Every year the ABA TECHSHOW brings together some of the best legal technology minds our profession has to offer. This year was no exception. Over the next few posts I’ll share what I learned at this year’s conference. Today: the best of 60 Tips in 60 Minutes.

Microsoft Office

Office Ribbon getting in the way?

Use Ctrl F1 to toggle it off (and on).

View recently opened documents in Word with a quick right click

Want to see the most recently opened items in Word? Right click on the Word icon on your desktop. A list of recently opened items appears (whether Word is launched or not.)

Recover unsaved Word 2010/2013 documents or Excel 2010/2013 Workbooks

If your computer crashes and you haven’t saved your document or spreadsheet, act fast to recover your document. In Word or Excel 2010/2013, select File > Info > Manage Versions to recover your unsaved documents.

Print a blank Outlook calendar

A blank Outlook calendar can be handy for coordinating with others, but how can you print one that doesn’t show scheduled court dates, client appointments, or other events? Easy! The steps vary according to your version of Outlook. Here are links to the instructions: Outlook 2007, Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013.

Reveal a sender’s full e-mail address

Sometimes e-mail messages only show the sender’s name. If you want to see the full e-mail address, follow these steps: In the blue message header, mouse over the name, right click, choose properties > show full e-mail address.

Need a system to follow-up on sent e-mails?

Here are two approaches.

Option 1 – Create a “Waiting For” folder in Outlook

Drag e-mails that require a follow-up to this destination. If desired, add a “code” to the body of your message like “wff” (Waiting For Folder). Create an Outlook rule that looks for this code and auto-files the messages that contain it in the Waiting For Folder.

Option 2 – The cc: method

Set up a “Delegated Mail” folder in Outlook. Copy yourself on all e-mails that require a follow-up. Create an Outlook rule that checks messages when they arrive, looks for your name as the sender and for your name in the cc: box. Direct the rule to file messages that meet this criteria in a “Delegated Mail” folder.

Eliminate long, redundant e-mail threads

In Outlook 2010/2013, delete redundant e-mail strings by using “Clean Up a Conversation.” The clean up function removes the prior e-mails and keeps only the most recent message – which has the entire thread.

How about a handy shortcut to an e-mail address?

Create one right on your desktop. Right click, select New > Shortcut. In the “Create Shortcut” dialog box, type mailto: and the desired e-mail address. For example: mailto:joesmith@gmail.com (leave no spaces between the colon and the e-mail address). Click Finish. You can now send an e-mail to Joe directly from your desktop without launching Outlook.

Never forget an attachment again

Download CodeTwo and never forget an e-mail attachment again. This free download looks for keywords in the body of your e-mail like “enclosed” and “attached” and reminds you to add an attachment before your e-mail is sent.

Bloated e-mail inbox?

Clean it up with Outlook’s cleanup tools. Choose File > Info > Cleanup Tools. Choose Mailbox Cleanup… to manage the size of your mailbox with advanced tools, empty deleted items permanently, or move old items to an archive folder.

Disabling “reply to all” or “forwarding”

To prevent clients from forwarding e-mails or using “reply to all” inappropriately use this workaround to disable the functionality. Yes, a persistent user can still “copy and paste” the body of your e-mail into a new message, but disabling forwarding or “reply to all” tends to stop 99% of perpetrators.

Work with clients or collaborate with colleagues in a different time zone?

Follow these easy steps to add a second time zone to your calendar in Outlook.

Open Your Mail and Calendar in Separate Windows

It can be annoying to toggle back and forth between your mail and other components of Outlook. From anywhere in Outlook’s Navigation pane (Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Notes) right click on the second Outlook item you wish to view and choose “Open in new window.”

Security and Privacy

Looking for a secure flash drive?

Here are three good options: Imation Defender F200 Biometric, Aegis Secure Key, CMS Secure Vault FIPS.

Computer Screen Privacy

Keep prying eyes off your computer screen with PrivateEye from Oculis. Using facial recognition, the software instantly blurs your monitor if you leave your desk or turn away.

Wish you could monitor your servers remotely?

You can with PC Monitor. Compatible with iPad, iPhone, iPod. Free for non-commercial use.

Secure external hard drives

Just as flash drives should be encrypted or protected with biometrics, lawyers should take similar precautions to secure external hard drives. Here are three choices: Lenovo ThinkPad USB 3.0 Secure Hard Drive, Aegis Padlock, CMS Secure Disk Vault.

That Pesky Facebook

If you love connecting with friends and family on Facebook, but are worried about who might have access to your data, check out MyPermissions. Sign up to receive alerts when a Facebook app gains access to your personal information.

Productivity

Addicted to multiple monitors and wish you had one for the road?

You can with the portable Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14″ widescreen LED travel monitor. Available on Amazon for under $200.

Looking for a fast, simple solution for installing apps on your new computer?

Try Ninite – directly download the most commonly used Web apps with no muss, no fuss.

Meet the new scanner on the block

Everyone knows about the Fujitsu Scansnap s1500, but meet the new and improved kid on the block: the Fujitsu Scansnap iX500. Bundled with Adobe Acrobat Standard, supports scanning to iOS and Android devices, improved resolution, and improved paper handling. A work horse for under $500. Ideal for most solos or as a supplementary scanner deployed at workstations throughout your office.

Stop carpal tunnel in its tracks

To avoid carpal tunnel, your keyboard must be appropriately positioned for your use. 3M offers quality keyboard trays that do the trick for around $160.

Why is your fillable form blank?

To “lock in” the contents of a fillable form, you must flatten the PDF. Here’s how in Acrobat 9. In Acrobat X or later, use an action.

Tip Grab Bag

Shopping for the best cloud service to backup your data?

Visit Backup Review or follow the site on Twitter @backupreview – new reviews daily.

Splash happens. Want to waterproof your iPhone?

Not a bad idea since water damage voids the warranty. Try Liquipel.

Are you on LinkedIn?

Did you know that you can reposition the components of your LinkedIn profile to feature preferred content? By default, Experience, Skills & Expertise, and Education appear “below the fold” after Activity and Background. If you prefer a different sort order, simply drag and drop.

Many thanks to the 60 Tips in 60 Minutes presenters for all these great ideas

Fellow practice management advisor Courtney Kennaday tweeted today about a CBS investigative report that uncovered a hidden treasure trove of confidential information: your office photocopier.

As the story explained, digital copiers contain hard drives. Hard drives store information. In this case, an image of every document copied, scanned or e-mailed.

Before you gift, recycle, or ecycle office equipment take care to remove confidential client information. The CBS story points to a Sacramento-based company, Digital Copier Security, which offers a product called “INFOSWEEP” that can scrub all the data on hard drives. INFOSWEEP is only available in California and Nevada and comes with a fairly steep pricetag for solos: $695. Considering that many of the new hard drives offered on Digital’s site are $299, another solution might be to pull your copier’s existing hard drive, destroy it, then donate, ecycle or recycle the equipment as is (or replace the hard drive for less than half the cost of the data scrubbing product).

Regardless, this story is a timely reminder: Laptops, computers, and smartphones are not the only items that contain confidential client information. Any device or piece of equipment with a hard drive or memory card can be problematic. Donation, disposal, or even repair can lead to breach of confidentiality. Consider printers and fax machines. Both store documents in memory. Both suffer breakdowns. Repair almost always involves replacing or servicing a mechanical part. So what happens when the machine is fixed? All the documents being held in memory begin printing.

Whether repairs are being performed in your office or back at the shop, you should inquire into your vendor’s privacy or confidentiality policy. You may also want to know if employees are bonded. While the Professional Liability Fund does not offer a vendor’s confidentiality agreement per se, we do have confidentiality pledges for in-house employees that can be modified. At the PLF Web site, select Practice Aids and Forms, then Staff.

For more information on protecting confidential information when ecycling, see my Oregon E-cycles! post.

Postscript

Colleague Reba Nance, Director of Law Practice and Risk Management for the Colorado Bar Association, brought the following security statement from Xerox to my attention:

April 23, 2010 – Digital Photocopiers Loaded With Secrets?
“Customers are worried about the dangers of sensitive information being left behind on the disk drives of multifunction devices. Xerox has recognized this problem for over 10 years and has built effective security controls into our devices to address the issue. Features such as Image Overwrite and Disk Encryption are available as free standard features in most of Xerox multifunction products.

Also, customers can avail themselves of the disk removal program whereby for a flat fee, a Xerox technician will remove a drive and turn it over to the customer for disposal. We educate customers about security risks and the features available to address them, and we take proactive steps to continuously maintain the security of devices in the field.”

Read more about Xerox security measures here.

Oregon Law Practice Management

Practice Management Tips for Oregon Lawyers

Tag Archives: Hard Drive

Does Your Office Equipment Tell Secrets?