Barnes and Noble practice

Ok, so this is not genius, but here I am in Barnes and Noble with my iPad and a cup of coffee practicing law. Even though I could do the exact same thing with my MacBook, it's so much easier to carry around the iPad thanks to size and weight. And since I just came from court and the jail, I did not have to stuff my briefcase with a clunky laptops along with my files. Even now, I am writing this entry with the on- screen keyboard!

iPads do not and should not replace a laptop or computer, but it does make using one of those far less common. How easy is it, you ask? Right here, I can access my RocketMatter account to bill and work on client files, read most recent case developments, all with a device the size of a small magazine. Ate keyboard on-screen functionality is a little funky. For some reason it does not like where my thumb wants to tap for space bar strokes, but otherwise is great. I simply refuse to buy an external keyboard because that pretty much takes it out of the portable realm. That being said, I really don't think you need it, though. I am maybe a few strokes slower, but that's a small price to pay for the extreme portability.

Ialsoam starting to use a stylus for handwriting. It could be me, but writing with a finger tip just looks horrible. I have poor handwriting to begin with, so I bought the JustMobile Alupen to help. Wat I like about this piece of kit is the weight. The light styluses need pressure to maintain a written line, but the weight of the Alupen means I can write normally and don't lose contact. Some same it's clunky, but at six feet and about 210 lbs., the size is just right for my hand.

More shortly...

JD

John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

My new iPad!

So, this Christmas I was fortunate enough to have a family member that decided I should get an iPad.  I must admit that when these tablets came out I didn't really understand the concept.  I have an iPod Touch, and an iPhone, and the iPad is just one of those things only bigger, right?

Well, it only occurred to me recently how much more practical size alone can make this device.  With the iPad, I can actually pull a document up and read it without having to zoom and bring it right up to my face.

My first week with the iPad has proven successful.  There are a number of iPad-specific blogs dedicated to lawyers (to my surprise) that informed me on some of the must-have apps for use in and out of the courtroom.  Here's a run-down on how I have started to use this amazing piece of equipment:

Tuesday:  I had a Motions calendar to attend in criminal court, with two cases on the docket.  Using GoodReader for iPad ($4.99) I was able to import the court calendar as a pdf and write on the document with the integrated tools of the app.  I can now save my markups, email them, or toss them, all without using a piece of paper OR wasting ink.  Also in use on Monday was Penultimate ($0.99), which is a legal pad app more akin to Moleskine notebooks.  You can write with your finger or stylus just as a notepad, and also save or email whole notebooks or single pages.

Wednesday:  I subscribe to Rocket Matter law practice management, which is a fantastic cloud-based program.  With the iPad, I don't need to lug around my Macbook to access my client files.  With the iPad, I can access full page websites and actually see them without zoom.  It made my Starbucks run at lunch a bit more productive.

Thursday:  Using Wunderlist HD (free), I am able to sync my to-do lists across all my devices.  The app works for iPad and the iPhone, but it's all just so much better to use with the bigger screen.  That late-night brainstorming session I had last night with the iPad has paid off because now I don't have to remember what genius idea I had at 2:00 am!

So far, so good.  I'll keep you posted on my quest to print less paper and keep my files slim and trim.

JD

John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

The Paperless Office; A Jittery First Step

Like most law offices, Prater, Duncan & Craig is typical in the way that we have kept our files.  I think most lawyers are rather traditional when it comes to file-keeping:  client folders, expandos, and massive filing cabinets, none of which are movable by humans.  The paper takes up huge amounts of space, and it seems there is a never-ending sea of documents we print and copy each month.

The problem with paper files is that, in order to work on anything, they have to be with me.  Just yesterday I traveled an hour to Gwinnett County's Magistrate Court with a banker's box full of documents for a trial.  With painstaking detail, I have this box organized to where I could find the documents I needed at any given point, but the time it took to achieve this level of organization hurts to think about.  It does my health, and my client's wallet, to find a better way.

I have decided that the next month will consist of preparation to practice in a paperless office.  Sure, there are many items in a law practice that must be signed and therefore be printed off, but for things I don't need a physical copy of will be stored electronically from now on.  I already have a subscription to Dropbox and Evernote, applications that provide storage via the internet to access documents, videos, pictures, and notes, but I am starting an account with a new cloud-based law management system that I am sure will revolutionize the way I practice.  I will keep you posted on my progress.

JD

John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

New Desk!

After more than three months of late-night work, I finally was able to move my new desk into my office yesterday.  The problem I have with so many "lawyer" or "partner" desks is that they are oddly proportioned, have wasted space in excessively long drawers, and are typically ridiculously expensive.  With that in mind, I decided it would be better if I made my own.

Being a huge James Bond fan, I wanted to make something that I could tie to the character into my practice, and settled on M's glass desk from Quantum of Solace, which is bowed at front and back, with an open leg design.  I am not a glass worker, so I made the shape using exotic woods and a very nice leg system that allows me to raise and lower the work surface about eight inches.  Here it is in action:

Now that it's in my office, I love it.  The bow gives me great room to work and meet clients, but the best feature is the adjustable height.  Now I can work seated or standing (which I do often) without hunching over.  Not to mention I have a one-of-a-kind piece that I could practice on for my entire career.  Sometimes if you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.

JD

John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

Moving in to the new office

For the past two years, I have been practicing above The Alamo in downtown Newnan with my now-partner Keith.  When I first came on, I was associated with his firm and was very excited to be working in a "downtown" environment just a stone's throw away from the Coweta courthouse.   The office was cool, being the converted projection room back when the theater showed movies, but was only about 1,000 square feet.  As time went on, I became a partner and we brought in another partner, along with more support staff.  Things got crowded fast, and we began to look for alternatives.

In August of this year, we settled on a new c building next to the Summit/YMCA on Highway 34 between Newnan and Peachtree City.  A look at our client base showed that many lived out toward Peachtree City, and we could get more space and parking by moving outside the downtown area.


We just moved in to the new location last Friday, and aside from our phone systems, are finally set up to practice again.  It's been a stressful week, juggling practice and court with opening a new office, but worth it.  Each of us has our own window and our clients can actually find a place to park (which is a big problem downtown).  Best of all, we can start fresh with our young law firm and work on our brand.  I am amazed at some of the places attorneys set up shop, but this place is really first rate.

Next week I'll be devising a scheme to get our filings in and out of the courthouse quickly without having our assistants on the road for hours per day.  Have a great weekend.

JD

John D. Duncan is president of J.D. Duncan, PC, founding partner of Prater, Duncan & Craig, LLC in Newnan, Georgia, and is Esquire by Day.  You can find him at www.jdduncanlaw.com, or follow him on twitter and Facebook.

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for esquirebyday.blogspot.com 

If you require any more information or have any questions about our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us by email at pdc.jdd@gmail.com. 

At esquirebyday.blogspot.com, the privacy of our visitors is of extreme importance to us. This privacy policy document outlines the types of personal information is received and collected by esquirebyday.blogspot.com and how it is used. 

Log Files
Like many other Web sites, esquirebyday.blogspot.com makes use of log files. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol ( IP ) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider ( ISP ), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement around the site, and gather demographic information. IP addresses, and other such information are not linked to any information that is personally identifiable. 

Cookies and Web Beacons 
esquirebyday.blogspot.com does use cookies to store information about visitors preferences, record user-specific information on which pages the user access or visit, customize Web page content based on visitors browser type or other information that the visitor sends via their browser. 

DoubleClick DART Cookie 
.:: Google, as a third party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on esquirebyday.blogspot.com.
.:: Google's use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to users based on their visit to esquirebyday.blogspot.com and other sites on the Internet. 
.:: Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following URL - http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html 

Some of our advertising partners may use cookies and web beacons on our site. Our advertising partners include ....
Google Adsense


These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to the advertisements and links that appear on esquirebyday.blogspot.com send directly to your browsers. They automatically receive your IP address when this occurs. Other technologies ( such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons ) may also be used by the third-party ad networks to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and / or to personalize the advertising content that you see. 

esquirebyday.blogspot.com has no access to or control over these cookies that are used by third-party advertisers. 

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices as well as for instructions about how to opt-out of certain practices. esquirebyday.blogspot.com's privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites. 

If you wish to disable cookies, you may do so through your individual browser options. More detailed information about cookie management with specific web browsers can be found at the browsers' respective websites.