Two Helpful Sites for Legal Research

I recently learned about two helpful sites for online legal research.  They are not new, just new to me. The first is Court Listener.  This site "is a free legal research [database] containing millions of legal opinions from federal and state courts."  Since it tracks subsequent cases that cite the main case you are researching, it can be used as a poor man's Shepard's.  Court Listener also allows you to download oral arguments for selected cases - nifty!

The second site is called Casetext.  Casetext says it's the "best place to read and write about the law." Similar to Court Listener, it also features cases and excellent tools to track citations called WeCite. What I really like about Casetext is ease of use and the beautiful presentation.  The cases seem so much more readable on this website than many others.  Casetext encourages discussions about the case on a unobtrusive sidebar.  I believe this feature has tremendous potential.  Big thumbs up!

Would you like more information about the pending bankruptcy form changes and a preview?  As a reminder, these will go into effect on December 1st.  Click here.

All month, every time I see Google's new logo, I am annoyed.  I can't help thinking to myself, "Boy does that new logo suck!"  This must be my inner graphics design artist.  Tonight I used Google to see if I was the only one who felt this way.  The short answer is "Nope!"  Check out this interesting thread, "Google's New Logo Sucks" on New Media Rock Stars.  Dozens of comments confirmed the validity of my feelings and effectively summarized the problems with the new flat design.  Here's the chief complaints:  looks like it was designed by a child in kindergarten, boring and uninspired, "don't fix it if it isn't broke", mindless change for the sake of change and justify new hires and messes with the brand identity.  I agree with all these things.  *gag*

Are you having trouble trying to run websites that use Java, Silverlight and other plug-ins with Chrome? That's likely because Google is using heavy-handled tactics to turn them off!  They are systemically breaking the Internet with this arrogant decision.  It should be our choice not theirs!

"In September 2015 we will remove the override and NPAPI support will be permanently removed from Chrome. Installed extensions that require NPAPI plugins will no longer be able to load those plugins.  For more details on the timeline, including guidance for NPAPI plugin developers, see the NPAPI deprecation guide. With each step in this transition, we get closer to a safer, more mobile-friendly web."

See this article for more information about Chrome's plans:  The Final Countdown for NPAPI

Firefox will continue to support NPAPI plugins and I suggest using that browser going forward.  If you are in the US, you can download the latest version here.  Works great with Windows 10!

This article from gHacks is recommended for more information.

-- Michael

Sunset For EZ-Filing

CIN Legal has unceremoniously killed off EZ-Filing bankruptcy software. Earlier this week they notified customers that the software will no longer be supported or updated after November 30, 2015. I have used EZ-Filing in my practice for well over ten years and it has generally served me well for dozens of clients. CIN wants lawyers to move to their other, most costly software packages. Details about the transition can be found here.

When I purchased EZ-Filing, it was not affiliated with CINLegal. EZ-Filing Inc. and CINLegal got married in 2012. At the time they announced working together, EZ-Filing wrote, "We here at EZ-Filing, Inc. truly appreciate our on-going relationship with you and assure you that nothing substantive will change going forward with The CINgroup ... We are here to serve you and will continue to be here for the long-term." UH-HUH ... I don't know about you, but three years is not what I consider "long term." The writing may have been on the wall the entire time. It always seemed weird to me, around the same time CIN also started business relationships with Best Case and CINCompass. And more recently they acquired the assets of New Hope Software Inc. who until recently also published bankruptcy software. I don't understand why CIN would really want or need four bankruptcy software solutions under their banner. Two are now defunct. I have to wonder if Best Case is next in a "power play" to force everyone to their web based product Compass. I don't like how all this played out. As an attorney, I appreciate when I have more options when it comes to necessary software in my practice, not less. And I hardly think this makes the market more competitive. The cost of bankruptcy software already is exorbitant.

Any any rate, I am now forced to shop for new software and I am not looking forward to learning it. There was a time, back in the days of DOS when I used to enjoy endlessly playing around with all kinds of different software. These days, I mostly just want to get work done. Computers are not as fun for me as they used to be. Earlier this afternoon I spent a couple hours looking around at the dwindling bankruptcy software options for attorneys. I compiled a list with some notes about the current prices. I know many others are in the same boat so I decided to share my research here. I'd love to hear comments about the best option for solos and others will a small practice. Good luck in your search!

-- Michael

PS. Sunset photo credit to Geek Philosopher - lots of great stock photos, wallpaper etc.

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Bankruptcy Software for Attorneys
Blankrupter 4.9 Bankruptcy Filing Software
http://www.blumberg.com/invoice.cgi?rm=view_cluster;cluster_id=154900
CD Version for unlimited use (Chapter 7, 11, 12, 13), single user $750, add user $99.95, 5 users network $1195
Single case bankruptcy filing - $55 per case, 5 cases $49, 10 cases $42.50
annual maintenance - single user $250, added user $35, 5 user $365
upgrade fees also listed between $300-450 depending on age of version

Best Case
http://www.bestcase.com/
Single User (1 atty 1 support worker from one office location, no network) - 7 only $1095, 7&13 $1295, 7-11-12-13 $1495.
Multi-User - everyone in office from one location - 3 users on LAN - 7 only $1595, 7&13 $1795, all $1995

CIN Compass (web based)
https://www.cincompass.com/pricing/
Chrome browser issues - may be fixed September 2015
Saves 5% with annual subscriptions
Tier One - $75 month ($855 annual) - 0 to 2 filings for month
Tier Two - $100 month ($1140 annual) - 3 - 5 per month
Tier Three - $150 month ($1710 annual) - 6 - 10 per month
Tier Four - $300 month ($3420 annual) - 11-20 per month
Tier Five - $500 month ($5700 annual) - 21-50 per month
All include Chapters 7, 9, 11, 12, 13 (includes local Chap 13 plans)
Unlimited User Accounts

Legal Pro
http://www.legal-pro.com/
http://www.bankruptcy-pro.com/
5 Case License - $195 - local install with 1 computer (7,11,12,13) within a 5 year period.
Full License - $495 for Chapter 7 only, $995 for 7,11,12,13 - unlimited cases for one workstation ($150 extra workstations)

Law Firm Software - unknown name of software
https://www.lawfirmsoftware.com/
Single Use Bankruptcy Software ("One month License"- save print and file within one month) - $89
Chapter 7 only - $299 - annual renewal unknown
Chapter 7, 11, 13 - $429. Annual renewal just $199
*Note - "promo" prices listed - unknown when it goes "off" promo, if ever.

Legal Pro Cloud Platform
http://jubileebk.com/?utm_source=legal-pro.com&utm_medium=Banner&utm_campaign=LPS%2BSliders
$195 - Five Cases for $195, no set up fees, no time limit, 2 users, add IGotNotices for $295 yr., limited phone support
$49 monthly, no set up, pay yearly get 2 mos. free, unlimited users, 100 annual filings then $6 a case, add IGN for $395, free priority phone support
$99 monthly, no set up, pay annual get 2 mos. free, unlimited users, 250 annual filings then $4 a case
$250 monthly, 1000 annual filings then $1

Next Chapter (100% Cloud Based)
http://nextchapterbk.com/
https://twitter.com/NextChapterBK
Starter - 1 to 4 filings per mo. -$59 - no set up fee or monthly fee
Grow - 5-24 per mo. $149 - per month + 10 for filing.
Hero - 25+ per mo. $699 per month - unlimited filing.
No minimum contracts, no set up fees, no cancellation fees.

National Law Firms Bankruptcy Case Software
http://www.nationallawforms.com/bankruptcy/software-bankruptcy.htm
$429 "promo price" (unknown ending date if ever) - includes 1 year of updates.
Works for Chapters 07, 11, 13
Software can be used on up to three computers
Annual license fee is $199 after first year
Demo lets you try b4 you buy. Support via phone or web.

TopForm by FastCase
https://www.fastcase.com/topform/
Single User with updates - $1276
Network 2-20 with updates - $1869
Higher user options available
Version 14.0 is latest
Annual cost is unknown

WBank (Puritas Springs Software)
http://www.puritas-springs.com/products.aspx
$199 - handles Chapter 7, 11, 12, 13
Version 8.10 is latest.

NOTE: Information, prices and personal notes were current on 08.12.15 and subject to change at any time. I tried to be as accurate as possible in compiling this list, but it could contain errors and omissions. Prospective users should investigate the features and prices of each publisher directly on the links provided.

If you are aware of any other bankruptcy software for attorneys, please tells us in the comments! Corrections, updates and clarifications are welcome in the comments as well.

###

Dead Bankruptcy Software (now or very soon to be)

Law Disks Bankruptcy Disk
http://lawdisks.com/
http://www.lawdisks.com/bcydisk.htm

Cornerstone
http://www.cornerstone-computer.com/

Lamson Tech
http://www.lamsontech.com/

New Hope Software Inc.
http://www.bankruptcysoftware.com/

Ez-Filing (discontinued after November 2015)
https://www.ezfiling.com/

Thompson West (Legal Solutions)
http://legalsolutions.thomsonreuters.com/law-products/chap7/

Lexis-Nexis TopForm
Status of this software is unknown - but appears to be dead - no current information about features/ordering
http://www.lexisnexis.com/topform/
http://www.lexisnexis.com/en-us/products/collier-topform.page

Bankruptcy Master
Appears dead - no software appears to be offered. Unknown status
http://www.bankruptcymaster.com/
http://www.formsworkflow.com/
Appears dead - I couldn't find any mention of bankruptcy software for sale on this site.

Moving to Blogger

I am moving this blog over to Blogger.

http://lawtechgeek.blogspot.com/

You'll find my new post about EZ-Filing (and New Hope) options there.

I used to love Xanga, but I don't feel the leap to WordPress is going well. Xanga seems to be a ghost town now and there doesn't seem to be any support. I don't know if anything is happening behind the scenes, but if there is, development is going way too slow. My site was imported, but the main display is messed up. The profiles are gone also. I think it was a mistake to try and move to WordPress. =(

Mikes Computer Notes (08.26.11)

DO YOU GET tired of Chrome nagging you about outdated plug-ins (such as Java)?  If so, use this command line switch "--allow-outdated-plugins" (without the quotes of course).  To do this, click on your Chrome icon, choose properties, cut and paste the switch at the end of your "target" line.  It should look like this when you are done: chrome.exe --allow-outdated-plugins

For more information on running Chrome with flags, see this page.

STRONG PASSWORDS ARE one of the top security precautions one can take to.  Far too many people still choose passwords that are easy to guess and thus vulnerable to hackers, stalkers, enemies and the like.  The New York Times cited a study in 2010 found one in five people still choose simple passwords such as "123456", "iloveyou", "acb123" and even "password."  The issue is even more serious for legal professionals who have a duty to maintain client confidentiality.  Here's a free website that will help generate strong passwords for you that are very difficult to crack.  Note there is an option to turn symbols on or off.  Symbols are one of the best ways to shore up your password, but are inconvenient to type and harder to remember than numbers and letters.  This website only generates great passwords, it does not manage them for you.

EVER HAVE A need for a random name generator? Here's a free, no-frills one that works well. It mashes up real names lifted from the U.S. Census. A neat setting even allows you select how obscure the generated names are.

DISTURBING COMMENT SEEN on a Newegg product review for a TINY USB key from Transcend (JetFlash T3) -- " Also excellent potential for smuggling data."  Eek!  I do have a couple of these by the way and they truly are the ultimate in portability.  Also, they seem to be more durable than they appear.  Transcend recently introduced a new T3 series with a super durable metal casing.  Available in sizes up to 16 GB at present.

TWITTER COPYCAT HEELO is off to an impressive start!  It took two weeks from it's launch earlier this month to reach the milestone of one million registered users.  Heelo is from the creator of TwitPic.  Like Twitter, messages are limited to 140 characters, and users can attach an optional photo or video and share their location.  Mobile apps for Heelo are coming soon.  Despite the strong start for the service, I personally think Heelo needs to distinguish itself more from Twitter if it is going to succeed in the long run.  Right now, 

I don't see any compelling reason to switch.  Add some unique features guys!

SPRINT AND T-MOBILE will both start offering the iPhone soon.  Sprint as early as October.  For more, see this article in Information Week.

IF YOU ARE a person who doesn't need the latest wiz-bang smartphone and mainly want to talk to people and text, I personally think the best bang for the buck right now is with Sprint's Boost Mobile network. 

-- Michael

Mike's Computer Notes (06.27.11)

BORED WITH YOUR Windows 7 themes?  Check out this collection of 24 fantastic designs from the users at DeviantArt.  My favorites of the pack are "Clean Green", "Skull", "Aero Diamond" and "Natural."

A CLASS ACTION suit was filed against Apple in December over privacy issues.  If you downloaded any Apple apps between 12/01/2008 and last December, you may be in the class.  The plaintiff alleges that applications for iPhones and iPads  transmitted users’ personal information to advertising networks without their consent.  Additional named defendants include: Pandora, Paper Toss, the Weather Channel and Dictionary.com.  The case title is Lalo v. Apple (Docket #10-5878, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California).  You can follow the progress of this case on Justia.  Other sources:  Bloomburg article, KTXL Fox40 News.

SOMETHING NEW FROM NERO .... "Nero Kwik Media is the NEW and EASY media management software for managing all your photos, music, videos, and data. And best of all, it's FREE!" It appears to me that the basic program is free and you can add "apps" to it that allow specialized advanced functions such as burning discs or playing back video.  To learn more about this software, click here.

I MENTIONED MY favorite archive program WinRAR in another post recently.  Now if you buy WinRAR, you can get Panda Cloud Anti-Virus Professional for free.  What a deal!  I even like the free version of Panda Cloud Anti-Virus and use it on some of secondary computers.  It's lightweight, fast and seems to do a good job at providing basic virus and spyware protection.

FACEBOOK IS BECOMING an important trial tool for trial attorneys to detect bias' and predict sympathy of potential jury members.  Jury consultations claim the popular social networking site permits greater insight into an individual than traditional jury questionnaires.  Joseph Rice of Jury Research Institute told Bloomburg, "“Social media has given us an incredible tool, because it’s something jurors voluntarily engage in, and they post information about their activities or affiliations or hobbies,” Rice said. That reveals “their life experience or attitude that may have an impact on how they view the facts of the case.”  To read the full article, click here.  A similar recent article from the Wall Street Journal tells the same store.  "[Trial attorneys] consider what potential jurors watch on television, their interests and hobbies, and how religious they are."  Read the full WSJ article here.

I'VE USED IT now daily for five years, and in my experience, the reliability of Gmail is incredible.  Nonetheless, sometimes even the best Internet services can encounter a glitch and your data in the cloud could be lost.  In February of this year, about 500,000 Gmail users discovered their accounts were reset, and years of e-mail, related file attachments and chat logs appeared to be gone forever.  The outage reportedly was caused by a software upgrade.  The good news is that Google keeps multiple back-up copies of users' e-mail in multiple data centers plus offline tapes and was eventually able to restore most if not all of the data that appeared lost. Nonetheless, this surely was an inconvenience for Gmail users who could not access their e-mail during this time.  

If these kind of problems make you nervous, you may wish to create your own back-up copy of your Google Gmail.  If you already have a desktop e-mail client such as Microsoft Outlook 2010, Apple Mail orMozilla Thunderbird (free) this may be the easiest way.  Simply sign into Gmail and click the "gear" icon in the upper-right corner next to your screen name.  Then choose choose "Mail settings", and then select the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab. Enable "POP" for all mail and tell Gmail to keep a copy in your inbox.  Be careful, if you forget this last step, after you download your mail onto your desktop, your online inbox will be empty!  The next step is to configure your e-mail client to interface properly with Gmail.  The steps vary depending on the software you are using, but Google provides step-by-step instructions for several popular clients.  The process for Thunderbird is practically automatic once you supply your user name and password.  If this back-up solution doesn't appeal to you, I'll be discussing some other options in future posts.

DO YOU NEED a good witness preparation letter for clients scheduled to take a deposition?  The Lawyerist is selling one for $5.  Get it here.

WHAT'S THE CATCH?  Tech savvy readers should know, if it seems to good to be true, that is, when the price is too low relative to the feature set, there's always a catch! This weekend Fry's Electronics advertised a 1GB voice recorder by Olympus (Model DP-10) for just $29.  It looked super easy to use due to it's big screen and control set that mimicked micro-cassette recorders.  According to the Olympus press release, "Individuals looking for simplicity will be pleased with the look, feel and function of the DP-10. About the size of a deck of cards, the DP-10 fits neatly in the palm of your hand. The size of the LCD screen is impressive at 1.78 inches wide, and features a large, easy-to-read font ... Recording in high-quality WMA format, the DP-10 boasts 63 hours of battery life. Set to LP mode, the device can record for more than 131 consecutive hours." According to most user reviews, the audio quality is quite good!  Wow, sounds pretty good for $29, so what's the catch? 

The catch here is, there's no easy way to transfer the recordings to your computer!  This audio recorder totally lacks the ability to quickly transfer audio files to a computer via USB, PC connection or removable media. The only way it can be done is by connecting the unit to your computer's audio in jack and re-recording the files with audio recording software such as Audicity!  This is a serious pain, time-waster and will likely result in a loss of quality.  No thanks Olympus, I know the DP-10 was supposed to be a  “microcassette successor" but that's too much like a microcassette (which suffered from the exact same issue).  In case anyone is wondering, these recorders are handy to record interviews and MCLE presentations.

I hope everyone has a great summer!

-- Michael 

Mike's Computer Notes (03.17.11)

EVER NEED TO pick a truly random number?  Head on over to RANDOM.ORG!  This mostly free website can help you pick lotto tickets, hold a sweepstakes, randomize a list of names and a whole lot more.  The site is ideally suited as a professional third party draw service for a promotional sweepstakes (large and small).  They even let the participants verify the results for five years.  According to the site owners, the "true" randomness comes from atmospheric noise, which for many purposes is better than the pseudo-random number algorithms typically used in computer programs.  Although it is new to me, the service has existed since 1998 and was built and is being operated by Mads Haahr of the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin in Ireland. 

WINDOWS 7 SERVICE PACK 1 (SP1) is now available via Windows Update in Control Panel.  I upgraded my office laptop (recent model Gateway) last night and it seems to have gone smoothly.  If you plan on upgrading, note that the process took about an hour.  Most of it was automatic, but one reboot was required.  For more install information, click here.

AT&T PLANS TO IMPLEMENT data caps on DSL and U-verse broadband cable subscribers.  Yes, you read that right, if AT&T has their way you can kiss your "unlimited" high speed internet service goodbye.  DSL customers will be capped at 150GB per month and U-verse customers 250GB.  Exceed the limit three times and be prepared to fork over an additional $10 for every 50GB used.  150/250GB might sound like a lot, but it is easy to exceed that amount if one streams a lot of movies or music and/or downloads large files frequently.  I imagine even my elderly Mother might go over the limit because she is fond of streaming movies from Netflix using a Roku box.  To learn more about this issue and how to fight back visit Stop the Cap!  Take a few minutes to get involved and tell your representatives in Congress that you oppose Internet data limits and unjustified over the limit fees and penalties.  AT&T and other broadband providers enjoy massive profits under the current "all you can eat" pricing schemes.  Netflix has now spoken out against the proposed caps as "anti-consumer" and the "absolute wrong direction of what consumers want."  Democratic Representative Edward Markey has also expressed serious concern over the proposal and noted the lack of real competition in the broadband ISP market.

WHY BUY GRAPH paper at the store when you can print your own?  Check out these PDFs created by Kevin MacLeod.  "Downloadable and very printable."  There are also some handy writing and note-taking styles on the page as well.  Another page features PDF Calenders; both yearly and monthly can be created.  And while you are there, don't miss Kevin's awesome free royalty-free music collection.  Creative attorneys could use this quality music for advertisements, podcasts, presentations and the like!  All you have to do is give the guy credit, but donations are appreciated.

IF YOU DIGITIZE your music collection, you may soon miss the covers and artwork from the CDs.  It's possible to scan them, but that takes forever.  Who has the time?  An easier solution is to visit AllCDCovers.com.  The interface sort of sucks and the site's own search button often returns an "Internal Server Error 500" message to me, but when you do find the CD you want, the payoff is worth it.  Many of the CD scans here are beautifully done and many discs in the catalog have the back cover, CD and inlay!  Check out this page for Carrie Underwood's Some HeartsCD as an example.  Use Google to find the pages you need easily (e.g. search for "carrie underwood some hearts allcdcovers.com").  Another alternative is visiting Amazon and checking the customer uploaded images.  For instance: Some Hearts Customer Image Gallery.

WINRAR 4.0 HAS been released after a long beta cycle!  WinRAR is my favorite archive manager.  It can backup your data and greatly reduce the size of e-mail attachments.  Plus it can create and decompress both RAR and ZIP archives.  RAR shines when creating very large archives split into smaller chunks.  It also has neat features like AES encryption and a protection feature to help recover corrupt archives.  Version 4.0 is substantially faster than earlier versions.  "RAR decompression speed is improved. Depending on data type, decompression can be up to 30% faster than in previous versions. Both the general RAR algorithm and most of special RAR multimedia methods benefit from this improvement. The only module of RAR algorithm, which is not affected, is "Text compression" method."  A trial version is available before you buy it, but go ahead and buy it, you won't regret it and I've never been charged to upgrade! 

MICROSOFT HAS UNLEASHED Internet Explorer 9 with the catchphrase "Fast is now beautiful."  However, if you use XP, you will have to endure the same old ugly web; it's only available for Vista and Windows 7 users.  With IE 9 the emphasis is on dramatically faster graphics rendering and a more streamlined look, similar to Google's Chrome.  In addition, the integration with Windows 7 is much tighter and the browser now includes useful "pinning" features and Jump Lists.  Less sexy enhancements include an enhanced download manager and improved security features to protect against malware. I just installed IE 9 last night and will report my impressions at a later date.  The upgrade took about 30 minutes.

AS AN INCENTIVE to upgrade now and try out IE 9's new Pin and Jump List features, several popular websites are running cool promotions in the coming weeks in conjunction with Microsoft.  Hulu will be giving away 1 free month of Hulu Plus for users who pin Hulu.  Slacker is also giving away a free month of it's subscription internet radio service for users who pin the website to their taskbar.  eBay will be giving away discount coupons or eBay bucks for users who use the Jump List and pin features and last but not least, Groupon is offering $5 in Groupon Bucks when making a first purchase using the IE 9 jump list.

I will end this post with an old Irish Blessing:

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

-- Michael