Legal Humor

Lawyer Amy Jackson of the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake City, Utah, was discussing a family law case with her paralegal one day in 1993. The client had filled out an application with the legal aid society that stated she wanted "soul" custody.

Seeing the error, the paralegal remarked, "I'm not sure we can get jurisdiction."

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Coming Updates

Listed below are the major enhancements now planned for the listed updates. However, each will undoubtedly contain a number of minor updates in various volumes and other enhancements suggested by our subscribers... like you.

September
We'll provide this second 2007 legislative update shipment for legislation that is effective October 1, 2007, along with a few other updates:

Family Law - We are adding two new Florida Supreme Court forms - the Supplemental Petition for Temporary Modification/Amendment of Custody for Children of Custodial Parent Activated, Deployed, or Temporarily Assigned to Military Service, and the Affidavit of Diligent Search.  We also changed the Premarital Agreement and added a Waiver of Disclosure of Financial Information - Premarital Agreement, pursuant to the Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, which is effective October 1. In addition, we are updating the 1st Circuit, Santa Rosa County, parenting schedule.

Litigation - We're updating two forms in this volume due to SB1088. This bill revises provisions governing the determination of civil indigent status in order to include the appointment of public attorneys in addition to private attorneys. We're also updating IRS form 4506 (Request for Copy of Tax Return) and the Release-Authorization to Obtain Social Security Number.

Guardianship - We're updating the Petition for Emergency Temporary Guardianship based on a change to the Florida Probate Rules. And, we are adding the option of including the Ward's date of birth and Social Security Number in the Petition to Determine Incapacity.

FLSSI¹Probate -   We are adding a Proof of Service of Notice to Creditors, changing the provision regarding elective share in the Notice of Administration pursuant to a change to the Florida Probate Rules, and changed the DR-312 (Affidavit of No Florida Estate Tax Due) and the F-706 (Florida Estate Tax Return) to match the updated agency forms.

FLSSI¹ Real Estate - We're updating IRS form W-9 (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number) so it conforms to the new design.

Federal Criminal Defense - We're updating two forms with the new address of the U.S. District Court, Middle District, Orlando Division.

SOS^® - We're making significant performance improvements to the Billing function in SOS. You will realize a speed improvement in this function of up to 65% after installing this update. Additionally, you will be able to use other programs on your computer as it processes the billing and printing-of-reports functions.

December/January
This update will include the 2007 FLSSI¹ changes. We'll also update the tax calculator in the Child Support Guidelines and Financial Affidavit of the Family Law PowerPack.

Thanks for being a ProDoc subscriber!

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ProDoc Customer Support: Adding Custom Headers and Footers to ProDoc-Generated Documents

It is quite easy to create custom headers and footers that are automatically inserted into your ProDoc-generated documents. You can even specify whether this is done in all documents you generate in ProDoc, only in documents you draft from specific ProDoc volumes, or only in specific documents.

View "Adding Custom Headers and Footers to ProDoc-Generated Documents" >>

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Trial Tips: Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips

Here's a great resource containing ideas for Jury selection, proving damages, opening statement, direct examination, communications, cross examination, trial exhibits, final argument, and more. It is written by Paul N. Luvera, named by The National Law Journal, The American Lawyer and The Washington Journal as one of the nation's best trial lawyers. In 2005 Lawdragon Magazine named him as one the leading 500 lawyers in America, describing him as "The dean of the plaintiff's bar for all the Northwest." The American Board of Trial Advocates, Washington Chapter, selected him as the Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1999.

View Paul Luvera's Plaintiff Trial Lawyer Tips blog >>

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Tech Tip: Use Your Treo® for More than Just Phoning and Emailing, Part 4

If you're a mobile lawyer and you use a Treo, here are some great programs you'll want to check out:

• Palm® VNC - Using this product, you can remotely control your desktop computer from anywhere you have Internet access using your Treo.
• Flight Status 2.00 - This product enables you to get up to the minute flight status on most airlines through your Treo. All you need is the airline and flight number. This program is free.
• VolumeCare Pro - This program enables you to increase the maximum volume for the handset, wired handsets, and the speakerphone. It also enables you to boost the volume of the pickup microphone.

Several of the products featured in this section are also available for other PDA operating systems. Look around the product web site for more details.

To be continued next month. If you have some favorite Treo software programs you want to let others know about, your information to Tom Schoolcraft.

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Tech Tip: Let Your Clients Schedule Themselves in Your Calendar

iPolipo® is a subscription-based online service that accelerates the process of scheduling meetings. iPolipo enables you to selectively share your iPolipo calendar with your contacts and eliminate the time-consuming back-and-forth process required to set up meetings with your colleagues and clients. The iPolopo calendar integrates with your Outlook calendar so there is no data entry needed on your part when appointments are entered by your clients.

Learn more about iPolipo >>

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Tech Tip: Scan, Copy and Fax Using Your Cell Phone

When you're in a bind and need to fax, scan, or copy a document—and the usual equipment is not available—ScanR™ enables your cell phone camera or digital camera to come to your rescue. You simply shoot a picture of the document, send the image to ScanR, and wait for digital copies of the images to be emailed back to you. This service is free.

Learn more about ScanR >>

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Come By and Meet Us

Come by and visit us if you'll be attending — we'd love to see you!

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Vent—Tell Us What's on Your Mind

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