From forms to online

Capsoft releases California Judicial Council forms

Capsoft Development Corp. has released JC Forms for HotDocs, a full set of forms that can be filled using the company's HotDocs 4.0 document assembly software. Instead of inserting forms into a typewriter, users can open HotDocs and select a master form (template). The software prompts the user for information needed to complete the form and then automatically fills it. The form can then be printed on a laser printer.

A useful feature of the software is the ability to use the basic client information over and over, once it has been entered, for all documents requiring the same information. Also, a "find" feature allows the user to quickly sift through hundreds of templates in a template library, and a "view" button enables the user to preview the selected template without actually opening it.

JC Forms for HotDocs is a high quality, low-cost alternative to products currently on the market. In a special promotion, Capsoft is offering the Windows-based Judicial Council forms free with the $99 purchase of HotDocs. For ordering information, contact Paul Ressler at 801/763-3900 or Nancy Groll at 801/763-3915.

Labor law research available on CD-ROM

The Bureau of National Affairs has released its Labor & Employment Law Library on CD-ROM. The four-disc set contains all the materials found in BNA's 19-binder Labor Relations Reporter, published since 1937.

The CD service enables quick access to a vast database of rulings, cases, awards, opinions and statistical data to make research more efficient. Thousands of hypertext links allow users to move instantly from cases to cited sources to referenced statutes. Together with monthly updated replacement CDs and weekly and biweekly newsletters, the CD library equips labor law attorneys with a powerful research tool.

For attorneys who concentrate in the areas of fair employment practices, individual employee rights and disabilities law, BNA also has released a two-CD service taken from the Labor & Employment Law Library on CD, which contains only this specific information.

To request free previews of either product, call BNA customer relations at 1-800/372-1033.

Gigatron will release CaseBook this month

Gigatron Software Corp. will release CaseBook, a 32-bit software package that transforms a litigator's laptop or desktop computer into an electronic filing cabinet. Designed for Windows 95 and NT, CaseBook integrates litigation support, imaging and document management.

During a deposition or court proceeding, reporters transcribe all spoken words using a computer-aided transcription (CAT) system. The CaseBook software easily connects to the CAT system, allowing litigators instant access to the transcript as it is being written. Electronic exhibits and documents also can be scanned or imported directly into CaseBook.

Once court transcripts and other legal documents are entered into the system, the user can view, search, annotate and summarize the information. The software allows documents to be reviewed and annotated electronically without altering the original. Also featured is "AutoCode," a function that lets the user identify and categorize key areas of the transcript with a single keystroke, and Gigatron's Note It! software for annotating.

CaseBook will be available in December. A single user can purchase the program direct from Gigatron for $995. For more information, call the company at 1-800/999-9199.

Online service helps businesses find lawyers

Counsel Connect, an online service for lawyers, has teamed with IBEX, an online business-to-business commerce service. IBEX helps companies find, negotiate and qualify prospective clients, services, partners, buyers and sellers. The alliance now allows IBEX subscribers, at no charge, to use Counsel Connect to locate qualified legal assistance using the service's Quick Request for Proposals (QRFP).

QRFP helps clients find the right lawyer by sending those clients' e-mail queries to panels of qualified legal experts. These queries set out the criteria a client considers important. The panel then submits its private replies. Currently, QRFP is available on the web (http://www. counsel.com/qrfp) at no charge to users.

Future plans for the arrangement between Counsel Connect and IBEX include making the service easily accessible via a link from within the IBEX service, and making Counsel Connect editors available to IBEX subscribers in receiving queries and distributing QRFP messages.

Counsel Connect (http://www.counsel.com) is a division of American Lawyer Media, L.P. The service also offers online discussion groups and seminars in more than 200 areas of law, personalized daily reports, libraries of legal briefs and memos, Internet access and e-mail. IBEX services are explained on the company's web site: http://www.ibex-gba.com. For more information, call 1-800/455-4354.

New TeamTalk group conferencing software

Trax Softworks Inc., developers of TeamTalk group conferencing software, has released TeamTalk Law Firm Edition, an expanded software package that includes installation, training and support.

The software provides an easy way for teams or groups to electronically share, track and access information. It also features public and private topics for group work, brainstorming and online meetings. The company is offering a free organizational groupware assessment to interested firms that have a minimum of 20 networked PC users.

Designed for 20 to 250 users, TeamTalk Law Firm Edition includes all of the group collaboration features of the standard TeamTalk software plus Law Firm Topic Builder, an application that allows law firms to create a set of topics and groups. The software, which is available for Microsoft Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and NT, Microsoft Exchange Server, and OS/2, will run on any network that supports file sharing.

For further information, call the company at 1-800/367-8729.

Document management/ presentation system

Integrated Litigation Solutions Inc. has released ILS ADVANTAGE, a fully integrated document management and automated visual presentation system designed for use in-house by law firms and corporate legal departments. The software system can operate across a local or wide area network and also functions as a communications link between client and firm.

Based on the 64-bit Sun UltraSPARC 170 workstation from Sun Microsystems Computer Co., ILS ADVANTAGE drives two computer displays: one which the user works performing database queries or treating documents for presentation; and the other to display the results of these queries or treatments. In a courtroom setting, the system output can be displayed directly on large, broadcast projection systems.

ILS ADVANTAGE also features intuitive full-text, key word and "fuzzy" logic search capabilities making for quicker document location and segregation. Because coding and other labor-intensive organizational work is automated, substantive legal work can begin immediately after system entry.

In addition, the system automatically treats areas of high-impact graphics and stores treated images for future reference and presentation. System pricing is dependent on configuration. For further information, call Avi Stachenfeld or Joshua Reichek at 1-800/735-5151.

Toll-free number

In the October issue of the Bar Journal, the toll-free number which should have run with Clark Boardman Callaghan's release of two new CD-ROMs, Attorneys Medical Advantage and Products Liability PowerLink, is 1-800/890-5558. Clark Boardman Callaghan is now known as Thompson Legal Publishing.