Lawyers on the Road:
The Mobile Lawyer’sComprehensive System

By Ross L. Kodner, Esq.

MicroLaw, Inc.
825 S. 60^th St.
Milwaukee, WI 53214
rkodner@microlaw.com
http://www.microlaw.com

©1999 Ross L. Kodner, All Rights Reserved

More and more lawyers have moved away from stationary PCs and towards dockable portable systems for daily use. These materials are focused specifically on directions for equipping your true "Road Warriors" - the small percentage of lawyer/users who push their systems in terms of hardware demands and software usage.

The format for these materials is oriented around a hypothetical consulting analysis and set of recommendations for a busy, traveling litigator who also has outside business interests. Our subject, "Dan Jefferson" is a senior partner in a personal injury boutique - his practices takes him routinely across North America taking depositions, interviewing prospectives witnesses and talking with clients. Dan also has several outside business interests including part ownership in a Scandinavian manufacturing concern - this business involvement requires European travel at least 4 times a year. Overall, he travels by air at least once a week, all year long. Back in Dan’s office his firm of 15 lawyers and 25 staffers uses a modern Novell NetWare-based network system. In terms of application software the firm is "suite ambidextrous" using both the Microsoft Office 97 Suite and the Corel WordPerfect 8 Legal Suite. Dan has recently begun to use voice recognition products to maximize his efficiency as well.

With that said, let’s dive in and advise Dan on his needs as a busy legal Road Warrior:

" For me, ease of use when away from the office has to be a paramount concern - with a prioritization above and beyond fancy bells and whistles.

" An understanding of what Dan can, and will do with the system when away from the office - you mentioned that the machine will be used largely for communication with the office via e-mail and using e-mail as a transport mechanism for moving documents to and from Dan, wherever he may be. I suspect that there will be other uses Dan will find valuable as well, given the travel you described. Several examples include using the Web for looking up travel schedules and location information at sites like TheTrip.Com (my personal favorite Internet travel agency--I travel about 40% of the time and use them exclusively instead of a live travel agent--far more efficient) or City.Net (great to check on hotel information at your destination as well as dining and entertainment options in other cities - and the weather too).

" Function over form. This can’t be overemphasized. I’ve seen all sorts of lawyers who, for example, insist on fancy leather cases for their laptops. One of two things happens to them: 1) they get stolen in an airport because such cases practically scream "there’s a $4000 laptop inside--please steal me!", or 2) they strain their back or shoulder muscles lugging around a too-heavy unit with a laptop case that is not physical comfortable to carry.

" My emphasis in these recommendations is to pass on my "street smarts" after years and years of being a laptop-toting mobile lawyer/Road Warrior to help Dan get the most practical combination of components so that he can be more efficient and productive when away from the office with a minimum of support required.

" Lease the recommended equipment - ideally for 24 months with as high an end of term buyout as possible. At the end of the lease, plan on turning in the laptop and re-leasing a then-current unit. Laptops obsolete more quickly than stationary PCs and are comparatively non-upgradeable. With leasing, NEVER, EVER fall for the leases advertised by laptop manufacturers--those are high interest "sucker" leases that provide significant profit for those companies (i.e. Dell, Compaq, Gateway, etc.). Instead, using an experienced equipment leasing company who, in many cases have no-interest or very low interest leases with higher end-term buyouts (because they sell the off-lease components to brokers and thus, make their profit mostly at the back end of the leases). Locally throughout the U.S. there are dedicated leasing companies that are experienced specifically with technology leases. These lessors tend to have a better understanding of the key end-term buyout options - banks and other lessors tend to be less interested in end-term options and as a result, tend to be more costly.

With that said, there are several factors I have looked at in determining which products to recommend for Dan. These are as follows:

" Light weight. Can’t be overemphasized. When you’re running through an airport to catch a plane carrying your overcoat, a briefcase, a carry-on and your laptop case, the difference between a 6 pound and a 9 pound laptop is amazing - the latter feels like a load of bricks. Been there, done that and learned my lesson.

" Serviceability is key. If Dan is on the road, nationally and internationally, he needs a major brand laptop that can be fixed literally anywhere. Toshiba is the world’s most sold laptop brand and it’s what I’ve used for over a decade. The international service network is the largest of any manufacturer, making it the best choice (not to mention great competitive features and equally competitive pricing). In the box with every Toshiba is a document offering warranty service upgrades that get you faster on-site support--this is very important. It’s not expensive and we think it’s essential.

" Communication capability when away from the your home office area. You mentioned Dan not has U.S. travel but also travel to Europe, and specifically to Sweden. The key to communication via e-mail (which also allows you to move documents around via the attachment process) is having a reliable Internet Service Provider (ISP) with local connections or 800-number service from wherever you go. It also means having the physical ability to plug your laptop into both AC and modem outlets that use different plugs than we do. We’ve taken all this into account in the following recommendations.

" Being prepared to generate printed output whenever you need it. My approach is two-pronged. First, it is always more desirable to be able to plug the laptop into someone’s laser printer. This means having enough common printer drivers pre-installed so that Dan can just click on the right printer and go. I recommend carrying a portable printer cable to make this easy to do. In addition, he can also carry a small portable printer that is adequate for printing out shorter documents.

" Working on planes. The key here is getting enough operational power to make long flights productive. There are two ways to do this. If Dan travels transatlantic with either first-class or business-class seats, more and more planes have special "Empower" power adapters built into the seats. I’ve listed the special cable he would need to use to tap in. I also recommend having at least one, if not two spare batteries. With the laptop I’ve recommended, you have the ability to have two high-capacity Lithium Ion batteries installed at the same time - I have the identical laptop and I’ve gotten about 5 hours out of a dual battery configuration. Carry another easy to insert battery in your bag and that’s another 2.5 hours.

" Internet connections. I think Dan needs two separate accounts given your description of where he travels. For North American use, I recommend one of the major national ISPs - Mindspring or Earthlink are the best bet, both offering unlimited access for about $20 a month with local access numbers all over the country. This is what Dan would use for daily use when he is anywhere in the U.S. or Canada. For overseas use, Compuserve is the best international choice--especially for European access where often it is the only option. I recommend a limited use account since Dan will not spent a lot of time connected--this should cost less than $20 a month.

So with those factors in mind, my recommendations follow. Note that I have direct hands-on experience with every item I’ve recommended--this laptop is identical to the one I use. Of the 20 or so laptop models I’ve had over the last 15 years, this is the first one where I’ve really felt it was a perfect replacement for a desktop PC--no compromises. It is Toshiba’s top-of-the-line model and bristles with the latest features and cutting edge physical packaging. The reasons I like this particular laptop for myself, and for Dan are:

" It’s proven itself in four months of heavy use with me with a number of travel situations already

" Toshiba is the world’s leading laptop maker with service sources in most developed countries worldwide

" While very powerful, it is superbly designed at only 6.4 lbs - as much as three pounds lighter than comparably equipped Dell or Compaq models

" It has a vivid and bright 14.1" screen - more display space than a typical 15" desktop monitor

" The hard drive is the largest available in any laptop - 8.1 gigabytes and you can carry along a second hard drive which can be used for backup (that’s what I use it for) - there are both 4 and 6 gigabyte secondary drives available (each weighs only about 12 oz. - I carry mine around is small padded carrying case)

" It uses the fastest laptop processor available today--Intel’s 300 MHZ Mobile Pentium II and also has a great audio system for presentations and even a TV-out port to connect to a regular television for display purposes (such as plugging into the TV monitor available in more and more courtrooms) in addition to the usual ability to connect to an external PC display - lots of flexibility

" The built-in modem is a fast 56K model and the built-in CD-ROM is the fastest available in any laptop today--24x speed

So with that said, here’s the list of components I recommend for Dan - note that the pricing listed is commonly available street pricing as of early January 1999:

Toshiba Tecra 8000 Model 300/8.1 laptop $3479.00

(As described above with 64 meg of RAM, 8.1 gig hard drive, 56K modem, 24X CD-ROM, 14.1" active-matrix display, 6.4 lbs., Lithium Ion battery - SelectBay to hold second hard drive or second battery or internal ZIP or LS-120 drive or floppy drive)

Toshiba Additional Items Recommended:

2^nd Internal Battery Pack $239.00

4 Gigabyte 2^nd Internal Hard Drive for Backup $529.00

Other Items Needed and Recommended:

Upgrade to 128 meg of RAM $179.00

Road Warrior Kit $139.00

(This is a group of essential accessories contained in a small padded carrying case that should go everywhere the laptop goes. It includes a laptop surge protector, a retractable 8" modem cable, a compact 3' parallel printer cable, an all-important modem line tester to use every time before plugging into a phone jack to make sure the voltage is not at a modem-damaging level and a Kensington MicroSaver locking security cable)

Port Ultra-Thin Universal AC Adapter $109.00

(Well worth it--this replaces the standard Toshiba AC "power brick" with one that is half the weight and half the thickness- I love mine) (http://www.port.com)

Port Modem/Power Connector Kit - European Version $189.00

(Includes AC power and modem line connectors for all European countries - note that the laptop’s accessory Port Universal AC adapter already has multi-voltage capability)

Port Auto/Airplane AC Adapter Cable $99.00

(This allows you to plug into the internationally standard "Empower" outlets found on more and more commercial aircraft--especially transoceanic flights--and also into auto cigarette lighter outlets)

Logitech WheelMouse for Notebooks $37.00

(A great portable external mouse--nice short cord to save space and weight - this mouse’s design is physically very comfortable to hold) (http://www.logitech.com)

Canon BJC-50 Portable Bubblejet Printer $349.00

(Of the several portable printers on the market, this is my favorite (I’ve tried them all and wasted money on several I wish I hadn’t bought). I like it because it’s quick enough (but not about to win any speed awards--it prints black text at about 3-4 pages per minute) ,quiet, the paper is easy to feed, it’s really light and battery-powered and the output quality both in black and color is beautiful. It’s also small enough to fit in either of the laptop carrying cases I mention below. You’ll want to keep a supply of black and color ink cartridges too since they are not very big and don’t last as long as you might be used to with an office laser printer - the black/color cartridges run $31 each) (http://www.usa.canon.com)

Canon Lithium Ion Battery Pack for BJC-50 portable printer $89.00

Visioneer Paperport Strobe portable scanner $329.00

(I recommend that this be carried along if Dan needs the ability to be able to take hard copy documents and either e-mail them back to the office or FAX them--the Paperport Strobe scanner, smaller than a carton of eggs, can do this very easily--literally stick in any size paper up to 9" wide and it effectively photocopies it onto the laptop’s hard drive--a perfect image of the original that can then be stored, saved, FAXed, e-mailed, etc. Normally I don’t carry mine in my laptop case--I pack it in my luggage. The unit with it’s AC adapter weighs about 2 lbs. The cost includes two essential pieces of software--the Visioneer Visual Explorer/Paperport Deluxe 6.0 scanning software and the Xerox Textbridge Pro 98 text recognition software upgrade that can turn documents that are good "candidates" into editable text) (http://www.visioneer.com)

With carrying cases, I recommend two different models. One is the Kensington Saddlebag - the one I use. The appeal of this is that it can be carried over the shoulder like a backpack--physically much more comfortable than using a strap - from my own experience, this is the first comfortable bag I’ve ever owned that makes it a breeze to traipse through a massive airport like O’Hare when you’re already wheeling a carry-on and lugging a litigation case. It’s very roomy and very reasonably priced at $69. The other option is a new product from long-time leading case maker, Port. It’s called the EasyRoller (I have one of these two) - it is much like a typical larger-sized black laptop case except for one big difference. It has wheels and an extendable handle just like a piece of carry-on luggage. Why someone didn’t think of this sooner, I don’t know. It’s incredibly handy--it runs $139. Some people (like me) have both to be able to use them as the situation merits. Let me know your thoughts on carrying cases. Just remember though that if you decide to go with a traditional black nylon or leather carrying case, that it is estimated that about 350,000 laptops are stolen, most in airports, worldwide every year.

For connecting to the network in the home office, we would recommend Dan use a "Port Replicator" and network adapter to allow him to plug into the network, a larger monitor, external keyboard and mouse and use it as his regular office workstation (that’s precisely how I work). You would also then use the firm’s present PC Anywhere 32 remote access software to dial into the network. The components to do this would be:

Toshiba Notedock III Enhanced Port Replicator $529.00

with Tecra 8000 Adapter Kit

3COM Fast Etherlink 10/100 XJACK PC Card

network adapter $149.00

Sony CPD-420GS 19" monitor $629.00

(Best on the market at a much lower price than several months ago - about $75-$100 more than the mid-range units but there is really no comparison as the sharpness and quality of the display - my feeling is that one’s eyes are well worth the nominal additional cost)

Logitech Cordless Keyboard/MouseMan $99.00

(A great combination of a cordless full-size keyboard and cordless Logitech mouse - they both feel great and work superbly via a radio frequency connection)

You might think about adding a GPS and mapping software. If you’re not familiar with this, GPS stands for Global Positioning System--the collection of 24 satellites orbiting the Earth that provide precise location information for any place on the planet. Using a tiny GPS receiver about the size of a pack of cigarettes, and mapping software that runs on the laptop, when driving around you see on the laptop screen the precise location of your vehicle, anywhere in the world. This works the same as the $2000-$4000 units that are now optional in some cars. The difference is that these products run only $200-$500 depending on the range of maps included. If you’re interested, let me know and I’ll get you more specific information.

Another option to think about is having a portable ZIP drive. I know you’re familiar with these but it bears recap. ZIP disks are about the size of a standard 3.5" floppy disk (a little thicker) but hold 100 megabytes of information. These have become totally ubiquitous as a way of transferring files too large to fit on a single floppy disk from PC to PC. It is quite easy for a word processing document or a slideshow or some graphic files or a spreadsheet to become MUCH larger than the meager 1.44 megabyte capacity of a floppy. The universality of these disks means everyone has them so exchanging them with people is entirely commonplace. Our favorite is the tiny little 15 oz. Portable ZIP Drive from Addonics (http://www.addonics.com)- very small, light and compact, it is powered entirely from the laptop’s PC Card slot so there is no bulky AC power "brick" to lug around. Runs only $239 and uses standard ZIP disks (which range from about $10-$18 each depending on the quantity you buy - I’d recommend getting at least a couple of ZIP disks like the $12 Fuji brand disks I always use).

Dan needs to have enough software to be very flexible. In other words, he needs a collection of tools that can help him be compatible with anything anyone would want to give him. He needs:

" Copies of both office suites - the Microsoft Office 97 Suite (http://www.microsoft.com) and the Corel WordPerfect 8 Suite (http://www.corel.com) - these are not expensive and having both gives him endless flexibility and compatibility with any type of document, slideshow or spreadsheet someone will throw at him

" Easy and universally compatible Internet e-mail software - this mandates Eudora Pro 4.1, (http://www.eudora.com) the world’s most widely used e-mail system and the one I have personally used for several years

" PC FAXing software to allow Dan to send and receive FAXes from his laptop wherever he might be - this means the perennial market leader, WinFAX Pro 9 from Symantec (http://www.symantec.com)

" A collection of behind-the-scenes utilities to: check for and eradicate PC viruses (McAfee’s VirusScan) (http://www.networkassociates.com), a data backup utility to protect his information (Seagate Backup Exec), (http://www.seagate.com) and a collection of freeware that I use everyday including a better calculator than the lame one that comes with Windows and a few other ease-of-use oriented tools

" Finally, if Dan is used to dictating documents, we should seriously look at the terrific NaturallySpeaking Mobile voice recognition system from Dragon Systems (http://www.dragonsys.com). This includes the company’s respected and very usable NaturallySpeaking Preferred 3.0 voice recognition software, a headset microphone AND a handheld dictation unit. Using either the microphone attached to the laptop, or using the familiar-feeling handheld dictater, Dan can talk to his laptop and have it recognize his voice with very high accuracy with a relatively small amount of time devoted to training the unit. The handheld unit is amazing--it works like any normal dictation unit, recording Dan’s voice. You then connect it to the laptop with an included cable and it recognizes the voice and translates it into a text document. With this product Dan can dictate word processing documents as well as e-mail. This runs $289 and is worth trying--if Dan decides not to use it, you or someone else in the office certainly could

" Very important! Dan needs to be able to easily backup and protect the information on his laptop. The best way to do this is with an automated backup software utility so the backup can be completed with just a single mouse click. I recommend Seagate’s Backup Exec for Windows 98, Desktop Edition v. 3.0 (http://www.seagate.com). It’s really easy for us to create automated backup routines with this software so that we can provide Dan with that "one mouse click" backup capability. This would backup Dan’s main hard drive to the second internal hard drive previously listed in the Hardware section.

Specifically then, the software needed is as follows:

" Windows 95/98 Comes with the laptop

" Web Browsers: Netscape Navigator 4.5 and

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Free

" Corel WordPerfect 8 Suite Upgrade $89.00

" Microsoft Office 97 Suite Upgrade $229.00

" Seagate Backup Exec for Windows 98, Desktop v. 3.0 $79.00

" Eudora Pro 4.1 e-mail system $49.00

" WinFAX Pro 9 PC-FAX software $119.00

" McAfee VirusScan Deluxe 4.0 anti-virus system $69.00

" Legal Utility Collection (freeware) No Charge

Last is the time to load and configure all the software needed, arrange for Internet accounts, test the system and all its various components and then train Dan and your system manager on the use of the new portable system. This would break down approximately as follows. Note that all laptops are much more involved to configure than a desktop PC that is on a network--the laptop has to be totally self-sufficient, we have also a multinational setup that has to be properly configured and tested, etc.:

" Load all software components, download all current and appropriate patches and updates from the websites of the publishers, configure all programs in the usual fashion estimated at 10 hours

" Install all hardware components including memory upgrades, setup and configure printer, test install all secondary devices such as batteries, second hard drive, etc. estimated at 4 to 7 hours depending on which hardware add-ons are opted for (i.e. the scanner)

" Test communications connections with both the Compuserve account and the national ISP account for e-mail and web access in both a send and receive mode - also time to coordinate setup of those two accounts (Compuserve is needed for international access and a national ISP will be for normal North American access) estimated at 3 to 5 hours

" PC FAX setup including custom cover sheet creation, testing estimated at 2 to 3 hours

" Training needs to be discussed - our focus would be more like a coaching session, ideally with you involved as well so that you are very familiar with Dan’s setup - for practical coverage of all the software listed at a level that Dan will find useful, but not overwhelming - including my own coaching on the kinds of travel and portable use tips that lawyers and business people absolutely need to know, expect between 8 and 12 hours in multiple short sessions.

So to summarize the costs for a totally comprehensive, ready to use setup for Dan, we would see as follows (NOTE: I have not listed any items I think are "optional" such as the scanner and external ZIP drive - I have also not listed a carrying case at this point but I inserted the average cost to expect--until you decide what type you want to use):

Toshiba Tecra 8000 Model 366/8.1 laptop $3500.00

Toshiba 2^nd Internal Battery Pack $239.00

4 Gigabyte 2^nd Internal Hard Drive for Backup $529.00

Upgrade to 128 meg of RAM $179.00

MicroLaw Road Warrior Kit $139.00

Port Ultra-Thin Universal AC Adapter $109.00

Port Modem/Power Connector Kit - European Version $189.00

Port Auto/Airplane AC Adapter Cable $99.00

Logitech WheelMouse for Notebooks $37.00

Canon BJC-50 Portable Bubblejet Printer $349.00

Canon Lithium Ion Battery Pack for BJC-50 portable printer $89.00

Windows 95/98 Comes with the laptop

Web Browsers: Netscape Navigator 4.5 Free

Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 Free

Corel WordPerfect 8 Suite Upgrade $89.00

Microsoft Office 97 Suite Upgrade $229.00

Seagate Backup Exec for Windows 98, Desktop v. 3.0 $79.00

Eudora Pro 4.1 e-mail system $49.00

WinFAX Pro 9 PC-FAX software $119.00

McAfee VirusScan Deluxe 4.0 anti-virus system $69.00

MicroLaw Legal Utility Collection (freeware) No Charge

TOTAL HARDWARE/SOFTWARE COSTS $6089.00

Estimated time 19 to 23 hours

Training time estimate 8 to 12 hours

So, that’s it for Dan--our now well-equipped Road Warrior, ready to practice any time, any place!