ProDoc's California December News You Can Use

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California

December 2009

In this Issue
•	Legal Humor
•	Updates Review
•	Minimum System Requirements for ProDoc Increasing
•	Your ProDoc Account Information Is Available Online
•	Who to Call for Billing/Customer Support Issues
•	Customer Questions from the Last WebNotes
•	Customer Support: Adding Your Own Forms to ProDoc
•	Practice Tip: Use Free Email Services and Waive Privilege?
•	Tech Tip: Beware of Hackers at Those Wi-Fi Hotspots
•	Tech Tip: How to Get a Recipient to Agree to Terms before Opening a Document
•	Tech Tip: Enjoy Music with Class
•	Vent - Tell Us What's on Your Mind

Legal Humor

Years ago in Kentucky, a prosecutor offered to settle the charge in a criminal case if the defendant would plead guilty and accept a five-year sentence.

On the advice of his defense attorney, the defendant turned down the deal. The case went to trial, where he was eventually convicted. Before imposing a life sentence without parole, the judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say.

"Yes, your honor," said the defendant. "You might as well tack on a few more years—because if I ever get out, I'm gonna kill my lawyer!"

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Updates Review

Coming Updates

December - Our December update will consist primarily of the 2010 Judicial Council forms release as well as new and revised local forms. More specifics include:

Family Law – We added 14 new Judicial Council forms and updated 27 Judicial Council forms in accordance with January 2010 changes. We also updated and added local county forms in accordance with local forms update.

Litigation – We added 17 Judicial Council forms, seven local court forms and updated three mandatory local forms. We also updated local forms in accordance with local forms update.

Lipman's Wills & Trusts – We added new options to six Irrevocable Trust forms, added additional options to the Advance Health Care Directives, and renamed all of the Domestic Partner forms to Same-sex Spouse//Domestic Partner forms.

Probate – We added five Judicial Council forms and 12 local court forms. We also updated local forms in accordance with local forms update.

Business Transactions Solution – We added additional statutory links into Westlaw® for 29 forms.

Real Estate – We added 64 local court forms and updated 78 local court forms. We removed three local court forms that are no longer valid.

Conservatorships – We added five new Judicial Council forms and updated one Judicial Council form.

Criminal Law – We updated four Judicial Council forms. We also updated various local county forms and added one new form on mandatory declaration.

Federal Civil Litigation – We updated five Administrative Office forms.

Federal Criminal Defense – We updated nine forms with a minor change to the jurisdictional description. We also updated four Administrative Office forms with minor changes.

Guardianships – We added 10 Judicial Council forms and three local court forms. We also updated various local forms including one mandatory form.

Juvenile Law – We added five Judicial Council forms and five local court forms, including one mandatory form. We also updated five mandatory local forms.

Small Estate Wills - We updated two Judicial Council forms and one local court form.

Landlord and Tenant – We added six Judicial Council forms. We also updated one mandatory local form.

Workers’ Compensation – We updated two legacy forms under the rules and regulations of the Electronic Adjudication Management System project of the Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Attorney Client Matters – We updated an existing attorney-client form with a minor enhancement per customer request.

Visit here for more details about this update >>

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Minimum System Requirements for ProDoc Increasing
We vigorously debate the issue of increasing the Minimum System Requirements (MSRs) for using ProDoc and SOS. Increasing the MSRs enables us to take advantage of new software capabilities and add new features for you. However, it also requires that our customers upgrade their computer systems, before some are ready to do so. Finally, Microsoft® Windows 2000 marked a significant enhancement to operating system features that we want to be able to take advantage of for you, our customer.

With those factors in mind, and since more than 98% of our customer base has at a minimum a Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system, we will release a new ProDoc version that requires a Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system, or later. In 2010 you will not be able to use ProDoc on a Microsoft Windows 98, ME, and NT operating system.

We regret that this will cause a hardship for a small number of our customers. However, we believe that the payoff to the far greater number of users who have already switched to Microsoft Windows 2000, or later, makes increasing the MSRs our best decision today.

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Your ProDoc Account Information Is Available Online
You can now go online and review your ProDoc subscription information and find your Installation KeyCode and Registration Code(s). All this and more is available through MyAccount on the Thomson West web site.

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Who to Call for Billing/Customer Support Issues
We have a special team dedicated to Customer Support issues for ProDoc customers. Call 800-759-5418. This is the "ProDoc only" phone number for obtaining Sales information (option 1), Customer Support (option 2), Free Technical Support (option 3), and Free Training (option 4) and it is dedicated exclusively for ProDoc customers. Call this number and you work with the teams that are the most knowledgeable about ProDoc.

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Customer Questions from the Last WebNotes
The following questions were from ProDoc customers like you in response to last month's ProDoc WebNotes.

Q: I think you will find there are many attorneys in need of the new HUD1 that use the real estate module. So, please update this before January 1.
A: We replaced the old HUD1 forms with the new ones about five months ago. There was so much demand for the old ones that we added them back to the real estate volume so that it contains both the old and new HUD1s. We will continue to maintain the old HUD1s in the volume for use in non-RESPA-controlled closings.

Q: Unable to find in ProDoc 3 day notice to tenants to pay rent or quit. Can you help or add it.
A: We are adding this form to Landlord Tenant volume for a future release. It is not included in this December update.

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ProDoc Customer Support: Adding Your Own Forms to ProDoc
Last month we showed you how to search for forms in ProDoc and how to print ProDoc forms lists.

This month you can learn how to add your own forms into ProDoc. However, after studying the process, you may instead opt to modify our master form templates in ProDoc. Whichever method you choose, we provide you the means to make ProDoc more closely fit the way you work.

Learn to add your own forms to ProDoc (adding Supplemental Forms)>>
Learn how to modify ProDoc master form templates >>

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Practice Tip: Use Free Email Services and Waive Privilege?
Do you effectively waive privilege when you use the free email services such as Gmail®, Yahoo®, Hotmail®, etc? We will let you make up your own mind on the matter but, if you use one of these services, you might wish to read the following entry on Three Geeks and a Law Blog.

Read Use Gmail - Waive Privilege >>

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Tech Tip: Beware of Hackers at Those Wi-Fi Hotspots
If you customarily take advantage of Wi-Fi hotspots to mobile compute you could be setting yourself up for trouble. Yes, hackers have figured out easy ways to take advantage of mobile computing too. Unfortunately, it is extraordinarily easy for hackers to dupe virtually anyone.

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Tech Tip: How to Get a Recipient to Agree to Terms before Opening a Document
Are there times when you would like to be able to require that a recipient agree to your terms prior to opening and reading a document you provided? If yes, we have the answer for you. Better still, the solution has evidently been upheld in court that clicking a button in a software program constituted acceptance of terms.

Learn How to Create a Click-thru Agreement in a PDF >>

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Tech Tip: Enjoy Music with Class
If you enjoy background music in your office from your computer, iPod, etc. you're probably accustomed to the inferior quality of the mass produced speakers for computers. But, a couple of 14-watt, two-way, Hi-Fi, wood speakers can make the listening far more enjoyable.

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Vent—Tell Us What's on Your Mind
This is your opportunity to what's on your mind. Email us your suggestions and other feedback.

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