Big fat numbers, clickable into drill down reports, which click further down into more detail, have all the information you’ve ever wanted to see about the financial position and performance of your law firm.

However, since we’ve put so much power into the hands of our attorneys, we need to make sure that inside a firm, not everybody gets to see the whole picture (especially now, during Intern season).

Enter our new privacy controls. We spent a lot of time and energy on this, so that we could provide a ton of flexibility for the different roles who might access Rocket Matter. For instance, accountants, senior partners, junior associates, and receptionists all may or may not need access to financial data, client information, and so on.

Of course, we had to make them good-looking (couldn’t resist):

Learn more about Rocket Matter permissions, including a sneak preview video and other resources. You can also check out our press release “Rocket Matter Adds Additional Privacy Capabilities In Signature Cloud Product”.

Or, if you’d like to just skip ahead and attend a product demonstration webinar, simply pick a time and sign right up!

* Monday, March 1st
* 3pm-4pm, ET
* 218-895-0646
* code 2227#

Barbara pioneered a number of “firsts” in this webinar:  first time we put one of the attendees on the line to join the discussion, first time one of the hosts is doing a follow-up call, and first time we’ve gotten homework!

Click Here to download your homework and the Barbara Nelson Rocket Matter Webinar Materials

Click here to download a blank Rocket Matter Week Calendar for scribbling.

Some of the many Time Management Tips from Attendees:

* I use technology to change my work environment. If I feel like I’m stuck in a rut, I’ll leave the ofice to work. Forward phones & grab my laptop. Working in the park is very productive.

* Twitter + Facebook ought to be rewards (not habit) for many.

* Tip for perfectionists: time block things & deem them done at end of block.

* Hemingway always had a starting point for the next day’s writing.

* Plan time to think.

* I leave Monday mornings open for calls, emails, reviewing weekend’s mail.

* Google calendar up on the desktop whenever I am at my desk=crucial.

* The frog tastes better in the morning than late in the day (i.e. do the thing you don’t want to do EARLY & get it out of the way).

* Wear a kamikaze headband to signal “don’t bother me now.” Extreme time blocking (may not work at the courthouse).

* You can print out your computer calendar, and it’s more easily revised & accessed on the road.

* Scheduling call-backs for status may be a good way of training clients/family (if family cooperates).

* Train clients to ask quick questions by email, which makes answering easier/less urgent/less intrusive.

* “Don’t Open Email in the Morning” book worth checking out.

* Make something you don’t want to do but have to do fun: Put on some good music, have a glass of wine, etc. Change the association from negative to positive.

* End-of-day and Friday time management effectiveness review after blocking time on my calendar has been the best way to get started. This will help in limiting time-wasting activities – as Barbara said, without the judgment.

* As a solo with a home office, I try to work outside my office at a coffee shop or other “third place” at least once a week for a couple of hours. Changing up the location from time to time = more productivity.

What a better way to celebrate our two-year birthday than to welcome a great legal tech blogger into our community.

Rick Georges, who two years ago took the anti-cloud position in the Mac vs PC ABA Journal article, is now on board the Rocket.  It took a little wizardry from the amazing tools Google offers (which, if you read FutureLawyer, you’ll know Rick is a fan), some evolution of Rocket Matter to get data offline, and dogged, relentless persistence on my part, but now Rick is swayed and sees the beauty of the cloud.

Not only that, but yesterday Rick decided to activate his account and start using Rocket Matter over his Android phone.  We took some video of the process, which we’ll get up in the next few days.  Stay tuned!

The overhead of switching tasks can be minimal.  It might take a couple of seconds to get one’s bearings, or it can whisk away 30 minutes or more.

Take email for example.  Let’s say you have to find some information for whatever reason.  The problem is, when you check your email, new messages come in and tug at your attention.  What began as a simple task to find out what was discussed in the last meeting quickly eats away your entire morning.

I like using Rocket Matter messages, notes, calendars, and tasks when I can as opposed to email.  Messaging allows for private communication within the firm, so no outside interference will distract me.

Tasks can be assigned from one person to another, tracked, and tagged, so delegation becomes manageable and searchable.  Calendar events are also tag-and-searchable, and allow people to accept and decline appointments without going to email.

Notes, too, are tag-and-searchable and are associated with matters, so information stays tightly trapped and organized.

Bottom line:  by keeping your information searchable and organized, and allowing you to delegate, communicate, plan, and research, a tool like Rocket Matter keeps you out of the black hole of email.  You stay focused, on task, and maintain a higher level of productivity.

Tagging and Mail Merge!

Now, when you navigate to your contact pages, you can assign a contact multiple descriptions. You can describe someone as “Lawyer”,”Opposing Counsel”, or with a location, such as “Miami”, for example.

Fans of Web 2.0 applications such as Del.icio.us, Flikr, or Gmail will feel at home with the tagging technology, while newcomers to the feature will quickly see its power and value.

How to use Tagging in Rocket Matter

Navigate to a contact record
In the Tags section in the sidebar, click “Add Tag”
Type in a description, or tag name and click Add.
Your tags can be clicked on, from a contact record, or the Tag will now show up in your Intelligent Search. By visiting a Tag listing page, you will see all contacts in your system labeled with that Tag, and you can export an Excel spreadsheet.

This Excel spreadsheet can then be used as a data source for a Mail Merge, enabling you to quickly print labels or form letters for your Rocket Matter customers.

FREE Rocket Matter Mail Merge Tutorial Webinar!

Please join us on Friday, December 12, at 3PM EST to learn about this powerful functionality. Learn how to print out labels and send out mail merge letters in time for the holidays!

When: Friday, December 12, at 3PM
Conference Number: (616) 712-8000, access code 990615, then #
Webinar URL: rocketmatter1.glance.net
Please contact us at info@rocketmatter.com to RSVP for the Mail Merge Webinar!

Keep in touch with us via Facebook and Twitter!

Hooked on Social Media? Need Friends? We’re here to help!
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocket-Matter/42856377168
Twitter: twitter.com/rocketmatter

Our updated look is part of our efforts as we head towards our 1.0 Release.  Rocket Matter will no longer offer Pilot Program pricing after December 31st, 2008, so hurry up and sign up to lock in savings!

Introducing Reports

In addition to a major design upgrade, we rolled out a major new feature: Reports. Now, you can easily get a quick view of the financial status and performance of your firm. And if you prefer to work with data in Excel, that’s fine too, because each of our reports exports to CSV.

And try out our improved User preference editing, including a new and improved color chooser! This is a feature request that was near and dear to a number of our legal secretaries, and we are happy to oblige.

Lots of Changes

The entire application has been outfitted with an eye-pleasing user interface upgrade, making the already simple-to-use Rocket Matter even easier.

We’ve incorporated a large number of user suggestions, too numerous to mention, in the new rollout, so take a look around – you may just find something you asked for!

Pink message pads are history! Now, you can take down and review phone messages from any computer with Internet access. Watch this video to see the feature in action.

A breeze to use, Messages can revolutionize the way your firm handles its inter-office communication. This brand-new, extra functionality is available at no additional charge to our Pilot users!  Legal SaaS just got a lot more powerful.

Begin by clicking on the telephone icon at the top of the page. This brings up the new message dialog. All of your users, contacts and clients, and matters are at your fingertips, so taking a message has never been easier.

Let’s say I take a message for an attorney, Keith. When Keith logs in, he sees that he has 1 new message. He clicks on the link next to the phone that says “1 New Message”, and views his message list. From there, he can drill into a message. He can read it. He can forward the message to another person in the firm.

Keith can even associate billable time with any follow-up work related to the message. This is an extension of our Bill As You Work(TM) technology, and will get funneled right into billing, to appear on an invoice, ready to go out to the client.

Save time, ditch the mouse, and use your Enter/Return key to submit

Now, gain back even more billable time by giving your mouse a rest. Move through your forms without leaving the keys. Fly through the Add Matter wizard – hit enter instead of clicking the OK button to submit your forms.

This feature has been high on the list of many firms – and we’re happy to deliver. Keyboard submit is enabled on all pages, so you can get your information into Rocket Matter more efficiently!

Note: Please make sure you clear your browser cache!  Click on this link for a video to guide you if you are unsure of how to do this.  If you don’t, you may experience issues with the Global Intelligent Search.

We recommend you use Firefox 3 for use with Rocket Matter.

1. Date Calculator is now on the Create Event page for easier calendaring.  Previously, it was only available to editing Statutes of Limitations.
2. Statute of Limitations date now appears on the Matter Dashboard and is scheduled on the Matter Calendar.
3. Resetting a password for a user is now much easier, and does not require the verification of the old password.
4. Names of deleted matters can now be reused.
5. The Global Intelligent Search has been expanded to include more options.  Users on Safari and Internet Explorer may encounter issues clicking on the scrollbars – use the arrow keys instead.  Firefox users will have no issues.

Rocket Matter provides web-based legal software for practice management and time and billing.  Our Legal SaaS solution provides law firms with an alternative to expensive Time Matters, PC Law, or other install.

1. Screen Printing:  Now, it’s easy to print a hard copy of your User Dashboard, Matter Dashboard, To-do’s, Calendar, and Billing.
2. Matter Relationships:  You now have the ability to add Companies as related contacts.