Got SharePoint?

 

 

I

just want to jump up and down and throw my arms around in the air and turn blue in the face and scream until somebody asks what is causing all this ruckus! Then I can stop and smile and say, why gee Bill, there’s a product finally come out of Redmond that will change my life for the better, and I want you to get it for me. I’m talking about the Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007. SharePoint is the ultimate indexing document management tool that’s end use is perfect for Web 2.0 collaborations.  If you don’t know what the heck that means, know this:  AmLaw 100 is well aware of the potential uses of Sharepoint in the law firm.  It can be used for everything from conflicts management, to document management, to house deposition banks, to manage a case docket and calendar, to the end product of housing document productions. SharePoint is “this little engine that could.” 

SharePoint “portals” are completely secure internal Web sites with a central document libraries for accessing shared workspaces and documents, as well as housing specialized applications such as discussion boards, calendars, task lists, alerts, surveys and much more. 

A Microsoft SharePoint portal streamlines your communications process and helps you collaborate on documents by providing a secure place to house large document collections, collaboratively edit any specific documents you are working on with team members, clients and experts, and allows you to replace long strings of email conversations about relevant documents and the whatnot with an efficient use of the discussion board feature of the site. 

 

Other nifty applications that can be used on SharePoint sites are your case calendars and task lists. The bottom line is that you can create just about anything you want to on a SharePoint site.  Because you have 100% control over the access and privileges to the information housed on the internal Web sites, virtually all information is effortlessly managed and shared with the people who need to have access to it.

 

EMC Corporation has created SharePoint applications that allows you to search across platforms and servers, house relevant files and lock them down so you can view the files, but you cannot save over them, or move them away from the site.  This means there won’t ever be lost emails or privileged information leaking out. 

 

Microsoft just released its Search Server 2008, which is an Enterprise search platform based on the search capabilities of the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. It provides you with the ability to search metadata attached to email and documents as well.  There is a free version available from Microsoft, the Microsoft Search Server Express 2008, that contains all of the same features as the commercial Enterprise edition, but on a stand-alone basis.  I can think of many law firms that could use a free indexing search tool and encourage you to check it out!