Over the years, clients have asked how I knew how to resolve their particular problem or where I had learned about the financial demise of a legal software company. Ironically, the answer is one of many resources available at their fingertips.

Almost every hardware and software vendor has a web page that includes the latest information about their products. In addition to checking prices and reviewing the features of the latest version, you often can find an area labelled downloads. Included here are service or maintenance releases, also known as patches, which fix known problems with the company’s products. While most companies work hard to ensure their products are problem-free, they are written by human beings and are increasingly complex. In short, nearly every product will have some incompatibilities or issues to be resolved after it has been sold. You should periodically check the latest downloads on the hardware and software used by your office.

Whether you download a copy to your server and apply it to your working applications is a judgment to be made on a case-by-case basis. Part of that calculation will depend on how stable your current environment is, what problems the patch resolves, and the reputation of the company to thoroughly test its patches before releasing them to ensure they don’t worsen, etc.

My philosophy on maintenance releases is to monitor them regularly but let someone else first install them on live data. I usually wait about a month before I install a service release unless I’m confident the changes will not harm my systems. Some vendors are better than others in quality control. Watching them over time is a good way to determine whether you should install patches sooner or later.

Many of the hardware vendors include their instruction manuals and troubleshooting guides on their web sites. When I recently purchased a scanner, it came with a small booklet that didn’t provide enough information about how to connect the document feeder. The company’s website, however, had illustrated instructions. If you ever have printer problems, look online before paying for a technical support call.

Most vendor websites also have knowledge bases that can be searched by keywords to receive assistance troubleshooting or resolving problems. For example, if you’re getting an error message, you often can search for part of that message to locate suggested solutions. You also can use the companies’ knowledge base to learn specific functions if you’re having trouble mastering the software. For instance, if you want to learn tips and tricks for preparing mailing labels in your word processor, look in that company’s online knowledge base.

Some vendors have even begun to use video technology to offer show-and-tell training snippets to teach different aspects of their products. Often, to use these video tools, you need “plug-ins” or additions to your web browser that allow you to view the video clip. There surely will be more of these in the coming year as the technology becomes cheaper and easier for vendors to produce and update their videos.

E-mail lists

In addition, there are many officially and unofficially sponsored e-mail lists. At the other end of your dial-up, cable or DSL modem, these lists are essentially e-mail communities with a common interest. In the early years of personal computing (circa 1984), many communities began using the forum structure on Compuserve. As one of the early, major on-line vendors, Compuserve service offered e-mail as well as participation in a large number of forums. Many vendors, including WordPerfect, sponsored forums to allow customers access to technical support personnel to respond to questions or solve problems.

Today, these have evolved into hundreds of small and large online communities serving a wide range of needs and interests. Some are vendor-sponsored while others are voluntary efforts by interested individuals. While there are hundreds of online communities for hobbies, business interests, education and other topics, we’ll take a look at some of the resources targeted to lawyers and legal technology.

First, you must be proficient with your e-mail software to manage the deluge of messages that will come from some of these lists. Nearly every modern e-mail program lets you create folders to group and store messages and has the capability to set up rules for handling incoming messages. Look at the help section in your e-mail program for assistance on how to set up folders and create rules. Depending on the list you join, you will want to set up a folder for that list’s incoming messages and a rule to automatically move incoming messages to that folder.

There are numerous practice-specific message boards on the Internet. Two of the best places to locate such groups are at Findlaw (findlaw.com) and the Washburn School of Law University (washlaw.edu). Both sites serve as portals or openings to other sites and resources of interest to lawyers. On the Findlaw site, look under Boards for listings of a wide range of online groups that discuss politics, legal research resources, legal careers, the constitution, U.S. Supreme Court, law schools and legal news. Findlaw also sponsors several well-known online discussions including Greedy Associates, where associates slaving away their youth for excessive salaries can compare their working conditions with peers at other large firms. Both sites include links to a large number of substantive and technology-based legal discussion groups.

Another good resource is the American Bar Association’s website at abanet.org. Even if you’re not an ABA member, you can participate in many of the online discussion groups. Some groups are based on shared expertise in specific practice areas. Others share common interests such as how to better manage your firm using technology. One of the oldest ABA technology lists is Network2d from the Law Practice Management Section. While it was more active a few years ago, it still is a valuable resource for asking specific questions about products and using technology for lawyers, and receiving detailed instructions.

One of the most active and popular ABA-sponsored lists is Solosez. Most of the active members here are lawyers practicing alone, in small firms or are considering hanging their own shingle. While the talk runs the gamut from office politics in shared suites to substantive legal referrals among discussion members, much of the discussion focuses on the use of technology in small-firm settings. Be prepared for a large volume of messages if you sign up. You always can unsubscribe on the same web page.

To sign up for either Network 2d or Solosez, start at the ABA’s website, choose Legal & Professional Resources, then select List Serves. You may want to browse through the list of groups to see what other groups might be of interest.

Tech help

As described on its website, technolawyer.com, the Technolawyer Community is a free e-mail group of legal professionals who share information about practice management and technology issues, products and services, often developing valuable business relationships in the process. Topics regularly include case management, digital copiers, equipment financing, handheld computers, laptops, litigation support, web design and nearly any technology of interest to lawyers. While the Technolawyer list is heavily moderated with rules governing topics and discussions, the detailed and timely information is a must-read for lawyers responsible for implementing technology in their firms.

Since the software required to set up and run an e-mail list is inexpensive, it takes only a commitment of time and effort to promote and manage your own Listserv. While the task is not for everyone, there are many dedicated individuals who sponsor legal-related lists that serve as an ancillary technical resource for users of specific software or technology. For example, Robert Fleming, an elder law attorney in Tucson, Ariz., started a list for attorneys using Time Matters to manage their elder law practices. Over the past few years, it has become the resource of choice for getting answers about using Time Matters, regardless of practice area.

There are many other wonderful resources on the Internet. You may want to take a look at some including law.com, lexisone.com and lawtechnews.com. If you’re looking for something specific, don’t forget to use one of the search engines like google.com or yahoo.com to find an online community to join.

When you ask your first question and get answers and suggestions within a few hours, you’ll get hooked!