Adobe Systems today introduced a new service that should be of interest to lawyers in firms of any size. Called the Adobe Document Center, it is a secure, hosted service for sharing documents in Adobe PDF, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel formats. It allows you to control who has access to your documents, track updates and versions, and change rights to any document, including local copies on anyone’s desktop. From today’s announcement:

“Adobe Document Center is designed for the professional who shares or publishes business-, time- or version-sensitive documents. Whether it is an independent graphics designer submitting designs for client review, or a legal practice exchanging sensitive files with clients, users can customize access settings, closely audit usage of their documents, and retain control over the files regardless of where they travel. Users also have the ability to set expiration dates on documents, supersede an older version once a new version is distributed, and revoke access after distribution. They even have the ability to track who has received the documents and what recipients have done, or attempted to do, with the files.”

Here is the best part: The service is absolutely free to try through the end of the year. The commercial release is due early in 2007 and will carry an introductory six-month, per-user subscription price of $19.99 a month or $199 a year.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.