Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – View Hidden Formatting Codes in Microsoft Word
This fast tip demonstrates how to use the reveal formatting feature in Microsoft Word. It can really save the day!
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LitSuppGuru Blog
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Column Mode Fill Using Notepad++, UltraEdit and TextPad
This fast tip demonstrates how to use column mode (block mode in TextPad) to replace columns using Notepad++, UltraEdit and TextPad. Download Sample Files
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Data Processing
Electronic Discovery – Embedded Objects
Another aspect of “processing” electronic discovery is our love/hate relationship with “embedded objects”. Okay, it really is more of a hate relationship. This is another example of technology getting in the way of practicing law. Here is the reality: The lawyer collects their client’s electronic documents so they can review
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Monitor Web Pages For Changes
This fast tip demonstrates how to use a free service that will monitor a web page for changes (additions/deletions) and send an email notification. It might be helpful to monitor docket listings or a web page for a specific client or case.
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Column Mode Insert Using Notepad++, UltraEdit and TextPad
This fast tip demonstrates how to use column mode (block mode in TextPad) to insert a column using Notepad++, UltraEdit and TextPad. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Using a Non Breaking Space in Microsoft Word
This fast tip demonstrates a few examples where the non-breaking space in Microsoft Word comes in handy. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Duplicate Current Line Using Notepad++, UltraEdit and TextPad
This fast tip demonstrates how to duplicate the current line using Notepad++, UltraEdit and TextPad. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Identify Unsearchable PDFs Within Folders
This fast tip demonstrates how to use a free tool called Count Anything to identify which PDF files are unsearchable. Sean O’Shea shared this tip in his article entitled Where Are My Unsearchable PDFs. Source: Sean O’Shea
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Critical Thinking Scenario
Critical Thinking Scenario – Create a Nested Folder Structure – Part 2 [Free Resources]
SPOILER ALERT: Before reading this, you should complete the Google Form found in Critical Thinking Scenario – Create a Nested Folder Structure – Part 1. You can’t really learn how to use your critical thinking skills if you simply look at the answers first, right? 😉 Scenario: Remember, our task is to create
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Critical Thinking Scenario
Critical Thinking Scenario – Create a Nested Folder Structure – Part 1
In this exercise, I challenge you to tap into your critical thinking skills, which are crucial to a litigation support role. In a previous article, I discussed the importance of workflow. The discussion resonated with you, as evidenced by the many shares and comments it received. So, I thought I would
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Create Excel Pivot Table to Count Values in a Column
This fast tip demonstrates how to create a simple pivot table that will count the unique values in a column. Download Sample Files
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Another Industry to Lit Support
Case Study – Tracy Ayling
Name: Tracy Ayling Location: Vancouver, BC What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you? I spent a number of years working, learning skills and knowledge in many different sectors. I have always had a real hunger for personal growth, and I am someone who needs something
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Databases
Limit Keyword Search to Beginning or End of the Document
In a previous article, I discussed “stop words” and within the free resource at the bottom of the article, I mentioned a search engine called dtSearch. You may not be aware that you are using dtSearch because it is “baked in” to many of the legal industry database systems we use.
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – 3 Privacy Tips For Your LinkedIn Profile
This fast tip demonstrates several tips for controlling the privacy of your LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn profile, you should definitely create one. Nowadays, all professionals are expected to have one. Not having a LinkedIn profile can leave a poor impression.
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Case Studies
Case Study – Alex Fernandez
Name: Alex Fernandez Location: Washington, DC What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you? Check processing center for a large bank based out of New York. How did you get the opportunity to join the litigation support community? Needed a second job, maybe a third at
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Databases
Search Query Success Tip
Have you ever gotten frustrated running search queries against a database and it won’t find what you’re looking for? One reason for the lack of success could be that you are not aware of the “stop words” (also called “noise words”) in your particular database system. Over the years, I have
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Google Tips For Efficient Legal Research
This fast tip demonstrates how to perform efficient legal research on the internet using the Google search engine.
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Guest Authors
The Reason The Best Paralegals Are Methodical
I met Jamie Collins on LinkedIn in September 2011. I was just about to launch this blog. Jamie had launched her blog, The Paralegal Society, about a month earlier and I was impressed by one of her first articles entitled Top Ten Pointers for New Paralegals: Climbing the Paralegal Ladder.
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Uninstall Software Without Leaving Leftover Files on Your PC
This fast tip demonstrates how to use Revo Uninstaller to do a much more thorough software uninstall process. Most default uninstallers provided by the software creator will leave orphan files on your computer.
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Case Studies
Case Study – Clair R. Atkins
Name: Clair R. Atkins Location: Chicago, IL What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you? I owned a computer services company in Atlanta. I taught computer classes (in-home and classroom), designed web sites, helped local businesses with their marketing efforts (menus, flyers, etc.), and provided hardware
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Save Time Sharing a Webpage Link Using Gmail
This fast tip demonstrates a shortcut for sharing a webpage link with friends and colleagues using Gmail. Here is a link to the awesome video tutorial referenced in this fast tip. Smile.
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Search and Redact Regex Text Patterns Using Adobe Acrobat
This fast tip demonstrates how to search for custom text patterns using regular expressions and then redact the text. UPDATE: When searching for the XML file locations, you may need to unhide system files before running the search so that you can see this additional location under your user profile: C:\Users\[user
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Data Processing
Electronic Discovery – Deduplication
In a previous article on the topic of electronic discovery, I began the conversation about a term we use called “processing”. Now we will discuss one of the stages within the workflow of processing electronic discovery referred to as “deduplication”. Remember, the goal of processing is to get the electronic documents we collected into a
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Search and Redact Text Patterns Using Adobe Acrobat
This fast tip demonstrates how to search for email addresses, social security numbers, credit card numbers and dates within a PDF file and then redact any personal identifying information (PII). NOTE: The Search & Remove Text function can handle a maximum of 500 PDFs at a time. In another Fast
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Formatting an Excel File as a Trial Exhibit
This is an adaptation of a recent article written by Jeff Bennion for the Above the Law blog. In my legal career, I have formatted hundreds of Excel files for printing, at the request of an attorney who is uncomfortable using Microsoft Excel. I use many of the same steps
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Case Studies
Case Study – Susan Stone
Name: Susan Stone Location: Washington, DC What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you? I started as an administrative assistant for an IT group supporting a government contract shortly after high school. The group was responsible for computer and network infrastructure support. There wasn’t a
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Formatting Tabs in MS Word
This fast tip demonstrates how to utilize tabs in MS Word, a feature that is often overlooked. If you are listing “Proficient in Microsoft Word” on your resume, then you better know how to use good formatting techniques in your resume or you will be busted! Download Sample Files
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Case Studies
Case Study – Patrick L. Mathews
Name: Patrick L. Mathews Location: Dallas, TX What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you? I started my career as a paralegal back in the early 90’s. I originally started working for a government agency indexing documents into database systems. At this time scanning was
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Remove Duplicate Rows in Notepad++ Using TextFX Plugin
This fast tip demonstrates how to remove duplicate rows in Notepad++ using a plugin called TextFX Characters. Notepad++ is a free text editor. In a previous tutorial video, I demonstrated how to delete duplicate lines using TextPad.
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Data Processing
Electronic Discovery – DeNIST
In my last article on the topic of electronic discovery, I began the conversation about a term we use called “processing”. Now we will discuss one of the stages within the workflow of processing electronic discovery referred to as “deNISTing”. Why did I type part of the word in all caps? Because it includes
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Create Hyperlinks to All Files in a Folder Using Excel Macro
This fast tip demonstrates how to use an Excel VBA macro to generate a file listing in Excel and then add hyperlinks to each file. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Get List of All Folders Using Excel Macro
This fast tip demonstrates how to use an Excel VBA macro to generate a folder listing in Excel. In a previous Fast Tip Friday tutorial, I demonstrated how to get a list of all files in a folder using an Excel macro. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Get List of All Files in a Folder Using Excel Macro
In a previous FTF video entitled Using DOS to Create File Listing, I demonstrated how to use DOS commands to create a file listing. This fast tip demonstrates how to use an Excel VBA macro to generate a file listing in Excel. In other FTF videos I have demonstrated how
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Project Management
Workflow in Litigation Support
I think some people have a natural eye for seeing the bigger picture. For others, they make a decision without considering how that decision could have an effect on a future situation. I see this happen all the time. When I am teaching litigation support to a newbie, I frequently mention
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Data Processing
Electronic Discovery – Processing
In previous electronic discovery articles, I discussed the Subpoena/CID, the Identification of Custodians, Collection, Chain of Custody and a Forensic Image. This article is the first of several where I will discuss topics related to the processing of electronic discovery. The term “processing” encompasses many steps which can make it one of
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Delete First Page of Every PDF File in a Folder
In litigation matters, we deal with a lot of scenarios related to preparing documents for different stages of the discovery process. Many of these documents are in PDF format. There are scenarios where the lead attorney has a justified reason and may instruct a paralegal or litigation support to remove
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Use Checkboxes to Select Items in Windows
This fast tip demonstrates how to select files in Windows Explorer using checkboxes. Sean O’Shea shared this tip in his article entitled Check Out What Windows Explorer Can Do. Source: Sean O’Shea
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Guest Authors
A Technology Plan for Students in the Legal Industry
Today’s guest author is one of my former students in the paralegal program at Georgetown University. Matt Hersey works as a Program Officer, Legal Advocate Specialist, in the Rule of Law department for an international labor union organization called Solidarity Center. He sends out time analyzing labor laws and cases,
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Combine Multiple Text Files Using TextPad
This fast tip demonstrates how to easily combine multiple text files using a feature in the TextPad editor.
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Greatly Reduce Time Copying Gigabytes of Data to Server
This fast tip demonstrates how to greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to copy gigabytes of data from a local drive to the server. Source: David Carns
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Creating a PDF Portfolio
This fast tip demonstrates the basics for creating a PDF Portfolio.
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Guru Articles
Remembering Catherine Hawes and a Life Lesson
This article is difficult for me to write, but I want to share this with all of you (I teared up just typing the article title). On Christmas Day, I was skimming through my Facebook news feed. I saw a post from a young man I don’t know sharing that this
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Dynamic Stamps in Adobe Acrobat
This fast tip demonstrates how use dynamic stamps in Adobe Acrobat, including how to add two new dynamic stamp files to your computer. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Make Excel Subtotals More Noticeable
This fast tip demonstrates how to format subtotals in Excel so that they are more noticeable. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Using an iPhone to Subscribe to a Podcast
This fast tip demonstrates how to subscribe to an iTunes podcast using the free Podcasts app on the iPhone. There are more and more new podcasts starting up in the legal industry. Use iTunes to search for the ones you might be interested in and then subscribe to them from
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – 3 Mouse Tricks for Selecting Text in MS Word
This fast tip demonstrates three mouse tricks for selecting text within an MS Word document. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Create Dropdown List From Another Worksheet
This fast tip demonstrates how to create a dropdown list in an Excel workbook that pulls in values from a list in another worksheet. In a previous Fast Tip Friday, I demonstrated how to create a dropdown list from another workbook. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Create Dropdown List From Another Workbook
This fast tip demonstrates how to create a dropdown list in an Excel workbook that pulls in values from a list in another workbook. In another Fast Tip Friday, I demonstrated how to create a dropdown list from another worksheet. Download Sample Files
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Open Link in New Tab Without Right-Click
This fast tip demonstrates how to open any link in a new tab faster than choosing right-click and then Open Link in New Tab.
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Case Studies
Case Study – Tim Thames
Name: Tim Thames Location: Columbia, SC What kind of work were you doing before litigation support found you? I was a case manager for a corporation managing products liability and asbestos litigation. As a former paralegal with a large law firm, I worked with litigation support review tools like
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Fast Tip Friday
Fast Tip Friday – Using Quick View Plus to View Outlook PST
This fast tip demonstrates how to use a software program called Quick View Plus to take a peek inside an Outlook PST file. Download Sample Files
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