Nov 19, 2018
Microsoft Office is a great suite of tools that thousands of law offices take advantage of each day. While the basics of the different programs are common knowledge, there are some great, easy-to-use tricks and features that many people don’t use. These features combine with OnPoint.Legal by Symbioshare to significantly benefit your law firm.
Protect Your Document in Microsoft Word
This simple feature hides in plain sight. Simply click File > Protect Document and you’ll see a host of document security features including document encryption, restrict editing, and mark as final. Each of these settings can help you and your team avoid confusion of what documents should be edited by whom while keeping them protected with a password.
Schedule Emails to Be Sent in Microsoft Outlook
How often have you made a mental note (or maybe a sticky note) to send an email to someone at a specific time, but you forgot? Well, in Microsoft Outlook you can schedule when you want an email to be sent. While composing an email, simply click the Options tab at the top of the window, find the More Options section on the toolbar, and click the dropdown arrow. This gives you the option to choose when the email will be sent. Use task reminders in OnPoint.Legal and you’ll never forget to send that important email again.
Make Your Life Easier with Shortcuts
Most of the important actions you perform in Microsoft Office’s suite of programs have corresponding keyboard shortcuts. By learning the important ones, you can save yourself a lot of time. Perhaps you know Ctrl+C is copy and Ctrl+V is paste, but here are some other handy shortcuts to know:
- Ctrl + S – Save
- Ctrl + Z – Undo
- Ctrl + P – Print
- Ctrl + [ – Decrease font size 1 point
- Ctrl + ] – Increase font size 1 point
- Ctrl + B – Bold
- Ctrl + I – Italic
- Ctrl + U – Underline
These shortcuts work in Word as well as Outlook. By learning them, you can save yourself time looking for the right button or feature.
Spend some time exploring Microsoft Office’s features and you’re sure to discover some other helpful tools you never knew existed. When you add the wide variety of options you get from Office to OnPoint.Legal, you get a feature-rich case management system that can help your firm reach new levels of productivity.
Oct 23, 2018
Handling sensitive information and confidential files is a regular, everyday occurrence in law offices. It’s so commonplace that it can be very easy to become careless or complacent with the data security of your office. One of the biggest benefits OnPoint.Legal by Symbioshare offers you is reliable security for your data. Data security should be a top priority for your firm, and these 4 data security best practice tips can help keep your information safe.
Physical Files Face Bigger Risks
Although many attorneys have held onto their physical files for security reasons, those files actually face more risk than digital files. If your file is misplaced or destroyed in a fire and you haven’t backed it up digitally, there’s essentially nothing you can do. Physical files are also at risk of being stolen. With OnPoint.Legal, your sensitive information is securely stored on Microsoft’s Cloud, safe from natural disasters with numerous security features to protect it from cyber criminals.
Suspicious About an Email? Avoid It
Professionals receive countless emails on a daily basis. Cyber criminals take advantage of this by using email to scam people and obtain their personal information, including passwords and account names. Encourage your employees to delete emails that appear suspicious, and never click links or files in messages from unknown senders.
Never Access Confidential Information on Unsecured Networks
Hopefully you’ve enlisted the help of an experienced IT provider to protect your office. But you and your team likely need to access files from somewhere other than the office on a regular basis. Don’t use just any connection, as an unsecured network can be easily breached. Use a password protected network with a firewall.
Always Log Out and Lock Devices Before Leaving Them
While digital practices are important, sensitive information can be breached do to physical carelessness as well. If you’re stepping away from your computer or other devices for any length of time, log out of your account. For mobile devices like phones and tablets, consider 2-step login processes, such as fingerprint technology in addition to a PIN or password.
There are dozens of steps you can take to better protect the data housed on your servers and devices, but these are some of the simplest, most effective ways to protect your data. By following these steps and investing in case management software like OnPoint.Legal, you can secure your sensitive data.
Contact us today to learn how you can benefit from OnPoint.Legal!
Sep 19, 2018
The legal industry has experienced significant changes due to the growing importance of technology. Modern technology has made business faster and more efficient. However, many law firms have not adapted and evolved with the times. Follow these tips to improve law firm efficiency and increase profitability.
Improve Time Management
Improving time management is beneficial for every business in the world, especially law firms. Implement time tracking to see which tasks take the longest and how they can be improved. You can improve your time management by automating tasks like correspondence – case management programs like OnPoint.Legal by Symbioshare will allow you to merge documents and maintain templates with correct contact information so the time spent on correspondence is significantly reduced.
Consider Outsourcing
Outsourcing can be a lifesaver, especially if you’re a smaller firm without the resources to employ in-house marketing, IT, HR, and accounting. Not only will it free up far more of your time for the actual practice of law and billable hours, you’ll benefit from specialists in each of those areas providing you with a high level of expertise.
Ditch the Paper
Law firms have been among the slowest to embrace the paperless style of doing business, largely due to the fear of database crashes and the potential of losing everything. But, with modern, multi-location backups, this is a virtual impossibility. Paper requires time and effort to sift through, as well as significant space to store it. Case management software can securely store all your files and allow you to access them at any time.
Embrace Modern Marketing
While billboards, park benches, and television commercials are still valuable, if these are the only forms of marketing or advertising you’re utilizing, you’re way behind. Use Google Ads so you can be easily found when potential clients are searching for services you offer. Advertise on social media channels like Facebook or LinkedIn to build a following and help people find you.
Better law firm efficiency leads to better profitability. In order to become a more efficient law firm, it’s important to take advantage of modern technology, not only to keep up with your competitors, but to improve the way your firm runs.
Ready to revolutionize your law firm? Call Symbioshare at 866-782-4539 today!
Aug 17, 2018
Microsoft Office is the most widely used software solution for email, document creation, presentation, and other business needs. This is one of main reasons why Symbioshare constructed OnPoint.Legal to be integrated seamlessly with Microsoft Office. In order to benefit from our robust case management software, law firms need to be running Microsoft Office 365 or another version of Microsoft Office. Even without the custom case management features of OnPoint.Legal, Office 365 carries numerous benefits for law firms.
Work from Virtually Anywhere
A feature that OnPoint.Legal makes great use of, Office 365 allows you to access your files and applications from most modern devices anywhere you have an internet connection.
Enjoy Secure Storage
With OneDrive, files are automatically backed up multiple times per hour, so your documents are available when you need them. Microsoft’s cloud data centers are both remote and secure, ensuring the safety of your confidential information.
Safer, Stronger Email Services
With 365, you can benefit from email encryption features that make sharing sensitive data far more secure and simple. Outlook offers countless features to benefit your legal team, including scheduling emails, automatic sorting, using emails to create calendar entries, and more.
Improved Collaboration
Although not as powerful as the tools provided with OnPoint.Legal, Office 365 offers better collaboration tools than you would have without it. With robust document sharing and real-time co-authoring, your office team and outside counsel will be working together like never before.
In addition to these benefits that come with Office 365, OnPoint.Legal can help take your law firm to the next level of productivity and functionality. Each benefit we’ve discussed is bolstered and improved in ways that specifically benefit legal professionals.
Jun 5, 2018
With the increasing capabilities of modern technology, the way businesses operate has changed significantly in recent years. Many businesses have resisted these changes, preferring to stick with the old ways that they’re comfortable with. Law firms often fall into this category, assuming that changing their methods at this point would be too difficult or too much of a hassle. However, with specialized legal case management software, like OnPoint.Legal, everything becomes more streamlined and efficient.
No More Wasted Time Digging Through Storage
By ditching the traditional physical files in favor of easily stored digital files, you can save so much time. There is no longer a need for sending your assistant or paralegal to dig through storage in order to find a file – all your files are right in front of you. With OnPoint.Legal, every piece of information is just a few clicks away.
Easily Work from Anywhere Without a Big Box of Files
In the past, the only way to work outside the office was to carry the physical files home or on vacation. Not only is this an inconvenience, but what happens when you accidentally leave a file at home? With case management software, you’re no longer limited to what you can carry home. In fact, because OnPoint.Legal is integrated with Microsoft Office, you can access your files from virtually anywhere on your phone, laptop, or tablet.
Top-Notch Security You Can Rely On
One of the primary fears many lawyers have is losing their physical files. A physical file that you can hold in your hands can grant a false sense of security – what happens if your storage location is damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster? A file can also be misplaced, particularly when numerous people are handling it. Reliable, cloud-based case management software offers a much greater level of security. OnPoint.Legal users enjoy the robust backup capabilities of Microsoft Azure’s cloud. Their data is backed up in multiple locations, so in the event of catastrophe to their office or even one of the data centers, their information is still safe and available.
These are just a few of the incredible ways that legal case management software can improve your law firm and the way it runs. Here at Symbioshare, we understand how difficult it can be to adapt to a new workflow – we’re attorneys too! But once you begin using our case management software, you’ll wonder how you ever operated without it.
Interested in trying our customizable case management software? Call us today at (866) 782-4539 to schedule your free demo!
Apr 7, 2018
All sites have been updated with the new modern home page. You can find your home page at [tenant].sharepoint.com.
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