Robert Ambrogi's LawSites

Assembling a document from a template in Rocket Matter 2.0.

The Web-based practice management application Rocket Matter today released version 2.0 of its platform. The new version adds two notable features: document assembly and custom fields.

With this release, Rocket Matter becomes the only cloud-based practice management platform to integrate document assembly, according to Larry Port, the company’s co-founder and chief software architect.

The document assembly feature allows users to create templates for legal forms or other documents and then automatically merge client and matter data into a template to create a final document. As the user creates a document, Rocket Matter can also automatically create a billing entry.

The user creates the templates on his or her desktop, using Microsoft Word’s ability to create “merge fields.” Rocket Matter provides a guide for formatting these merge fields to work with its application. For those unfamiliar with using merge fields, Rocket Matter also provides links to guides that explain how to create and use them. As an example, to insert a client name in template, you’d use the fields: “«Client.Name»«Client.LastName»”.

Once you’ve created a template on your desktop, you upload it to Rocket Matter. As you upload it, the application checks it to ensure that you’ve properly formatted the merge fields. If there is an error, the application shows you which field contains the error. If you’ve set up all the fields properly, then the document is added to your template library, available to use for any client or matter.

Then, when you go to the dashboard for a matter within Rocket Matter, you see a new link, “Create from Template.” Click that to see a list of your available templates. Select a template and Rocket Matter automatically populates its fields with information such as party names, docket numbers, opposing counsel and the like. As it displays the final document, it shows the fields in a panel to the right. Click on any field in the panel to jump to that field in the document.

Custom Fields

With the addition of custom fields, Rocket Matter enables the user to customize these templates beyond the standard fields it already provides. Users can create an unlimited number of custom fields, both for matters and for contacts. And any custom field you create can become a merge field in a document template.

To create a custom field for a matter or contact, simply open the item. A portion of the screen is labeled “Data.” For a matter, this Data section includes the case number and county. For a contact, it includes date of birth, gender and Social Security number. Just below those data items are new horizontal columns with two headings, “Labels” and “Values.” Here is where you create a custom field. Click “add another” and simply fill in the label and value. For label, you might put “Secretary” and for value “John Jones.” You can also add custom fields when you create a new contact or matter.

As I’ve previously noted here, Rocket Matter is integrated with Dropbox, allowing you to automatically synchronize documents among Rocket Matter, your desktop and your mobile devices. More recently, the company announced its integration with Evernote. These integrations make the document assembly feature even more practical to use.

To see Rocket Matter’s Port demonstrate the new document assembly feature, view the video below.

A Preview of Rocket Matter 2.0: Document Assembly and Custom Fields from Rocket Matter on Vimeo.

A sample shown on the site

I happened across a website called MyPocketAttorney that says it will let lawyers build their own smartphone apps using templates designed for law offices and legal professionals. As of this morning, a notice on the site says, “Site Under Construction! Launch Date 1-20-2012.” Today being Jan. 20, we’ll see if it launches.

The site describes its service this way:

You can start building your app online using our custom templates. Your clients will appreciate the service as it allows them to contact you faster to access your latest promotions and services. In addition, you can make money between court cases and trips with the consulting fee pay option. You’ll also be able to retain your clients like never before with your app on their phone, respond quicker with a text, provide a monthly news letter and much more. Thus, making your business more efficient and with more clients.

Apps created through the site would let users call your office with one-touch dialing, get GPS directions to your office, and schedule appointments.

However, it seems that the developers of this site are not familiar with the rules of professional conduct that govern attorneys. They tout a feature of the app that would enable lawyers to pay users referral fees when users share the app with others. Here’s how the site describes this referral option:

“I saw a friend of mine using the app one day and got excited about having an attorney in my pocket. She referred me, received a $25 gift card for doing so, and I received a great service.” If you are an Attorney wanting to get your own mobile app for practice at a low-cost and hear your clients have a conversation like this one, sign up for a free account today.

Apart from the creepiness of the “attorney in my pocket” metaphor, this referral program strikes me as blatantly unethical for lawyers. As Roy Ginsburg wrote about referral fees just this week at AttorneyAt Work:

Most attorneys know they cannot share fees with non-lawyers. The ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, adopted by most states, are quite clear. Rule 5.4 (a) states that “a lawyer or law firm shall not share legal fees with a non-lawyer.” Rule 7.2 (b) states that “a lawyer shall not give anything of value to a person for recommending the lawyer’s services.” A referral fee is certainly something of value.

In fairness, MyPocketAttorney describes the referral program as optional, but it nevertheless suggests a lack of familiarity with the legal market. No wonder, given that the company already has “MyPocket” app-creation sites for some two-dozen other industries and topics, from MyPocketInsurance and MyPocketRealtor to MyPocketChurch and MyPocketFuneral.

The cost of one of these apps starts at $999 for the first year, after which you pay a monthly fee, according to information posted on the site.

The Library of Congress unveiled a new app yesterday designed to let you read the Congressional Record on an iPad. Called simply The Congressional Record, the purpose of the new app, as In Custodia Legis reports, “is straightforward — easily read the daily edition of the Congressional Record on your iPad (and maybe save a few trees in the process).”

According to the description, the app lets you:

• Browse editions of the Congressional Record by date, from Jan. 4, 1995, to the present.
• Perform keyword searches within individual documents or sections within documents.
• Share documents via email.
• Save documents to your preferred iPad PDF reader.
• Identify the latest bills and resolutions considered daily on the floor of the U.S. House.
• Identify the latest bills, resolutions, treaties and nominations considered daily on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

Read more about the app here.

The Legal Services Corporation’s Technology Initiative Grants program held its annual conference last week in Albuquerque. I wasn’t there, but I wish I had been. The conference focused on exploring innovative ways of using technology to promote full access and high-quality legal representation for low-income people. Read the program book to get a taste of what was covered.

One clever idea introduced there was iProBono, an iPhone app that allows attorneys to review and sign-up for pro bono cases. The app is being developed for the Arkansas Legal Services Partnership. The developers’ site indicates they would develop the app for other states.

The app will let Arkansas lawyers view a list of current pro bono cases, and search and filter the cases by topic, location and other parameters. Lawyers will be able to accept cases directly through the app, after which the app will show a list of their active and completed cases.

It appears the app has not yet been released, since I can’t find it in the iTunes store. The Arkansas Legal Services Partnership site describes it as “soon to be available.”

Will a pro bono app cause more lawyers to take these cases? Probably not. But it will make it easier for those who are willing. In any event, it’s a good example of how even small-scale technology innovations can help make legal services more broadly available.

I don’t understand why lawyers think denigrating themselves and the profession is an effective marketing tool. Like the Nilan Johnson video I wrote about before, here is an attempt at humor that fails miserably. Lawyer as shakedown bully? Is that really the image this guy wants to present? I guess so, given this video and his URL of bullylawyer.com.

A new mobile app introduced this week by the New York State Bar Association lets lawyers search and access ethics opinions from their mobile phones. The NYSBA Mobile Ethics App includes the state bar’s catalog of more than 900 legal ethics opinions, dating back to 1964.

The app allows users to search for an opinion by keyword, retrieve it by opinion number, or browse a list of categories such as “attorney advertising,” “concurrent representation” and “non-refundable retainer.” Results show both a digest of the opinion and its full text. It can notify you when new opinions are added.

The free app is available for iPhones, iPads, Android phones and BlackBerrys.

• Read the announcement.
• Download the ethics app.

I have a post about this at the ABA Techshow blog: Five Tips for Starting Your Own Blog.

I am very proud to report that I have been nominated for election as vice president of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation, the state’s premiere legal charity devoted to ensuring equal access to the legal system and to improving the administration of justice.  The election for 2012 officers will take place at the MBF’s annual meeting Jan. 25.

Also nominated as MBF officers this year are:

• President: Jerry Cohen, Esq., Burns & Levinson.
• Secretary: Lawrence J. Farber, Esq., Law Office of Lawrence J. Farber.
• Treasurer: Janet E. Aserkoff, Esq., Rappaport, Aserkoff & Gelles.

The highlight of the annual meeting will be the presentation of the MBF’s Great Friend of Justice Award to U.S. District Judge William G. Young.

Just last week, someone asked me for a list of my favorite iPhone apps. I get this question a lot, so I thought I’d talk about about a few of my favorite apps.

No Angry Birds here. I will restrict myself to apps that have some application in the practice of law. That does not mean they are all apps specifically targeted to lawyers. But I hope that they are all apps you will find useful. In fact, you may already have many of them yourself.

I use all of these apps on an iPhone, but most are also available for Android and BlackBerry. I’ve designated that using “A” for Android and “BB” for BlackBerry.

Evernote. This app promises to turn your phone into an extension of your brain. That is not entirely an exaggeration. The wonder of Evernote is its ability to synchronize everything from everywhere. Add text, audio or photos on your smartphone. Save PDF documents or clip Web pages on your computer. Whatever you add to Evernote, it is automatically synchronized among all your devices and is also available via the cloud. All this is free, or you can buy the premium version that provides greater storage capacity and enhanced features. (A, BB)

Dropbox. In much the same way that Evernote is a wonder, so is Dropbox. Drag anything into the Dropbox folder on your computer and it is almost immediately available on your mobile device or via any Web browser. Revise a document or edit a photo on your desktop Dropbox folder, and the changes appear anywhere you access Dropbox. With Dropbox, you’ll never be without an important document or file. Plus you can use it to share with others. (A, BB)

Dragon Dictation. Many lawyers are familiar with the desktop version of this popular voice-recognition application. With this app, you can use your smart phone to quickly create email and text messages, send yourself notes and reminders, and update your status on Twitter or Facebook – all virtually hands-free. (A, BB)

Fastcase. I continue to marvel at this app, which lets you research cases and statutes on your iPhone, entirely for free. Search a full library of federal and state cases and statutes. Use natural language or Boolean queries. Search across jurisdictions and dates or narrow your search. Select how many results to show and how to display the results – by relevance, date or name. This could be a case-saver in the courtroom.

Google Search. You use Google non-stop on your computer. Why not make it easy to use on your iPhone? This is the app that does that for you, even allowing you to simply speak your search query into your phone and to search based on images from your phone’s camera. The app also allows quick access to other Google applications, such as Reader, Translate, Docs, Photos and more. (A, BB)

Adobe Reader. As you might expect, this is the best app for viewing PDF documents on your smartphone. (A, BB)

Genius Scan. This free app lets you use your phone as a pocket scanner. Open the app, point your camera at the document, take the picture, and the app optimizes the image and saves it as a JPG or PDF file. From there, you can save it to your phone, share it with your computer over WiFi, email it, or tweet it. With the paid version ($2.99), you can easily export your scans to Dropbox, Evernote and Google Docs. Perfect for receipts.

Skype. Make free voice and video calls with this app on your phone. It works just as well as Skype on the computer. Call other Skype users for free and call landlines at low rates. If you travel outside the U.S., this is a must-have that lets you avoid the high cost of international cell phone rates. Wherever you have Wi-Fi access, you have Skype access. (A)

Adobe Photoshop Express. Adobe Photoshop is the top-of-the-line software for editing digital images. This slimmed-down version lets you easily make quick edits to photographs you take with your mobile phone. Crop pictures; adjust exposure, contrast and color; apply filters; add special effects; and create borders. (A)

WordPress. With this app on your phone, you can manage any WordPress blog or even multiple WordPress blogs. Use it to create or edit posts and pages, add images and video, and moderate comments. (A, BB)

CamCard. Here is the solution for handling all those business cards you pick up. Take a picture of the card and CamCard recognizes the contact information and saves it to your address book. It will also read QR code business cards. Once you’ve saved the information, you can search for the contact on LinkedIn or export the information to Excel. (A, BB)

Tweetdeck. Keep plugged in to your social networks with this app. Monitor and post to all your Twitter and Facebook accounts. This companion to the Tweetdeck desktop application was recently completely rebuilt to make it faster and more versatile. As with the desktop version, you can add and configure columns for different accounts and different searches. (A)

Wikipedia Mobile. Need a quick answer to a question? This app provides an easy interface to the Wikipedia Web encyclopedia. If you can’t find an answer here, the question probably wasn’t important to begin with. (BB)

Priceline Negotiator. Using Priceline’s “name your own price” feature for hotel rooms and car rentals, I’ve snagged some great deals, even on four-star hotels in major cities. With this app, you can find a great deal wherever you are. Besides letting you search for rates or name your own price, it offers “tonight-only deals” you can grab on short notice. (A)

RedLaser. This turns your phone into a bar-code and QR-code reader and then helps you find the best price. Say you’re in the office-supply store for a toner cartridge. Scan the bar code and RedLaser will show you the prices of the same item at other nearby stores and also at online retailers. For books, the app will even show local libraries that have it. (A)

NPR News. If you’re an NPR junkie like I am, get this app. Listen to NPR programs live from any NPR station anywhere in the country, download NPR podcasts, get hourly newscasts, and read headline news. (A)

LinkedIn. Keep connected to the leading professional networking site even when you’re away from your office. Use it to keep up with your connections and groups, provide updates on your status, and follow industry news. (A, BB)

Facebook. If you plan to access Facebook from your iPhone, get this app. It makes Facebook much easier to use than it would be using the phone’s mobile browser. Besides allowing you to keep in touch with your friends wherever you are (and to find ones who are nearby), the app makes it easy to upload photos and video. (A, BB)

Opera Mini Browser. The Safari browser that comes loaded on the iPhone can be slow and can fail to properly display many web pages. Like its desktop counterpart, the Opera Mini Browser is blazingly fast. It can accurately display pages that Safari cannot handle and is far more configurable than Safari. (A)

Kindle. Even if you do not own a Kindle e-reader, you can read any Kindle book on your iPhone using this app. If you do have a Kindle, or if you have the Kindle reader on your computer, this app keeps both synchronized, so you can pick up reading on one device where you left off on another. (Another e-reader app I recommend is Stanza.) (A)

Pandora. Even lawyers need a little music in their lives. Pandora describes itself as “radio that only plays music you’ll love.” With this app, you can have all the music you love even when you are on the road. (A, BB)

I could go on for pages about other apps I use. Unfortunately, I have work to do. Thus, begrudgingly, I will have to stop here.

Members of the Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs practice at the law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP today launched Politics, Law and Policy Blog, a blog devoted to providing bipartisan policy insights and political intelligence.

Howard Dean

It is the rare blog that can be judged by its first day, but this one certainly started out strong, with a post by former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential hopeful Howard Dean, now a senior strategic advisor to the firm, reflecting on the Iowa caucuses.

Also contributing first-day posts were Mark Burkhalter, former speaker of the Georgia General Assembly and a senior strategic advisor to the firm, writing on what drives agendas in state legislatures, and Cindy Gillespie, managing director of the practice group, offering a lay person’s guide to the Supreme Court’s review of health care reform.

If this was the blog’s first day, I can’t wait to see the second.

[Hat tip to The BLT.]