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 Anything Microsoft can do, Google can do better! Only kidding.... Just after I told the world about a great MS Word calculator feature, a very good friend of mine said "But what about the Google calculator?" to which I replied, "The desktop screenlet application? - I don't really want to promote people having to download and install anything here." "No, you fool - in the Google search field!" Well blow me over. If you open Google and type in a calculation with the recognised symbols, then hit "Enter" and it gives you the result!
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 For those of us who did not grow up with the Internet it can seem like a foreign country - a scary place, with foreign customs where people speak an unfamiliar language. Is it too late for you to become a "netizen" - a citizen of the Internet? What can the Internet offer you? GetSmarter are offering all Tech4Law subscribers a 10% discount for this course!
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 We proud ourselves, in being the only company in South Africa, who is servicing the law fraternity in this specialised software environment, who can claim this birthday achievement?
Libralex started off in 1990 by giving the reminder service on the prescription act for the MVA claims in attorney firms. We computerized the prescription act and have handled far over 2 million claims in these past 20 years - without a prescription!
12 years ago we started developing systems like the administration of deceased estates, wills, estate planning system and many more. We are also the proud patent holder of the process of doing a last will and testament, in all 11 languages in South Africa!
See all our birthday specials at www.libralex.co.za.
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 There seems to be quite a battle for the rates application business from the two big vendors at the Durban Metro. To get to the bottom of the saga and how it affects Conveyancers in the region, I decided to meet with the Metro. Louis Kruger, Roy Grandin and Deven Shukla were kind enough to grant me the meeting - thanks guys. So for those who don't know all the facts, here is the low down.....
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eXpd8 expands into the Scottish legal market |
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 eXpd8 are delighted to announce the launch of their Case Management and Accounts software to the Scottish legal profession. eXpd8 have been recognized as a Service Provider to the Law Society of Scotland. Available from just £1 day, this solution has been extremely successful within the Irish market and very successful in South Africa, Australia and USA. eXpd8's combination of highly competitive pricing, ease of use and unique product features has placed this product at the top of the list for legal practices seeking digital file management. |
 February 9th , 2010 London: Mimecast®, a holistic email management company offering SaaS-based email archiving, continuity, security and policy control, has been recognised for Best Value and Best for Service Excellence by the legal industry at TheKnowList Awards 2010.
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 Survey results - We asked you during January 2010 whether you got a bonus in December, and then to let us know if it was more or less than expected. Well, it really is as we expected....51.9% of respondents received....
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Legal Interact achieves Microsoft Gold Certification |
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 The entire Avantedge Group recently obtained Microsoft Gold Certification. Gold Certification is the highest accreditation that Microsoft offers. This ensures that Legal Interact has the highest level of competence and expertise with Microsoft technologies and in addition that they have the closest working relationship with Microsoft. Customers who utilise the products developed by Legal Interact namely; Practice Manager, Winlaw, Lawplan and Debtcol, are therefore assured of quality products and support. . For more information please contact their offices on (011) 719 2000 or visit www.legalinteract.co.za |
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SabinetLaw offers Draft Companies Regulations as free download |
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SabinetLaw has offered the Draft Companies Regulations as a free download on their site as they believe that it is important for companies to comment on these draft regulations. The site is www.sabinetlaw.co.za and the downloads are in the "Focus on" section on the right. |
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Ga. Appeals Court Launches E-Filing |
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 After years of planning, the Georgia Court of Appeals has begun accepting briefs electronically, launching a piecemeal rollout of its electronic-filing project. Chief Judge M. Yvette Miller said the court expects to allow additional types of electronic filings, such as motions and requests for extensions or oral argument, by the end of this month, although other steps in developing a complete e-filing system will require further appropriations.
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Associated Law Services - finding you the right lawyer |
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 For the public, Associated Law Services (ALS) is a free online legal matching service that works in a simple 3-step process. Registration and submission is free, quick and easy. In a nutshell, register, submit your case, we notify suitable matching lawyers without disclosing your details and you then select your lawyer.
Lawyers are invited to subscribe to ALS for a three month free trial period with no obligation to commit to ALS thereafter. When registering on ALS a particular law firm should register every lawyer at the firm individually and only in the fields of law in which that lawyer practices and wishes to receive instructions. For more information contact them via email at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit the website http://www.associatedlawservices.com.
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RSS feed from Tech4Law to email or readers |
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 To make it easier for everyone to read Tech4Law, we have added an RSS feed to the site. RSS is an abbreviation for; "Real Simple Syndication" and it is a way to receive notifications in your email (as long as you have a plug-in for an RSS reader) or via a dedicated RSS reader like Google Reader. The great thing about the RSS feed, is that as soon as the new content is published you will get a notification via the feed. I use the RSS reader inside of Outlook 2007, which updates as the feeds come in. Only the introduction of the article is sent through and you can then click through from the notification to the site if you want to read the rest of the article. The link is located on the left hand side of the Tech4Law home page, underneath the survey module. Please contact us if you need help getting this feed to work on your system. |
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Docc.io focuses on web sites for law firms |
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 Just when I thought I was ready to continue in work mode, my fingers decided to go on holiday, and I mistyped the URL for the Docc.io advert link on the email notification. Apologies to the good people at Docc.io, and herewith the correct link "Docc.io". What I like about Docc.io is that they are focusing on law firms in South Africa, which means they will understand your needs better than the outfit that does web sites for general business. Also to top this, you can enter your own content and edit your site as much as you want and when you need help, they are just a call/email away. They have done great work for us at Tech4Law - use one of the many links above to have a look at what they have to offer!
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 We asked the local vendor gurus what we could expect for 2010, not what they have up their sleeves, but rather what they envisaged happening in the legal technology space. Instead of splitting all the opinions up into separate articles, we decided to link them all up in this article, so it may be a little long but it is worth the read.
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 SAFLII, the Southern African Legal Information Institute hosted a very successful international "Law via the Internet" conference at the Durban ICC on the 26th and 27th November 2009. The conference was well attended and had representation from all the LII operations around the world. Local South African speakers included Mark Heyink, Andrew Rens, David Taylor, Graham Giles and Justice O'Regan, who I think all spoke exceptionally well and covered very interesting topics.
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Women Struggle to Hit Heady Heights of Law Firms |
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 It is clear now (it took a couple of decades) that women are equally able when it comes to doing the top jobs in the legal profession. Much has been made in recent years of gender equality and much has been done - 20% of partners in the top 100 are now female. So the stats are improving even if they have some way to go - the Magic Circle proved less inclusive on the ‘equality scale ' than smaller firms with just over 14% of partners being of the female variety last year.
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Korbitec sells 51% of property business for R158Million |
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 MIH, a division of Naspers has bought 51% of Korbitec's property division for R158Million. The property section of Korbitec includes GhostConvey, Windeed and Bank Services. Property24 will be merged into the new business which should provide a better end-to-end solution to the industry.
Source of information: Business Day 27th November 2009 and Korbitec. |
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Free swap-out - GhostFill for XpressDox |
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XpressDox document drafting software has announced that it will provide a free licence in exchange for a legitimate copy of GhostFill software. "Since GhostFill withdrew its desktop product from the market some three years ago, a number of users are looking for a replacement product," said Chris Pearson, director of XpressDox in South Africa. The free swap-out offer expires at the end of April 2010, so anyone wishing to take advantage of the offer should do so without delay. In order for clients to take advantage of the free offer, a copy of the GhostFill invoice or a registration certificate is required as proof of purchase. For more information on XpressDox, go to http://www.xpressdox.com. |
 Mr Goldstuck spoke at a recent Neotel NeoForum in Durban, while listening I jotted down a couple of notes on the important points - with permission of course! Prices are coming down, but not as fast as people want them to, rather compare them to the prices of 2 to 3 years ago. We may not pay less, but we do definitely get more in bandwidth and speed.
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What is Google Wave exactly? |
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 What is this Google Wave thing that people are talking about? Simply put, it is a communication system, much like email but that the message remains in one spot (Google Wave servers) and grows as the discussions continue. So the message does not keep bouncing between recipients, but is one big communication source per topic.
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 Knowledge Leadership Associates presents a portfolio of six courses in one week in Johannesburg on the 19th April 2010 and in Pretoria on the 19th April 2010. The transition to electronic sources of information has recently gathered momentum and is affecting all subject areas and services to all levels of user: scientific and technical sources, community information, reading materials for children. The acquisition, provision and management of these e-resources leave librarians in all library and information sectors with a new and wide-ranging set of challenges. How can one find this material, how should it be managed in a modern library service? Come and find out.
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 The subject for the conference this year is "Integrating Cyberlaw with Business Management and IT Security" and is targeted at Legal Practitioners and Legal Consultants, Compliance Managers, IT managers, Legal advisers, Magistrates, Academics and Prosecutors to discuss and evaluate the legal aspects of , Intellectual property, e-globalization, Procedural Law Aspects, Cyber Security, IT-Management and IT-Governance, Quality Management, Telecommunication law, Domain names, Cyber Crime, Cyber Security , E-Consumerism and E-commerce transaction.
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Quirk eMarketing Course - online |
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 This 8-week part-time practical program is designed to provide students with the skills and confidence to implement their eMarketing (online marketing) tactics and strategies. The course is presented via the Internet. The course overs eMarketing strategy, email marketing, online advertising, affiliate marketing, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, PPC advertising, social media, viral marketing, online reputation management, Web PR, web site development and design, online copywriting, CRM, market research, mobile marketing and web analytics. For more information go to www.getsmarter.co.za or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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L@W Academy is awarded full SETA accreditation |
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 L@W Academy is proud to announce full Accreditation for Information Technology training by Isett Seta effective 15 February 2010. This is a momentous achievement and we are extremely proud of this milestone.
The benefit of this accreditation is twofold. We are now able to certify delegates who have attended our training with an NQF level 5 certification. Our firms whose employees we train are also able to claim this back as part of their Skills Development Levy refund.
Our material and presentation methods abide to the expectations from SETA so all our delegates are assured of excellent training at all times. |
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Lexpro to further develop the conveyancing system |
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 Lexpro Systems have started developing the new and improved conveyancing module which will cater for all conveyancing matters, excluding bonds. The module will also cater for Wills and Deceased estates. The system will integrate seamlessly with Lexpro accounting and will also use the AfriDeed system for all deeds and other searches needed for the module. For more information contact Lexpro on 0861 539 776. |
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Elite receives Gold for Billing Manager and Prolaw from the 2009 Law Technology News Awards |
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 Elite, a Thomson Reuters business, received two Gold awards in the seventh annual Law Technology News Awards. Elite® Billing Manager won the Gold in the Time and Billing for Large firms (100+ lawyers) category, a distinction the company has won in six out of the seven years of these awards. ProLaw® received the top spot in the Docketing & Calendar Application category.
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LMS starts 2010 with a bang |
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 AdvanceSoft has started the New Year with six new installations of its legal accounting software (LMS). "January is normally a relatively quiet month due to the December holidays and the financial year end looming which makes the number even more impressive. Also, to have implemented so many new installations in such a short time is an achievement on its own", says Ivan Volschenk, Managing Director of AdvanceSoft. |
 This year marks the 10th year of operation for L@W. It was in May 2000 that L@W first began switching data with Standard Bank taking the first steps towards making the Managing Director's (Trevor Coppen) vision of electronic conveyancing a reality.
Ten years later, the company has matured into a dynamic group of 8 companies each specialising in their respective fields and a staff complement of just over 200! |
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Use the forum to voice your opinions |
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 Our open discussion forum has been available since the inception of Tech4Law, although it has been rather quiet - rather strange in a forum that is used by attorneys. I would like to encourage everyone to make use of the forum to voice opinions, ask for advice, share ideas and simply put, just communicate with each other. Remember there is also the "Conveyancing for all" which offers an opportunity to share on the conveyancing side of things here in South Africa. Use the "Readmore" button to view the topics.
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 Acer has discovered that certain models of the Acer Aspire range, prior to 15 September 2009, melt the casings on the left hand side of the notebook, due to a faulty mic cable. The notebook model numbers that are affected are: AS3410, AS3810T, AS3810TG, AS3810TZ and AS3810TZG.
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Doccio ‘win a web site' winner announced |
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 Congratulations go to Nerasha Singh of Maynard Menon Govender who has won a web site and free hosting for a year for her firm, from Doccio. Nerasha, who was very surprised to hear the news, said that at a meeting earlier in the day they had been discussing how to raise public awareness of their firm. "This is the answer!" she said.link
Thanks to all those who participated in the Doccio ‘win-a-web site' competition. The response was simply overwhelming. To raise the profile of your firm, get your web site from Doccio. |
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Hosted Systems - Obvious Really? |
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 Some people still need convincing. Christopher Webb of IRIS puts the case that Hosted Systems are a secure, low-risk IT option for law firms, and suggests some ideas that could create some not-so-obvious benefits for users. Most people think that 'Hosted', 'ASP' and 'Software as a Service' are new IT concepts. Nope - most definitely wrong. These are just the fancy new names thought up by analysts and marketers like me to re-label a fine old wine that's been around in various forms since I started in the IT industry 25 years ago. |
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 Online e-books are a good way to read books while on holiday, or while catching a few spare minutes waiting for planes etc. Gavin McLachlan offers a few of the sites he uses to browse for free e-books.
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 While browsing a local on-line classified publication I came across this advert by a vendor offering practice management courses, which after completion gave the delegate access to their client base which is 80% of the market. Wow! However, there are a couple of problems with this advert...
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Charl Dreyer partners with O2Smart |
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 O2Smart (holding company for AJS) are pleased to announce that Charl Dreyer has partnered with them in the XpressDox business to promote international sales. Charl was formerly the Head of Product Development at Korbitec. "We're very fortunate to have Charl on board, and he has already made a tremendous difference to our organisation," said Chris Pearson, Chairman of the O2Smart Group. |
 In the past two months AJS has implemented its legal accounting at seven new law firms around South Africa. "While we have enjoyed some good growth during the course of this year, seven new clients in a couple of months is quite exceptional," said Chris Pearson, Chairman of AJS. "Two of these firms were breakaways from an existing firm, whereas the other five are completely new clients". One reason for the recent successes is that AJS offers an all-in monthly rental which includes the software and all installation, training and support. "This means that firms don't have any capital outlay when implementing our software," said Pearson. |
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LexisNexis sells Hotdocs to Capsoft |
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 Capsoft, a leading solution provider for Hotdocs over the last 13 years has aquired HotDocs from LexisNexis. LexisNexis will still provide services to their Automated Forms devision which uses HotDocs as the document assembly engine. It will be interesting to watch how well HotDocs performs with Capsoft now giving the product their full attention. Local LexisNexis reports that business on the HotDocs product will continue as usual, as they have negotiated a new agreement with Capsoft. |
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How often do you want to read Tech4Law? |
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We really want to give you the reader, the best possible experience in receiving technology and practice management news through Tech4Law. The dilemma (not Malema, although that too is a problem) is that we have had reports that the monthly issue has too much to read, and people don't get to read all of the articles. Then on the other hand, with the new weekly issue, people have said that because it come across their "screens" so often they browse over it and leave it for reading at a later stage, which often they don't get around to. It helps everyone, including us!
Editor's note: Voting is closed. Thank you |
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Print giving way to the web in SA real estate |
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 Print is steadily losing ground as the Internet becomes the number one advertising medium for estate agents, a new survey shows. The results of the just-released poll show that local or community newspapers are now the only print options that command more support than the Internet, with 54% of agents regularly placing adverts in these papers while 47% make use of online property portals to showcase their stock.
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 Peter Cheales is a well known speaker and author in South Africa who focuses on the topic of exceptional service. For a long time now Peter has been frustrated with poor service and I think like most of us, even more so when on the receiving end. A while ago Peter launched a portal to assist the consumer community.
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News in brief
