LawToolBox Automates Breakout Rooms for Virtual Court Hearings in Microsoft Teams
LawToolBox announces a new feature that automates “breakout rooms” for Microsoft Teams, enhancing virtual meetings for Teams specifically for court hearings and depositions. As courts and litigants adjust to the Coronavirus pandemic, the new reality is setting in that there has already been an irreversible shift to conduct much of the courts business virtually. Microsoft Teams is a long-term solution that will not just get lawyers and courts up and running today … but will also provide a secure, robust and modern collaboration environment for the foreseeable future. Microsoft Teams delivers high-quality video conferencing and lets everyone in the proceeding see and discuss documents and exhibits clearly and easily. And because Microsoft stores client data in a local data center, even courts in the government cloud with strict oversight and security policies can safely manage hearings. Microsoft has rolled-out new features that will improve virtual hearings in Microsoft Teams including:(1) nine panel view of web conference, (2) ability to raise hand to get court and counsel attention without interrupting proceedings, and (3) custom backgrounds. However, Teams out-of-the-box has been missing is a one-click break-out rooms With its new release, LawToolBox has automated the creation and configuration of the hearings with breakout rooms for sidebars with the court, attorneys and pro se parties; as well as breakout rooms for confidential and secure meetings between attorneys and their clients: MAIN EVENT – HEARING. While court personnel can be automatically admitted to proceedings, external user like attorneys, parties and witnesses will sit in a waiting room until admitted to the proceeding by the court clerk. Witnesses will be in the meeting waiting room until... read more
Interview with Microsoft Director re Work from Home with Microsoft Teams
And as part of our effort to inform clients and friends, last week we recorded an interview with Mike Ammerlaan, Director of M365 Ecosystem Marketing at Microsoft, on security features of Microsoft Teams, and tips for legal professionals working from home to get the most from Teams. In the last part of the interview, Carol Lynn Grow, VP of Sales & Marketing for LawToolBox, also gives an overview of how LawToolBox enables legal matter management system inside of Teams: As lawyers continue to transition to work from home, LawToolBox offers free daily webinars on how to collaborate remotely using Microsoft Teams, especially when lawyers amplify Office 365 for legal by adding LawToolBox: 11 AM CENTRAL – Working from Home on Office 365 & Teams – RSVP12 PM CENTRAL – Onboarding Workshop LawToolBox & Teams – RSVP1 PM CENTRAL – Manage Matters and Collaborate in Teams – RSVP If you want more direct support, schedule a call with a LawToolBox Teams specialist to answer any questions. We hope to see you in one of our webinars. Let us now what we can do to help. Stay safe! The LawToolBox Team T: 1-888-958-6657 E: support@lawtoolbox.comCase Study | White Paper | Press Release | Office 365 Apps (3-min... read more
LawToolBox Integration with Microsoft Teams Enhances Matter Management and Facilitates Virtual Hearings for Courts
DENVER (April 28, 2020) – In response to COVID-19 LawToolBox announces it accelerated development of new features for its award-winning app for Microsoft Teams to empower judicial and administrative courts to manage legal matters remotely with virtual hearings. Judicial and administrative courts are looking to different technologies to get them back up and ready for hearings. Some courts are not just looking for a short-term patch for web meeting, but they are looking for a more robust long-term solution that includes matter and file management, calendaring, and document collaboration. virtual hearings connected to matters & Microsoft Teamsmatter management across Office 365 Teams, Outlook & SharePointautomate compliance and litigation deadlinesmodern and secure collaboration for courts and the parties Types of Virtual Hearings: The types of remote hearings that Microsoft Teams and LawToolBox can facilitate include: State, Federal and Appellate Courts, State and Federal Agency with Hearing Boards, Attorney General Offices and City Attorney Offices, Workers Compensation organizations, Unemployment Boards. Most of these organizations already own Office 365 and because Teams comes free with Office 365 subscriptions this enables these organizations to host and live-stream remote hearings on legal matters securely using software they already own. New Features in Teams for Virtual Hearings. Microsoft has been accelerating features in Teams that facilitate remote hearings increasing the number of participants who can be viewed simultaneously on the Microsoft Teams meeting stage to 9 so attorneys can watch the expressions of all the other participants not just the person talking, custom backgrounds so judges can look like they are sitting in a courtroom, Team’s “hold” to facilitate breakout waiting rooms that allow judges... read more
LawToolBox Offer Combines Free Access and Onboarding to Help Firms Manage Matters in Microsoft Teams
By Robert Ambrogi on March 26, 2020As legal technology companies step up to the plate and offer free products and services to help the legal community get through this time of crisis, LawToolBox is extending an offer that can help get firms up and running on effectively managing all their matters through Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Teams. LawToolBox is legal calendaring and deadline management software that integrates with a number of platforms. But through its integration with Office 365 Teams, it effectively becomes a full matter management suite for litigation groups, combining matter-level calendaring, document management, collaboration, contacts and more. As legal teams struggle to adapt to new ways of working, LawToolBox today said it is aiming to help them do that through a three part offer that combines next-day onboarding, training through webinars and direct calls, and free access both to its software and Office 365.Read the full article here... read more
Teams with LawToolBox versus Zoom – detailed feature comparison
Both Microsoft Teams and Zoom can be used to hold meetings quickly, but between the two only Microsoft Teams is integrated with LawToolBox matter management and can expand into a comprehensive collaboration solution. As courts and law firms navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, the extensibility and benefits of Teams plus LawToolBox offer a compelling use case: 1. Teams is totally configurable. Teams can be configured for working and tracking information on specific matters, or it can be used to track general information. Users can create Teams for a specific case or appeal, and invitees can vary depending on which Team you ae working on. Beneath a Team, channels can be created by topic, and channels can made private, and tabs can be added extending the Team to specific documents, websites or cloud-based products. See, Configure Microsoft Teams & LawToolBox for Legal (7 min video). 2. Both Teams and Zoom can be used to simply start a quick meeting, but Teams also has more advanced meeting and chat features: 2.1-chat 1 to 1, 1 to many, or by any individual team/matter2.2-convert any text chat into a call or video chat2.3-you can record sessions2.4-reply to chat topics out-of-order so all communications on a topic are grouped2.5-every conversation has a complete HISTORY of communication2.6-every conversation is SEARCHABLE subject to user permissions enforced by MS2.7-any chat can be edited or deleted by owner of communication2.8-you can post screen shots2.9-you can post files2.10-post links to websites and files2.11-quickly hold meetings with external people in a team chat – video2.12-like or flag any post2.13-connect files you are editing to a matter conversation2.14-interact with third party... read moreUsing Microsoft Teams to Work from Home
RSVP for WebinarsIn a matter of weeks, Coronavirus has impacted our the world in ways most of us never imagined. Right now most law firms and legal departments are shifting from traditional work environments to remote work and work-from-home work environments. If you are using Slack or another collaboration tool and are happy with it, we don’t think you should switch to a new product at this time. However, if you are in need of an enterprise level security-focused collaboration tool, we think you should seriously consider Microsoft Teams. Many of you with a Microsoft Office 365 Small Business Premium, E1, E3 or E5 licenses are already paying for Microsoft Teams, other firms can consider using the free version of Teams. LawToolBox has spent the last 3 years helping law firms and legal departments use Microsoft Teams to run their law practices. Our mission in confronting this pandemic is to support our integration partners, reseller partners, existing customers and prospects that own Office 365 to efficiently work remotely using Microsoft Teams. If you think this is the right time for your firm to explore using Microsoft Teams to collaborate on matters and work remotely, we prepared an introduction to Microsoft Teams presentation that might help you evaluate this approach We are doing daily no charge, “how to” on-boarding sessions on working from home using Microsoft Teams so that at the end of the first session, participants can chat, call and screen share, create a team and channel, attend or kick off of a #TeamsMorningMeeting and #TeamsOfficeHours We encourage you to join and participate, and ask any questions you may have... read more
Discover, Purchase, Test, Deploy and Manage LawToolBox from INSIDE Your Own Microsoft 365 Admin Center
As Microsoft starts on March 2nd rolls out a new class of apps called Microsoft 365 Apps – IT professionals can discover, purchase, test, deploy and manage LawToolBox inside their own Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This means that IT professionals will be able to purchase and manage LawToolBox in the same secure admin center they manage Microsoft services. “We are excited to be among the first Microsoft 365 Apps making it easier for IT professionals to deploy apps like LawToolBox with integrations for Outlook, for Microsoft Teams, for a browser, or for all three, with a single click from the Microsoft 365 Admin Center,” says Jack Grow, CEO of LawToolBox. What New Things can IT Pros do with the LawToolBox Microsoft 365 App? Today IT professionals can discover LawToolBox for Outlook or Teams in AppSource with the option to also purchase directly, through their Microsoft Partner, or through their Microsoft Account Executive. With the launch of the LawToolBox Microsoft 365 App, IT professionals will also be able to manage the process end-to-end from within the Microsoft Admin Center. If a firm wants to deploy all LawToolBox integrations simultaneously, they now have the tools to do so. However, if a firm isn’t ready for Teams yet, an IT Pro can initially deploy just the LawToolBox Outlook add-in, and later deploy for Teams when the timing is right. With this new method, Microsoft 365 apps fast track procurement by adding LawToolBox to the Microsoft monthly invoice while increasing trust with clients by layering LawToolBox security self-attestation alongside Microsoft’s security and privacy certifications. Press... read moreLawToolBox launches mobile-friendly app that opens the door for a new class of integration partners to i-Frame
Partner integrations can use LawToolBox as a bridge to Outlook Calendars and Microsoft Teams LawToolBox transforms Microsoft Outlook and Teams into a legal solution for law firms and legal departments. LawToolBox partners can now leverage these same innovative Microsoft 365 apps to deliver rule-based deadlines and calendaring for Outlook to their clients. Not only can partners i-frame LawToolBox within their own products, but their clients can also manage deadlines and calendars for their matters from the award winning LawToolBox Outlook add-ins, Teams apps, or from their phone.Empowering Partners to Deliver Deadlines & Office 365 Calendaring: Many legal software vendors have built incredible products that provide solutions like time tracking or billing, but have not yet filled their clients needs for rules-based deadlines, or a calendar solution that is deeply integrated with the Microsoft 365 and the calendar. Now, LawToolBox provides a simple and elegant solution for these companies to quickly and easily meet this need:1- End-Users set up matters in Partners product2-Partners use the LawToolBox API to provision the same matter on our system pre-populated with matter information3-When end-users are in matter within the partners product and want to manage their calendar they click on a link to open LawToolBox in a tab within the partner’s product 4-After creating a calendar event or calculating rules-based deadlines the end-user uses LawToolBox to synchronize those calendar events to office 365. Matters provisioned in LawToolBox by our partners are not only accessible within an i-frame inside the partner product, but end-users can also seamlessly manage their matter calendars from the LawToolBox add-in for Outlook, app for Teams, and from our mobile friendly... read moreLawToolBox Most Significant Upgrade in Years!
Creates seamless experience with Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, Your Phone & the Web We’re crazy excited to share this month’s app updates, and they are huge! There’s a lot of new info to absorb, so let us know what you think and if you have any questions. 1. Outlook Only – Pin your LawToolBox Add-in Open. When you open your LawToolBox Add-in in Outlook, you will see a new “pin” in the upper right-hand corner of our add-in. This is a brand-new feature that we are one of the first companies to incorporate that allows users to pin open the LawToolBox add-in then navigate between emails without having to close and re-open the add-in saving you oodles of time! 2. Teams App Only – Instantly Create a Microsoft Team from any LawToolBox matter. Maybe you’re tracking 50 matters in LawToolBox, but you only have a few that are in active litigation? When a matter heats up and you want to start actively collaborating on it in a Microsoft Team dedicated to that matter, just navigate to LawToolBox matter, click on the action menu, and then click “Create Team”. In a matter of seconds you will be up and running with a fully provisioned Microsoft Team (that includes all the deadlines documents and notes you were managing in Outlook, SharePoint and One Note). 3. Lots of New Features in the Admin Portal. You’ll see lots of new switches where your firm admin can turn on and off features across your whole firm, or user-by-user. For example, your firm admin can hide the links to the “files” if you use a different document... read more
Microsoft Blog – LawToolBox is One of the First Transactable SaaS Offers Sold through the Microsoft Commercial Marketplace
Recently, in Las Vegas, Microsoft held it’s annual partner event, Microsoft Inspire. While there, I had an opportunity to sit with partners to understand how they are approaching new features to support additional business models within Microsoft AppSource and the commercial marketplace platform. I sat down with Carol-Lynn Grow from LawToolBox, a company that delivers a deadline and matter-management SaaS for legal professionals..
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