Sims Law Firm, Ltd.

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It is no secret that I am a big fan of being paperless. I strongly believe that it is the most important thing that attorneys can do to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their practices.

One of the real benefits of being paperless, especially when combined with using cloud-based tools, is that it allows me to function in a method of what I call location independence.

In my mind, being location independent means that I can practice wherever I happen to be. When you have a paper file, server based software, and a desktop computer, that generally means that…
Continue Reading The Importance of Being Location Independent

Legal technology can be your friend, but not if you are using it incorrectly in your practice. This session teaches you the rights and wrongs for using technology, including email, passwords, public WiFi, backups, encryption and more!
I will be presenting on this topic for the Northwest Suburban Bar Association. The program will be on January 15, 2020 at noon at the NWSBA Center at the Third District Courthouse.
#LunchAndLearnWithGeo

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Continue Reading Technology You are (Probably) Doing Wrong

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I recently participated in a webinar with Larry Port from Rocket Matter about how to create and run a paperless law office.  During the webinar, we received a number of questions that we were not able to answer at the time. One of the questions that we received was from an attorney who needs to review multiple versions of a contract. The

attorney wanted to know if there was a paperless way to do this. I have already answered the attorney, but I thought it made sense to address this question here, as well.
First, there is a definitely…
Continue Reading Paperless Document Comparison

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I invite you to join myself and Rocket Matter CEO Larry Port for a webinar titled How to Create and Rune a Paperless Law Office in 2019. This is a topic that is important to me. In fact, it is the one thing that I believe any firm can do to most improve their practice. If you have ever thought about moving your practice paperless, I urge you to sign up for this webinar. It’s completely free and will be held on November 28, 2018, at 2-2:50 PM ET.
You can sign up at the following link: Registration.
Continue Reading How to Create and Run a Paperless Law Office

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In the Rocket Matter 10 Minute Law Firm Podcast released on November 13, I am interviewed by Rocket Matter CEO Larry Port. In the podcast, I get to talk about one of my favorite topics, going paperless. I also talk a little about what first got me interested in technology.
If you are not listening to the 10 Minute Law Firm Podcast, I urge you to add it to your podcast playlist. The podcast covers topics that are relevant to all practitioners and, best of all, it’s always fairly short (about 10 minutes). So, even if you don’t want to…
Continue Reading I Was On the Rocket Matter 10 Minute Law Firm Podcast

As a Rocket Matter user, one of the things that I love about the service is that they are constantly improving the product, both in big and small ways.  In March, they added project management capabilities. I really like those features and have definitely incorporated those into my flat fee work. Today, Rocket Matter has announced their latest upgrade Braavos.
It looks like they have increased their responsiveness dramatically. This is something that I am always glad to see. They have also increased the speed at which batch billing occurs. I love the batch billing feature and use…
Continue Reading Rocket Matter Rolls Out New Update

If you have ever come in contact with me in a professional capacity, you have likely heard me rave about the benefits of moving to a paperless practice. In fact, I firmly believe that going paperless will have more of an effect on you efficiency and productivity than any other single change you can make in your practice.
Yesterday, I experienced first hand what it was like to benefit from another attorney having a paperless practice. I am representing a client selling a piece of commercial property. I ran into a title issue that I needed to clear up. To…
Continue Reading The Benefits of a Paperless Practice

Join me as I present my best PDF Tips and Tricks at a Best Practices Rapid Fire Table Clinic at the Illinois Solo & Small Firm Practice Institute Series: Momentum: Driving Your Practice Down a Path of Success.
You should also attend the event to see all of the other great presentations, including  presentations such as Top Ten Ways to Use the Software You Already Have; Moneyball for Lawyers, and Using Open Source Intelligence and Social Media in Investigations.

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Continue Reading Table Clinic on PDF Tips and Tricks

Join me and a panel of distinguished legal technologists as we talk about tips and tricks to make you more efficient.
A little overwhelmed? Come to this fast paced, fun session for bite-sized learning.  We’ll cover tips and tricks to help you be more productive and efficient, provide better client service, and keep on top of your to-do list! Software, hardware, social media, productivity, security, managing people, cloud computing, mobile devices, apps, and more -there will be something for all legal professionals to use in their practice.

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Join me and Nerino Petro as we talk about PDFs and how they are essential to the current practice of law.
PDF is the file format of choice when exchanging documents with clients, other lawyers, and the courts. Because of this prevalence, lawyers must understand the uses, risks and benefits of PDF files. This session covers how to work with PDF files, including metadata removal, document security, redaction, Bates numbering, collaboration features, as well as the pros and cons of the different PDF applications.

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Continue Reading PDF Essentials: What Lawyers Need to Know and Why

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TechShow 2018 is this week and I am really excited. Not only do I get to speak at a couple of sessions, but there are tons of other sessions that will be dispensing great legal technology knowledge. Plus, the Expo Hall appears to be full of tons of great vendors who are happy to talk to you about what is going on in the field of legal technology.
I have attended TechShow for many years and cannot recommend it highly enough. If you are not already going, it’s not too late. You can still register now.
There are a…
Continue Reading TechShow 2018 is Almost Here

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Over the last couple of years, I have given multiple CLE presentations on the need for attorneys to have basic technology competence. Below is a revised version of an article that I had previously prepared on this topic. I think is particularly relevant today, in that, as of January 1, 2018, efiling becomes mandatory in Illinois in civil cases.
Until recently most people gave little thought to the question of whether ethics rules required attorneys to exercise competence in technology. That changed however with the ABA Ethics 20/20 revision of the model ethics rules. Of particular import is Rule 1.1…
Continue Reading Legal Competence Requires Tech Competence

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When I started my solo practice, I knew that I wanted a time & billing and practice management solution. I had been studying the various options for years and I knew that, if I were to establish my own practice, I would use Tabs 3. Thus, when I went out on my own, this was one of my first purchases.
One of the benefits of Tabs is that it is reasonably priced. Thus, I was able to afford it in the beginning. Tabs comes with different components. I went with Tabs 3 (time & billing) PracticeMaster (practice management), Accounts…
Continue Reading Moving My Practice to Rocket Matter

Techshow 2018PDF is the file format of choice when exchanging documents with clients, other lawyers and the courts. Because of their prevalence, it is critical that lawyers understand the uses, risks and benefits of PDF files. This session covers how to work with PDF files, including metadata removal, document security, redaction, Bates numbering, collaboration features, as well as the pros and cons of the different PDF applications.
Join me at ABA Techshow where we discuss the ubiquitous file format PDF.

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Techshow 2018It’s tempting to think of email as a necessary evil. It can be an effective communications tool, but getting control over it is often an exercise in frustration. Why not make Microsoft Outlook work for you? In this session, you’ll learn strategies and techniques for powering through your email, as well as the features, security settings, and add-ins that will bring you closer to that elusive state of email nirvana.
 
Join me at Techshow 2018 as we discuss Microsoft Outlook.

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Continue Reading Improving Your Outlook

For more than a decade, my computer has a been a Dell laptop. I never had any complaints about them and they always did a great job for me. Regardless, this last summer, when I knew that I had to replace my laptop, I turned to Microsoft instead of Dell. Why?
Microsoft Surface Pro 4This decision had nothing to do with Dell. I would not hesitate to get another Dell. However, I really wanted the options offered in the Surface form factor. I liked the pen and its ability to write on the screen. This works great for taking notes during a deposition.
Continue Reading Tech I Use: Microsoft Surface Pro 4