Microsoft Office 11 for Mac — Looks Good

Office Mac 2011 is definitely an upgrade from the 2008 version.  Among other things, the user interface has improved dramatically.  The various tools and tabs on the ribbon are useful and intuitive.  In fact, I would claim that the Mac version is better than the Windows version.  I still have to figure out the ribbon UI in Windows and gave up long ago.  One of my favorite additions to the Office Suite is the “Notebook” template, which is very much like the Notebook offering made by CircusPonies.com, without any significant cost differential.  Most of the templates are more on the consumer side and I am looking forward to seeing if my Windows-based pleadings templates will be compatible with the Mac version.  Another key issue will be looking at the ease of being able to insert tables for exhibit lists, witness lists, or for demonstrative courtroom exhibits.  The Powerpoint program seems equally intuitive and the interface is clean and understandable.  Again, the templates are are little simplistic, but easily tailored to meet the needs of a trial lawyer preparing a presentation with use of video clips from a deposition, pdf exhibits, images, and interactive elements. The spreadsheet element of Office is what one would expect and offers a number of good templates, including invoicing, timesheets, and other useful tools for the legal profession.  Finally, I really like the smooth interface between SkyDrive and the Suite.  I have been using SkyDrive or its predecessors for some time and have enjoyed the remote accessibility to my files, especially during trials and travelling.  SkyDrive also makes it easy to share files with clients, which is becoming more important as cloud-based technology develops.  All in all, the suite is just one more reason to justify the transition to Mac as an office tool.  While many of us in the legal world are stuck on Wordperfect, this offering may just be the reason to finally break the chains so that lawyers can more easily interact with clients (most of whom use Word).  I give this new version of Office a 9.5 out of 10.  If there were templates for pleading, I’d give it a 10.  For additional reviews see, TechRadar.com and ZDNet.com.  For an article on whether it’s worth your time, money and effort to upgrade your present office suite, you can see this MacWorld article which does a good job of speaking to this issue.

Online Practice Management | Trust Accounting | Billing

Online Legal Practice Management Software | Trust Accounting | Billing.

This has turned out to be a great software solution for basic billing and file management.  While I think that some improvements could be made to the interface and options, this is a great start to an easy-to-use cloud based solution for the small law office.  Licensing is cheaper than Timeslips and it is much easier to use than Quickbooks Professional.  I strongly recommend this solution.

Law Office Software for The Macintosh

Law Office Software for The Macintosh /Attorney using Macintosh Legal Software.

This site has a good listing of much of the software that an attorney might be interested in using. Topics include law office management, estate planning, billing, family law, patent law and other substantive areas.  A newsletter subscription is available to viewers along with an “Attorney’s Toolbox” page with information concerning online legal research sites and other valuable information.  Great site for a wide array of legal software, discovery hints, trial preparation and online research options.

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