Choosing the Right Equipment

I'm really amazed at how many law students leave law school without the slightest inception of how to use necessary software.

For instance, one of my "tests" in evaluating student interns is whether they can create a PDF document from their word processor. Since PDF is the standard in all federal courts, this should be a fairly mundane task. However, 99% of those interns "fail" this test.

This just goes to show you how much law schools are really failing their students in the every day practice of law. What's remarkable is that law schools provide several opportunities for the students to learn this simple skill, yet they don't take advantage of it.

Alas, this isn't a rant about the failures of law school, this is a call to action: Buy The Right Equipment.

This blog is replete with chants for the value of one product or service, in an attempt to give you a variety of options. Today though, I'd like to tell you about my essential pieces of equipment/software; the stuff that gets the every day done.

Most important to me is my practice management software. I use PracticeMaster (because of it's cost), but there are other good programs out there. I've discussed practice management software before, so I won't rehash that information. Needless to say, PM provides a valuable resource to track time, manage my cases, keep a steady workflow, develop clients, develop marketing, and manage the overall scheme.

The second piece of software is Adobe Acrobat Pro; I have version 8, but version 9 is supposed to be even better. You need to get the pro version, not Acrobat Reader or Acrobat 9 regular. Like I said earlier, you need to know how to use this. My version (and 9 does too) allows me to scrub metadata, redact information, rotate, crop, insert/edit, and comment on PDF documents. Everyone talks about being "paperless" and having the paperless office. Well, without Acrobat, you're hosed. There are other programs, notably, PrimoPDF, which can create a PDF document, but they're not Acrobat (there might be some pay versions that have similar abilities, I don't know. If you do, please comment on their effectiveness).

Thirdly, you must remember that there's a business to the law practice. In order to run a business, you have to be able to track monies coming in and out. I like Intuit QuickBooks for this task. QB helps me manage my cash flow, and evaluate costs. It's a lifesaver when it comes to managing large monies in my trust account too. I'm sure you can do all these tasks in Excel or on paper, but why? I don't know how to effectively use Excel, and I tend to lose important information contained in files or obscure folders. My QB stuff gets backed up, and there's a gazillion (okay, that's an exaggeration - maybe a million) different reports you can run to help track your finances, and keep your business on track. Again, there are probably other programs that can manage your money in the same way - they're not QuickBooks. Note though, I chose QB because my accountant recommended it, and the office manager at my last employment could help me. I use QB Premier.

Finally, we'll talk about computers/equipment. I have a "hand-me-down" PC that I inherited when I went out on my own. Buy a fast one (2.4 Ghz or more), with a lot of RAM (1 GB or more), and a large hard drive (150 GB or more). You can usually find good deals anywhere. If you're a PC person, I'd recommend looking at Dell Outlet. We've seen success when we've purchased some computers there.

Also, you need to purchase a "laser" (quotes for Dr. Evil) printer. Don't be tempted to purchase an inkjet because you can get it for $50. Laser printing is the standard, and it looks 1,000 times better than an inkjet. I have a small desktop laser I got from Dell outlet, and we have a multifunction (scanner, printer, copier, fax), we also found through Dell.

If you're having to print pictures or photographs (but why would you when you're using Acrobat to convert to a PDF file, and emailing the pictures to adjusters, opposing counsel, or elsewhere), then you can pick up a cheap inkjet elsewhere. I haven't printed too many pictures, since I do everything with PDF and email.

On a side note though, I did find a great program called Zan Image Printer ($59.95), which is a virtual printer driver that allows you to print a picture file. I use this when I'm in Google Earth and want to print a screen shot of the satellite photo. I can then go to Paint.Net (a free program similar to Adobe Photoshop), to crop and edit the picture as I need.

It's important for you to have the necessary tools to effectively manage your business. Keep ahead of the potential problems by controlling those issues.

I'd love to hear your comments about these programs, or others that you'd recommend.