Identifying Your Goal:
Action/reaction. You are performing the action of elevator pitching, so what is the reaction/goal you wish to achieve? In this case, you want an opportunity to interview with this prospective employer. This means you must convey competence, intelligence, personality, and a little something that will help you stand out in the employer’s eyes. Write this down at the top of the paper, when you are first writing and constructing your elevator pitch. When you are finally at the editing stage, look back at this goal. Does each sentence point you into the direction of that goal. Is each word acting positively for you to send your message effectively? If you answer yes to these two questions, you have finished the first half of crafting an elevator pitch.

Addressing Your Audience:
Who is your audience? An elevator pitch must be specialized for a key demographic. If necessary, you may need to make more than one elevator pitch, for each type of audience. For example, if you are looking for a position with a particular type of law firm or field of law, your pitch would change to reflect the needs of that employer and how you satisfy that need.

The Hook:
The hook, in my opinion, is the make or break of an elevator pitch. Why should this employer make contact with you? What unique quality do you possess that makes you stand out? When you discover that thing, that will be your hook. When writing your hook, remember to use MIW (Mental Imaging Words). These are words that create a vivid image, within your listener’s mind; making your elevator pitch, that much more memorable. Reintroducing these MIW’s later on in your elevator pitch can re-enforce your message, and create a semi-tangable link between the product (I.e.YOU) and the overall proposition of asking for a chance to interview. Be able to do this in 20 words or less. Use this ’Headline’ about your product or service, to hook the listener. Making a first impression happens only once. I learned in my journalism class that, reader’s only spend about 3-5 seconds reading into an article, before they decide to continue on. Now your elevator pitch is not a newspaper article, but the principle still applies for verbal communication. So, with the hook, you need to jump through your listener’s ears and eyes, grab their attention and hold onto it for the remainder of your business proposition.

Keep your elevator pitch short and rehearsed, and no more than 60 seconds. This roughly translates to about 275-300 words. Even if your elevator pitch is a few months old, and you have it memorized, don’t be afraid to revamp and fine tune it.

Time yourself performing it. If your a musician, you use a metronome to stay in a rhythm and on time while playing a song; practicing your elevator pitch, in this fashion will improve your ability to pace what your saying. It is common to hear nervous people speaking so fast, that they trip over their own words. I highly recommend using a metronome to prevent word-tripping. Next, record it with a video camera, and play it back. Scrutinize and analyze what you plan to inform the potential employer. With practice, and some production work, the right location, the recorded elevator pitch can also be used as a video resume.

Remember:
1-Does each sentence point you into the direction of that goal. Is each word acting positively for you to send your message effectively?
2-Who your marketing elevator pitch to is: Target audience. The same elevator pitch wont work every time.
3-Keep Your hook to 20 words or less.
4- Is the total performance time 60 seconds or less, and rehearsed.
5-Continue to revamp and revise your elevator pitch.
6- With the selection of a prime location, and some production work, and elevator pitch can also double as a video resume.

• Create your own “Personal Brand”
• Hone your “Elevator Pitch”
• Script your video resume
• Choose a site to shoot your video resume
• Shoot your video resume
• Edit your video resume
• Find sites to upload your video resume
• Promote your video resume

While you’re getting ready to take some time off for the holidays, start thinking about who you are, or who you want to be when you grow up. Make a list of all of the great things you have done, every positive and negative quality you can think of about yourself and how you can turn a so-called negative quality into a positive attribute. If you don’t already have one, ask for a video camera for Christmas. Finally, start thinking about the following scenario:

Fate has placed you in the elevator with a senior partner at a law firm you are dying to work for. In the time it takes for you two to ride from the 1st to top floor, how are you going to convince him that you are the new employee he’s been looking for?

Our next segment will guide you through the process of identifying and marketing your personal brand and in honing your elevator pitch so that the next time you find yourself in the company of someone you want to work with, you can knock their socks off!

I recently stumbled across this application for Mac users (sorry PCs!) called Chronories, that can be useful to busy attorneys trying to keep track of their days. Now, I’m not an affiliate, and I’m not getting any benefit from writing this post, other than to share a potentially useful tool to my peers, so please do not close your laptop or browse to another page. I am constantly on the lookout for new tools that can be used in the legal field. While this is not a law-specific application, I think Chronories by Synium Software can be adapted for that purpose.

Features

Chronories provides a unique set of features that enable you to fully understand your day. These include:

Writing your diary – Wait! This does not have to be as sophomoric as it sounds. It is simply an open-text area for you to record thoughts, ideas, to-dos, plans, etc. You can make it as personal or professional as you like.

Recording Your Mood – While not highly relevant to your clients, it is a way for you to take personal stock of your life. Chronories lets you see at a glance how your mood has been over the course of time. If you see that you are constantly in a bad mood, perhaps its time to consider pursuing another career!

Identifying Interesting Topics – By tagging topics for each day, you can look back and see what you were interested in during a given time period. This might help you locate documents or research that is relevant to you now, which can save you time and energy today.

Identifying Places You Visited – Keeping track of where you were in a given day can help you re-create time entries and help you record your mileage for expense and tax purposes.

Logging Your Computer Activity – Chronories helps you keep track of when you use your Mac and for how long. Let’s say you return from an extensive conference call, a meeting or an appointment. So how long did that keep you away from your Mac? Just see Chronories’ Computer Activity graph and allocate that time period to your client time entry.

Recording Your Applications Used – How much time did you spend answering client emails today and how long did you research, shop and chat? Chronories logs this information day in and day out and automatically adds it on your diary pages. Not only will Chronories keep track of how long the application was opened, but how long that application was active – meaning how much time you actually spent modifying it.

Recording The Weather – Ever wonder if you are more productive on a rainy day vs. a sunny day? Or, ever have a deponent swear that it was raining on the day of their accident? These are facts easily ascertained by looking into your daily Chronories entries.

The Soundtrack of Your Life – Even after years of use, Chronories will still remember when and how often you listened to your favorite songs. While iTunes merely counts the repetitions on your playlist, Chronories will surprise you with added detail. Is this really relevant to your client? No, but not everything in a lawyer’s life has to be relevant!

Today’s Headlines – Chronories lets you subscribe to your favorite news feeds and automatically adds them to your diary. Keeping up to date on current events makes you a better attorney and more interesting at parties!

Attaching Screenshots, Images and iSight Photos – Linking relevant photos to your diary can help you return to relevant research later on, by taking screenshots of useful websites. Did your client stop by with her wrecked car? Upload the photos you took with your iPhone to your diary for easy retrieval. Also, keep track of contacts on a daily basis by taking picture of business cards with your iSight Camera.

Email Tracking – Chronories also keeps track of email sent and received from multiple accounts using your Mac Mail application. Without switching applications, you can read each email in a preview screen right in Chronories!

Chat Recording – All text based chats in your favorite Instant Messenger are tracked and listed including the chats’ duration. Again, a good way to keep track of important conversations and time spent having them.

Website Tracking – Chronories says it automatically keeps track of your browser’s history either in Firefox or Safari. So far, I have only seen it work with Safari. Did you forget to bookmark that really useful site on antitrust laws? Easily return to that information by running a search and clicking on the results from your diary.

iCal Appointment Integration – Want to know what you are doing today? You can see at a glance the excitement that will fill your day right from your diary. Forgot what you did yesterday because you were up all night drafting your summary judgment motion? Simply click back to yesterday’s diary and see it all right in front of you in one place.

Analyze and Visualize

Perhaps one of my favorite aspects to Chronories is the ability to review charts and graphs of the things I have done, the people I have talked to, the things I’ve been interested in and the moods I’ve been in. It’s interesting to find out by reviewing my Contacts Pie Chart that I have had more Twitter contacts (9%) than I have had with my own mother (3.1%) in the past year and a half. (Sorry mom!) Plus, you can create new diagrams and analyze multiple factors that interest you the most.

Security

Chronories also enables you to password protect your diaries so that prying eyes cannot look at your personal thoughts or attorney-client privileged or attorney work-product. If you are not cool with Chronories tracking your web browsing history – you can simply disable that function (or any other function you want disabled) in the category preferences. And, because the software is housed on your computer, so is your database. Nothing is hanging out in the clouds.

Final Analysis

In a profession where the self is often neglected for others, and wasted time is wasted money, this application can have a significant benefit to its users. Keeping track of personal and professional matters in a single location can save you time and money. The ability to review trends and take stock of your personal life is invaluable not only to yourself, but to your family. At a low cost of $29.00, it’s certainly worth a try. Not sure you want to buy – check out their free trial offer. iPhone and iPad apps are apparently in the works!

Have you found an application that you can’t live without in your practice? We’d love to know! Share with us in the Comments section.

As a pre-law Intern, James will be exploring the field of law and its trends. He will share with you the latest news in law, legal technology, law schools, personal branding, career tips and of course, the increased virtualization of legal practice.

You will begin seeing James’ posts on our blog from time to time. He is excited to begin building a dialogue with others in the legal field – so please, join the discussion.

As physician and author Martin H. Fischer once said “all the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.” James truly has an inquiring mind…we hope that Law Clerk Connection will serve as his laboratory for as long as he continues to acquire knowledge.

Note: Resumes are being accepted from current law students for the position of Law Student Intern. For more information, contact Laurel at laurel@lawclerkconnection.com.

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.

~Attributed to Harry S. Truman

An informational interview is a process in which one who is curious about perusing a career finds a professional in the field of interest, and for about 20-30 minutes, interviews the professional about what it takes to be successful in their profession. In short, it is a reconnaissance mission, and you need to utilize this time to the best of your ability.

Now, you may be thinking, “Hey, I’m already in law school, so obviously I already know I want to be a lawyer, why would I go do an ‘informational interview’ on a field I already know about?” You might ask your self though, do you really know what it’s like to be a lawyer on a day-to-day basis? What about the different types of careers people with JDs take on? There are so many options out there, you really should take a deep look inside and ask yourself “What do I want to be when I grow up?”

Informational interviews may be conducted by e-mail and phone call, but are most effective when you are able to interview the professional in their office or place of business. Why? Because it allows you to see what the work environment is like. Professionals are also able to see initiative when you ask for an informational interview; it is the initiative that the professional sees which has the potential to lead an informational interview to internships, and to careers. Some things to remember after you have secured the informational interview, but before the actual interview takes place:

Step One – Preparation

Write down more questions than you intend to ask, or have time to ask. Stay away from deeply personal questions like: How much money do you make? If you want to know, it would be best to do internet research to find out the average national income for that profession. Avoiding deeply personal questions enables the interviewee to feel comfortable during the interview.

Step Two – Making a Good Impression

Arrive to the interview ready to engage in a thought provoking conversation. Be ready to answer any questions the interviewee may have for you. It is always a good idea to think about what questions they may have for you, for it is possible for the informational interview on the professional to turn into an interview on you.

Step Three – Show you’re Engaged

Don’t forget to take notes during the interview. Dress like you already work at the same level profession. Unless you know otherwise, assume this means a clean and pressed suit and tie for men and a conservative suit for women – dress the part!

After the informational interview is complete:

Thank the professional for their time, make eye contact while offering a firm (not death-grip) handshake.

Analysis of the Interview

Take the information gained, and write yourself a short pro/con paper as to why you are still interested in this career or why not. What has changed your mind or kept you in pursuit of this profession?

Send a Thank You Card

Send a thank you note to the professional, and if you have more questions request a follow up interview, maybe on a less formal basis. This keeps you in that person’s mind, which could be advantageous to you in seeking a position in the future.

Extend Your Network

Don’t forget to ask professional if there are any other people that he or she recommends you could interview. You already have your foot in the door with this professional, see who he/she knows and network yourself.

Requesting an informational interview is the first step to choosing a successful career. It helps you gain valuable insight into your potential career options, as well as aid in networking yourself. The informational interview has become a invaluable tool to use when looking for internships and a potential career.

The NLR Law Student Writing Competition offers law students the opportunity to submit articles for publication consideration on the NLR Web site. No entry fee is required. Applicants can submit an unlimited number of entries each month.

• Winning submissions will initially be published online in October and November 2010.
• In each of these months, entries will be judged and the top two articles chosen will be featured in the NLR monthly magazine prominently displayed on the NLR home page. Up to 25 runner-up entries will also be posted in the NLR searchable database each month.
• Each winning article will be displayed accompanied by the student’s photo, biography, contact information, law school logo, and any copyright disclosure.
• All winning articles will remain in the NLR database for two years (subject to earlier removal upon request of the law school).
• In addition, the NLR sends links to targeted articles to specific professional groups via e-mail. The NLR also posts links to selected articles on the “Legal Issues” or “Research” sections of various professional organizations’ Web sites. (NLR, at its sole discretion, may distribute any winning entry in such a manner, but does not make any such guarantees nor does NLR represent that this is part of the prize package.)

Content Guidelines and Deadlines
Content Guidelines must be followed by all entrants to qualify. It is recommended that articles address the following monthly topic areas:

• October 2010 Feature: Health Care Law (Submission deadline: Monday September 27th, 2010)
• November 2010 Feature: Labor & Employment Law (Submission deadline: Monday October 25th, 2010)

Articles covering current issues related to other areas of the law may also be submitted. Entries must be submitted via email to your law school’s NLR Marketing Coordinator by 5:00 pm Central Standard Time on the dates indicated above.

Why Students Should Submit Articles:

• Students have the opportunity to publicly display their legal knowledge and skills.
• The student’s photo, biography, and contact information will be posted with each article, allowing for professional recognition and exposure.
• Winning articles are published alongside articles written by respected attorneys from AMLAW 200 firms and other prominent firms.
• Student postings will remain in the NLR online database for up to two years, easily accessed by potential employers.

In addition, each winning entry will be accompanied by the student’s law school logo and contact information, a branding opportunity for your school.

For more information, check out The National Law Review Student Writing Competition Website.

We are encouraging all of our members to offer a few hours of their time to helping those who would otherwise not have access to legal services. For those attorneys or non-profit in need of some extra help with their pro-bono activities, we encourage you to check out our online forum and create a volunteer virtual legal team to help pick up the slack.

The Law Clerk Connection member who provides the most hours of volunteer legal services through Law Clerk Connection between April 18, 2010 and May 18, 2010 will receive a special gift to be announced in May.

Recent tech-blogs have been debating the issue of privilege and confidentiality due to the terms of service that Google imposes on the users of the free version of Gmail. Because Google “reads” the content of each email in order to deliver targeted advertising to the readers, this could constitute the dissemination of attorney-client privileged (“ACP”) material, thus waiving the attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, such dissemination could be a violation of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct.[1] Numerous issues regarding privacy and privilege are therefore implicated and worthy of discussion.

BACKGROUND

Google uses programs that allow it to “read” the content of a Gmail user’s email in order to send targeted advertisements to the reader. This is stated in Google’s Terms:

The Gmail service includes relevant advertising and related links based on the IP address, content of messages and other information related to your use of Gmail.

In section 8.1 of the Gmail Terms of Service, Google defines “Content.”

8.1 You understand that all information (such as data files, written text, computer software, music, audio files or other sounds, photographs, videos or other images) which you may have access to as part of, or through your use of, the Services are the sole responsibility of the person from which such content originated. All such information is referred to below as the “Content”.

However, Google assures its readers that the content of each email is not read by humans.

I have targeted ads on Gmail – is someone actually looking at what I write to match the ads with my emails?

Like most email services, Gmail uses software to scan emails for viruses and to filter out spam. Google uses this same kind of software to scan for keywords in users’ emails which we can then use to match ads. When a user opens an email message, computers scan the text and then instantaneously display relevant information that is matched to the text of the message. Once the message is closed, ads are no longer displayed. The whole process is automated and involves no humans.

In section 11, Google maintains that it has perpetual, free license to post or display the content that a user submits.

11. Content license from you

11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

11.4 You confirm and warrant to Google that you have all the rights, power and authority necessary to grant the above license.

However, in the Privacy Policy pertaining specifically to Gmail, Google states:

Google does not share or reveal email content or personal information with third parties. Email messages remain strictly between the sender and intended recipients, even when only one of the parties is a Gmail user.

No email content or other personally identifiable information is ever shared with advertisers.

Furthermore, Google insists that the scanning that occurs on each email is commonplace and does not amount to an invasion of privacy.

All email services scan your email. They do this routinely to provide such popular features as spam filtering, virus detection, search, spellchecking, forwarding, auto-responding, flagging urgent mess ages, converting incoming email into cell phone text messages, automatic saving and sorting into folders, converting text URLs to clickable links, and reading messages to the blind. These features are widely accepted, trusted, and used by hundreds of millions of people every day.

Google scans the text of Gmail messages in order to filter spam and detect viruses, just as all major webmail services do. Google also uses this scanning technology to deliver targeted text ads and other related information. This is completely automated and involves no humans.

When a user opens an email message, computers scan the text and then instantaneously display relevant information that is matched to the text of the message. Once the message is closed, ads are no longer displayed. It is important to note that the ads generated by this matching process are dynamically generated each time a message is opened by the user–in other words, Google does not attach particular ads to individual messages or to users’ accounts.

When email messages are fully protected from unwanted disclosure, the automatic scanning of email does not amount to a violation of privacy. Neither email content nor any personal information is ever shared with other parties as a result of our ad-targeting process.

DISCUSSION

Google’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy seem to be contradictory. We have emailed Google’s legal department to clarify that the Terms of Service definition of Content does not include the content of email transmissions. Common sense would dictate that the definition of content does not include the content of emails, but it is better to be specific and safe, than general and sorry.

That said, it is important to ascertain whether the bar associations and the courts believe that hosting email on a server other than an in-house server constitutes the dissemination of attorney-client privileged information. Furthermore, it is necessary to determine whether the “scanning” of email content by a software program constitutes dissemination of attorney-client privileged information.

1. Hosting on an Outside Server Does Not Necessarily Waive Privilege

I could not find a single case or ethics opinion directly addressing whether or not hosting email accounts on an outside server with an outside client violates privilege. However, there are a number of closely related rulings that I think, collectively, demonstrate that the privilege is safe.

The key case is City of Reno v. Reno Police Protective Ass’n, (2002) 59 P.3d 1212, modified, 2003 Nev. LEXIS 25 (Nev. May 14, 2003), which states that privileged information sent via unencrypted email does not destroy the privilege. There, the Nevada Supreme Court held that a privileged attorney-client communication retained its privileged status despite claims by the opposing side claiming that the privilege had been waived by the fact that the message had been e-mailed. The court relied, in part, on ABA Formal Opinion 99-413 (1999), which held that sending unencrypted internet email does not violate a lawyer’s duty of confidentiality (not an opinion on privilege, as such). The court also noted that both federal and California statutes say that unlawfully intercepted electronic communications do not lose their privileged status. In this vein, I would think that a website storing privileged information, subject to a nondisclosure privacy policy, is even more secure and should be fine from a privilege standpoint. Additionally, under ABA Formal Op. 398, when a lawyer has client files stored by a third party warehouse, the lawyer needs to obtain reasonable assurances that the warehouse will protect confidentiality. Similarly, an email host, with a privacy policy protecting the email content from prying eyes, would also seem to clear this “reasonable assurances” hurdle.

Thus, because Google explicitly states in its Privacy Policy that email content will not be disclosed to outside parties, one can clear the “reasonable assurances hurdle and be safe in the knowledge that they are not disseminating confidential, privileged information.

Other opinions given in legal symposia state that attorneys should analyze whether he will receive notice of third party requests for data stored on outside systems known as Alternative Service Providers (ASPs). For example, if a subpoena is issued to the ASP that requires the ASP to allow access to third-party litigants or law enforcement officials, will the lawyer be notified prior to the disclosure occurring? Further, in some circumstances law enforcement officials have seized entire computer systems containing the sought-after information as well as that belonging to third-parties. In the appropriate case, lawyers may consider asking the ASP to store the lawyer’s data on separate storage devices to avoid the lawyer’s data being sequestered away solely because it shared the same device as other data.

Because it is likely that Google hosts your data along with other parties data on the same server, there is a likelihood that, in the event of a subpoena, your information may be seized by law enforcement, even if the subpoena is not issued for your information. Google provides no indication as to whether you will be notified prior to the disclosure of this information.

2. Scanning of Email Content Probably Does Not Waive Privilege

The New York State Bar Association concluded that lawyers could use Gmail and comply with the duty of confidentiality despite the fact that email is ’scanned’ by Google to place contextual ads. The committee warned that this sort of unthinking, automated review was proper, but not human review. N.Y. St. B. Ass’n. Comm. Prof. Eth. Op. 820 (Feb. 8, 2008). They reasoned that they would reach the opposite conclusion if the e-mails were reviewed by human beings or if the service provider reserved the right to disclose the e-mails or the substance of the communications to third parties without the sender’s permission (or a lawful judicial order). However, merely scanning the content of e-mails by computer to generate computer advertising, however, does not pose a threat to client confidentiality, because the practice does not increase the risk of others obtaining knowledge of the e-mails or access to the e-mails’ content. I have found no analogous opinions or cases in California. I have found no definitive opinion from the American Bar Association.

FINAL VERDICT

Based on the authorities cited above, a law firm may use the free Gmail service without fear of waiving the attorney-client privilege or violating the Rules of Professional Conduct. However, because these are emerging issues in the law, it may be prudent to consider alternatives to the free Gmail service or other free email service in the event that legal opinions on the issue change.

• Jeffrey Hughes – Legal Grinder
• Patrick Lamb – A Betting Man
• David Van Zandt – Purple Praise
• Denise Annunciata – Paralegal Power
• Richard Granat – Internet Obsessive
• Rick Palmore – Demanding Diversity

All of these Legal Rebels should be congratulated for taking a stand and working towards a change for the better.

Recent advances in technology are a cornerstone for Law Clerk Connection in its mission to create a marketplace where lawyers can tap into law students and graduates from ABA-approved law schools for the time-intensive legal research and document handling. Web 2.0 technology has allowed Law Clerk Connection to create the website to attract law students; email and video conferencing enables lawyers to easily communicate with these law clerks and new web based technology makes time tracking easy.

Time tracking applications are not brand new, as applications first began appearing in the 1980s with the advent of the personal computer. Software, like BillingTracker Pro and Complete Time Tracking, can be installed on the PC for each employee or contractor and used to log their time. Typically time tracking can be tracked automatically using a stop-watch approach or manually by entering start and end times or start time and duration. The downside of these applications is that the software has to be installed on each PC. Not a burden for full time employees – but not as effective for part time employees and contractors who may not even be coming into your office.

The new alternative that offers the productivity and efficiency of time tracking with fewer drawbacks is “Software as a Service” (SaaS). SaaS applications are accessed via a web browser (like Internet Explorer or FireFox) over the internet rather than installed directly onto the user’s computer. Once your law practice sets up an account, all you do is direct each contractor to a web page to track their time. Even better, you can check on the time being spent by logging into the web page and you will see real time data.

The marketplace for these SaaS tools is evolving on an almost daily basis. Each of these applications handle the “basics” like:

· Easy time capture

· Multiple billing rates – flexible billing rates defined for the firm, by provider, by client, by project, and even per time entry. TIP: While each system has these, you want to test it out and make sure it tracks time the way you want to track time.

· 30 day Trials – With that last tip in mind – try before you buy! Not all advertise this – but you should be able to get a trial for any of these services.

· Integration with Quickbooks

· Management reports to show time spent – TIP: Check out the sample reports. See which product has the reports that are intuitive or easy to read for you.

· Browser support – All these services support Internet Explorer and Firefox. If you use Chrome, Opera or another browser you should expect to do a little extra testing.

For those of you who live your life in 6-minute increments, here are four products worthy of your review:

Bill4time

Bill4time’s unique features include email alerts whenever there is activity on a project that you are subscribed to; desktop widget means contractors don’t even have to go to the website to login; support for handheld devices; and a modern web 2.0 interface that digital native law students will be attracted to.

· Systems supported – PC, Macintosh, iPhone Blackberry, PocketPC and Palm devices

· Price – $19.99 to $39.99 per month, per user. Monthly billing, no long term contracts

TimeSolv Legal

TimeSolv Legal is probably the longest tenured service, dating back to 1999 – a nice track record of stability. They have it all, but it comes with a more traditional interface that might appear outdated to your digital native law students. TimeSolv can customize the product to more specific needs.

· Systems supported – PC and Macintosh

· Price – $35 per month, per user. They offer a discount if you pre-pay for one year.

Rocket Matter

Rocket Matter offers a comprehensive search to make it easy to find contacts and projects; excellent video tutorials to help you and your contractors use the system; and internal messaging to allow for direct communication with your contractors when they are online.

· Systems supported – PC, Macintosh and iPhone

· Price – $59.99 for the first user with prices dropping to 39.99 when you hit 7 users

14Dayz

14dayz is targeted to all professionals with a need to track time, not just lawyers. It has a Spanish version (as well as Dutch and German); a nice Web 2.0 interface although some may find it too cluttered; and invitations to make it easy to setup new contractors.

· Systems supported – PC and Macintosh

· Price – $29 to $99 for commercial licenses

Using these tools will not solve that classic love-hate scenario. I hesitate to say that your contractors will “love tracking time” but certainly they won’t dread it and you will get reliable data to track your expenses. A classic win-win scenario!