Do you know anyone that purchased legal software such as Time Matters, and then never used it?

This phenomenon tends not to happen with Rocket Matter and other web-based software.  It’s easy to access (just type a URL into a brower) and simple to use.

There’s a strong economic motivator behind this: many SaaS companies charge month-to-month, without requiring contracts.  If the software’s hard to use, then people stop paying.  So in order to survive, the software has to be engaging and simple.

At Rocket Matter, we take design and ease of use to the next level.  In fact, Rocket Matter has been compared to a product designed by Apple.  Professional software reviewers have said that it appears to read their mind.

And easy software equals less time training and more time being productive.  Which at the end of the day, makes you more efficient and profitable.

Question: What is the best thing about spending a thousand dollars on a brand new computer to support your new legal practice management software?

Answer: Not spending a thousand dollars on a new computer for your new legal practice management software.

Traditional, server-based legal practice management programs (such as Time Matters™ or Amicus Attorney™) require minimum hardware and software specifications to perform correctly.  Some require a costly SQL Server™ license, adding additional expenses and complications to your IT budget.

Some legal programs allow you to create your infrastructure on the cheap via peer sharing.  If you can get this setup correctly and performing without error, hat’s off to you.  Just don’t try to change anything in your network configuration or add additional users.

Rocket Matter only requires Internet connectivity, a near ubiquitous resource, eliminating expensive and time consuming server administration.  Any computer on your network can access the software through a browser, such as Internet Explorer, Safari, or Firefox.

Why spend all that money and time on your practice management software?  It’s meant to make you more efficient, not slow you down.

Let’s face it:  it’s been a rough year.  If you still have a job you’re probably pulling the weight of the resources that were let go in a downsizing round (and if you’re doing really well you’re probably a bankruptcy or foreclosure attorney).

Necessity is the mother of invention as they say, and many attorneys had to go it alone or start part-time practices to help pay the bills.  And in a difficult environment like the current, you gotta do two things to survive:  1) keep costs down and 2) stay efficient.

Enter technology.  Need a way to keep your practice humming without having to spend thousands of dollars upfront in software, servers and IT personnel?  With Software as a Service, you can forget worrying about the purchasing software and servers, hiring consultants to install it, and laying out thousands of dollars before you open your doors.

Since Rocket Matter does away with servers, backup drives, and other headaches, you can startup your practice without actually having an office to sit in. Work from your office, an executive suite, or any WiFi location.  Rent conference rooms when you need them, and save that precious rent money.

SaaS allows you more freedom then traditional software with lower initial costs and IT expenses you can predict and budget. You’re going to want to save your money for your very much needed first vacation!

We call this phone pong.

Rocket Matter integrates your contacts, calendar, phone messaging, time tracking, reporting, invoice creation, to-do list, and more all in one application.  A tightly integrated package means there’s less things that can break, equalling more uptime.

More uptime = more time to work, which means more money in your pocket.

And if you need something, you call us, and we get ‘er done.  With Rocket Matter’s highly trained Product Specialists, you’re not going to have to chase down finger pointing IT people.

(This blog post was written by Mike Shiner, Rocket Matter Product Specialist)

Working remotely has many benefits.  But if you don’t have the right systems in place it may hinder your productivity.

Whether you want to work remotely because of lifestyle choice, multiple office locations, business trip, conference you’re attending, or even a (*gasp*) vacation, you will want to make sure it is easy for you to connect to your office.

Now, with web-based legal software products like Rocket Matter, you can work from anywhere with an Internet connection. It doesn’t matter if you’re working from your home, your office, a satellite office, or even Tahiti.

Internet access is now a ubiquitous commodity.  Wireless USB modems are declining in price and offer a variety of data plans.  Coffee shops, chain restaurants, hotels, even entire municipalities offer wireless access.

And let’s say you’re away from the office and something urgent comes in the mail.  No problem! Someone at your office can upload it to Rocket Matter, giving you instant access to that document from wherever you are.

Just because you’re working remotely, you’re not limited to getting things done! You can accomplish everything from any location, just as if you had driven into work that morning and were sitting behind your desk.

The biggest complaint about working remotely with Rocket Matter is that it won’t make the coffee for you!

Nicole Black, in her insightful Practicing Law in the 21st Century blog, wrote a piece called “Should Lawyers Be Wary of SaaS?”, which resulted in a very lively discussion.  Make sure you check out the comments section to see some interesting thoughts.  This article then appeared in Sam Glover & Aaron Black’s Lawyerist, with more great comments.

Sam Glover, meanwhile, followed up with a piece of his own titled “Can You Trust Google Apps (And Other Saas)“.  Says Sam:

I use Google Apps, and I am not worried about security, privacy, or waiving the attorney-client privilege. Here is why … (click to see why)

And Christopher McKinney, another very bright thinker in the legal technology space, penned “Cloud Computing For Mobile Lawyers“, appearing in Law.com.  Here’s Chris’s motivation for using the cloud:

As a trial lawyer who spends as much time out of the office as in, I need secure access to all of my client data on the road. I need to be able to send and receive e-mail, review document drafts, collaborate with clients and counsel, check and update task assignments to my staff, and make court filings from just about anywhere. Oh, and I would like this capability without spending a small fortune on a customized server system or hiring a small army of IT workers. How is this possible? Simple: My firm is in the cloud.

Being reviewed by Finis is a real honor:  this guy really knows his stuff when it comes to technology, AV, Mac topics, aside from his legal expertise.  Here are some quotes from the article:

On the Rocket Matter ease-of-use:

The graphical interface of Rocket Matter is very reminiscent of the majority of modern Macintosh programs. It is readily apparent that a great deal of time was spent deciding which information will be on the “Dashboard,” the first screen one sees when logging into Rocket Matter.

On security:

…As a result, Rocket Matter solves one of the inherent problems with client side case management programs: client data is only as secure as the law firm has made its office…

On mobile access:

…Perhaps the most helpful aspect of having a Web-based contact management program is the ability to access data from any computer, phone or device with Internet access…

There full article, originally published in Legal Tech Newsletter, is available here.

Chicago law firms, like the rest of the country’s businesses, are hopping on the “green” bandwagon.  The benefits of an environmentally friendly business can be both altruistic and economical, allowing firms to practice corporate responsibility while focusing on waste reduction and efficiency.  Whether attorneys start a recycling policy, decide to go paperless, or institute energy savings with lights and other appliances, firms are taking steps to reduce their ecological impact.

However, examining a firm’s computing needs can take the green initiative a step further.   A new way of running law firm software has arrived with a profoundly positive effect on the environment.  While traditional, installed software requires hardware and headaches, Software as a Service (SaaS) and the Cloud help decrease electricity consumption and reduce landfill materials considerably.

It turns out, all of this stuff has a historical precedent, as Nicholas Carr points out in “The Big Switch”.  In order to make horseshoes or candles, for example, 19th century manufacturers required a power source, most likely from a waterwheel or steam engine.  This energy then had to be distributed to the machinery in the mill through a system of belts and pulleys, a bundle of contraptions known as “millwork”.

The analogy works for today’s production environment:  the modern office.  The aforementioned computers, routers, backup devices, wires, and server closets are referred to by Carr as “digital millwork”.

Millwork went away.  Once the electric grid became available, machines could plug directly into a socket, eliminating the need for millwork and greatly increasing the efficiency of factories.

With Software as a Service and Cloud Computing, digital millwork will follow it’s 19th century predecessor to the grave, as small businesses outsource their inefficient, security-prone, and high-maintenance computing needs to software providers.

Why set up a complicated network when all you need is a browser?

Want to reduce your toll on the environment even more?  Consider a Software as a Service (SaaS) application for your firm’s business needs. SaaS solutions are designed so that many companies are tenants on the same computers, a concept known as “multitenancy.”

Take legal practice management software as an example.  A five-person firm will often maintain a server for Time Matters or Amicus Attorney, plus another computer as a backup server, and yet one more as a shared document server.

With a well-designed SaaS application, 300 such firms could share an environment of three computers (with isolated and protected data, of course).  If you do the math, that’s a lot of savings.  If the firms in the scenario described above each ran their own non-SaaS software, 300 firms using three computers apiece = 900 computers.

Each year, the power needed for a running computer generates one ton of airborn carbon dioxide.  That’s 900 tons of CO2 emissions.  And when these machines reach their life expectancy, that’s a lot of landfill.