By Larry Port
on July 2, 2008
Per Rocket Matter’s assistance to displaced lawyers in Linn County, Iowa, we are extending our policy to any firms displaced due to flooding conditions in the Midwest.
For lawyers displaced by this season’s natural disasters, who have lost their office and need to find new digs, we are offering Rocket Matter free of charge. This offer stands for the remainder of 2008, and we can extend this until a new permanent home is established.
Having gone through four hurricanes and other disasters ourselves, Rocket Matter was designed for these situations. You may want to talk to your regional Practice Management Advisor to see if it’s a good fit for your situation.
By Larry Port
on June 26, 2008
As providers of Legal SaaS, we’re always on the lookout for great web-based technologies lawyers can leverage to optimize their practices. We’ve covered Drop.io for file transfer and MindMeister for mind-mapping in the past. These technologies, and many more, are highlighted in a Law.com article written by Tom Mighell. A short sample from the article, which is worth reading in full:
Microsoft Corp.’s Sharepoint, extranets, and even e-mail are well-known collaborative platforms. But there are innovative, new collaboration technologies that can be found “in the cloud” — Internet-based sites and services that aren’t necessarily designed for the legal community, but that lawyers can use to communicate and work with others no matter where in the world they happen to be.
Tom is co-author, with Dennis Kennedy, of “The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together.”
By Larry Port
on June 25, 2008
We understand very well the difficulties facing our friends in the Midwest during this trying time. Our co-founders are based in South Florida (don’t worry - are servers aren’t), so we know firsthand how devastating weather can wreak havoc in people’s lives.
So, after reading a request by Ernie the Attorney to help Displaced Iowa Laywers, we decided to answer the call. For lawyers displaced by this season’s natural disasters, who have lost their office and need to find new digs, we are offering Rocket Matter free of charge. This offer stands for the remainder of 2008, and we can extend this until a new permanent home is established.
If you are in this situation, make sure that you are registered as displaced with the Linn County Bar, and feel free to contact me directly at larry (at) rocketmatter (dot) com or at 954.719.1944 x 103.
If you have the ability to help out, please contact the Linn County Bar. According to Ernie, their PageRank needs a boost, so if you are a blogger, linking to their bar association with the words “Linn County Bar” will also help out.
By Larry Port
on June 24, 2008
Another South Florida SaaS company, Ultimate Software, recently was awarded the best medium-sized business to work for in America on Monday by The Great Place to Work Institute. We know firsthand that Ultimate was a great place to work, as my co-founder and I met and worked there.
So congratulations to our South Florida SaaS brethren at Ultimate!
By Larry Port
on June 23, 2008
Does your law firm have a disaster recovery plan in case your office becomes unusable?
With Rocket Matter, you don’t have to worry about the safety and security of your legal practice management and time and billing information in case of an unfortunate event. Since all you need is access to the internet, you can relocate to any connected location and you’re up and running again.
Now that June has arrived it’s hurricane season again. And weather in 2008 has already been disastrous. Cedar Rapids, Iowa and other midwestern locations have suffered terrible flooding and violent storms. Fortunately, the ABA Legal Technology and Resource Center offers guidance. They recently posted a recent article on their blog: It Could Happen to You: Disaster Preparedness.
The ABA Journal brings news of two law firms that have been temporarily forced to relocate their offices as a result of the devastating floods throughout Iowa. According to the Journal, the Cedar Rapids office of Simmons Perrine has set up temporary offices for as many as 75 staff and attorneys in a middle school in a neighboring town, while Shuttleworth & Ingersoll has relocated to the Cornell College campus. The official blog of Simmons Perrine notes that the firm has been able to remain “open for business” in part due to “advanced technology” including BlackBerries, cell phones, and the internet.
These stories should serve as notice to attorneys around the country: disasters of all sorts - natural and man-made - have the potential to force you from your office or otherwise interrupt your practice. Developing a thorough disaster preparedness plan in advance of such an event may allow you to remain “open for business” despite the difficult circumstances.
For a wide variety of disaster-related resources, visit the ABA’s Hurricane Katrina Disaster Resources page, assembled in the wake of the devastating 2005 hurricane. Of particular interest may be the Technology Resources section developed by the Legal Technology Resource Center.
With Rocket Matter, a legal web-based practice management and time and billing tool, you get an extra layer of protection just by signing up.
