Archive for the ‘Law Firm Technology’ Category

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Latest in Legal Technology

Friday, May 6th, 2011

The legal profession is widely noted as being one of traditional decorum, stoic judges in cold courtrooms and complete with technology bordering on basic-slide Power Point. However, many advancements have been made in law firm and courtroom technology. Gadgets that will help litigants display evidence easier and software that assists large firms in payroll and billing with ease and accuracy. If you’ve ever wondered if technology and the law will ever collide, this article highlights some of the latest trends in legal technology.

It first must be noted that many judges are uncomfortable with the notion of technological updates done to the courtrooms and parties brining in elaborate displays. Judges have allowed litigants to use Power Point in their closing and opening arguments, but in many courtrooms the tech privileges end there. The risk of delay and jury confusion can be great with certain devices and judges may be right to limit their introduction. However, many of the latest models actually promote efficiency and productivity in a way never seen before.

Some courtrooms have opted to install a Digital Evidence Presentation System (DEPS) for easier evidence display. This system allows parties to switch back and forth between real-time transcripts, evidentiary documents and video or any other type of multimedia presentation by just hitting a single button. 

Another key piece of courtroom technology is the latest advancement in tools for the court reporter. As the reporter transcribes the trial or hearing, real-time copies of the transcripts are available on screens provided to both the jury and the judge. Counsel can elect for copies to be sent in real time to their laptops as well.

Counsel tables now come equipped with the latest technology has to offer as well. In some jurisdictions, counsel tables are supplied with quick-connect capability for data, voice and real-time transcription, as well as video. Fully-integrated video conferencing systems are available in some courtrooms for assistance with in-camera or remote witness testimony.

One of the most interesting technological advancements, entitled the TrialPad, is an application available for the iPad that allows litigants to import documents from multiple sources into a folder format which can then be presented on a projector in the courtroom with the aid of a VGA adapter.

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Ledger & Associates Considers Lawsuit Against Compete.com

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

Compete.com has be collecting money from consumers, but have they been delivering what they promised? Have you been injured by compete.com’s actions? Did you pay the company based on a representation they made but did not deliver? We want to know how many consumers have made requests for refunds but have been denied based on the www.compete.com “corporate policy”.

The Law Offices of Ledger & Associates is interested in discussing your legal options. This is YOUR time to have your voice heard. If compete.com has refused to refund your money after you made a just request we may pursue a claim on your behalf. Contact us with your story and personal review of compete.com. If we accept your case we will work on a contingency, meaning you will not need to pay anything out of pocket & most certainly if there is no recovery from compete.com there will be no fee from our office.

Please email any customer complaints about compete.com that you would like us to review to see if we will take on your claim and pursue legal action against compete.com Email: classactions@ledgerlaw.com or call 800-300-0001

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Compete.com, By Far, The Worst Web Analytics Software I Have Purchased

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

Our firm spends a tremendous amount of time engaging online with prospective clients.  As one of the leading legal websites related to consumer protection we have an obligation to constantly keep our ear to the ground with respect to changing technologies and client demands.  In pursuit of quality analytics we opted to open an account www.compete.com.   Almost immediately we found all data related to our website was inaccurate.  Let me be clear here, ALL WWW.COMPETE.COM SELLS IS DATA and thus if the data is inaccurate, we feel mislead.  To pour salt in the wounds of a dissatisfied client….the site has endless links to “upgrade” the user for another few hundred dollars.  This is a classic bait & switch tactic.

I brought this to the attention of management who was rude & defensive.  The agent who responded had more of a desire exercise his ego than to address the issues.  No refund was offered despite my attempt to cancel within approximately one hour of opening the the account.

Thankfully this blog is read by hundreds of attorneys throughout the country.  Many of you rely on our opinion with respect to internet tools and services.  WE WOULD NOT RECOMMEND WWW.COMPETE.COM TO ANYONE.  We intend to spread the word about poorly run companies like www.compete.com and praise those companies which provide excellent services such as www.getclicky.com.  For more information regarding our opinion about www.compete.com please contact me at 800-300-0001.  Our firm pursues companies who mislead the public.

P.S.  When I told the representative who called me that I would blog about his company he laughed.  I guess that shows you the amount of faith he has in the power of the internet.

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Google Rewards The Law Office Of Ledger & Associates

Thursday, April 1st, 2010

The Law Office of Ledger & Associates, a California based Personal Injury & Wrongful Death Law Firm has been placed by Google on it first page of organic results for top search terms such as, “Personal Injury Lawyer”.   Ledger & Associates beats out over 15 million other possible results and is a true testament to the firm’s ability to serve clients.

While the Google algorithm for natural placement is a closely guarded company secret, it is well known that Google spend billions of dollars and has the most advanced technology in the world to deliver the most relevant results to the user.  The fact that The Law Offices of Ledger & Associates makes the top in those search engines is a compilation of relevant website data coupled with historic user interaction with the site that clearly brings a valuable experience to the end user.

Hundreds of injured victims seek out the advice of attorney Emery Brett Ledger on a daily basis through the firms site www.LedgerLaw.com.  Most accident victims are responded to in real time over live chat or given a return phone call within minutes.  “Our goal is to provide the highest level of client service both online and offline” says, Ledger.   “We continue to be the leader in law firm technology and will continue to provide good “old fashioned” excellent lawyering to our clients.”

For more information regarding your rights after being injured due to someone’s negligence, visit www.ledgerlaw.com or Call 1.800.300.0001.

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Contemporary Law Firm Technology

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Justice moves slowly–this is the thesis of the American legal system. Cases wind a long, slow trail up from court to court and circuit to circuit; they are settled, appealed, thrown out, and most of the ends of any individual court session will prolong a case, rather than end it. Further, the laws themselves remain largely the same over time. Subtle alterations appear in policy with raised or lowered fees for bureaucratic machinations, or perhaps something will change locally to re-zone a bit of property, but for the most part, few truly unique laws are ever entered into law or repealed. Criminality does not change, and our felonies remain felonies, and our misdemeanors will almost assuredly always be misdemeanors.

Law practice, on the other hand, is a rapidly evolving entity. It cannot, as a matter of necessity, go unaltered. We tend to think of lawyers as wizened in some capacity with age, or else as young and snappy kids fresh out of their graduate programs, wielding their degrees and trimmed suits like apprentice sorcerers, but in truth neither of these are accurate. They are quite mortal, and their legal practice is subject to the same seismic forces as e-business, medicine, transportation and etc. Attorneys are neither depending upon years of exercise nor new mastery of an unchanging art, even if their catalyst and raison d’etre, law, is slow to change. If they hope to survive, they must keep above the surface tension of the world’s technological progress and stave off obsolescence with all the ferocity of an oncologist searing tumors.

How, though, can one tech-up law? Rhetoric as it doesn’t need any sort of technology behind it in court, and divorce papers will always be divorce papers. At a glance, the digital spreadsheet was the last technological advance to matter to your family lawyer. However, law, while often thought of as a practice in a category of its own, is in truth the classiest of service industries. As such, the name of the game is ease of access.

Proper e-mail communications can connect Los Angeles law firms to Modesto clients. Consultations across hundreds of miles are now possible and feasible. Law specialties can now be shared with infinitely more ease than before–but only by the firms snappy enough to keep up. Your market as a lawyer can expand exponentially, but only if you keep up with the times. A simple e-mail form advertising a free consultation can make your firm accessible and bring in business you would ordinarily miss. Face-to-face encounters are excellent to provide, but not every customer requires them. And for that, they may come to you, but only if distance services are provided.

With the advent of Web 2.0, even live chat is viable. Not every client will be comfortable with a phone call, let alone a formal e-mail–but a chat window is innocuous and non-threatening. People aren’t intimidated, but they are almost assuredly impressed by the availability of instant messaging. Providing it as a gateway can further bolster your clientele in ways you may not have imagined.

While technology is not commonly associated with the practice of law, it is no less important. The devil is in the details, but the details can make all the difference in this digital age. Make every hit online count!

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White Hat SEO Marketing Vs Black Hat SEO Marketing

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

There are two different forms of online marketing. One is called white hat seo which means doing everything by the book, while the other is called black hat seo which means you are violating search engines guidelines.  The main difference between these two houses of thought is that black hat seo centers around spam and stealing others work. While the other white hat seo centers on the fact that users create their own content as well as a legitimate foundation.

To find a personal injury lawyer or an auto accident attorney you want someone who is keen on upholding their reputation.  If you found a company that participated in spam techniques the integrity for that company goes right out the window.

Just like our legal services and customer support we never cut corners on that. So why would we cut corners for our online marketing practices. A company may benefit in the short run by participating in black hat techniques. Using these spam techniques they may be able to acquire a few clients in the short run. But as clients begin to do more research and read more about the companies they are hiring they may stumble across bad internet marketing practices. You may even find the same companies are no longer available to be found on the search engines. Reason for that is because once you participate in black hat seo and the search engines find out, they will ban you from being found at all.

We believe at Ledger & Associates that we should always take the higher road. We practice in the white hat seo techniques because in the end of the day our reputation is on the line. The big search engines: Google, Yahoo, MSN, Bing, they are advancing their technologies and will ban or take offline those who use the black hat techniques. We want to be the company that only practices legitimate good marketing. And it shows we appear front page on the search engines with many popular key phrases. We appear online with using good internet marketing practices. Through honest, integrity and demonstrating that doing things the right way is the only way.



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Do Top Search Results in Google Mean Best Law Firm?

Friday, November 20th, 2009

We all know that for certain information if you “Google”  it, you’ll most likely find the exact information you are looking for. Google has search algorithms that help people to find the most relevant issue to what they need.
However this does bring up a very important issue, when you are looking for an attorney specializing in personal injury or a lawyer in your area. When you Google “best attorney orange county” or other types of searches do you get the best attorney’s in orange county? My answer to this is no.
As you take a look at the top results, you see companies that may not necessarily be the “best” or the “top” lawyer firms. What you do see are firms that know how to do their websites and internet marketing correctly. As a consumer looking for a lawyer this should give you a hint that they have great and very skilled internet technology marketers, who know how to use Google’s algorithms so that their company appears first.  Because in the end, the one with the most eyeballs get’s the most exposure and clients.
What this doesn’t tell you is how good the company is, or if they are even a good attorney at law. What I suggest you do is contact the law firms look at their web pages, take the time to see who it is you are going to be working with. Does it look like they handle their own content? Do they pay someone outside to do it for them? Are the marketing practices they are implementing honest? Do they out source all of this to other companies and actually have zero input or control on their sites?
Read the lawyer’s blogs and read what they write about, you can learn a lot about someone just based on the way they write. The only real way to determine who really is the “best” or the “top” attorneys in your area is to simply judge it for yourself. And not base it on Google’s top 10 results. Don’t just hire a company just because Google displayed them in the first page, contact the attorneys, look up their names and information using Google. You would be surprised what you can find. and who knows sometimes even the ones in the far back of Google may be the best attorney in the world. They just don’t know how to get to the front page of search engines.
Eugene – Chief of Technology, Law Offices of Ledger & Associates

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