Does It Compute?

Worldox update - WDU 19.5

Worldox has just released a significant new update (WDU19.5). It provides major fixes to an indexing issue that affected larger databases (over about 1 million documents) and some patches for the Email Agent.

However, it comes with some serious issues. By default the update changes the order of the Find Templates so that Text comes first and Description/Name second. Virtually all users will find this very disruptive (and the stated rational remains entirely unconvincing to me). Not only will they be making mistakes for the first couple of weeks (automatically entering description search terms in the top field) until they get used to it, but the order is contrary to the logic most people use to construct searches.

Fortunately, “there is a switch for that.” As usual with most Worldox settings, this can be changed back to the original order. Ask your consultant how to do that.

In addition, the classical Boolean search terms AND/OR have been changed to “Must Have” and “Can Have” for reasons that remain obscure. This too can be changed back to the familiar legal Boolean terminology.

Customizing Worldox Font Sizes

As people go with larger and larger monitors, the standard Worldox font display can appear too small for convenient use. Some users may also just be more comfortable with larger size type.

There are two places in Worldox where the base fonts can be customized.

First, the fonts in the main Worldox display. Click on the little gear wheel icon labeled “Customize” at the top of the column headings. Select Line/Fonts/Colors/Spacing. Probably the main thing people will want to change is “First file line.” Adjust the font until it suits you. After making any other changes in size or spacing you want, select “OK.” Then click on the gear wheel again and select “Make this my favorite view” to make the settings (including column displays) permanent.

I have also frequently seen cases where the Find dialog appears in weird sizes. The fonts for various dialogs can be customized under Display | Customize | Fonts. You can make the fonts for various dialogs bigger as desired.

With a little experimentation, you should be able to get Worldox to look the way you want it to and thus increase your ease of use and productivity.

Worldox Cloud - Pros and Cons

Worldox Cloud is a SaaS (Software as a Service) offering from Worldox. Your documents are stored on Worldox-managed servers, thus saving part of your IT bill. Worldox Cloud offers free implementation of Worldox Web. Many firms go with Cloud for the simplicity, reduction in IT, and better security. Below are some of the main advantages and disadvantages to Worldox Cloud.

Advantages to Cloud
• Access from anywhere (laptop or pure browser)
• Access using iPad/Mac via Worldox Web
• Virtually identical interface and functionality as traditional Worldox
• In almost all cases, better security than on-prem
• Saves on in-house servers and IT (but see below on net expenses)

Disadvantages to Cloud
• Single solution. Does not change anything about how the firm accesses other programs (time/billing, etc.).
• Integration with Office, Acrobat, etc. will be full-featured; integration with other programs the firm uses may not be as robust.
• Will always be less responsive than on-prem.
• Even accounting for savings on servers/IT, will be significantly more expensive than on-prem. IT does not go away entirely, still needed for other programs (time/billing etc.).
• Dependent on having a robust internet connection.

Document Collaboration and Worldox

Collaboration is a hot item at present. But this is not a one size fits all.

The traditional “collaboration” meant emailing someone a document, having them mark it up and emailing it back. While this may still even be the dominant form of collaboration, email has been largely surplanted by the process of uploading one or more documents to a secure repository (Box, OneDrive, ShareFile, DropBox, etc.). Documents are edited in the repository (or, more often, downloaded, edited and re-uploaded), and the original owner downloads them back to the original source.

Worldox provides this sort of collaboration by integrating directly with various programs, such as those listed above. Thus, when you select “file | upload,” documents are uploaded directly from Worldox to the repository, then downloaded back to Worldox and saved as versions of the original document.

Generally, however, this is meant for a relatively small number of documents. For large numbers of documents (several thousand or more), the most efficient thing is to export documents from Worldox first. This lets you define a structure (client/matter/doctype) before uploading the documents to your desired repository. It is fairly easy to create an export structure in Worldox (but better let your consultant do it!). You can define the structure you need: folders by client, matter, doctype if needed. You can also export the long file name so that documents don’t just appear as “00012345.docx.”

More and more, however, collaboration is taken to refer to two (or more) people actually editing the document simultaneously, something that is not possible in Windows or Worldox. The best way to accomplish this using Worldox is to set up the Microsoft Teams integration. This lets you export a document to Teams; jointly edit it using the Teams functionality, and then import it back to Worldox as a version of the original document (or just overwrite the original if you prefer). This has the advantage of accurately tracking the changes to the document created by the editing team.

Troubleshooting 101

When people have trouble with their cars, they tell the mechanic what needs fixing (headlight out, etc.). When people have trouble with their computers, they frequently freeze like a deer in headlights: “my computer isn’t working”.

The first rule of troubleshooting is: start with the simple things first. Is it plugged in? (I actually had a client a number of years ago that came in one morning to discover their network was down - the cleaning crew had mistakenly unplugged it during the night).

So the first step is to log out of the program(s) giving you problems and/or reboot the computer.

The next step is to ask: are you the only user with the issue or is it firm-wide? If you are the only person with the issue then the problem is likely not to be Worldox or other similar program, but something with your specific computer setup/configuration.

Are there any error messages? These can be critical in deciding what is wrong. For example, a “1460” error in Worldox means that there is a time delay in communicating with the server (especially when saving PDF’s). Is there anything else peculiar happening?

What were you doing when the error occurred? Saving a document? Opening a document? Attaching a document to an email? And does this happen every time or is it sporadic? (Much harder to troubleshoot if the issue is sporadic).

Providing this sort of information to your consultant/technician can dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to solve any given issue, as well as helping prevent it from happening in the future.

Attaching Documents to an Email in Worldox

The latest build of Worldox (WDU 18 - Aug. 18) adds a significant option when you attach a document to an email in Worldox.

Traditionally there are two main options: attach the document to the email, and attach a link to the document to the email. Attaching the document itself is obvious when you are sending the document to someone outside the firm. Attaching a link is the preferred option for those working with Worldox since it opens the document from Worldox and does not create an additional copy of the document.

However, with Covid, and people who want to access documents from their smartphones, many people who would otherwise be using Worldox from their desktops need to be sent the document. How do you decide what to do?

The latest build of Worldox offers a new option. When you select sending a link to the document, there is now an option to ALSO send a copy of the document itself. That way, depending on where the person is and their access to Worldox, they can either open the document from Worldox if they presently have access, or open an actual copy of the document.

There is obviously some training needed here as to how best to manage this option, but it gives you the best of both worlds.

Custom Displays in Worldox

Most firms have one or two displays that they use as standard – perhaps a standard display and a second for emails, showing emails To, From, etc.

However, there can be cases where a specialized display is useful. To make a display, you first create the columns you want. Left click in any open space in the column headers and select the items you want. Then drag and drop and resize them as desired and save the column header set (right-click on the headers and select Save Column Template). You can then re-open it as needed.

One case I encounter is when a user has imported discovery or other client files to Worldox. These all have to be imported to the same place (same profile information). When you do the import by right-clicking on the top-most folder and selecting Save To Worldox it offers to create a Project that lists all the files imported. This is a good idea.

You can open the project to show the files. The trick here is to create a Column Template that includes the “Comments” field as a separate column. Size it so it is very wide (so a deep folder structure will display correctly). You may also want to have your consultant/admin turn off the Worldox Auto Size Columns feature as that may wreak havoc with this sort of custom display.

You can then open the custom display (“discovery import” or some similar name), sort the import to mirror the original folder structure. It might look something like this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This lets you scroll through the listing with the files in the same order as they originally were in Windows Explorer.

Worldox Web 3.2

Worldox update 18 (WDU18) and Worldox Web 3.2 are now available. Web 3.2 requires WDU18, so that is the point to start. Microsoft 365 integration (Teams, OneDrive) is also available with WDU18.

Worldox Web 3.2 now has pretty much cleared up the initial glitches and is stable. It does require SSL, so if you are thinking of upgrading make sure you have an SSL certificate in place for the web site access.

Web 3.2 is a dramatic improvement over 3.1 in terms of appearance and functionality. It is much closer to the heavy Worldox client than previous versions. However there are still a couple of “gotchas” to watch out for. Both of the following issues have been submitted to development and a fix should be forthcoming.

• Categories don’t work. You can’t search for them and if you have a “Category” column, you can’t sort by it. This is a missing feature more than a bug and is scheduled to be added.

• Date searches only work if you pick the date off a list (30 days ago, etc.). If you try to pick the date or date range off a calendar, it doesn’t work.

But at this point I am definitely recommending that my Web 3.0/3.1 clients upgrade to 3.2.

Worldox and the Pessimistic Security Model

Traditionally, law firms have had an open security model – all users see everything (except for internal security: HR, Accounting, Partners, etc.).

Today, however, with increasing security awareness and demands on the part of clients, what is known as the “Pessimistic Security Model” is starting to gain traction. In this model, a given client’s documents can be seen and accessed only by people assigned to the case. No one else in the firm can see them. Some firms with particular sensitive clients (in entertainment law or intellectual property for example) have added ethical walls for a few individual clients.

While this might seem like a good idea in some cases, it suffers from a major drawback, namely that it requires a significant investment of time to set up and administer. If it is done on a per-client basis, then the firm may need a separate ethical wall for each individual client. There are ways to adjust this - for example creating groups of people that work on multiple clients. For each client the appropriate group would be assigned. Thus instead of requiring separate security for 100% of clients, you might only have separate groups for 75% of the firm’s clients - there would be some overlap.

There are other slightly more general options that require less maintenance, for example defining security on a practice area basis: a group containing the members of a given practice area is created and assigned to all matters in that practice area. This can be a good solution to the extent that individual paralegals and assistants work in only one practice area, but in many cases there is overlap. Specific clients may require more restricted access to their files.

For most firms, a full-fledged pessimistic model may not be the best solution. However, as client demands for greater security of their documents increase, it is something firms will no doubt have to start implementing, even partially starting with a few particular clients.

Worldox Security - A Primer

With the dramatic rise in crypto and ransomware attacks, law firms (and their clients!) are starting to pay more attention to security issues. Obviously Worldox-specific security should not be seen as a replacement for overall firmwide network and workstation security.

While various areas of hacking have gotten the most attention, it is important to note that there are multiple levels of security in a law firm. For starters, in terms of Worldox, there’s internal security and external security.

There are several levels of internal firm security.
• The firm needs to protect documents that should be restricted (partners only, HR, Accounting, etc.) from visibility/access by non-authorized employees. The best way to do this is to create at least one additional cabinets (an “Admin” cabinet is the most common) and then restrict access to that cabinet or within the cabinet with a variety of Ethical Walls. This is generally preferable to individual document-level security which is more work for the user and less secure.
• Restricting deletion options to “Salvage Bin” (a Worldox equivalent of the Recycle Bin on your local PC) protects both against inadvertent error (“I didn’t mean to delete that”) and maliciousness (employees taking unauthorized documents with them when they leave a firm). A limited number of people are given access to restore files from the Salvage Bin.
• Configuration Security. Restricting deletions to the “Salvage Bin” (a Worldox equivalent to your local Recycle Bin) is a main feature here. Firms will also want to limit the ability to create new client/matters and access various other feature. Other features (such as Web Access) may be restricted to specific users.
• Personal documents. Many users feel the need for “personal” or “private” documents. While technically any document produced on a firm’s computers belong to the firm (and hence there are no “personal” documents) firm culture frequently allows for this. Rather than having users store documents on their individual PCs (a bad practice in every conceivable way), many firms allow for a “personal” matter in an individual folder. This can be set up so that only the individual sees them (typically using Ethical Walls) or in a folder that is in fact available to everyone.

On a network level, Worldox GX4 integrates with Active Directory. This means that any security applied by Worldox is ported over and applied to Active Directory and vice versa. This should be a basic “best practice” option (although it may not be available in some hosted solutions).

Lastly an issue that has received a lot of attention lately: Multi-Factor Authentication (“MFA” or “2FA”). This means that when you log in to Worldox, it sends you a notification (typically via text message to your phone, but sometimes via email) with an extra code which you need to input in order to complete the login. Implementing MFA has been shown to prevent 99% of hacking attempts to email accounts (probably the main form of hacking, although it does not affect phishing, where someone is tricking into logging in to a fraudulent site that steals your email address book or leads people to transfer money to a fraudulent site).

Despite proven effectiveness, many people don’t implement MFA because it is “too much work,” i.e., and extra step that takes at most one minute to implement. With email it should be a no-brainer, but what about Worldox, where you are traditionally accessing it from an in-house network and not a cell phone, iPad, etc.?

Let’s start with the easy case: if you are using Worldox Web (access to Worldox via your browser, with no other software necessary) you should definitely enable MFA.

For Worldox itself, things are more complicated. Traditionally, in an all in-house network, MFA is probably marginal. However, with the Covid pandemic, many if not most, people are largely working from home. In this case, they are accessing Worldox via a VPN or RDP server (terminal server) either to their in-house PC or a hosted solution. In this case, the risk factor is considerably higher and firms would do well to consider MFA.

The main danger is not hacking but phishing. I have had several clients have their email accounts “phished” where the user is tricked into opening documents with malicious code that steals their entire email list. I have to confess I am not immune: at one point a year or so ago I received an email ostensibly from the managing partner of a client (the return email address listed him as the sender) asking me to take a look at a document. I stupidly opened the document and was subsequently bombarded with hundreds of emails daily from all over Europe and Eastern Europe offering something for sale. It took me about 6 months to get rid of them. Actually, this was relatively benign (although extremely annoying): I was lucky in that as far as I know, my own account was not hacked.