A snappy, short and informative title can really help sell a book. According to that index, I must jokingly note that my friends Tom Mighell and Dennis Kennedy scored one out of three with The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together. However, what they have scored is a timely and important book released at just the right time. OK, great content can sell a book, too. This book could be quite valuable to knowledge workers outside of the legal profession. It is bargain-priced and you really shouldn’t miss it.

Right now most of you reading this blog post probably make scant use of online collaborative technology. Most of you would never dream of doing something as basic as sharing your desktop with opposing counsel over the Internet to speed review of a document you are negotiating. (And, of course, few of you know how.) Here’s my bold prediction. By the end of next year, many, if not most, of you will be making using of this type of technology and some of the other tools noted in Dennis and Tom’s book. Collaborative project management software is ideal for large legal projects with several team members. For just a taste, read Dennis’ American Bar Association Journal column for June, 2008 SharePoint: A Killer Legal App.

So even if you think opposing counsel will never access any part of your computer absent an order from the U.S. Supreme Court or hiring a team of seasoned hackers, you may want to purchase this book just to see what everyone else may be doing. (And, remember most of collaborative technology is about working with your own team members and clients anyway.)

If you want to read still more about the book, Jordan Furlong concurs with my views.