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Feature Round-Up: May & June 2024

AI 101: The Legal Edition

Learning to Speak AI [CLE recap]

Sara Sultan
Smokeball Team
Sara SultanSmokeball Team
Maximize Smokeball's Ai Assistant Archie with your documents

Our US users will have a live webinar with Client Trainer, Sarah Kumpula, on February 21, 2025. Click here to learn more.

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Sara Sultan
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
Archie Fireside Chat [webinar recap]

The recent Archie Fireside Chat was a perfect opportunity for clients to learn more and ask questions about Smokeball’s new AI matter assistant, Archie. Watch the Archie Fireside Chat recording If you couldn’t attend live, watch the on-demand recording to hear CEO Hunter Steele and attorney Jordan Turk discuss what Archie can help you do, give helpful tips, and share what’s coming next for Smokeball AI—in addition to answering dozens of your Archie questions! Top Archie Tips: Dive in & experiment!​ Practice prompting ​ Treat it like an assistant​ Get creative with it!​ Additional Archie resources: Archie Prompt Writing guide Archie Support Articles Schedule an Archie Training Session

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Community Manager
Smokeball Team
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Carolyn16txContributor
Business Transactional Issues

Hey Y’all, I’m a business transactional attorney. What that looks like is that: My clients are 98% entities, and the other 2% are independent contractors or individuals starting entities and the entity will ultimately be my client. Business clients stick around for decades. I have some clients who’ve been with me 20+ years and that means LOTs of matters. I work on a lot of contracts. Contracts, contracts, contracts. Items 2+3 = lots of contracts for the same client over lots of different subjects. While I appreciate litigators might be the majority of users, and while they do need a lot of organizational computing power and form filling out, transactional attorneys need computing love too, and while Smokeball certain seems to show us more love than a lot of other platforms - it still feels to me, a bit like I’m a step child. Off all of the Matter Categories, so much of my work is just in the Commercial Contract category, and if I wanted to break things down further, all of the other ca

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Carolyn16txContributor
Hiring an Apple person for a PC office

This question is not directly whether Smokeball can work on her laptop. I’ve read the 2/24 update on that. Rather it’s an opinion question. I’ve hired a new assistant. Her work history is entirely in paper-based offices and I’m digital only. I’ve confirmed she’s a good, if not the quickest learner and has felt unchallenged in her past job, and is excited about learning smokeball and working in a fully digitized office and learning lots of computer stuff. But right now all she knows is Word, Excel, Outlook and Quickbooks. Yes I know that’s shocking, at least to me 🤣. She’s been working for the last 6 years on her own Apple laptop. So the question is - how difficult is it for an Apple person to sit down at a PC and start working? I know it varies, but would a windows emulator (or whatever the technical language is) that works with Smokeball on a laptop she knows be better than plopping down in front of a windows PC?

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atharkhan
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
How Smokeball clients are excelling in the current legal landscape

Smokeball's latest State of Law report—based on a survey of 775 legal professionals globally—found that law firms are balancing ambitious growth against economic uncertainty, changing workplace dynamics, and evolving technologies. Read the 2024 State of Law Client Addendum That’s a lot to navigate in an already demanding profession! The good news is the survey also found that Smokeball users are excelling through these challenges when compared to their peers not utilizing Smokeball. The 2024 State of Law Client Addendum highlights what Smokeball clients are doing to transcend these times of inflation, remote work, and the rise of AI. I encourage you to check it out, and read the f ull 2024 State of Law Report here . Let us know your thoughts in the comments. ⬇️

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
Preparing for your firm's expected (or unexpected!) succession - webinar recap

Jordan Turk, Attorney & Legal Technology Advisor at Smokeball, recently offered an insightful session on planning for your law firm succession. The big take-away: to ensure the best future for your practice, you need to plan now for the worst—be it a health issue, sale gone sideways, or a natural disaster. Here's a brief recap of what Jordan covered before you dive into the full webinar recording and slides. A Guide to Succession Planning: on-demand recording and slide deck Duty to report. A review of the ethical considerations when it comes to reporting a lawyer that’s mentally impaired and how that responsibility varies by state. File Management and Destruction Policies for Transitions Best practices for managing your files (including proper retention and destruction policies), a reminder of the ethical obligations, and a checklist to use when a matter is concluded. Planned Transitions and Exits Traditional methods of transferring client matters, as well as considerations for when yo

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
Your pro bono work is worth recognizing. Win $2,500 + a matching donation!

Smokeball’s prestigious Beacon Award recognizes individuals who are making a significant impact on their clients and communities. The Grand Prize Winner receives a $2,500 check and a matching $2,500 donation to the legal aid organization of their choice. Plus, we’re awarding five Honorable Mentions and a People’s Choice Winner with great prizes. Nominate yourself—don’t be shy!—or another legal professional at the form below. (We welcome all nominations, but only Smokeball users will qualify for the prizes.)

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
Save time and errors with workflows tailored for your area of law

No one wants to re-invent the wheel. And yet, you might find yourself continually recreating a set of tasks, searching for the same documents, and re-explaining things to staff. If this sounds familiar, automated workflows are the answer. They track deadlines, manage documents, and reduce time and errors. Register for the free automated workflows CLE on April 13. Workflows are also a training tool for new staff and offer peace of mind. When one Smokeball client was in a serious bicycle accident, the firm kept his matters in motion thanks to workflows. Since his matters’ corresponding events, tasks, and forms were visible to other firm staff, they could reassign work and ensure nothing was missed in his absence. Setting up these scalable processes can be time-intense, but you’ll see the return in time, accuracy, and staff growth. Here are suggested workflows and checklists for several practice areas if you’re looking to dive in: personal injury real estate family law estate planning bus

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
March Roundup - Highlights for Smokeball USA

We’re still feeling the holiday cheer after donating over $20,000 to charity with your help through our Season of Giving initiative. Thank you all for helping us achieve this goal! We realize Daylight Savings is just around the corner (Sunday, March 12 to be exact). Here are some other timely updates and resources to prepare you for the spring season. State of the Law 2023 Report: The Great Automation We surveyed 200 law firms. No surprise legal professionals have embraced technology in the last three years. But the real power of legal tech to help law firms work smarter and more efficiently comes with automating key legal processes and tasks. Read the findings . Here are a few key areas where firms are shifting their ethics as we enter a new era. How about you? Recession speculation is everywhere. Are you prepared? In this three-part series, we look at numerous ways to protect your firm during a recession , counter-intuitive ways to increase your firm’s profits , and how to pivot to d

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
Elevate Intake: 12 steps for creating a seamless client consult [on demand webinar]

Attorney and Smokeball legal technology advisor Jordan Turk recently gave her insight on the client intake process, which you can watch here for free . (And be sure to register for Smokeball's upcoming free CLEs here .) She focused on creating a client-focused process that’s seamless, comfortable and easy for the client to understand. Jordan also provided tips to ensure you're protected and are establishing the foundation for great client relationships. Part 1: Potential Client 10 tips for better bonding and assessing your client's history Discuss what client wants (are their goals realistic?) Set reasonable expectations Part 2: 12 Steps to Elevate Client Process Standardize conflict check process Narrow your lead sources Provide client paperwork ahead to fill out online Beware of waiver of privilege Be clear about case costs Give client a case roadmap and set expectations Have fee agreement already filled out Have the client initial the evergreen clause Collect the consultation fee pr

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrich
Smokeball Team
kuhrichSmokeball Team
Trust yourself: how to properly manage your trust accounting to stay compliant with your state bar [on demand webinar]

Some of the most common sanctions assessed across states have to do with trust account violations. In her recent CLE, attorney and Smokeball legal technology advisor Jordan Turk gave a refresher on trust accounts and their ethical considerations, which you can watch here for free . She also shared four war stories and advice on how to avoid similar outcomes. Here’s how she broke out the session: Part 1: Trust Account 101 Overview of IOLTAs Serving as fiduciary of clients’ funds Watching out for bad actors Part 2: Ethical considerations Refresher on ABA Rule 1.15 and 1.5 Properly accepting credit cards (Hint: ensure you’re using a solution specified for attorneys) Three-way reconciliation (what it is and how to do it) Part 3: Storytime Four horror stories and ensuring you’re in compliance Jordan wrapped with eight key take-aways. One last reminder: a lawyer must maintain seven years of current trust account records. If yours are just paper files or saved to your desktop, watch our on-de

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kuhrich
Smokeball Team
Sara Sultan
Smokeball Team
Sara SultanSmokeball Team
Learn how Smokeball is making life easier for family law professionals

Lead intake is a vital part of any family law case. Smokeball has partnered with Settify, a comprehensive family law intake and lead generation tool. Settify helps firms capture information from prospective clients and create a clear overview of the case, including a concise timeline of events and balance sheet of assets. On Friday, Nov 4, join Senior Trainer Sara Sultan for a 30-minute training webinar. She'll demo how Settify allows you to send intake forms to your client for completion and how that information then seamlessly creates a matter in Smokeball. With Settify you can also use a customized button on your site to generate more leads; educate clients earlier with Settify's intelligent AI; and focus on relationship-building, with much of the info gathering already out of the way before your first meeting. Settify is currently available for Illinois firms only.

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Want to keep track of what’s new for American Smokeball users? Sign up for this group to get regular, bite-sized updates on new features, events and other interesting information curated just for Smokeball users in the USA.

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Maureen.Usher
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