President's Notes

by Judd Kessler, Esq.

Not Rain Maker - Rainbow Maker! It's wrong and you can change it. Yet another term that reflects badly on attorneys: Rainmaker. Who wants dark clouds, thunder and lightning, damaging winds, floods?

Clients come to you for a ray of hope. As a lawyer, you bring a ray of sunshine to a stormy situation. You've got all the necessary elements: you're a rainbow maker!

AbacusLaw helps you provide better service to your clients, helps you bring their cases to a quicker resolution (often dramatically reducing time to settlement), and helps you bring smiles to their faces. 

That's what I think. Let us know your thoughts. .

Law firms are discovering that Abacus rules (Federal, state, county) streamline their daily calendaring and protect against related malpractice risks. More and more are using our SlideRules facility to make updating their rules as easy as clicking on Internet links. No more worrying about CD's. Every v2005 customer can download updates to their rules. Start by visiting http://www.abacuslaw.com/myrules/ .

In this issue

• Abacus News  - v2005 features BlackBerry Synchronization
• Feature Article - Getting More Clients
• Support Tip - Customizing your data screens
• Services - Are you taking advantage of SlideRules?
• Training Spotlight - Accounts Payable
• Law Firm IT Profiles - Which browser are you using?

AbacusLaw v2005 is now enabled to work with BlackBerry devices, in addition to traditional PDA's. You can synchronize calendar and contact entries. For a guide to which BlackBerry operating system versions work with Abacus, and to update your CompanionLink file for your v2005 licenses, visit www.abacuslaw.com/users/pda.html

Those short, text-based "sponsored ads" on Google and Yahoo! are a way for you to cost-effectively market your law firm. Thousands of firms are using these to bring prospects to their web sites. Click here to learn more about this promotional technique.

How do I customize data fields displayed on my AbacusLaw Classic and Gold screens?

There are two ways:

a. From the Data Structure window, click the Database to Edit arrow and select a database. You can select from the Names, Matters or Events databases. The fields listed are the existing fields for the selected database. Click the Add button. The Add Field to Database window appears. Complete the settings on the window for the field you want to add. Once you have added all the fields you need click the Save Button. Select Execute Changes and your fields will be added to the datafile.

After adding the fields into the database you need to add them onto your default screen. First go to File/Setup/User Defined screens, highlight the screen you want to modify and select edit. Right-click in the window and click Add Field. The Fields window appears. Select the field and click OK and your customized field will be added. You can add as many fields as you need to keep track of the information you need on a name or matter record. With SmartScreens you can even display fields only for certain types of names or matters. For instance you could display Date of Injury for a PI case, but a spouse's name on a Divorce case. The program will automatically switch based on the type of name designated!

b. Abacus makes available pre-configured screens, reports, docs and rules for each of three practice areas: Personal Injury, Family Law and Estate Planning. You can add any or all of these 3 options to AbacusLaw v2005 Classic or Gold.

Class: Accounts Payable (an Advanced E-Class)
When: Ideal to take after "Billing & Receivables"
What You'll Learn: This class shows you how to organize your office records pertaining to payables. The class gives you insight into your firm's cash flow. When you write your own checks through the program, you'll save the time it would take for your accountant to repeat this work.

Class outline: