TurboLaw Software News
"I wanted to write to thank you and your firm for the substantial support. I have dealt with other vendors of legal software, and TurboLaw is by far the best, both with respect to the product itself and also with respect to the technical support assistance which you provide.
"Your services and product has promoted the efficient running of my office."
Joyce G. Perocchi
North Andover, MA
New Guardianship Forms for Massachusetts Probate Law
July 1, 2009
New Probate forms for Guardianships are now in effect for Massachusetts. We will be uploading them for current customers as quickly they become available.
TurboLaw is set by default to check for updates and new forms automatically every time you open the program, so if you have not changed this setting, then your TurboLaw will pick up the new forms automatically each time you open the program.
If you have automatic updates turned off (for example, if you have a dial-up connection) you can check for updates manually by clicking the Updates menu in TurboLaw and choosing Check for Updates.
Solving the Problem of Sending Sensitive Files via Email
June 19, 2009
A common problem for law firms (and for businesses in general) that is getting increasingly more attention these days is how to share files and documents between people – such as between a lawyer and a client, or between members of a team that are not physically in the same office. (Such sharing is often described as collaboration.)
The classic approach to this – and the one most people probably think of first – is to simply email the files to whomever needs them, have them edit the files, and then email them back. This method is relatively easy and popular because most people already know how to use email.
However, increasing privacy and data protection laws, as well as the increased risk of identity fraud (a.k.a. “identity theft”) have made many people re-think the classic approach of emailing files around.
This is because there are lots of downsides to using email to share files:
- Sending a large number of files is cumbersome
- Different email providers all have different limits on the maximum size of attached files
- Email has no “security” built in – because emails are sent “in the clear” they can potentially be intercepted and read, or even modified
- Sharing files with multiple people for collaboration (shared editing) is basically impossible
- Some people are trained to avoid opening attachments because of past experiences with viruses
- Some email programs (notably Microsoft Outlook) just flat-out block certain types of attached files
Part of the problem is that sending files via email is simply not what email was originally meant for. Email was originally “text only” – the ability to “attach” files to email was not originally part of the email specification. In fact, attachments were sort of “grafted” on much later – circa 1996, in fact.
Fortunately, there are better options for sharing files instead of email – and they are just as easy to use. You just need to know about them.
There are several “file sharing” websites and services available these days – precisely because of the need to share files without sending them through email. We’ve picked out two that are a good match for law firms and other small businesses: Box.net and drop.io.
(Full disclosure: we are not affiliated with these companies in any way – we have picked these two based on the merits of the services they provide.)
Both of these websites offer the same basic service: upload your file (or files) to their server (protected with a password if you wish) and then get a link you can give to other people so that they can get the file. Basically, both of these websites are acting like digital “drop boxes.”
Both websites offer a “free” service that is limited in the number of files you can save, and both offer a paid service that gives you a lot of space to store files (useful if you’re sending big files – like videos or audio transcriptions – back & forth). 
Both of these services allow you to organize the files you upload, control what access people have to them (for example, you might want to give someone only the permission to download the file, but not to re-upload it back), and set “expiration dates” for the “drops” that you create. All of these options give you incredible control over how you end up sharing files and documents with your clients and with other firms.
These services are managed via the web, so you can upload files from wherever you are. And because they are both web-based, you don’t have to worry about whether the person with whom you are trying to share files has a PC, a Mac, or whatever. If they can get on to the Internet, they can get the files.
The best parts of these services, though, are that they provide you with a simple, secure, safe, and controlled way to share documents, forms, and other files with your clients or other law firms – without exposing yourself to the potential problems that come with sending things via email. And you can do all this very easily from a web site, without needing to have an IT person come in and set it up for you – which is a real bonus in these tough economic times.
If you send documents back & forth frequently via email – especially confidential or sensitive documents – you really should check out one of these type of services. They may just end up saving you from a lot of trouble later on down the road.
Icon courtesy of the Crystal Icon Set. Box.net and drop.io logos are trademarks of their respective companies.
Where are my documents?
May 21, 2009
One of the questions we sometimes get asked in regards to TurboLaw Document Software is “where are my documents actually saved?”
The short answer to this question is “wherever you want them to be saved,” but that’s not necessarily helpful, especially if you’re not paying attention to where you save your documents and are just accepting the default save location. So we’ll go into it in a little bit more detail here.
First though, a little bit of terminology: It’s important to remember that TurboLaw is not really “document management” software – it doesn’t save your documents in some special “repository” that you can only access through TurboLaw itself. In fact, any documents you create with TurboLaw are just saved on your computer as normal Word or Excel files.
It’s a little bit inaccurate to speak of your documents being “in” TurboLaw – they aren’t really “in” TurboLaw, they’re “in” your computer, and you just happen to be looking at them “through” TurboLaw. You can also look at your documents “through” any other program you wish – such as Windows Explorer or Microsoft Word or Excel.
With that out of the way, we can talk about where your documents are actually saved when you create them with TurboLaw. There are 2 different scenarios to consider, depending on what you are doing.
Creating a Blank/Empty Document
Creating a blank/empty document is the simplest and fastest way to bring up a form in TurboLaw – although of course you pay for that speed with the time it takes you to fill out the rest of the form by hand, since a blank/empty form is, by definition, empty – that is, no case or client information is inserted for you automatically.
Whenever you create a blank/empty form, TurboLaw saves it into a “temporary” folder on your computer. (After all, since there’s no case involved here, TurboLaw has no idea where you might want to save the document, so a temporary folder is the best it can do.)
After you’ve created and opened a blank/empty form, you can choose the Save As menu in Word or Excel to save the file anywhere on your computer that you’d like. If you would like to just print the document and be done with it (and never use it again), you don’t need to save it at all – just fill it out, print it, and close it.
If you don’t save your blank/empty form somewhere else, then when you are done with it, TurboLaw will delete it from the temporary folder. After all, that’s why it’s called a “temporary” folder. But as long as you remember to save your files where you want, you don’t have to worry – just don’t save them in the temporary folder!
As a safety precaution, TurboLaw reminds you that your blank/empty document is saved initially in a temporary folder every time you open a blank/empty form (unless you have specifically checked the box to not be shown the reminders).
Creating a Document for a Case
When you create a document for a case, the documents you create are saved into the folder for that case.
If you don’t tell TurboLaw otherwise, it will automatically create a folder for your case and manage it for you. The folders that TurboLaw creates are still saved on your computer, but they are named with the internal “ID number” of the case, so that TurboLaw can find them quickly.
The default location where TurboLaw creates these automatic folders may vary depending on the version of Windows (or the version of TurboLaw) on your computer, but you can see what it will be by clicking the View menu in TurboLaw and choosing TurboLaw Status, then looking for the Cases Path. This is the “root” folder where TurboLaw will create additional folders for each case you create (unless you tell it otherwise). If you are using TurboLaw on a network, this folder will be on your network as well – otherwise, it will be on your computer’s local hard drive.
If you choose to use the Alternate Case Folder option when creating a case, you can tell TurboLaw to save the documents for that case in any folder you want. Once you have done this, TurboLaw will save any documents for that case in the folder you picked.
If you ever want to see where the documents for a particular case are saved, just click the Open this Folder button to see the folder for that case open up in Windows Explorer.
Once the folder is open in Windows Explorer, you can look at the Windows Explorer address bar to see the exact location of that folder.
In the picture above, you can see that this case is saved in one of TurboLaw’s managed folders – that’s the reason why it ends with that really long number. The files are still on your computer, even though TurboLaw is controlling where they are saved – and you can do anything with those files that you want. After all, it’s your computer, and they are your files!
TurboLaw always strives to keep things as simple as possible, letting you get down to the business of creating the documents you need. However, knowing a little bit about where TurboLaw saves your documents – and the power it gives you to control where those documents are saved – can help you be more “in control” of your document workflow, and help you stay on top of your work.
Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Website May Harm Your Computer
May 13, 2009
Google seems to have caught the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s website (telegram.com) distributing “drive by” malware. “Drive by” malware means malicious or harmful software that is installed on your computer even if you don’t click on anything. Of course this is done without your consent (or notice).
Google has a “Safe Browsing” notice page that explains the details of what has been found coming from the Telegram & Gazette’s website.
If you search Google for “worcester telegram and gazette“, you will receive a warning page similar to the one shown below (the warning is circled in red):
If you use Firefox as your web browser and you try to go directly to the Telegram & Gazette’s website, you’ll see a security warning similar to this:
If you use Internet Explorer, you won’t get any warning – so if you do use Internet Explorer, you might want to avoid going directly to the Telegram & Gazette’s website and instead search for it using Google.
According to Google’s report, the malware isn’t coming directly from telegram.com, but from other sites – probably linked via ads of some sort, or perhaps via a sneaky technique known as “injection,” which allows content from other (usually “bad”) sites to be “injected” into other sites (usually very popular ones).
If you do visit the Telegram & Gazette’s website (not recommended right now), you’ll see a vague statement on the front page regarding “problems” they are experiencing right now, and how they are “working with their vendors” to resolve it.
Until this situation is resolved, we’d recommend staying away from the Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s website. You can check on the status of the situation by searching Google for “worcester telegram and gazette” and seeing whether the “This site may harm your computer” warning is still there.
If you absolutely must go to the website, we’d recommend using extreeme caution. If you have a Macintosh or Linux computer available, it is probably safe to visit the site from those computers – as almost all malware is written for Microsoft Windows.
UPDATE: The problem appears to have been fixed. We received a note from Mark Henderson, Online Director over at the Telegram & Gazette, who let us know about the problem and gave us this note, which was also posted on their website:
Our Web site was the target of a virus or other intruding program for limited periods of time from Monday afternoon to early Wednesday morning. When we learned of the problem, we took all appropriate steps to ensure the integrity and safety of the site. We believe that we have corrected the problem and that you can continue to use the site without concern. It is our understanding that computers with up-to-date virus protection would not have been compromised. If you believe that your computer may have been affected while connected to our site, please contact Online Director Mark Henderson at (508) 793-9266.
Google also no longer lists the site as being potentially harmful to your computer, nor does Firefox. So it seems to be safe to visit the site again. Although this incident just underscores the need to have a good anti-virus or anti-spyware program on your computer that is kept up-to-date!
TurboLaw Customer Profile – New England Divorce Solutions
May 8, 2009
Since so many of our customers practice in the area of Divorce and Family Law, we thought we’d bring this company to your attention in case it was of interest.
Customer Profile: New England Divorce Solutions
Working with a financial professional who focuses exclusively in matrimonial finance matters can make a difference to your client’s financial success both pre and post divorce. Our flat fixed pricing proposition and financial savvy in all matters regarding divorce finance is the perfect complement to our Family Law Attorneys.
Accountants and Financial Advisors are often used in the divorce process to perform discrete tasks for Family Law Attorneys and their clients. These professionals can often be highly skilled in their functional areas, but often have limited knowledge about the intricacies of divorce. New England Divorce Solutions is the only practice in the region that works exclusively with Family Law Attorneys and their clients on divorce finance issues. We are the premier provider in the areas of litigation consulting and forensic accounting services for matrimonial disputes. Simply put, we are your divorce finance experts.
New England Divorce Solutions offers a wide range of services, which include assisting Family Law Attorney’s with discovery, drafting interrogatory questions, preparing financial affidavits, tracing separate property claims or the dissipation of marital assets, investigative accounting and trial preparation. Our firm also provides expert testimony if your case goes to trial and assists with settlement negotiations. We also offer post divorce services, such as ensuring your clients receive the assets awarded to them in the divorce decree, assisting clients with managing their settlements and planning for their future.
Our team consists of highly trained professionals with a combined 47 years of financial experience. We practice exclusively in the matrimonial finance arena and help Attorney’s and their clients resolve disputes. Our professionals have highly specialized knowledge of divorce financial matters and have obtained advanced designations, such as the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) and the Certified Forensic Financial Analyst (CFFA). We are all candidates for the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation, administered through the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), which will allow our team to value businesses in matrimonial dissolutions.
Our flat fixed pricing structure distinguishes our firm as the only matrimonial finance practice in the country which prices exclusively on a value proposition. This means we no longer bill by the hour for our services. Once we understand the engagement, New England Divorce Solutions will proudly offer our services for a flat fixed price, which is guaranteed. Our price guarantee allows Family Law Attorney’s and their clients to focus on the benefits we provide rather than worrying about the cost. We have received positive feedback about our pricing structure and are often told it relieves stress and anxiety. To learn more about our practice, please call (617) 671-0860 or visit our website – www.nedivorcesolutions.com.
TurboLaw 2.71 Released
April 28, 2009
The latest version of TurboLaw Document Software – version 2.71 – has been released. This new version is a relatively minor update (hence the minor version number change) that contains improvements to the TurboLaw Update Utility for people who connect to the Internet via unusual means or have unusual proxy server configurations.
This update also includes an improvement to the Case Interview Wizard for MA/General Litigation which allows you to change a party from “defendant” to “plaintiff”” (and vice versa), which was previously not possible.
Although this is a minor update, we do recommend that all customers install this update. If you have automatic updates turned on in TurboLaw, you will be notified about this update. If you don’t have automatic updates turned on, you will have to check for updates manually by clicking the Update menu in TurboLaw and choosing Check for Updates.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any trouble getting this latest update, or if you have any questions or comments. We welcome your feedback!
TurboLaw Time and Billing 1.14 Released
March 31, 2009
As always, we are very pleased to announce the release of TurboLaw Time and Billing Version 1.14 today! This new version brings with it a number of changes to help you get your billing done as quickly and easily as possible.
In addition to the change to the way finance charges are calculated that we’ve mentioned previously, this new update includes the following updated features:
- On statements, bills that were for a specific “matter” now have the matter’s name next to the bill number, so your clients can see which bill was for which matter.
- You can now add new time/expense items directly to a new bill.
- You can now select how you would like the program to round time that is recorded with the stopwatch – this option can be found under “General Settings.”
As always, TurboLaw Time and Billing checks for updates automatically in the background, so you don’t have to do anything special to get this update – just keep your eyes open for the pop-up notification, or for this little message:
Watch for this message to appear when a new update is available!
Just click the pop-up notice (or the message) to install the update (it only takes a few seconds to install).
As always, we welcome any feedback you may have, and we hope you enjoy this latest version of TurboLaw Time and Billing!
Change to Finance Charges in TurboLaw Time and Billing
March 18, 2009
If you assess finance charges to your clients using TurboLaw Time and Billing, there’s an important change coming up in the next update that you need to be aware of. (If you don’t assess finance charges to your clients, you don’t have to do anything.)
In the next update of TurboLaw Time and Billing (version 1.14), the finance charge field in your client’s information has been renamed from a “monthly” rate to an “annual” rate (or APR). This was done based on feedback from customers, who said they were used to talking about finance charge rates on an annual (APR) basis, rather than monthly. This will also help to reduce the confusion some people had with understanding how a “monthly” finance charge was applied.
The change that you need to be aware of is that this field has been renamed, but if you had previously entered a monthly finance charge rate for a client, the rate you had entered as a “monthly” rate now needs to be updated to be a “yearly” rate.
For example, if you had entered a 1.5% monthly rate previously, after this update you will need to go and change the number you’ve entered to 18% (1.5% monthly rate x 12 months = 18% APR).
You can find the field you need to change on the Edit Client window in TurboLaw Time and Billing.
The update with this change to the finance charge field in TurboLaw Time and Billing is due out near the end of March, 2009, and will be labeled “Version 1.14.”
As always, if you have any questions about this change, or any other aspect of TurboLaw Time and Billing, please do not hesitate to contact us!
TurboLaw 2.70 Released
March 4, 2009
We are very excited to announce a major new release of TurboLaw Document Software – Version 2.70! The most visible change is the totally new TurboLaw Update Utility, which not only gets a complete face-lift, but has in fact been re-designed completely from scratch to improve your experience while using TurboLaw.
Some of the new features of the completely new TurboLaw Update Utility are:
- Much faster than the old Update Utility – updates now happen faster so you spend less time waiting.
- Greater compatibility with software firewalls – less of a chance that your software firewall will “block” TurboLaw Update from connecting to the Internet in the first place.
- A vastly improved "manual" update mode which allows you to choose specific areas of law to be updated (or not updated – great for users who still have slower Internet connections or dial-up).
- Choices made during the "manual" update mode are saved, so you don’t have to keep un-selecting documents that you don’t want to update.
- New update notification pop-up is less intrusive.
- "Manual" updates now use the new "Aero" style wizard, to match the visual styles used in newer versions of Windows.
- Updates will require fewer reboots of your computer in the future, thanks to the new Update Utility’s method of installing the updates.
Making sure your TurboLaw documents stay up-to-date as they are revised by the courts is very important, which is why we’ve worked so hard to make sure that the experience of updating your TurboLaw software and documents is as simple, easy, and quick as possible.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any trouble getting this latest update. We hope you enjoy it!
Keeping Your Clients’ Data Safe
March 4, 2009
We all know that it’s important to protect sensitive information, but with so much information these days stored in our computers (in files, databases, emails, etc.), it can be hard to know how to protect these digital files adequately. In this article, we’re going to talk about easy steps you can take to protect sensitive client information – client’s names, Social Security or Tax ID numbers, etc. – and the documents that may contain such information.
With the increasingly worrisome trend of “identity theft” (which might be more accurately described as “identity fraud”), comes the need to take steps to reduce the risk of personal information being stolen and used fraudulently. Many states (including Massachusetts) have or are beginning to pass laws to address this issue – but ultimately, if you take and store this sort of information, the responsibility for protecting it is on you.
First off, it’s worth knowing what sort of personal information might be saved, and where on your computer it is saved:
- TurboLaw Document Software stores client’s names, addresses, and in some cases, Social Security or Tax ID numbers. This information is stored both in TurboLaw’s database file and in any document or form you create that calls for that information.
- TurboLaw Time and Billing, on the other hand, does not ask for any personal information beyond a client’s name and address.
So, what can you do to protect this information? There are many different ways you can protect information, but here are some of the simplest:
Using Microsoft Window’s own Solution
Microsoft Windows itself has something built-in that can help you. Windows (2000 or later) has a feature called the Encrypting File System. This feature allows you to “encrypt” files on your computer, so that if your computer is (for example) stolen, the person who stole it won’t be able to read the encrypted files.
Below are two articles which describe how to use this feature and some “best practices” for using it:
- How to encrypt a file in Windows XP (the method described is similar in Windows 2000 and Windows Vista)
- Bets practices for the Encrypting File System
- It is worth noting that this method of protecting your files is only as strong as the password you use on your computer – if you don’t use a password, or if you use a simple, short password, then your files will not be very secure. A full discussion of choosing a good password is beyond the scope of this article, but you can read some tips and suggestions in this article: Strong Passwords: How to create and use them.
Knowing this, and knowing that you can click the “View” menu in TurboLaw and choose “TurboLaw Status” to see where TurboLaw is currently saving your database and case documents, you can encrypt that folder (as well as any other folders on your computer where you store documents that might contain sensitive information) and know that your data is protected.
Other Solutions
There might be reasons why you wouldn’t want to use Microsoft Windows’ own solution. Fortunately, other solutions are available (although they are a little bit more technical).
For example, you might use software such as TrueCrypt to encrypt an entire disk on your computer – or create a “virtual” disk which is also encrypted.
Another option is to store your data on a USB flash drive which comes with encryption options (similar to TrueCrypt).
Final Thoughts
If you have an in-house IT department (or an arrangement with an IT provider or firm), we would generally recommend that you speak to them for advice on how to secure sensitive client data on your computers.
However, if you are a small firm or a solo practitioner, the tips provided above will help you be more proactive about protecting the sensitive information that is increasingly stored on your computer.
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