All of us have to manage our time and our deadlines.  At this point in my career, I think I have tried out a fair number of the alternatives:  a DayTimer paper calendar, a paper notebook, Microsoft Outlook as well as other various appointment programs etc etc etc.. I think my all-time favourite was a very good personal information program entitled EccoPro (which was unfortunately dropped by the developer but I now see it has been kept alive by a strong user group at http://www.compusol.org/ecco/).

So the search went on.  That was, until I found Wunderlist.

An …

This tip came from Christine Hiller and was shared with the Canadian Association of Law Libraries Conference in Montreal. In the Plenary today, Christine shared that there are eBook license templates and resources available! Check it it at OCUL .…

To avoid viruses and spyware, you should only download software from reputable sites you know are safe. One of the best sources of safe software downloads on the web is FileHippo.com. It has the newest versions of the most widely used software (freeware and shareware), browsers and browser plug-ins. The downloads on this site are 100% spyware and virus free. FileHippo also has old versions of some programs, allowing you to return to an old version is you don’t like the new version. There is also an Update Checker to scan your machine for old software. Visit File Hippo …

With tax season either just behind us (or just ahead, depending on your filing date), it’s an ideal time of year to review all things accounting and financial at your firm.

What’s your assessment – are your bookkeeping and accounting systems working for you and your practice?  Could some basic financial planning make a difference in the year ahead?

With tax-time 2014 – and the regulatory and financial well-being of our practices – in mind, here are a few questions we could benefit from pondering (and acting upon):

• Are your firm’s financial records Law Society-compliant and up-to-date? Are there any

Sometimes the only way to answer a research question is by asking a bunch of people for their opinions.

An example: Canada Post is asking Canadians about the kind of postal service they will need in the future. An important question, especially for those of you who like getting books in the mail. This question is in response to a Conference Board of Canada report on the future of the postal service.  The Conference Board is an excellent place to look to see if someone has already answered your big picture type question.

I encourage you to give feedback …

Have you ever forgotten the password on your router? Hate when that happens! But don’t fret it, with routerpasswords.com you have no worries.
If you forget your router’s password and want to reconfigure it, you must reset it. Doing this will reset all settings to factory defaults, including the administrator password. Next, visit routerpasswords.com and enter your router’s make and model number. This site will give you your router’s factory default administrator login information. Nice!…

This upcoming monday I will be presenting at a CLE-BC seminar on the new Limitation Act here in British Columbia.

In advance of that presentation, I am taking a snippet from my paper on how to use Microsoft Outlook to manage limitation dates.

Of all the tasks that must be done in a law office, few of them have such long reaching professional implications as missing a limitation date. Missing a limitation date involves significant personal and professional embarrassment, loss of trust with the client, possible negligence liability, having to report to your Insurance Fund and not the least of …

A Government of Canada news release reminded me to remind you to watch for new sources of information.

The Governments of Canada and of Alberta Launch New Online Portal for Accessing Oil Sands Environmental Monitoring Data and Information

OTTAWA, Ont. – April 22, 2013 – Canada’s Environment Minister, the Honourable Peter Kent, and Alberta’s Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Minister, the Honourable Diana McQueen, today announced that access to federal and provincial environmental monitoring data on air, water, land and biodiversity in the oil sands is now available through an online data portal (www.JointOilSandsMonitoring.ca). The new portal represents the next

Severe weather is a fact of life for Canadians. Thanks to Public Safety Canada, Environment Canada and Google, Google has just announced that Canadians can now receive warnings of drastic weather changes directly to their mobile devices and desktops.
Severe weather notifications for Canada, in English and French, will now appear on the Google Public Alerts page, in Google Search and Google Maps on both desktop and mobile, and in Google Now.
An alert will appear on your desktop or mobile screens when you search for relevant keywords such as flood or with location-based queries like Toronto. On …

It may be a sign of our times, but one of the more complex work-life balance questions I face every year –  a couple of times at least, thankfully – is the appropriate level of work-life balance to maintain while I’m on vacation.

There is no actual paradox in this seeming contradiction in terms. The reality is I have no inclination to wholly disconnect, and I’m pretty sure I am not alone on that.

True confession time – I still work a bit while I’m away.    I’d rather set aside an hour or so a day while I’m on vacation …