How much did you really learn about practicing law in school? One way of getting up to speed in the real world is the Capital Area Bar's Bridge the Gap seminar, presented annually. Another, which is instantly and constantly available (with thanks to Robert Ambrogi for pointing the way) is Solo Practice University (SPU) (http://solopracticeuniversity.com).

SPU courses reflect most real life courses in that they consist of multiple lectures supplemented by written materials and outside "homework" assignments. During "class," the student sits in front of a computer screen and watches an instructor lecture. Production quality may vary between computers, but all videos remain clear and audible. Some lectures are audio-only; most run thirty minutes.

The faculty is composed largely of practicing attorneys, many of them solo, as well as consultants in marketing, management, and other career counseling fields. The student will receive first hand knowledge from an individual who has already been through many of the same life experiences and can relate to the student firsthand, not to mention many of the instructors are nationally recognized by their peers. Some of the names include Jay Foonberg, author of the popular ABA book, How to Start and Build a Law Practice; Carolyn Elefant, author of Solo by Choice: How to be the Lawyer You Always Wanted to Be; and Ed Poll, a leading legal management consultant. Interestingly, all faculty maintain office hours, whether to speak by live chat or study group forums.

SPU will remind you of a social network site more than one for CLE, complete with uploading a photo on registration. The cost is $97 a month, $225 a quarter, or $495 per year. Regardless of the rate plan, tuition provides unlimited access to all courses.

There are also a co-op, discounted E&O coverage, and no extra cost unlimited CLE (though this has just become available). Take a look if it's time to learn something new or revisit an area you've been away from for a refresher.

Looked at Microsoft Office 2010 yet? It attempts to sell yet another version with some interesting new features.

One is simultaneous editing or co-authoring, allowing multiple users to make changes to the same document in real time. (Google Docs has supported this for some time). It's a feature native to Word, Excel, and OneNote. Changes, however, don't register in real time, but rather when you save what you're working on. Protective safeguards are also available.

Perhaps the biggest change for Outlook isn't Outlook itself, but Business Contact Manager. It's an organizational overlay for Outlook, which, among other things, can be used to prioritize workflow and project management.

Outlook also adds calendar publishing for synchronization with others, as well as the ability to link Outlook listed contacts with social networks.