News Post

The end of the year is a great time for “best of” lists, such as movies or books. Not to be left out, here are my picks for the best of the many great books that we’ve added to the PMAP Checkout Library this year:

Adobe Acrobat in One Hour for Lawyers by Ernie Svenson (American Bar Association) Covers the features of Acrobat X and XI in 19 short chapters divided into basic and advanced skills.  Basic skills include setting preferences; viewing, navigating and creating PDFs; and examining and re-arranging documents.  Advanced skills chapters cover bookmarks, comments, text editing, OCR, stamps and Bates numbering, digital signatures and those must-knows for lawyers: how to remove metadata and how to do redaction right.

Android Apps in One Hour for Lawyers by Daniel Siegel (American Bar Association) Highlights the “best of the best” apps that will help you practice law from your mobile device.  Learn how to find, buy, install and update the apps you need to be better organized; communicate effectively; create, edit and store documents securely in the cloud; learn on the go with news, reading and reference apps; and generally practice law more securely from you mobile phone or Android tablet.

Consumer Law Revolution: The Lawyer’s Guide to the Online Legal Marketplace by Stephanie Kimbro (American Bar Association) The Internet has changed how we buy all sorts of consumer goods and, sooner or later, it will reach into every part of the country to change how people purchase and receive legal services, too.  Learn how these important changes in the delivery of legal services work, what’s driving them, and how you can keep, or enlarge, your slice of the pie by working with, rather than against, them.

Criminal Law Forms by Kenneth Vercammen (American Bar Association)   A “what to do” and “how to do it” for the lawyer with little or no criminal law practice background and is also a review checklist for the experienced criminal lawyer to avoid overlooking a key point.  Contains everything from client intake to sample briefs, and all of it is on the included CD, so all you have to do is copy, modify, and file.

Feel, Think, Prosper:  Become Emotionally Intelligent and Better at Everything by Amiram Elwork (Vorkell Group)  Dr. Elwork once again does what he does best:  distill a complex subject, in this case why some people are better able than others to confront and conquer major life challenges, into simple exercises that will help you understand your own definition of success, identify the emotions at play, learn to pause before reacting emotionally to situations and then move forward with beneficial responses that are in line with your own identity and values.

Google Gmail and Calendar in One Hour for Lawyers by Carole Levitt and Mark Rosch  (American Bar Association)   Millions of corporations, small businesses, solo lawyers, large and small law firms and government agencies have “gone Google.”  Find out why, and how you can, too.  This book is a step-by-step guide to the features of Gmail and Google Calendar, as well as Google Voice and Video, Hangout and Call Phone.  Transform your practice with these powerful tools.

Hire Slow, Fire Fast:  A Lawyer’s Guide to Building a High Performance Team by Mark Powers and Shawn McNalis (Atticus Ink)  Learn to define the job and needed skills, read between the lines of resumes, test, train, give feedback and motivate your team – and how to know when to cut your losses, quickly.  These skills are the key to building a highly successful and profitable practice.

iPad in One Hour for Litigators by Tom Mighell (American Bar Association)   More and more lawyers are choosing to take their iPads to trial – with positive results.  iPad in One Hour for Lawyers will help you transform your iPad into a powerful tool in the courtroom, at mediation, and beyond.  Discusses all the steps of trying a case with an iPad, from pre-trial docketing and legal research to depositions and evidence presentation.

The Lawyer’s Guide to Microsoft Outlook 2013 by Ben M. Schorr (American Bar Association) Much has changed in the first “subscription based” version of Microsoft Office.  Among the additions to Outlook 2013 are an improved editor, inline replies, people cards and more folder flexibility on the Folder Pane.  This book is for those who want to become Outlook power-users.

Worldox in One Hour for Lawyers by John Heckman (American Bar Association) Learn how better management of your electronically stored documents can make your firm a more orderly, efficient and profitable place, and why Worldox is a great product to help you make it happen.  For those who are already using Worldox and those who think they might like to incorporate it.

To check out these or any of our other books email pmap@alabar.org or call (334) 517-2242. To purchase any of the ABA books, see the bar’s member benefits page.