Seth Rowland

Practice Management in the Cloud and on the Desktop

November 7, 2016March 17, 2016 by Seth Rowland

It has been five years since I first started exploring cloud options for lawyers. In that time there has been much progress, but actually less than I expected. I have seen a proliferation of new products for lawyers, but found that most of them lack the maturity of the client/server desktop solutions. At the same time, I have seen a stagnation in the desktop solutions, a failure to embrace change, a failure to innovate.

I don’t intend to identify specific products, but rather to address the trends that I am seeing. The desktop solutions have mostly shifted to maintenance mode. This is reflected in their pricing models which emphasize annual maintenance and support plans. There is less emphasis on new marketing initiatives, and more on “insurance”. If you want support on your current system, keep current on your payments. This shift to annualized revenue, in my mind, is very healthy. It shifts the incentives to making sure the product is stable and dependable. It rewards incremental improvements, over splashy remakes. It keeps the company in regular contact with its client base.

HotDocs Tip – Parse City, State, Zip from Address

November 2, 2016March 16, 2016 by Seth Rowland

In our work in HotDocs, we often need to bring in defective and malformed data from databases. Often the data source contains an address field or fields. Ideally, it will be formatted with Street, City, State and Zip as separate fields. However, more often, the data is not properly structured for analysis and usage. We may get address line 1 and address line 2 or even address line 3. To put this data into a usable format requires an understanding of text parsing.

With the use of the Custom Functions properties of HotDocs Computations, we have defined a way to parse the Address Line text which is in the [CityName], [StateAbbrev] [ZipCode] format in a line into the 3 separate constituent fields, respectively tmpCity, tmpState, and tmpZip. We pass a parameter, prmCSZ which contains the address string. The output sets the tmp fields which can then be used in a dialog script or other computation to set the actual fields you wish to use.

Spring in the Air

November 13, 2016March 10, 2016 by Seth Rowland

The thermostat in our little river hamlet of Cortlandt Manor has hit 75 degrees. While spring has not yet officially begun, it is just around the corner. Along with spring come new resolutions. The first and foremost is to remove the clutter that accumulates of the cold dark winter. For me, that means several things.

NOTE: With this post, Seth Rowland returns to the web with an active blog. I realize the hiatus has been over a year and a half. I have been very busy, but have neglected the prime imperative of sharing and educating that has been key to the success of my own business venture. And so, come back, subscribe, even feel free to comment. I hope to make it worth your while.

MetaJure – The Un-DMS

November 8, 2016January 12, 2015 by Seth Rowland

Have you ever spent time hunting for a file to send out via email? Have you ever opened the wrong file and edited it? Have you ever wondered whether you had received a particular document from your client that you were waiting for? Is the stress worth it?

There is an answer …. MetaJure, The Smart Document Management System.

Sea squirts eat their own brain; should you? [Updated]

February 29, 2016April 21, 2014 by Seth Rowland

Sea squirts are unusual creatures. In their larval phase they swim about vigorously and intelligently searching for the perfect rock to make their permanent home. Once established in its new home, the sea squirt proceeds to eat its own tail, absorb its own eyes and then swallow its brain. Fascinating creatures.

A Solution in Search of a Problem – Paper Software

February 29, 2016February 9, 2014 by Seth Rowland

Paper Software (for the Mac) from Turner (Contracts Made Easy) (www.paper-software.com) is a solution in search of a problem. On encountering the product at LegalTech New York 2014, I asked myself how this tool would improve either legal document drafting or document analysis. I was told there was a new “document assembly” tool that work on a Mac. What I found was fascinating, but really a niche product.

Surviving the Cold Snap

November 13, 2016January 7, 2014 by Seth Rowland

There are times when it gets REALLY cold. Today was one such day. It seems as if my office overlooking a frozen lake was like the place on left. The funny thing is that while humans don’t like the cold, computers do, so long as they are not in a moist environment. The “cool air” is far preferable to the amount of heat generated by CPU processors, graphic processors, and memory cards.

Power of HotDocs – Creating a Loan Amortization Table

November 13, 2016December 1, 2013 by Seth Rowland

Yesterday, I took on a new “challenge” in one of the many commercial lending systems we have been building. Typically, we attach a Loan Amortization Table supplied by the “bank client” to the loan documentation.

These tables project payments of principal and interest during the term of the loan. After some research on formulas, review of VBA model code and Excel spreadsheets, I took the challenge. That featured image up top is the result.

Some CHEAP Gift Ideas

May 28, 2015December 1, 2013 by Seth Rowland

For the past six months, I have been making extensive use of my JAMBOX. This little “electronic box” connects via Bluetooth to my iPad, iPhone or Android, and even my laptop, and gives room-filling, high fidelity sound. It does require periodic recharging. And setting it up for Bluetooth connection can be shaky after six months of use.

Further, at over $150 price tag on Amazon for the small version, and $250 for the larger version, it can be a large ticket item.

Role of Keyboard Accelerators

May 28, 2015November 25, 2013 by Seth Rowland

For years I have dug into the potential of VBA (Visual Basic). While I am a firm believer in choosing the appropriate technology solution, and encouraging developers to add features, there comes a time when the you need to “enhance” the program by using automation tools outside the program.