“Hey Pete, it’s Jerry.”

“Um…..”

“Jerry Raster… I used to work on the network and your computers at your office?”

“Oh! Hey Jerry, what’s up?”

“Well, I hadn’t heard from you in a long time and I was just wondering if I did something wrong last time, or maybe you found somebody else to work on your PCs….”

“Oh no no no. We switched to Mac.”

Long, awkward silence.

“So, um, yeah, since switching, we haven’t needed any tech support except for getting the Ricoh Copier/Scanner/Printer to play nice, but it’s on a lease so the vendor took care of that.”

“Oh. Mac?”

“Yeah.”

Long, awkward silence.

“Yeah, um, well okay. Talk to you later.”

(1) alter the height and width of the pop ups; and, (2) pause, play and skip in the iTunes thumbnail. Genius and well worth the $7.99.

Ever since switching to MacOSX there has been an empty space left by CaseMap.  DEVONthink offers not only an adequate replacement for CaseMap, but perhaps the best software available for attorneys interested in conducting case analysis on the Mac.  If your litigation efforts involve building medical/fact chronologies, requires reviewing multiple forms of electronic information such as PDF files, deposition transcripts, JPEG photos, and video, then DEVONthink represents the best tool for working with that data.  DEVONthink also offers some very sophisticated features such as a complete concordance of all words and some unique grouping and tagging capabilities. Although there are a few quirks, such as keyboard shortcuts which differ from the standard keyboard shortcuts in MacOS X, and a steep learning curve, the rewards for using the software are well worth the effort.

Typically, demonstrating  this type of software requires a screen cast. Unfortunately, the only data currently available for display includes information that needs to be redacted. So, a series of screenshots will have to do along with highlighting a few favorite features.

PDF page specific linking

DEVONthink comes with its own built-in PDF viewer. The PDF viewer built into DEVONthink allows annotation just as you might accomplish using Preview. More importantly, the built-in PDF viewer allows copying a link to the specific page you’re viewing. So, for example, when reviewing a large multipage PDF such as medical records or depositions, the user can copy and paste selected text into a separate note. The user can then copy a page specific link for later reference back to the excerpt.

Now, with the desired text on the clipboard, a new RTF entry can be made in the chronology.

Once the new entry is created, the link to the specific PDF page can be pasted. The blue underlining indicates a clickable link to return to the specific page for the quoted text. Of course, links can also be generated for a specific entry and dropped into another entry for cross-reference or words can be made into links and WikiWords are also automatically recognized.  Tagging can also be added, or, the entry can be made to exist under multiple groups. In this screenshot, the entry initially created in the chronology group also exists under the tag “credibility” and the group Analysis.  You can also see that the entries are sorted chronologically. Clicking on either Analysis or the tag “credibility” would also reveal this particular entry as well as any others contained within that group or tag.

One of the nice things about using the RTF format is that if you are using a screen clipping software such as Skitch, Little Snapper, or, Snagit, you can drop screen clippings of particular medical records or deposition transcripts directly into the note entry. Then the original can be seen next to any annotations, a feature which can be usefule when working with handwritten notes that have been scanned into a PDF format such as a doctor’s chart.

Complete concordance

DEVONthink also provides, much like Windows case analysis software Summation or Concordance, a complete concordance of all words contained within a particular database. You can imagine as an attorney how useful it can be to find all words within deposition transcripts as well as searchable text PDF files. And, of course, in conjunction with the concordance, the entire database is completely searchable and includes fuzzy word searching. So for example misspelled words or words improperly OCR’d can still turn up in the word search. Searches can be limited to particular groups or tags within a database, or can be expanded to include even other databases.

Panel window magic

DEVONthink is one of those rare pieces of software that the more data shovedinto it, the more useful it becomes. DEVONthink’s side window offers several useful features including an immediate access to entry specific concordance, i.e. all words in the currently displayed document. Single-clicking a word allows working through that entry/document while double-clicking any one of these words will reveal the search window for the whole database, or selected portions thereof.

Another side panel is the “magic hat” side panel. This panel can be especially useful in very large databases because it will pull up other, similar, relevant documents. Additionally, it can be useful if using the inbox for the initial import of documents in order to better classify the newly imported document because DEVONthink does the thinking for you and points out the most likely groups wherein the place it.

Getting Info Into DEVONthink

The ability to shoot information into DEVONthink in a variety of ways makes it an easily accessible tool and place to stash things.  Inevitably, while researching Issue A on Case A, attorneys come across another reference that fits perfectly for Issue B on Case B.  DEVONthink provides the ability to quickly shoot that nugget off to DEVONthink, even if DEVONthink is not running, and associate with the proper case for later use. A variety of keyboard shortutcs, print to PDF services, an omnipresent but unintrusive  transparent tab at the side of the screen, and web browser bookmarklets ensure information gets filed in DEVONthink quickly and in the right place without interrupting workflow.

Hard drive folders and files can be imported into DEVONthink, leaving the original copies in their places. Or, DEVONthink can ‘index’ a folder and update the DEVONthink database when items are added or deleted.

New Case Analysis Best Bet for Mac Using Attorneys: DEVONthink Pro

DEVONthink Pro is the way to go if you’re looking for case analysis, knowledge management or research gathering in the legal environment.

DEVONthink offers far more feature than can be covered here.  However, the developers offer a free trial and, rather than being limited to 30 days, the program is free to use for a set number of hours. This is a very nice way to run the trial because DEVONthink is so deep and legal practice often harried the 30 day trial might expire before you had the opportunity to fully explore DEVONthink’s capabilities. By limiting the trial period to hours of usage, you can work into it gradually and will likely soon find it an indispensable tool, one well worth the $149 purchase price.

A highly recommended complement to DEVONthink is Joel Kissel’s “Getting Started with DEVONthink,” a $10 e-book available for download. The book is well-written and easy to read with detailed explanations for the more intricate functions of DEVONthink.

A Word About DEVONthink as a Casemap Replacement for Switchers

Casemap tracks data in four basic ‘tables.’ Facts, Persons, Documents, and Issues. Because DEVONthink lacks an initial structure, it could easily be dismissed as unworkable for replacing Casemap.  However, any apparent lack of structure falls short as criticism. A creative attorney (or any knowledge worker, for that matter) will see a huge opportunity for creating their own structure, one without artificial limits. As a starting point for migrating from using Casemap, you might wish to create Groups in DEVONthink reflecting the four tables in Casemap. Creating an ‘AllFacts’ group for dumping everything factual, an ‘Issues’ group for dumping in issues and a People group for all people in the case can ease some anxiety for the switcher.  DEVONthink already contains a smartfolder for tracking All PDF Documents, so you won’t need that group.

From this point on, your options are wide open. See an issue or item that needs to be tracked across all of these ‘tables?’ Simply add a tag for that issue in order to gather them all in one place, create a separate Group and then replicate the entry to the Group (fyi, ‘replicating’ an entry to a Group is as simple as typing the Group name in the field at the bottom of the entry), or create a new smart folder that updates automatically with the item by keyword.  For example, in a birth injury case, the fetal heart rate might be at issue and span both facts, issues and other documents. The user can simply tag each of these ‘fhr’ and have them all automatically tracked under that tag, create a separate Group and replicate those entries into that Group, or create a smart folder that tracks all instances of ‘fhr.’ Finally, because you can conduct a global search, the ability to exceed Casemap’s artificial table limits should become immediately apparent. In Casemap, one can only search within a given table. In DEVONthink, you can search across the entire case including inside pdf files. More impressive, there doesn’t appear to be anything so powerful and customizable available on the Windows side at this price point. DEVONthink Pro FTW.

Three things not mentioned in the screencast. First, the software is cross-platform and can be used on both Windows and Mac provided you have licenses for both. Second, because the software is cross-platform and because it has been around for quite some time, it is likely that it will continue to be around for some time. Finally, the software has a great export feature which allows you to export the entire ‘Brain’ as a self-sufficient webpage. I haven’t tried this out yet, but the possibilities of being able to share a brain with an expert and/or client are tantalizing.

1. You can tether an iPhone to your Mac for internet access over the 3G network without hacking or jailbreaking. MILO user Christian Frank pointed everyone to www.benm.at. But, there are better instructions at mydigitallife.
2. MILO user Grace Suarez revealed a superb Firefox plug in called CiteGenie. If you’ve ever struggled with getting a properly quoted and cited copy/paste from Westlaw or Lexis into your document, this plugin eliminates hassle, allowing you to focus on the legal and analytical aspect of your work. CiteGenie truly represents the goal of getting computers to do the grunt work so you can focus on higher reasoning skills.
3. You cannot tether an iPhone with the new 3.1 software update, as hinted at by MILO user Rob Ruffner and confirmed by comments in the mydigitallife how-to.

MILO is a great place to learn and ask questions, a superb resource for any Mac using lawyer.

Then, of course, Apple has their own resource for switchers, Switch 101. It is a bit more basic, but much more organized the TUAW’s Mac 101 series. Finally, don’t forget that you can get your data migrated over from a PC with the help of a genius at an Apple Store Genius Bar… just remember to make an appointment before you go.

Finally, when all else fails, hit Google. The venerable search behemoth can probably point you in the right direction, especially if you use site focused searching. For example, don’t just hammer search terms in, but search a specific site (or even subsite) like this: 

site:http://www.apple.com/support/ itunes deauthorize

Typing the above will pull all references out of the support pages at Apple on deauthorizing computers from iTunes.

Happy Holidays!

But, Apple (and many other manufacturers) miss the boat by not including a ‘Pointing Stick’ style mouse in their laptops. Years of use with IBM laptops (now Lenovo) convinced me the convenience of a Trackpoint or Pointing Stick on the keyboard outweighed the ugly. Moreover, after adapting to Apple’s trackpad only configuration, I have wrist pain in my right wrist from mousing. Switching to a lefty mouser helps, but probably only forestalls the inevitable, pain developing in the left wrist.

Although not a full-time solution, there are available desktop USB keyboards with built-in Pointing Sticks which a Macbook will recognize, so that while at a desk, an alternative and wrist relieving option exists.

Lenovo sells a full-size Ultra-Nav USB Keyboard that has both a Trackpoint and Trackpad option built in. Because it has a Windows key (shudder), you still get your command key for the Mac. The keyboard also has additional USB ports so your not going to lose a USB port by plugging it in. It costs a measly $99 and, as an added benefit, you get that beautiful IBM snap on the keyboard, a huge benefit for any touch typist. If you really want to kick it old school, PCkeyboard.com sells an old style IBM keyboard, the Endurapro, that actually uses springs underneath the keys. This is that old-school clickety-clackety sounding keyboard, but those springs and the tactile feedback are much missed by many typing pros, authors, writers and geeks. The Endurapro does not, however, have additional USB ports but does have that ugly retro welcome to 1991 feel that you just can’t find anywhere else. It retails for $99 as well.

While at the local Apple store, I considered picking up a new 3G iPhone. I dutifully went to the end of the line and asked the Apple store employee how long the wait would be and he informed me about an hour. Eeeesh. O.K. well, it’s Sunday and I have a good book in hand so, I’ll wait a while. After about fifteen minutes, another fellow queued up behind me. I noticed he had a small white tag which read “3G” in big letters. I asked him about it an he told me that I needed a ‘pre-qualification’ tag in order to be in the line I was in. Back inside the store to get the prequal tag, the manager pointed me back out to the line I was just standing in and told me I needed to ask the Apple employee for the prequal and that there was a ‘separate’ line in that line outside. “Really? I line to wait in line? It’s not like the Beatles are playing here.” Smug smug Apple certified smile and no vocal response, only a finger pointing me back outside. By now, five other people had walked up to the line. I decided to go read my book at home.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Apple is rotting away, growing moldy, wormy and ridden with holes. Rather, this is the inevitable slide that customer service takes whenever a huge success occurs. I simply cannot imagine anyone is more disappointed in the iPhone activation and hour plus wait for purchase than Steve Jobs. So, here’s hoping that the company can get through the growing pains of such enormous recent success and move back toward the solid company and customer service we all know and love.

Occam’s Razor – Cut the script & the cost of Adobe.

The problem: You have a bunch of PDF files (some large, some small) numbering the hundreds or thousands of pages and we both know that there are only few relevant pages in there. The goal is to extract the nuggets of information and gather them in a single place so that they can all be viewed together, including the ability to see them in chronological order as well as filtered by issue, witness etc.

Pre-case analysis document preparation: The first, but not entirely necessary step, should be to OCR the documents. The second, and in my view, necessary step, Bates stamp those documents in a meaningful way. A good start might be to choose the first two letters from the adverse party’s names as the prefix. So, e.g., Smith v. Jones becomes SMJO000001 as a base bates number. You can get a bates stamper here which limits ‘batch’ stamping to 10 files at time if unregistered but is otherwise free.

Pre-case analysis Journler set up: Journler Preferences>Media (Command-,) should be set up so that “When adding new documents: Copy the documents to my journal” is selected. This will ensure that the document will be copied into Journler, rather than an alias which might later get broken if the original file or folder gets moved. Journler Preferences>Advanced should be set to “Use drop box for fast imports.”

Smart folders should be set up in Journler which, at the very least, reflect the Client/Project Name on which you are working. Typically, I set up a main ‘client’ folder which requires that all items (and subfolders) have the Journler category “Client.” Then, each client gets their own smart folder which requires the client name in the in the Journler category field. You might also consider setting up a sub-folder under the client name to reflect a general category, such as ‘Medical,’ or whatever fits your purpose.

Case analysis: Open your PDF in Preview. When you get to that first ‘relevant’ document there are a number of options for getting it into Journler. If the page has OCR’d text, highlight the relevant text and hit Shift-Command-J. This will open a ‘new entry dialog’ pop-up for Journler. You can chose the ‘smart folder’ where you want to add a new entry and the entry will automatically be tagged and categorized per all requirements of the smart folder and the smart folder’s parent folders. In the example below, the new entry would be Categorized as “Client D__ R__” and tagged as “medical.” Downsides to this first approach include the need to have OCR text available on the page and the fact that the page/document itself does not get copied into Journler for later review. The second issue can be remedied by opening the side bar in Preview and literally dragging the image representing the page into the body of the Journler entry. The drag-n-drop method is nice because it mimics a typical law office workflow where relevant documents are picked out by an attorney and copied/added into a summary by a paralegal.

The second, and my preferred method, is that with the ‘relevant page’ in view, hit Command-c, then hit Command-n. This should open a new Preview window with the relevant page extracted and ready to be sent to Journler. Remember that the bates number is on there, and because Spotlight indexes those bates numbers, you can return to the document/page in its original context simply by typing the bates number into Spotlight. Now, to send this page to Journler hit Command-Shift-S to get the save dialog. Choose Desktop>Journler Drop Box. Doing so will bring up the same dialog as above, but now the page itself gets copied into Journler as a resource.

If you have more than one page, Preview will not allow you to create a ‘new’ document from multiple pages. The solution here is to hit Command-p (or print), choose the page range, then click on the “PDF” drop down in the print dialog and choose “Save to Journler.” This will import the full page range as a resource in a new Journler entry under the same dialog as above. Remember, to get the full print dialog allowing you to select individual pages, you need to click on the little blue down arrow next to the printer selection. Note that there are very few ‘clicks’ and most of the entry can be done using the keyboard, saving valuable time in mousing around.

Finally, and regardless of any of the above methods, hit ‘complete import’ and then switch to Journler. You can edit the “Created” date to reflect the actual date relevant to the entry, add tags, make notes in the body or whatever. You should also explore Journler’s powerful Lexicon feature (quite literally an index of every word in Journler and related entries) as well as Journler’s very powerful search and filter dialogs.

Obviously, this alternative approach is much simpler than the previous Applescript/Adobe Pro method and will work for any item that can be opened in Preview, including JPGs, TIFFS etc. However, since each of those items is often a single ‘page’ you might just want to drag and drop the item into Journler.

These methods readily grant the Mac using attorney the ability to not only replace Casemap, but to actually exceed Casemap’s analysis. Journler allows you to view multiple entries and cases at once, in multiple tabs. The full text search and free form approach also make it a breeze to customize your analysis well beyond the static limitations of Casemap. Because Journler encompasses all your cases, you are free to re-use information from other cases unlike Casemap’s one-case-at-a-time approach. Further, using Journler need not be the ‘overkill’ that some view consider Casemap to be. Because it can be as simple or deep as you need, Journler is a definite leap forward in case analysis as compared to Casemap.