iPhone: “Remind me to call John Doe when I get to my office.” When you return, your iPhone will notice you’re in the office and remind you to make the call. Doesn’t get better than that!

All Rights Reserved 2019 Beverly Michaelis

 

Should MCLE Requirements Follow Emerging Trends?

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The Washington Supreme Court Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Board says yes.

As reported by NW Sidebar, the board voted to send such an amendment to the Washington BOG for its approval. The proposed changes would require one credit hour each of:

  • Equity, inclusion, and anti-bias,
  • Mental health and addiction, and
  • Technology education focusing on digital security

per MCLE reporting period. The three credit hours would be part of WSBA’s ethics requirement (six credits overall).

Where Oregon Stands

Equity, inclusion, and anti-bias

Presently, Oregon requires three introductory Access to Justice (AJ) credits per reporting period. Equity, inclusion, and anti-bias are often folded into Access to Justice programming. For examples of AJ CLEs, visit the PLF Website.

Mental health and addiction

Beginning January 1, 2019, all Oregon State Bar members are required to obtain one credit hour per reporting period on the subject of mental health, substance use and cognitive impairment (MHSU). You can learn more about MHSU credit here.

The Oregon Attorney Assistance Program (OAAP) has a wide variety of past CLE programs that qualify for MHSU credit. To find MHSU programming, visit the PLF website. Under “Credit Type,” choose Mental Health and Substance Use, then click the blue SEARCH button.

On October 17, 2019 in Bend, Oregon the OAAP will present “Supporting Lawyer Well-Being: What is Your Role?” The program includes an optional reception and social with fellow Deschutes County attorneys and the Professional Liability Fund Board of Directors. For more information, or to register, click here. The CLE and social are free.

Technology education – Digital Security

Oregon does not yet require explicit training on issues of digital security, but don’t be surprised if this is added to our curriculum.

Oregon and Washington seem to follow each other in tandem when it comes to policy changes, such as MCLE requirements. Further, the Oregon bar has already made clear that competent representation includes competent use of technology and protection of clients’ digital information. Can a new MCLE credit be far behind?

All Rights Reserved 2019 Beverly Michaelis