Bell County’s New Jail

I recently joined a group of attorneys and court personnel on a tour of the new Bell County Jail.  We were allowed to see an almost 100% completed jail facility, and we spoke with jail administrators and staff about the new facility.  My verdict?  I like it.  It is very, very impressive.  It is an amazingly large facility, and it’s only going to get larger when they add the new section (as the need arises several years down the road).

And, yes, I know a lot of the local defense attorneys are upset because there are only a small number of meeting rooms where a defense attorney and his client can have a private, unmonitored conversation.  I also think that the video conferencing idea is a bad one (it allows cell mates to hear what an inmate is saying to his attorney, thus destroying the attorney-client privilege and guaranteeing that the conversation will be repeated by the cell-mate at your client’s trial). 

However, all-in-all, it’s a great jail and a wise use of Bell County tax dollars.  Every Bell County resident should be proud, and ashamed that we put off this inevitable construction for so long.

In the end, I am sure that we will find solutions for the minor problems which we anticipate, and the ones we have not yet realized. 

I, for one, would like to see a return to the days when attorneys could drop off correspondence for their client at the front of the jail.  In the olden days, we could write our client a letter and the jail staff would deliver it along with the regular mail.  I don’t know why they quit doing this, but they should start it again.  It allows for quicker communication, and it saves taxpayers the cost of the postage for court-appointed clients.  Even better, take inmate letters to their attorneys and put the letters in our boxes at the district court building.  That would be even more convenient and cost-effective as far as saving postage.  They are doing it already with "inmate service request" forms.  Would an envelope be any harder to put in a box?

How to start a law practice in one easy lesson

Many people have asked me to explain what equipment I use in my practice.  Here is what I believe you would need to start and run your own criminal law practice without hurting or killing anyone in the process:

1. You have got to have a way to keep up with your clients and their cases.  My solution is Time Matters.  I am using the Enterprise version 9.0 and I bought a server just for that purpose.  You can get by with the Professional Version until you add employees, but once other people need to access your client-matter database, you’ll want the reliability and security that only a server can offer you.  I love the ability to access everything about a client’s case on my BlackBerry.  Plus, the automatic document creation is worth the price of admission just by itself!  I cannot calculate the amount of time I save each day having routine documents spit out automatically for me.  Get your hands on some forms, and don’t waste money on ProDoc. 
2. Speaking of which, I have a Blackberry.  I like the Blackberry with the full keyboard because it is easier to type on.  With software that you can add, you can chat with your office staff even when in court.  That’s convenient.  I also have an Apple iPhone (and I give clients that phone number to reach me after hours), but that phone is mainly for entertainment purposes.  It’s much harder to type on, and the business software is sorely lacking.  Go with the Blackberry and wait for the iPhone to more fully develop.
3. A combination copier/fax/printer/scanner can save you a ton of money. 
   

   Especially if you lease it and sign a maintenance contract with the supplier company.  I have a Xerox 5030 and I love it!  I pay a flat rate each month to lease the copier, and then about a penny a page that I print.  The penny a page is the maintenance fee and it covers any and all repairs and adjustments that need to be made, and the cost of toner.  This thing scans like a champ, too!  If you want a paper-less office, you need a scanner like this one.  It’s difficult to setup, but once you’ve got it fine-tuned it’s alright.  Xerox could stand to improve their support, though.  None of their guys could figure out how to set it up and I found myself studying lots of Xerox manuals to get this working properly.

4. You’ll need a decent computer, and I built my own because I’m a nerd.  However, when my assistant’s computer conked out on me a few weeks ago, I just went with Dell.  The price is just as cheap as I could have built it myself, but the Dell comes with a warranty.
5. You won’t need a server to start, but Dell makes great servers, too.  I went with the Dell PowerEdge 840 and I even sprang for the best service and support plan they had.  I’m told that if anything ever goes wrong I can call for free North American technical support at any time.  I can’t confirm that, though, because nothing has ever gone wrong.
6. For software, you’ll need Microsoft Office (it’s the most compatible now – sorry, WordPerfect).  And you’ll need a PDF converter if you’re going to work in federal court (electronic filing mandates PDF files).  I use Adobe Acrobat Professional 9.0.  There are free ones, though, that will work until you feel the need for more advanced features.  The best free one is probably CutePDF.  The best free office substitute has got to be Open Office. 
7. You will need financial software, too.  I have tried them all, and they are all lacking and over-priced.  I currently use QuickBooks Premier for Professional Services.  I use QuickBooks payroll to pay employees (well worth the monthly fee to not have to fool with tax payments and withholding, etc.).  I also use QuickBooks as my credit card processor.  They have reasonable rates, and they were certainly convenient.  I will tell you, though, I am intrigued by this new QuickBooks Online version.  I may end up switching to that. 
8. I have a subscription to West research online.  I wish I had gone with Lexis (for the integration with Time Matters which is now owned by Lexis).  I suspect I will switch when my three year contract ends.  West is awful expensive, too.  Because I do a lot of appeals, I need access to lots of databases, and West loves sticking it to me since I have no other choice.  I also am annoyed by West because they now own ProDoc (which in spite of me bad mouthing it above, I still subscribe to).  I am going to drop it any day now, though I have been telling myself this for years.  Whatever you choose, you must have a way to research the law.  If not, just turn in your bar license now. 

There ya go.  That’s what I use and recommend.