Review of Pathagoras Document Assembly Application

I was asked to submit a review for use by the Technolawyer website and resource. I hope I make the cut, but when I finished I realized I had a new blog post! Here it is. My focus is not the “bells and whisles” but the functionality and customer support. Try it, you’ll like it.

Re: Pathagoras Review

www.Pathagoras.com

I am a former user of HotDocs and a board member of the WV Association For Justice and WV State Bar. Got tired of losing all my “proprietary” templates every time HotDocs came out with a new version. I couldn’t share templates, training was primarily all day seminars ($800!), and I just got tired of it.

Then I Googled “document assembly” and found Pathagoras and its inventor, Roy Lazris. I consider Roy to be “a friend”, which is not something I can say about Bill Gates or the head of Apple. I can reach out to Roy, and he responds. How great is that?

Here’s my secret. I usually don’t use the full featured 800 page Pathagoras Manual. The basic manual and the “seven day plan” are much more helpful for me, but similar to the 75 page HotDocs user’s manual, which was my only HotDocs resource.

Pathagoras’ “help” is like a pyramid, solid useful, information at the top, and a broad base of detailed information as you grow into it.

I know that if I need to “dig down”, the “big manual”, or Pathagoras’ video tutorials, are there for me to search; and, even better, Roy is most accommodating in helping me solve my problems. We’ve had at least a dozen remote sessions over the years where he has trained me and my staff.

Example? I had a clunky method for listing children in my divorce Petitions and Parenting Plans. I had to say “no” to the name and date of each of the unused or empty variables ([ ]) I had for the names and birth dates of the parties’ children. I had spaces for up to six.

After one conference with Roy, I had a sleek “cumulative” feature, which I see he now has included in the application. Now you just select the number of children and have no more work than to add the name/dates of birth for that number of kids. Before I had to say “no” to up to 10 empty variables of name and D.O.B. That’s 30 seconds saved for each document.

I know that I could wring even more from this robust document assembly product, but the point of this review is that I don’t have to. I go with what works for me. I am busy, and I am no programmer, but I have a working knowledge of Microsoft Office Pro and Word. It’s important that you or your staff have that.

If you are a collaborative lawyer, and you should be, form a small community, trade forms, and learn from one another. If not, save it all for yourself.

If you are good at what you do, have a good set of forms for your practice area, and give some thought to decent office systems, this product is for you.

If, after you have used the products for six months, created a number of usable forms, and want to move to “libraries”, “dropdown lists”, macros, and the rest, go for it! Many of you will find them easy out of the box, but don’t feel you have to master everything at once. It’s a useful application from the very first document! And, I loved being able to get a full featured download and create a half dozen usable forms before a remarkably moderate price.

Pathagoras is a solid, “meat and potato”, daily benefit to your practice, your staff, and your clients right out of the Box.

And, I am not a Robot. You can find me in Buckhannon, WV, pop. 6000.

J. Burton Hunter III
hunterjb@hunterlawfirm.net
www.hunterlawfirm.net

This post was written by Burton Hunter