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Running a Law Firm on Linux

decoded.legal

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Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#141

Post by nobody9999 »

Mikeb85 wrote: post #108
david422 wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A long time ago I was using linux and created my resume in Libreoffice and sent it to various job postings as a Word doc. Never had any luck. Then years later I learned that what looked perfect (my resume) in Libreoffice looked pretty terrible when opened with official MS Word. I always wondered if that impacted my application. A guy that couldn't bother to format his resume appropriately.

I learned long ago to never send an editable format to anyone who's not going to edit it. Every device can open PDFs and see it exactly as it should be.

>I learned long ago to never send an editable format to anyone who's not going to edit it.

I'd go further and say not to send an editable format to someone (read: recruiters) who is going to edit it. Too many times, I've gone to an interview and the interviewer's copy of my resume has been modified (not just names/contact info, but skills and experience) by a recruiter.

Which is why I always bring hard copies of my resume to an interview.

Edit: Fixed grammatical errors.

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#142

Post by upofadown »

andylynch wrote: post #118
upofadown wrote: post #113

Why would law firms want to exchange documents in a dense, opaque format like Microsoft Word anyway? Legal documents are mostly about the actual words, not all the word processing stuff that Word is about. You would think that the legal world would of come up with their own application specific format by now.

Lawyers also have clients! Its sounds facetious even saying it but it’s also not that surprising to discover that an industry heavily reliant of word processing uses the market leading word processor.

But that is my point. They don't do much of any word processing from the era of Microsoft Word. They just process some text. What does Word give them that, say, a Wiki would not do faster and easier?

Emailing word processing files around strikes me as very last century.

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#143

Post by [deleted] »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #80
tiahura wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still privileged. Jurisdictions vary, but generally the question is wether the broader dissemination was intentional.

Then the other side gets to argue that everybody knows or should have known that The Cloud works like that, and accuse you of doing it intentionally because you wanted the cost savings or convenience of the product with those terms. Also, "jurisdictions vary" can be quite a relevant caveat for all the people in the jurisdictions that vary.

[deleted]

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#144

Post by kaffee »

terminalcommand wrote: post #13

Also a lawyer here, I think the biggest hurdle is MS Word. MS word is the defacto IDE of the law world. We spend most of our time in Word. The drafting of documents won't be a problem with libre office. You can send a PDF to the client. But working with other lawyers/parties could be a challenge. I am not certain how Libreoffice could handle a 500 page memo being worked by 50+ people including thousands of track chan…

What's the current best tool for generating redlines from two PDF/Word documents?

Makes sense that this would be important (e.g., when comparing contract versions).

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#145

Post by [deleted] »

stefan_ wrote: post #123
Shicholas wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

if only lawyers used git, sigh. fighting word is almost like fighting the system itself - some courts require filing in .doc!

Is Word the biggest mistake of computing ever? I get it, in 1980 when you are trying to get adoption of your obscure machine, it helps to emulate what is de vogue in the real world. But now it's 2021, and there is zero reason anymore for anyone to "layout a letter" or similar nonsense like that. Computers are everywhere and the key to efficient processes, but we are stuck using them to make facsimiles of the World ci…

[deleted]

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#146

Post by anotherman554 »

upofadown wrote: post #142
andylynch wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lawyers also have clients! Its sounds facetious even saying it but it’s also not that surprising to discover that an industry heavily reliant of word processing uses the market leading word processor.

But that is my point. They don't do much of any word processing from the era of Microsoft Word. They just process some text. What does Word give them that, say, a Wiki would not do faster and easier? Emailing word processing files around strikes me as very last century.

Trial lawyers need to format their legal documents to a specific set of guidelines and file them with the court. That isn't what a wiki is for.

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#147

Post by bobdupneu »

French/Iranian lawyer here. Moved to Linux 5 years ago (from OS X) because Apple kept changing my workflow and suppressing functionality.

Libre office proved to be better than Mac Word (better support for Persian and so called complex languages) and than windows word (could open old word documents that word itself couldn’t open any more!).

Regarding ScanSnap, I replaced it with a Brother multifunctional printer that scans to an sftp folder which is watched by ocrmypdf. I get to one touch scan a document without logging in a computer. When I need the document it’s there for me as an OCRed and cleaned PDF. Super convenient.

Replaced Word with latex. Our contracts are generated with latex and smart: they check themselves up for coherency when the pdf is built.

Overall no driver problem but you need to check before buying peripherals that they will be compatible with Linux.

Updating the system is as easy as it could be. Installing software is a breeze with ‘yay’. Arch Linux is very well documented and when encountering a hurdle chances are that the solution is already in the wiki.

On the server side, CentOS proved super stable and a welcomed improvement over OSX server which terribly lacked documentation.

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#148

Post by upofadown »

anotherman554 wrote: post #146
upofadown wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that is my point. They don't do much of any word processing from the era of Microsoft Word. They just process some text. What does Word give them that, say, a Wiki would not do faster and easier? Emailing word processing files around strikes me as very last century.

Trial lawyers need to format their legal documents to a specific set of guidelines and file them with the court. That isn't what a wiki is for.

Wiki is marked up text. So it would be translated into a document guaranteed to meet those guidelines with no extra effort. That is exactly what a wiki is for.

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#149

Post by wvenable »

upofadown wrote: post #113

Why would law firms want to exchange documents in a dense, opaque format like Microsoft Word anyway? Legal documents are mostly about the actual words, not all the word processing stuff that Word is about. You would think that the legal world would of come up with their own application specific format by now.

This a weird argument; It's like asking why graphic designers use Photoshop instead of coming up with their own image manipulation application. Word is literally the top-tier application for developing documents and lawyers are using it for exactly what it's designed for.

Re: Running a Law Firm on Linux

#150

Post by tiahura »

pdabbadabba wrote: post #119
tiahura wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still privileged. Jurisdictions vary, but generally the question is wether the broader dissemination was intentional.

Maybe so. But your client will still be pissed that, from their perspective, your carelessness put them at risk. In my practice, it would be a disaster for this question to even arise.

What’s your practice area? Most big law firms outsourced photocopying 15 years ago. Not to mention outsourced doc review and ediscovery hosting.

See generally FRE 502(b).

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