In the heat of the summer, it's hard to think about serious issues like billing systems, litigation or case management. When the sun is shining, we want to spend time with our families, travel, relax and reinvigorate ourselves. For me, the goal of automating my practice has always been to allow me to earn a good living with minimal stress due to tight deadlines or work-related emergencies while having more time with family and friends.

For about two years, I had noticed more people shifting from traditional film-based cameras to digital models. After watching the prices fall and the number of models and brands proliferate, it was time to take the plunge and record my family life digitally. While my primary goal was to reduce the costs associated with buying film and reproducing photographs, I've already found some uses for the camera on the professional side of my life.

If I were still practicing law, I see even more potential uses. Imagine, instead of being confused about who is on the phone, you could quickly access a photo of that person along with his or her contact record in your case management program. How about adding photos of your staff and office location to your firm's website? Need to document scenes from an auto accident? No problem!

To use a digital camera, you need the necessary accessories. Just choosing a camera can be overwhelming. Getting familiar with the terminology can be like learning a language. You have to understand megapixels, .jpg files, storage options such as SmartMedia cards and battery options.

If you've been a serious photographer, you will want to steer toward the higher megapixel cameras (3 mp or more) with a faster lens. You also may want to hold different models to see if they are comfortable and easy to focus. Some brands like Nikon have part of the camera that swivels so you can see your subject. Others like Olympus have both a viewfinder like a traditional camera as well as a preview screen to see a larger image of the photo before you take it.

The cameras come in many sizes. Having had a very small point-and-shoot camera for several years, I found that too often the pictures were blurry because it was too hard to hold the tiny camera still enough. So when I was choosing a digital camera, I spent a lot of time holding different models to see if they were large enough to hold steady yet light enough to carry in a small bag for quick day trips without getting a neck ache.

There are a wide range of prices and models with the earlier generations of digital cameras selling between $200 and $300. In the high-end $1,000 range are the latest and greatest, which are more suitable for a professional photographer. My philosophy when purchasing a camera was to look in the middle. I didn't want last year's model but I also didn't want to overpay for unnecessary features. That perspective was confirmed when speaking with friends who've had digital cameras for a few years. One said she had both an expensive and an inexpensive one and felt the extra money was not worth the difference.

I settled on the Olympus Camedia 3040, which cost approximately $500. It has a very fast, high-quality lens and uses four AA batteries. On friends' advice, I also purchased rechargeable AA batteries and a recharger. In addition, I was advised to purchase a higher capacity SmartMedia card. Unlike traditional film that allows up to 36 pictures on a roll, a single 256 MB SmartMedia card can hold 164 photos. Not having to worry about running out of film is a new freedom afforded by digital cameras. If a picture doesn't look good, I can delete it and take another.

Other differences

There are some other differences between traditional and digital cameras. When you take your first picture, you'll notice a longer delay between the time you press the shutter and the time the photo is created. This can sometimes make catching the moment more difficult. Over the July 4 weekend, I practiced taking pictures of fireworks to see how well I could anticipate the shot I wanted.

Even if you decide to stick with your 35-millimeter camera, you can have your photographs delivered online or on a CD-ROM. Any digital photograph can then be printed or shared electronically with friends, family or people involved in a lawsuit or business transaction. Many local photo developing stores and drugstores now have websites that are entrees into the leading online digital photo printing sites.

The largest and best known of these sites for sharing and printing digital images is ofoto.com, a subsidiary of Kodak operated in conjunction with Amazon.com. On this site, you can obtain free software to edit photos to remove red-eye, change the contrast or brightness, crop the image, etc. Once you have the photos the way you want, you can create different albums and share them free with selected recipients. If you have more than 200 photos in your albums, you will be asked to delete some or pay a small storage charge. You also can order various sized prints as well as photo cards, frames and other accessories.

The main competitors to Ofoto are snapfish.com, shutterfly.com and filmworks.com. Several retail chains also have online processing sites. They include costco.com, walmart.com, wolfcamera.com, walgreens.com, cvs.com and ritzcamera.com.

Right now, Snapfish has the lowest prices closely followed by Ofoto. Most sites charge about 49 cents per reprint although some have steeper discounts for larger numbers of prints. There also are differences in postage charges. Even if using a traditional camera, you may want to compare these prices with the convenience of developing pictures locally, especially when sending holiday cards.

Lawyerly uses

OK, so, it's easy to see reasons to get a digital camera if you have adorable children or love to travel. How about ways a lawyer could use them to enhance their services to clients?

Does your firm have a website? How about posting pictures of your office location, the lawyers and staff? Avoid copyright issues and take photos of parts of your office to illustrate different pages on your site. In nearly any practice, you may want to consider photographing your clients to associate with their file. All the leading case and practice management programs, as well as litigation support applications, allow users to connect digital images with case or contact records.

If you're like me, I regularly confuse clients with similar names or those from similar towns who called me around the same time. If I took a photo of each during our initial meeting, I could connect it to the case record and look at it when they call or before I head to their office. I realize that taking pictures of your clients might be a sensitive issue for some lawyers and for some practice areas. But perhaps you could include those photos with a thank-you note at the end of their case.

How you might use digital photos will largely depend on the nature of your practice. Lawyers tend to be more verbal than visual but digital images could improve your case outcome. For example, it's easy to imagine taking photos of the property for sale during a real estate transaction. If there is a dispute over the condition of the property, a picture could be helpful in resolving the issue of who does the repair. Documenting the conditions of a tenant's apartment could improve the result on your client's behalf.

Immigration lawyers often have clients they haven't met because they were hired through a relative in an attempt to gain residency. A digital photo of the actual client may help the lawyer better match the file and circumstances to the person.

Evidence

Any sort of physical evidence could be documented with a digital camera. If you're an intellectual property lawyer trying to prove the new design of your client's product doesn't infringe on the plaintiff's product, you might find photographs of the two products, which can be combined into a presentation for the arbitration hearing or trial, might be more effective than still photos. While you may have to take additional steps to prove the photos haven't been altered, digital photos can be enlarged to highlight details that might normally not be seen.

In a divorce hearing or custody case, you might be able to show the judge different views of the marital residence or show details from a child's room in connection with a custody hearing. In some instances, videotape may be more appropriate but often a photograph will suffice.

As the cliché goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words" and a digital camera might just be a good way to get that picture.

Carol L. Schlein is president of Law Office Systems in Montclair, a training and consulting firm specializing in law firm automation. Copies of previous columns are on her company website, www.losinc.com. For information about her quarterly meetings for Time Matters users, check the website or e-mail info@losinc.com. Schlein formerly chaired the Computer and Technology Division of the ABA Law Practice Management Section.

Questions for Carol L. Schlein on law office technology may be faxed to New Jersey Lawyer at (732) 650-7010, e-mailed to news@njlnews.com or mailed to “Law Technology Questions,” New Jersey Lawyer, Edison Square, 2035 Lincoln Highway, Suite 3005, Edison, N.J. 08817.