The Connected Lawyer

I am big fan of using multiple monitors. I find that it increases my productivity, especially when I am doing research or drafting. At my office, I use a three monitor setup. At home, I use a two monitor setup.

My monitors at the office

Recently, however, I read a post from Lawyerist.com in which the attorney tried a multiple monitor setup and did not like it. He explains:

At first, I used the second monitor just for email, so I could work on the other screen. Bad idea. Having email open all the time is the ultimate attention diverter. At time I felt like I was watching paint dry, just waiting for another email to come in. Big waste of time.

Then I switched to using the second monitor as my “always” calendar. That was nice and convenient, but again, a big attention waster and a waste of a monitor.

Using the two monitors to view two documents was not all that helpful either. One, the monitors were different sizes, different resolutions, and had different contrasts. I found myself comparing the two monitors constantly, rather than actually getting work done.

I agree that using the second monitor just to check email is not a good idea. That really makes you a slave to your email. However, I do often use the monitor for my calendar and contacts, so they are convenient. On suggestion I would make, however, is try and make sure that your additional monitors are the same shape and size (the same model is actually ideal). As the author noted, using monitors with different resolutions can be very distracting.

The author concludes:

I have been using one boring monitor for two months now, and I love it. Two monitors may impress people, but when it comes to actually using them, it is not worth the trouble or the cost.

I don’t agree with this conclusion. Multiple monitors are worth the trouble and the cost; at least for some people. Not everyone will benefit from using multiple monitors. I don’t find this unusual. Instead, I find it normal. Different people use their computers differently. The fact that I (and many others) find multiple monitors useful, does not mean that everyone will. However, I would suggest that, if you have not tried multiple monitors yet, don’t let the post dissuade you. Give them a try.

I have talked with several people about using multiple monitors. I have yet to have any of them tell me that they regretted making the move.

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February 1 has always been a good day for me. First of all, it is the day I was born. That, of course, makes it a good day. Additionally, on February 1, 1999, I started one of the coolest jobs available in the legal profession, I was a law clerk for a state supreme court justice. It was a job that I really enjoyed and I always thought it was cool that I started it on my birthday.

Well this year, something even cooler has happened. Today, February 1, 2010, I opened the doors for my own law firm, Sims Law Firm, Ltd. This is both scary and exciting. I look forward to what the future brings. If nothing else, I figure this is a cool birthday present to myself.

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Recently Chris Erb at erblawg wrote a post that hit on something that annoys me: the email signature that purportedly prohibits me from from doing anything with the message. Chris explains his frustration thusly:

These signatures are a pet peeve of mine. While the sender may hope that a couple of words in all caps will scare people into submission, there’s very little in the way of legal action which could be taken in the event I were to do any or all of those things. Quite simply, by sharing their wisdom with me outside of some contractual limitation on my behavior as the recipient (such as a confidentiality agreement between me and the sender) they ceded a significant meassure of control over the distribution of that wisdom. Absent any other restriction, the only real limitation on distribution would be copyright law, which may or may not help depending on the nature of the use. To my way of thinking, they’d be better off politely asking the recipient not to do those things and hope for the best. In my case, the mere attempt to “prohibit” makes me want to distribute the e-mail (or at least write a blog entry berating them for having a silly signature).

I agree with him on all of these points. One of my favorite comments, however, is what he ends with:

Of course, in this particular instance there’s another problem. Even if this were enforceable as written, I could, as a presumably “intended” recipient, apparently broadcast the e-mail to the world without arousing the ire of [the sender] . . . .

My favorite is when the “don’t distribute” warning is coupled with the “everything in this email is confidential and/or privileged” warning. What gets even better, is when I see this big long warning about not distributing the email, that the information is confidential and protected by privilege, and this entire warning is on the bottom of an email that is sent to a listserv that is distributed to thousands or tens of thousands of attorneys.

I know lots of people who use these warnings, but that doesn’t mean that you should do it. Think about the email that you are sending. If it contains confidential information, then label it as confidential (at the beginning of the email, not the end). Better yet, if the email really contains confidential information, is that something you should be sending via email. Is there a better way to communicate the information? Should you be using some sort of encrypted email?

Whatever you do, just don’t tag every email that you send with the same stupid warning about it being confidential and to not distribute it.

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I think most bloggers are now aware the requirements of the FTC to disclose any relationship between the blogger and a product or service being reviewed. The trick, of course is to make sure that you comply with the rules. Michael Hyatt has recently written a great post in which he gives some tips on how to comply with the guidelines. First he points us to a site called cmp.ly, which has created some simple, easy to use, standard disclaimers.

Also, if you are not interested in using what cmp.ly has to offer, Michael offers both his solution (a disclaimer at the end of each post) along with the 5 standard disclosures that he has created. He even provides a convenient link to Add Post Footer that allows you to automate this process.

If you are looking for some sample disclosures, Michael’s post has some good samples.

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I read a lot of books. In the past I have blogged here about the books I have read. In 2009 I decided to stop that and I created a blog about the books I read. I call it I would Rather be Reading. If books interest you, you can check it out here.

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One of the issues associated with having so many electronic devices (many of which keep getting smaller) is the fact that it is fairly easy to lose or misplace your devices. I recently saw this post from Andrew McDonald, in which he explains the steps he took to help recover his camera in the event that he loses it. He explains:

All you have to do is take some photos – which you never delete from your camera – so when someone finds your camera at the bottom of the gorilla pit they are able to locate you and return the lost property to its rightful owner.

You must go to his post to see his pictures.

There is no question that he had some fun putting together his pictures, but we can all do something similar very easily. Obviously this will not help you if your camera is stolen. But, if it is found by a reasonable person, this increases the likelihood of getting your camera back.

In the same vein, think of similar types of things you can do with your other devices, whether it is to keep pictures on it (almost all phones and mp3 players have the ability to display pictures). If you have a mp3 player that does not display pictures, you can easily record a sound file with your contact information on it.

If you have a smartphone or other similar device, they almost always have a feature that allows you to store owner information. Have you completed that? If you lock your smartphone (certainly a good idea if it contains confidential information) does the lock screen provide your contact information?

There is always a danger that someone will steal our electronics. Just as likely, at least for some of us, is the possibility that we may lose one or more of our devices. Taking a simple step such as this gives you a chance to get your device back.

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Here’s the best geek Christmas song (Chiron Beta Prime by Jonathan Coulton) put to a Christmas light show.

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When I talk people in the business world, I find that hardly any of them deal with faxes on a regular basis anymore. They don’t deal with mail either. Almost everything is done electronically. Of course, the legal world is lagging behind the rest of the business world. Perhaps that is why I found this Dilbert comic so funny.

Click on the strip to see a version that doesn’t run into my sidebars.

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One of the problems that most people run into is that they have never been properly trained on the software that they use. Proper training is typically expensive in terms of both time and costs. Based on a comment in a Technolawyer newsletter, I learned of the HP Learning Center. The center includes training videos on a variety of software programs as well as other skills (such as photography and marketing). Best of all, most o the videos are short (5 minutes or less) and they are free.

Now, you won’t be able to solve all of your software training issues with this site. However, you will likely learn a few things if you watch the videos on the programs that you use. For example, I watched the video on the special features in Word 2007 and learned of some changes that I did not know had been made.

Anyway, check out the site for more info.

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There are some websites that drive me crazy with all of the flashing animation and ads that surround the text that I am trying to read. Recently I discovered a tool called Readability that can help with that problem. Simply go to the Readability web site and drag the bookmarklet to your browser’s bookmark toolbar.

Then, when you are on a website that has lots of clutter, simply click the Readability bookmarklet. It transforms your view of the website into a simple clean text only view. You can choose your syle (newspaper, novel, eBook, or terminal), your text size, and your margin. Best of all, to go back to the original view, you simply refresh the page.

Obviously, I don’t use this function with every website I visit. However, for some, it is invaluable. Check it out here.

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