Critical Technology Skills for Lawyers and Staff (Online Seminar)

MCLE Credits: 6.5
Ethics Credits Included: 1.5

MCLE Credit:	6.5 (Ethics: 1.5)
Live-Interactive Credit:	0.0
Designation Credit:	1.5 Ethics (Designations Information)
Price:	$309 (Includes a downloadable audio version.)
Viewable Through:	9/30/2021

Information
Schedule
Faculty
Locations, Dates and Fees

Information

A pre-recorded streaming VIDEO replay of the September 2018 live seminar, Critical Technology Skills for Lawyers and Staff.

Featuring Barron Henley, nationally acclaimed legal technology expert

If you want to upgrade your tech skills and gain some confidence when it comes to core production tools like Word, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat (or any other PDF program), this is the program to attend. We will cover the best legal-specific power tips for getting the most out of the technology you already have. We'll also explain the technologies that should be on your radar going forward so you can prioritize and make informed decisions. Finally, we'll go over the basic tools and techniques required to protect confidential electronic data from hackers, thieves, and accidental disclosure.

Topics include:

Ways to improve your practice while making it easier
Solve your office technology problems
Tips that will enable you to:
- Work more efficiently
- Find things more easily
- Create better documents
- Protect client data

Schedule

COURSE TOPICS

Essential Law Firm Technology—The Best of What's Out There

Technology advances quickly and it's not easy to keep up with it while also trying to practice law. This session will define and explain the technologies that can help any lawyer solve problems, improve client service, and make life easier. Learn about the essential software and hardware tools that can help you protect client confidentiality, organize case information, manage your practice more efficiently, and improve profitability.

Email Management Using Outlook

Lawyers and staff are generally drowning in email and many feel helpless when trying to get it under control. This session will show you how to use all of Microsoft Outlook’s feature set to efficiently store and organize email (and attachments), and successfully deal with high email volume. We'll also show you how to fix Outlook’s default settings for email, calendar, contacts, and tasks. Finally, we’ll explain many amazing and useful Outlook features that most users don't even know are there.

A Legal Professional’s Guide to PDF Files

You probably have noticed that PDF files are everywhere. They have become the file format of choice when trading documents with other lawyers and clients. Many courts now require that all pleadings be filed as PDFs; and most governmental forms are available exclusively in PDF format. Because of their prevalence, everyone in your office needs to understand the risks and benefits of PDF files. In this session, you'll learn appropriate uses of PDFs, and we'll cover extremely important topics such as metadata removal and electronic document security, redaction, Bates Numbering, splitting/combining PDFs, reducing file size for electronic case filing, review/comment and PDF collaboration, adding signatures and stamps, routing PDFs for comments/feedback, and more.

Microsoft Word Power Tips for Legal Users

Due to the complex formatting often required with legal documents, most users find Microsoft Word to be a constant source of frustration. It's the primary tool used to produce work product, yet many feel it works against them. Adding to the frustration is the fact that most of the techniques and features necessary to control complex formatting are simply concealed. Using Word and “clicking around” provides little improvement and no insight. This session is designed specifically to address those realities. We’ll show you exactly how to fix the common legal drafting problems plaguing you now and avoid them in the future. You’ll learn dozens of tips and techniques you can put into practice immediately. Even if you feel you have Word under control, we guarantee you will learn new things about Word throughout this class.

The Non-Techie Lawyer's Guide to Protecting Client Data (Ethics)

When describing what lawyers must do to maintain competence, Rule 1.1 Comment 6 requires that "[a]ttention should be paid to the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology." Rule 1.6 further requires that lawyers make reasonable efforts to prevent the disclosure of confidential client information. The comments to Rule 1.6 require lawyers to act competently to safeguard client information, and use reasonable safety precautions when transmitting client communications. While all of that may sound intimidating, meeting your duty under the rules of professional conduct isn't as difficult as you may think. The good news is that you don't have to be a security expert or technical expert to protect yourself and your office. Half of the battle simply is knowing what questions to ask, and it's not nearly as complicated as it sounds. Establish best practices in your office and discover the inexpensive or free tools that will make sure your confidential information remains confidential.

Faculty

FACULTY

Barron K. Henley, Affinity Consulting Group / Columbus, OH

Barron K. Henley, Esq., is one of the founding partners of Affinity Consulting Group, a legal technology consulting firm focused on automating and streamlining law firms and legal departments. He earned his B.S./B.A. (marketing and economics) and J.D. from The Ohio State University and is a member of the American, Ohio, and Columbus Bar Associations, and the Worthington Estate Planning Council. He is a member of both the ABA Law Practice Management and the Real Property Trust and Estate Law ("RPTE") Sections. He's a member of RPTE Futures Task Force, a Board Member for the ABA TECHSHOW, and is the former Chair of the Ohio State Bar Association Law Office Automation & Technology Committee. Mr. Henley heads Affinity’s document assembly/automation and software training departments; he is a renowned expert on Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, and HotDocs document assembly software; and has authored legal-specific manuals on HotDocs, Adobe Acrobat, and Microsoft Word, Excel, and Outlook. He is also an expert in launching new law firms, overhauling existing firms, and documenting and re-engineering law firm processes. Finally, Mr. Henley teaches continuing legal education (CLE) classes throughout the U.S. and Canada covering a wide variety of topics related to law practice management, technology, and ethics.