Here’s a tip that will ensure you always have every document in your client file handy, wherever you are.  Copy your entire client folder to Dropbox (or Google Drive) the day before any court appearance or other major event.  Your client folder will then be available to you remotely, via the Cloud, if you need to check any documents that you left behind.

Dropbox and Google Drive are free online services that allow you to copy your files and folders to the Cloud, where they are stored securely. They can then be retrieved from any computer or mobile device anywhere, as long as you are online.

These services can function as the perfect complement to your paperless office.   If you scan it, you can retrieve it – from anywhere.

When Dropbox is installed, it adds a designated folder to your desktop.   You can drag and copy your files to your Dropbox folder, the same way you would transfer files between any Windows folders. The copied files are then automatically and seamlessly uploaded to the Cloud.  Google Drive functions similarly.

If you’ve been looking for yet another good reason to go paperless, these services provide it.  Combined with an iPad or iPhone, these services can help your practice function like a paperless office on steroids!

When choosing between services, storage capacity limits are an increasing point of difference.  The basic Dropbox plan offers 2 gigabytes of free storage.  Google Drive has just upped its free storage (shared with your Gmail account) to 15 gigabytes.

So today’s tip is a straightforward one – get an account at one of these services.  Make it part of your office’s preparation protocol to upload your entire client folder the day before an event. At my office, our law clerk usually handles this function.  One quick click (or drag) and it’s done.

And voila!  You need never be without a key document at a crucial time again.

You may also conclude, as I have, that carrying a Dropbox-ready iPad is a far more pleasant experience than lugging around bankers’ boxes filled with documents you probably won’t need the next day – but you’ve brought them just in case…

So there you have today’s tip.  Dropbox it.

It’s good for the trees.  And it’s pretty good for the back too.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Today’s tip is for the new summer law students and their articling peers: watch the clock.

Efficient gathering of information usually means less time overall spent answering a research question. Fast gathering usually starts with what an expert can tell you about an area of law (yes, a textbook whether it is online, eBook, or print).  If your organization charges clients disbursements for using fee based research tools like LexisNexis Quicklaw and  Westlaw Canada, make sure you know what model and method is used so that you can keep the gathering costs down.

All of us have to manage our time and our deadlines.  At this point in my career, I think I have tried out a fair number of the alternatives:  a DayTimer paper calendar, a paper notebook, Microsoft Outlook as well as other various appointment programs etc etc etc.. I think my all-time favourite was a very good personal information program entitled EccoPro (which was unfortunately dropped by the developer but I now see it has been kept alive by a strong user group at http://www.compusol.org/ecco/).

So the search went on.  That was, until I found Wunderlist.

An iTunes Hall of Fame app, this cloud-based and synched task manager was named one of the “10 Best Productivity Apps of 2010” by The Next Web.  It also happens to be free.  It is a multi-platform (Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad, Android, Linux and the Web) and keeps your task lists synched between all of these multiple devices.  If you wish you can share your tasks (useful for legal assistants and legal secretaries).  You can email reminders and email yourself tasks to Wunderlist.   Deadlines and due dates are incorporated as well as Notes and Prioritization.

I like that you can have multiple to-do lists.  And reoccurring items and sub-tasks.

I think I have *finally* found the one way to keep all the tasks and deadlines in my professional and personal life in one place, organized and accessible at all times.  Simply Wunderful!

David J. Bilinsky.

What’s your assessment – are your bookkeeping and accounting systems working for you and your practice?  Could some basic financial planning make a difference in the year ahead?

With tax-time 2014 – and the regulatory and financial well-being of our practices – in mind, here are a few questions we could benefit from pondering (and acting upon):

• Are your firm’s financial records Law Society-compliant and up-to-date? Are there any dormant trust funds or credit balances that require attention? How can any issues be expeditiously resolved?
• Are you writing off more receivables than you’d like? Does this surprise you each year?  Would a more regular billing cycle or updated collections strategy make a difference?
• Do your internal systems and accounting software get you the data you need – when you need it? 
• Do you review information on where your firm stands financially on at least a monthly basis?  Are you getting the financial reports you require – and are you acting on them?
• Does staff need training in any area affecting your financial practices and record-keeping?
• Are your “accounting computers” showing any signs of wear and tear that could reflect early warnings of system instability? Have your backups been working and is your data secure, firewalled and virus-free?
• Are the bookkeeping and accounting professionals you work with meeting your ongoing requirements and helping you build and maintain your practice?
• Are the inefficiencies in your firm’s bookkeeping and accounting processes? Would addressing any of these save you on professional fees – and make your life easier in the process?  Have you requested input from your accountants and bookkeepers on any changes or improvements they might recommend?
• Is this to be the Year of the Cloud for your firm’s accounting data, or do you still prefer to wait it out a while longer?
• Could you go “paperless” in any areas of your financial record-keeping? Could you save a few trees by paying certain bills online?  How about scanning those gas-station, restaurant and charitable donation receipts so they are more organized and accessible?
• Are your paper records stored efficiently and safely? Do you know where your paper records are? Would a binder system be worth considering to help you to locate archived records more quickly if and when they may be required?
• Would you benefit from arranging an automatic R.R.S.P. savings plan through your bank?
• What are your firm’s goals and targets?  How can you leverage your firm’s bookkeeping and accounting resources to assist you in achieving them in the year ahead?

And more generally, do you need to make any new (tax) year’s resolutions?

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

An example: Canada Post is asking Canadians about the kind of postal service they will need in the future. An important question, especially for those of you who like getting books in the mail. This question is in response to a Conference Board of Canada report on the future of the postal service.  The Conference Board is an excellent place to look to see if someone has already answered your big picture type question.

I encourage you to give feedback to Canada Post. From the News Release that askes for input:

Canada Post has stayed relevant to generations of Canadians by understanding their changing needs and evolving to serve them. The options put forward by the Conference Board are the starting point for this important conversation with Canadians about what they value, what they expect from us going forward and what needs to change to get there.

As the news release states, you can send them feedback by mail:

THE FUTURE OF CANADA POST
2701 RIVERSIDE DR SUITE N0800
OTTAWA ON K1A 0B1

The news release also offers a visit to canadapost.ca with a suggestion to follow the link to The Future of Canada Post. The feedback form was not yet available on April 30, 2013. Check the site, or,  send them a letter.

Update: Comment on the Future of Canada Post at http://www.canadapost.ca/ext/en/future/?page_id=2&cpage=20&sf12333662=1

Hat Tip to @canadapostcares for tweeting me the link.

In advance of that presentation, I am taking a snippet from my paper on how to use Microsoft Outlook to manage limitation dates.

Of all the tasks that must be done in a law office, few of them have such long reaching professional implications as missing a limitation date. Missing a limitation date involves significant personal and professional embarrassment, loss of trust with the client, possible negligence liability, having to report to your Insurance Fund and not the least of all, loss of face.

Despite all the implications of a lawyer missing a limitation date, it is still a regular occurrence in law firms.

Managing limitation dates along with reminders of other important dates is a task that can be systematized. While paper calendars and/ or index cards organized by month, date and year was the traditional way of keeping up on limitation dates, these days computer calendars offer a distinct advantage over paper-based systems. One of the biggest advantages is of course the fact that electronic calendars can “push” reminders out to lawyers and staff while paper calendars must be examined (you pull the information off a paper calendar).

Given the fact that so many electronic calendars are now synchronized with smart phones, this now means that lawyers can obtain reminders of limitation and other important dates wherever they happen to be. This is another advantage as compared to the paper-based calendar or card system that lies sitting in the lawyer’s office.

This is just one tip on how to use the capabilities of Outlook to look after limitation (and other important dates).  This tip concerns using “Categories” in Outlook:

Outlook allows you to create Categories, which is a way to group similar tasks (such as limitation reminders and tasks, for example).

While categories have many uses, one could use them to draw extra attention to limitation date reminders that are ‘tasks’ or To-Dos within the To-Do Bar.

You can rename an existing category to “Limitation Date” as I have done in the above picture (colored red). From now on I can ‘tag’ a To-Do as a Limitation Date – and it would appear with this red box next to it –bringing it prominently to your attention.

You can also use Categories for appointments in the Calendar and mark them as limitation dates:

As you can see, once you have created “Limitation Date” as a category, you can click on “Categorize” in the Ribbon and specify an appointment in your calendar as a Limitation Date. The extra visual ‘kick’ that this adds to the appointment makes it stand out.

Here is how the appointment stands out in your calendar view:

 —David J. Bilinsky, Vancouver.