NTAP’s Tech Tips

July 22, 2010

•Kathleen Brockel, NTAP•Rachel Medina, NTAP

What is LSNTAP?

What is LSNTAP?

► LSNTAP helps legal services law firms, attorneys, and advocates improve the lives of the most vulnerable people and groups in their communities through the use of technology.

► It is our belief that technology greatly increases the capacity of a non-profit law firm to help more people obtain equal access to justice.

What services does LSNTAP offer?

► Training, recommendations, and counsel on technology resources related to service delivery.

► A national perspective on the use and application of technology as tools for improving service delivery and expanding client capacity.

What services does LSNTAP offer? (con’t.)

► A progressive approach to advocacy, education, and training on technology issues affecting the legal aid community.

► Facilitates the exchange of information among legal services attorneys, advocates and staff to advance issues of technology and professional development opportunities.

Opportunities for Attorneys and Advocates

► Roundtable Discussions

► Case Management Ratings

► GIS Mapping

► Online Project Management

► DLAW Template

► Poverty Law Surveys

► Web 2.0 Tools

► Desktop Utilities

► Web-based Trainings

► Help Desk

► Legal Aid Tech Library

► LSTech List

► Web Conferencing

► Customized Training

► Real-time Collaborations

► Office Suite Tools

► Conference Presentations

► Consulting Assistance

► LSNTAP.org

► Mobile Web Sites

Legal & Topical Research Tools

Google Scholar

Public Library of Law

Justia

Jureeka

Podcasts!

Podcasts aren’t new, but there are some great legal podcasts out there you should check out.

LegalTalkNetwork.com has some great podcasts designed for the legal aid community.

Some highlights include the Kennedy-Mighell Podcast for legal technology info, and Lawyer2Lawyer,

which was named best podcast by the ABA

Download this plug-in at

www.citegenie.com to automatically

copy citations with your text from pages

like Westlaw and Lexis.

Cite Genie

Scheduling Meetings & Calculating Important Dates

Meeting Schedulers

► Get rid of the 20 emails it takes to schedule a meeting!

► MeetingWizardwww.meetingwizard.com

► Doodle www.doodle.com

► Meet-o-Matic www.meet-o-matic.com

Step 1: Proposed Dates & Time

Step 2: Emails & Message

Step 3: Email to Participants

Step 4: Participant Responds

Step 5: Participant Availability Chart

Step 5: Confirmation to Participants

Doodle Sample

22

Sync Outlook Google Calendar 

 

Outlook – Calculate “Tickler” Dates

► Use special instructions in “Start Time” to calculate important dates!

Syntax for Calculating “Tickler” Dates

Excel – Calculate Days Between Dates (NETWORKDAYS)

NETWORKDAYS: Calculating work days minus holidays & weekends

A13 First DayA14 Last DayA15:A18 range of

holiday dates

Formatting Legal Documents

7 TIPS TO IMPLEMENT STYLES IN PLEADINGS

Tip #1

► Download the pleading template of your choice from Microsoft Office Online

► http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx

► Search “pleadings”

Tip #2….Get Rid of Auto Numbering

► Do yourself a favor and get rid of automatic numbering, bullets, etc… (Office Button Menu>Word Options>Proofing >AutoCorrect Options>)

Tip #3

► Determine the use for your “Heading” options

► Here are my suggestions:► HEADING 1: Use for main headings

(e.g., Statement of Facts, Argument, etc.)► HEADING 2: Use for first level point headings► HEADING 3: Use for second level point headings► Etc…

Tip #4 & 5

► Modify settings for Heading 1 as follows:► Change Font attributes to your liking► Change the Paragraph settings as follows:

► remove both "before" and "after" spacing, ► set line numbering to single-spaced, and ► use hanging indents

► Set up all remaining Headings as follows:► Repeat Tip #4 AND► Add numbering

Modifying A Style in MS Word 2007

► Home Ribbon>Styles Menu

► Right click on any style to “Modify”

Modifying A Style in MS Word 2007

Tip #6

► Once you have your heading styles set up, save it as a template.

► Set up templates for every type of pleading.

Tip #7

► Set up a style for court names

Cool Fact!

► A Table of Contents is created by automatically taking everything named as Heading 1, 2, and 3 and putting it in order!

The Short-Cut That Will Save You From Insanity!

► Increase/Add Hanging Indents = Ctrl + T

► Decrease/Remove Hanging Indents = Ctrl + Shift + T

MS Word 2007: Redact Add-In

► Redact Add-In (http://redaction.codeplex.com/)

MS Word 2007: Redact Add-In

► Mark or Find & Mark Option

► Redact Document

Word - Tables of Authorities Categories

Setting Up Categories

► Insert>Reference> Index and Tables> Mark Citation> Category, OR Alt+Shift+I>Category

► The first seven categories are pre-defined. Scroll down until you find an unused option (8, 9, 10, etc.) Replace the # with your own custom category.

Managing Mail

Delay Sending Mail from Outlook

Enable Google Undo Send

SettingsLABSUndo Send Enable

Click “Undo”

Detect Missing Attachments in Outlook

Free download from Microsoft Office Labswww.officelabs.com/projects/forgottenattachmentdetector/Pages/default.aspx

Word Shortcuts

Keyboard Short-cuts: The Standard Short-cuts “You should know by now”

Description Short-cuts

Open a new word doc; Open a previously saved doc Ctrl+N; Ctrl+O

Closes the active window, but does not Exit Word Ctrl+W

Closes Microsoft Word (or other open program) Alt+F4

Searches for specified text in the active document Ctrl+F

Selects all text and graphics in the active window Ctrl+A

Remove selection from active document (place on clipboard) Ctrl+X

Copies the selection to the clipboard Ctrl+C

Inserts the contents of the clipboard at the insertion point (cursor) or whatever is selected

Ctrl+V

Saves active document with its current file name, location and format

Ctrl+S

Prints the active file Ctrl+P

Undo the last action. Reinstate the last action. Ctrl+Z; Ctrl+Y

Format / Unformat text (Bold, Italic, Underline) Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U

Keyboard Short-cuts: Diacritic Marks

Diacritic Mark Keyboard Short-cut

The acute accent – (café or fiancé)

Ctrl+ ' (quote) before typing the vowel.

The grave accent - (là or où) Use Ctrl+ ` (tick) before typing the vowel.

The circumflex accent – (côte, fête)

Use Ctrl+Shift+ ^ before typing the vowel

The tilde - (piñata, jalapeño) Use Ctrl+Shift+ ~ before typing the letter.

The umlaut- (Chloë, naïve) Use Ctrl+Shift+ : (colon) before the vowel

The cedilla – (façade, soupçon) Use Ctrl+ , (comma) before the letter

The ring – (the Angstorm symbol - Å)

Use Ctrl+Shift+@ before the letter

The compound AE - (hæmoglobin)

Use Ctrl+ & before a

The German S - (straße) Use Ctrl + & + s

More Keyboard Shortcuts: Text Formatting

More Keyboard Shortcuts: Paragraph Formatting

Translation Options in MS Office: Translation ScreenTip

Translation Options in MS Office: Web Translator

Tips for Making Sense of Data Using Excel

Excel Conditional Formatting: Highlight Cells Rule

Example: Highlights cells

with values greater than 50

Excel Conditional Formatting: Top/Bottom Rules

Example: Highlight Cells

with values above the average

Excel – paste special/transpose

Flip your data!

► Highlight and Copy the spreadsheet

► Select Paste Special

► Check “Transpose”

► Click OK

Excel - Shortcuts

Excel - Shortcuts

► Ctrl+A gives you the formula wizard!

Data/Subtotal Creates Quick Subtotals and a Grand Total!

Data/Subtotal Creates Quick Subtotals and a Grand Total!

► Collapse to view just the totals

Cool Stuff From the Web & All Things Google

Shorten your URL to send in Emails or put on social networking

Check out http://bit.ly/

TIP: If you create an account with bit.ly, you have access to reporting features that tell you how many people actually clicked on your link.

Edit a Scanned Document

Need to edit a scanned document? Check out these options;www.free-ocr.comwww.onlineocr.net

Xmarks

Quick printing part of a web page

Converting video, audio, or pictures to a new format

www.formatoz.com to convert a wide variety of formats.

Netlingo

What will an RSS reader do for me?

► RSS makes keeping up with web-based resources easier, especially as that pool of resources expands

► When used effectively, it’s an important tool for fighting information overload

► Helps you stay updated on your field

Setting up RSS

► Choose a reader► Google Reader (web-based)► iGoogle (web-based)► Feed Demon (desktop application)

► Subscribe to your feeds

RSS Feeds for Advocates

• ABA Journal Blawg Directory: http://www.abajournal.com/blawgs

• Nonprofit Law Prof Bloghttp://feeds.feedburner.com/NonprofitLawProfBlog• Bazelon Center for Mental Health

Law: http://www.bazelon.org/rss/news.xml

• National Health Law Program: http://www.healthlaw.org/news.cfm?rss

• Legal Services NTAP: http://www.lsntap.org/blog/feed

• Robert Ambrogi Lawsiteshttp://www.lawsitesblog.com/

• Recent US Supreme Court Opinions:http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/rss/0.91/supct_recent.rss

• LSC Updates: http://www.lsc.gov/lscfeed.xml

• Step Forward – Shriver Center: http://blog.povertylaw.org/feed/

• Technola: http://techno.la/

Join NTAP for Legal Services iGoogle desktop trainings Aug. 2 & Sept 14.

iGoogle

Cool Google Stuff…(from PC Mag)

To learn to use Google Earth to create GIS maps using CMS and census data join NTAP training on Sept 9th!

Accessible search

http://labs.google.com/accessible/

Google 411

Text GOOGLE (466453) from your cell phone for instant answers & 1-800-GOOG-411

Sample Queries

Movie movie name + zip or town name

Food restaurant name or cuisine + zip or city name

Flight times flight aa 2111

Sports score red sox

Translation translate hello in portuguese

Local search term + zip or town name

Simple facts population japan

Definitions d [+ word]

Protect Your Equipment

How to locate a Stolen Laptop

How to Locate a Stolen Laptop v2

How to Lock Down your Cell Phone

How to Lock Down your Cell Phone v2

Thank You(special thanks to all past “Tech Tips” presenters who

contributed all of the tips in this session)

Slides available at lsntap.org