Thinking Inside the Box

Mr. McKenna sent around an email a few weeks ago announcing the firm's decision to move all files from local server to Box.com, an online file storage system.

Our Business Intelligence Officer, Cain Elliot is working with the IT Department to get the data moved to Box over the next few weeks.  Then the transition is complete, there will no longer be an M: drive, or H: drive, or any other network drives.  You will access and save all of your files through Box.com.

As part of this move, we are taking the opportunity to reorganize and bring some order to the way we store matter files.  We want to have all files stored in a unified way.  Part of this is to make the files easier to access with some of the other systems we are preparing to implement.  Part of it is also to make it easier for attorneys in all offices to find files no matter which office is storing them.

For some offices, the unified system will be more of a change than for others.  Each office will still have its own matter directory, though it will now be much easier to share those with attorneys in other offices.  Within the matter directory, each case will be saved under a folder using the client number.  Inside that folder will be a folder with each matter number.  Inside there, will be a specific set of subfolders in which you can store any matter related documents.

We also plan to create a set of personal folders, based on your current Personal folder (H: drive in some offices, I: drive in others).  These are your personal files not shared with others.

Because client and matter folders will be limited to those specific numbered folders for active files, we will also create a shared area where you can set up folders you want to share with others.  There, you will be able to create work groups or other shared space for collaboration.

The switch to Box should bring many benefits.  As a cloud storage point, you will have easy access to your documents outside the office.  It will also make collaboration between attorneys in different offices much easier.  Searching for documents will also become much faster and easier.  We will even be able to set up shared work spaces for people outside the office, making collaboration with co-counsel or clients easier as well.  Box also allows you to add notes to documents.  You can also save versions of documents, allowing you to go back to an earlier version if needed.

One of the biggest selling points of Box though, is its ability to integrate with a wide range of other systems.  As we get ready to deploy a new email systems, time and billing system, and a case management system, we wanted a service that would integrate with everything.  Box seems to fit that bill very well.  It also integrates very well with Microsoft office, making it very easy to open and save your documents without jumping through hoops.  There is a Box App to give you easy access to your files from your iPad or phone.

As we attempt to migrate file data from nine separate servers into Box, we are moving a massive amount of data.  If you still have files stored on the servers that you no longer need, either in your personal drive or on a shared drive, now would be an ideal time to delete them.  We are also going to attempt to move the contents of your Google Drive to Box  Trashing any unneeded files in Google Drive will also make our migration a little less burdensome.

We plan to go live with Box some time around Labor Day, though we will likely spread out the go-live so that we can get one office at a time up and running.  Stay tuned for specific dates for your office.

OneDrive for MS Office

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that it was possible to open and save documents from MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) directly to Google Drive.  This allows you to access those documents from anywhere simply by being logged in to your Google account.

You can also do the same thing using Microsoft's OneDrive.  If you have not used it before, OneDrive is very similar to Google Drive.  It allows you to save documents in the cloud, accessible from anywhere you have Internet access as long as you log into your Office 365 account.  You can even edit the documents using Microsoft's online version of Office if you don't have the full version of Office installed on the device you are using.  Keep in mind though that the online versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint do not offer all of the advanced features available to you on your downloaded version of MS Office.

When you open or save a document in Word, you should see a OneDrive option.  If you select that, you may be asked to log into your OneDrive Account.  Your account name is your email address.  We sent you an Office 365 password in recent months, though you may have changed it.  If you don't know your password, the Help Desk can reset it for you.

Whether you use Google Drive, OneDrive, or neither is strictly up to you.  Personally, I like Google Drive better since I am already signed into that one always for may email.  If you use MS Word on an iPad, there is no way to connect from there to Google Drive, though you can access OneDrive.

Google also puts no limit on storage space, although OneDrive's 1 TB limit is pretty generous.  Both use encryption to protect your documents when uploading or downloading, and both remain password protected from the view of others unless you share a file or folder with others.

While these online storage options may be convenient if you work outside the office, keep in mind that copies of all client related documents must also be saved to the Matter Directory (M Drive) pursuant to firm policy.

Google Photos

We all use our phones as cameras, but many of us find it difficult to transfer pictures from the phone to a computer or some other device.  We end up letting the pictures fill up on our phone and then have to figure out what to do when it is time for a new phone.  Worse, we break our phone and lose all those pictures forever.

There are numerous ways, of course, to get photos off of the phone. One of the most convenient is Google Photos.  This can be installed as an App on your Android or iPhone.  You can configure the app, so that all photos are immediately uploaded to Google's cloud storage.

There are several things I find particularly attractive about Google Photos.  First, there is no storage limit.  You may upload and store as many photos as you like without ever having to pay extra storage fees.  There is no need to worry about limits.  Second, once it is configured, it works without you having to do anything.  Just take a picture and you are done.  It will upload automatically.  Third, access to the photos is easy.  Just go to http://photos.google.com and see all of your photos (assuming you are already logged into your Google account).

You can leave the photos on the site, share them with others, or download them for use elsewhere.  No need to worry about transferring between devices or losing them when a computer dies.  If you have photos stored on your PC, you can also upload them manually to the Photos site for permanent free cloud storage.

Photo size is limited to 16 megapixels for the unlimited storage.  This is not a problem for pictures taken with your Galaxy or iPhone as neither phone can take pictures above that level.  It may be an issue if you are uploading high quality pictures from another device.  If you want the unlimited storage, Google will automatically reduce the photos to the required levels for storage.

Video can also be uploaded and stored.  Again, there is a limit that the video of 1080p HD.  But again, that will suffice for most people.  Your phones are not capable of higher video quality.

If you delete a photo from the web site, it will also delete from any synced devices, such as your phone.  So do not delete from there if you want to keep the photo.  You may, however, delete a photo from your phone and keep it stored in the cloud.

Also, if you plan to store pictures there forever, remember that if you leave the firm and we shut down your Google account, those photos will go with them.  If you are taking personal photos, you may want to sync them to a personal Gmail account that you control.