3 Practical Tech Skills Every Lawyer Should Have

We are proud to present a practical technology program full of information you can immediately use in your practice. Barron Henley, an attorney and acclaimed technology trainer, will demonstrate how you can use overlooked features to get the most out of Microsoft Word and PDF programs, along with easy and ethical measures you can take today to protect client data.

Topics include:

• How to end your frustrating relationship with Microsoft Word: Many legal users are perpetually frustrated with Microsoft Word. We know what we want our documents to look like, but often can’t get them there. Word seems to fight against us when we try. It turns out that there’s a feature in Word called “Styles” which is the key to controlling the complex formatting required by legal documents. The basic problem is that Word surreptitiously applies a style to all text in every document without your knowledge or consent; and the feature cannot be turned off. Since you cannot avoid styles while using Word, it is a good use of any Word user's time to learn about them. Unfortunately, using Word teaches you almost nothing about what Styles is, what it does or how to control it. This seminar will demystify this subject and show you how they work and how to control/customize them. Be prepared for many “a-ha” moments because an understanding of Styles will also show you how to solve many Word formatting issues that may have frustrated you in the past.

• What you need to know about PDF files – and what you should know how to do with your PDF program: Every lawyer has to deal with PDFs. They are the file format of choice when trading documents with other lawyers and clients. Many courts now require that all pleadings be filed as PDFs. Most governmental forms are only available in PDF format. And, if you want to reduce paper in your office, then PDFs are front and center. Because of their prevalence, everyone in your office needs to understand the risks, benefits and appropriate uses of PDF files. We'll cover and demonstrate extremely important higher-end topics such as redaction, metadata removal and document security, Bates Numbering, splitting/combining PDFs, reducing file-size for electronic case filing and digitally signing PDFs, among other topics.

• ETHICS - Security is a team sport - simple, easy tech security measures every lawyer should consider to protect client data: Rule 1.6 stipulates that a lawyer must 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 also direct that clients may require you to implement special security measures not required by Rule 1.6. The exact meanings of "reasonable efforts" and "act competently" may be subject to debate. However, doing nothing certainly won't meet the standard. The good news is that you don't have to be a security expert or techie to protect yourself and your office. Learn how to cover all the bases of computer, smartphone, tablet, email, wireless and document encryption. Half of the battle is simply 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.