There have been several posts here about Linux in the law office, both as a server environment and as a workstation. My main concern with it on the desktop has always been the lack of native Linux applications that would be needed for lawyers, such as time and billing, financials, and case management. One solo attorney, who also blogs on small law office technology, posted about what he currently uses in the Linux environment. It is certainly worth a read, and his blog, www.solosmalltech.com, is in my blogroll. Feel free to check it out.
In a recent e-mail to me, he indicated that he eschews practice management software like Time Matters in favor of other apps for calendaring, to-dos, contact management and the like. In the Linux world, from what I have seen so far, there appear to be three alternatives:
- Native Linux apps (e.g. GNUCash for financials)
- Online applications (e.g. Freshbooks for financials)
- Running Windows applications through WINE on Linux (see my post on that)
Personally I believe option 1 to be the best, as it also promotes development of Linux (or multi-platform) apps, which can only help to strengthen Linux’s market share and make it a more attractive option overall.
As to option 2, I am skeptical of this because it makes you dependent upon an Internet connection to work, although it does have the added advantage of allowing to do work from anywhere (with a connection) using any OS you choose (Windows, Linux, Mac). It also makes you dependent upon the stability and security of a technology infrastructure that is outside of your control. This topic was the subject of a debate in August of last year on a blog site called The Inspired Solo run by Sheryl Sisk Schelin, a solo working in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In it, attorney William Paul Slough, who blogs on the Linux Law Office, takes the Pro Position, while Aaron Rittmaster, a Missouri attorney, takes the Con Position. Between these two articles, and their comments, the subject is covered very well.
Option 3 is a possibility as a stopgap until option 1 is viable, and, as Sam Glover of Solo Small Tech tells me, “Most practice/case management software is using pretty basic code . . . and will run perfectly in WINE.” I have been experimenting with Linux at home, and plan to test this assertion with Time Matters and my bankruptcy software (which uses the same database engine). A well-equipped Linux machine with WINE and some vertical market apps to complement OpenOffice, Firefox for browsing, and Thunderbird for e-mail, may just be the trick until option 1 becomes more viable. I will let you know what happens.
July 16, 2008 at 10:16 pm
For accounting you might try Phreebooks. http://www.phreebooks.com
July 16, 2008 at 10:55 pm
I’m exclusively using Linux in my law office (Ubuntu on the desktop and Mandriva on the laptop). It’s nice not having to deal with malware, spyware, constant anti-virus updates and having to pay for the hassle of going through all of that.
Similar to Sam, I keep track of clients with Evolution and manage my cases with a well organized, encrypted file system. I don’t need office accounting yet, but may use GNUCash when that time comes.
Linux and free & open source software sure helps me keep the overhead low while I get my practice off the ground.
July 20, 2008 at 3:02 am
I’ve been working with Zale, when he has the time, and am trying to put together a package for law offices using Linux, with Java and MySQL. I am working on creating a drop-in, single-application solution to fill all of the roles currently supplied through Windows applications, such as Summation, Cassandra, Bankruptcy, Abacus, etc.
However, my application is pretty slow-gowing, as Zale is working so hard to get his practice off the ground that he doesn’t have the time to provide me with feedback and requested information to allow me to create this software package. I would love to hear from any and all attorneys, paralegals and other legal professionals as to their requirements and feature requests of:
A) A general law office application; and
B) Practice-area specific modules that could be plugged into the general application.
Further, I am always interested in development help from any of you who are both attorneys/paralegals and programmers. Alternatively, if you happen to know a programmer who like an opportunity to work on an Open Source program, I would love to have their help as well.
Please, feel free to check out my website (which is just static information about my company) and/or email me with any questions, comments, feedback, suggestions or requests. All of the help that I can get will speed up my development process and get a “native” law office application out there for you all.
Cheers,
Sean
July 21, 2008 at 12:45 am
Good luck to all of you trying to cobble together an all-Linux approach. The fact is that there is a reason the product like TimeMatters and their larger brethren exist. When faced with the decision between trying to figure out how to integrate a disparate collection of applications and tools to come up with a solution that meets the needs of their practice or just actually practicing law, they choose the latter.
Tinkering with the toys is fun, but that’s not what pays the bills.
Also, if you are looking to control start-up costs take a look at some of the hosted application solutions. Using the SPLA licensing model you can pay on a monthly rate rather than everything up front. Or there is their way <a href=”http://blog.protonassociates.com/2008/07/new-licensing-options-from-microsoft.html”<more affordable Microsoft Office licensing program called Equipt, that get you Office and OneCare at $70/year. All things being equal that is a pretty fair price for what you’re getting, and way better than the $500 up-front fee for buying the suite outright.
Good luck!
July 21, 2008 at 1:12 am
Seth: Thanks again for contributing with your comments. The point you raise is what has me shying away from Sam’s approach; I like having everything related to a file in one place, and Time Matters does that for me. Using several different tools on one case may work for some, but not for others. I think that an all-Linux native apps approach is the best, were I to switch, but I would not jump in unless I could get the software I need. This would include bankruptcy software like Best Case Solutions, which, to my knowledge, does not have a Linux equivalent. So, for now, I am sticking with Windows.
July 29, 2008 at 6:40 am
I’ve been running Linux at my father’s practice (I maintain the computers) for about six years now. Having started way before most attorneys would have even considered it, I’ve had a few obstacles to overcome, but things are running smooth. I’ve learned a lot from some great Linux users over time. The one problem that I’ve never solved is a common one: U.S. bankruptcy software. I have gotten Best Case to install with no problems using Wine (v 1.0). Though it doesn’t crash, neither does about half of the program work. It’s unusable.
I wonder if anyone has had any success with this program? I’m having to run it on a licensed version of Windows I run in a virtual machine, but obviously I’d prefer to run it through Wine. My preference would be an open source program, but that will clearly never happen and Best Case comes closest to running out of all the bankruptcy programs I’ve used.
July 29, 2008 at 11:34 am
Thor: Thanks for your input on Best Case Solutions. I had been planning to see if it would run under WINE, so your comment was right on point. Bankruptcy is a big part of my practice, and I could not do it without good software. Using Windows and VMWare doesn’t seem to me to be the best solution, but I suppose if you are already all Linux in your office, that is the only way to go. In all fairness, Best Case won’t run on a Mac either. Hopefully, OSS developers will see this gap and fill it.