Attorney’s Back Office™ Feature Introduction

RSS Feeds Module 

Today we’re introducing the RSS Feeds module designed to be your helpful assistant, so you can spend less time conducting research, and more time enjoying it.

RSS is a Web feed format, used for Web syndication and stands for Really Simple Syndication.

Web feeds are widely used by the web community for sharing the latest entries headlines or their full text, and even attach multimedia files. Some providers allow other websites to incorporate their syndicated headline or short summary feeds.

Attorney’s Back Office™ RSS Feeds module is used for many purposes, including marketing, research, or any other activity involving periodic updates and publications. Many companies use RSS feeds for delivering their news, replacing email and fax distribution. The news media also widely uses RSS by bypassing traditional news sources. Users access news and other information instantly and no longer waste time searching.

Attorney’s Back Office™ application comes with an RSS reader - it can check a list of feeds and display any updated articles that it finds. Every RSS feed has a unique address similar to the Web URLs. You don't need to use any other program or application to read the feeds - it is delivered to you right within the Attorney’s Back Office™ application

To view an RSS feed, enter the addresses into the Attorney’s Back Office™ RSS Feeds module and the information will be available to you with a click of a mouse. You can change the RSS Feed URL, delete it or create a new one.

For more information on how to set the RSS Feeds up within the Attorney’s Back Office™ application watch the video tutorial.

What Do You Need to Know About the Rules and Guidelines that Apply to a 

Virtual Law Office – Part 1

In our previous publications, we’ve talked about how a virtual law practice, or a virtual law office, an on-line (“cloud”) software application, like the Attorney’s Back Office, is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to the traditional, physical law office. The most important components within these software applications are the modules that help manage the entire law practice, including matters, clients, document management, calendaring, e-mail, tasking, accounting, time & billing, and reporting, as well as others. These modules provide an attorney/paralegal access to the software in order to run daily business operations and handle other business transactions related to the delivery of the legal services. 
A virtual law practice, or a virtual law office, also typically involves the use of a secure internet portal to render legal services, communicate with clients on the matters, and exchange documents and information within a digitally secure on-line environment with an end-to-end encryption.

Advocates of this type of approach emphasize decreased office rent and other overhead costs. They say that it helps increase productivity and the attorneys' ability to find that so called “work-life” balance allowing them to spend more time with their families and work from home. 
Critics of this approach stress the need for in-person client meetings to collaborate with them, to manage the firm’s staff on-site to resolve day-to-day issues and problems, and to run daily business operations. 
However, advocates and critics agree on one thing: attorneys practicing in a virtual law office must be in full compliance with the employment laws and the rules of professional conduct.

Under the employment laws, issues related to the operation of a virtual law office are similar to the policies that apply to telecommuting. Law firms that use the virtual law office software should adhere and implement practices and policies to address the following:
• Firm’s clients’ and staff's privacy and safeguarding of confidential information;
• Well-defined methods for time tracking, billing, and reporting;
• Firm’s staff's access to the Internet, computers, and the use of other equipment;
• Firm’s staff's compensation and safety issues.

In the United Stated, most of the State Bar Associations have issued their own Rules of Professional Conduct that the law practitioners must consider when using a virtual law office. These Rules are modeled after the August 2012 ABA-approved recommendations. They are based on the recommendations issued by the Ethics 20/20 Commission in order to amend the Model Rules regarding attorneys’ use of technology. 

In California, for example, there are no special rules of professional conduct that specifically address lawyers practicing and using virtual law office software. The chosen approach is simple – the same exact rules of professional conduct that apply to a traditional law firm apply to a virtual law firm.

The application and the enforcement of the rules, however, bring up some unique questions for virtual law office users, such as unauthorized practice of law, safekeeping clients' confidential information, communication and collaboration with clients, and others.

In our next article we will discuss more details related to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

For more information on the features and functions of the On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application visit our site @ www.attorneysbackoffice.com

How to Successfully Select an On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application in Eight Simple Steps

Since our first article publication, we've received a lot of feedback from both attorneys and paralegals with questions regarding the different strategies on how to select the right type of an On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application.

So, what is an On-line Practice & Case Management Application? It is a web-based software program that represents a wide variety of software tools and modules that provide attorneys, paralegals, and other industry professionals with a convenient method of effectively managing their day-to-day operations, from collecting data from your clients, matters, billing and accounting, to marketing, finance and reporting into a common database so that your law practice can share information, coordinate activities, and collaborate with your clients.

If you’re looking for your first On-line Practice & Case Management Application or looking to upgrade from an existing system, the evaluation, selection and implementation process is a long-term strategic decision for your law firm. Although, there are no perfect off-the-shelf software solutions that will satisfy your requirements completely, you need to be flexible and willing to learn how the program works to use it to the full extent of its capabilities. Work with the provider if you need help and, in some rare cases, to lightly customize the provided application. Those customizations might be the key elements that are missing in the solutions you currently use and might help improve your business workflows and successfully run your business.

The Suggested Steps

We suggest that you follow these eight simple steps before you select the On-line Practice & Case Management Application that is right for your business.

Step 1: Look for the On-line Practice & Case Management Applications with longer trial periods
Providers of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application usually offer trial periods ranging from 1 to 3 months. The longer trial periods, the better it is for you. It gives you more time to make the right decision. Be patient and willing to learn. If you need more time, ask the provider. Attorney’s Back Office ALWAYS extends trial periods up to 9 months in addition to the initial standard 3 months trial offer.

Step 2: Perform the Evaluation of the Software Application
Evaluate the software. You can do this yourself, or you can create a group of end-users from different departments within your company. If needed and budget permitting, hire a consultant to participate in the evaluation process. Establish an evaluation timeline cycle. Throughout the entire selection process, end each cycle with a meeting among all the group members that participated in the evaluation to come to an agreement and acceptance of the application’s functions and features.

Step 3: Make Your Own Assessment
Assess your daily company operations and routines. It will help you identify both your weak and strong points. This analysis and assessment will reveal problems that can be solved with the help and implementation of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application.

Step 4: Establish Your Own Standard Before Selecting the On-line Practice & Case Management Application
You will need to establish and develop your own selection standards to evaluate the available, on-the-market On-line Practice & Case Management Application solutions. The starting point for making a determination must be the applications‘ functions, pricing, platforms, compatibility, accessibility, support, and any other feature(s) that you and/or your application evaluation and selection group can think of. The standard must be set by the importance of the specific functions, features, etc., to your business, i.e. urgent, high, or low. To accomplish this, assign a score from 1 to 10, a progressive scale from 1 to 10 - low to high, to each identified standard in order to establish the assessment and evaluation process.
For example, if you are an immigration attorney practicing law in the Latino community where the majority of your client base speaks Spanish, you will need to determine whether it will be beneficial to both you and your clients to collaborate on-line using the same language. Therefore, during the selection process of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application make sure to find out whether or not the provider offers a multilingual solution.
Attorney’s Back Office is the only provider on the market that offers a BILINGUAL, both English and Spanish, solution for attorneys, paralegals and other industry professionals.

Step 5: Schedule a Demo
Call and set up a 15 – 20 minute phone meeting with an On-line Practice & Case Management Application vendor’s representative. Arrange an on-line demo of the application to obtain a better understanding and insight on the company-provider and the solution they offer. Be prepared to ask the selected On-line Practice & Case Management Application provider questions that will address your needs and concerns.

Step 6: Create a List of Providers
Create a narrowed-down list of up to three On-line Practice & Case Management Application solution providers that best meet your business needs.

Step 7: Contact the Selected Provider
Contact the On-line Practice & Case Management Application providers on your list to schedule an on-line or in-person (if the provider is local) presentation.

Step 8: Verify References
Ask the vendor to provide you with either one or two references where the selected On-line Practice & Case Management Application has been implemented and is being used.

Conclusion
By using and following this simple process, you should now be able to select the On-line Practice & Case Management Application solution for your business.

Call Attorney's Back Office at 818.217.0188 to schedule a free demo of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application. 

For more information on the features and functions of the On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application visit our site @ www.attorneysbackoffice.com