The Greatest American Lawyer

Technology Makes Perseverance Much Easier

Perseverance has always been a key differentiator between those who succeed and those who don’t.  Achievement can be like a drip of water.  A drip can become a puddle, which can become a stream, then a river and even a canyon. 

It occurred to me the other day that technology makes perseverance much easier.  Instead of a large number of large things that need to be accomplished in order to make things happen, technology makes success much more accessible.  Technology now ties achievement to the accomplishments of a large number of little things made easier.

Using Mind Map For Advocacy

For those of you who have been following along, you know I’m a big fan of the Mindjet MindManager software.  Here is an interesting post from the Settlement Perspectives Blog titled Get To The Point, And Get It Across, With A Mediation Mind Map.  Here’s the money quote:

Technology Allows You To Do More Important Things. Stop Typing Your Own Documents!

In my previous post, I noted that most law firms today use technology to reduce staff and increase the administrative functions of lawyers.  Since technology provides efficiency, the number one question is whether or not lawyers and law firms will take advantage of the efficiency in order to become more productive for their clients.

The answer thus far into the technology age is resounding “no.”   Most law firms use technologies to barely reduce their overhead and force administrative tasks on associates and even partners.  Clients, for their part, now pay for lawyers to perform administrative tasks by the hour.

Abusing the Efficiency That Technology Brings: The “Dark Side” Of Technology

It never ceases to amaze me.  I talk to small firm lawyers and big firm lawyers all the time.  They call me on the phone seeking information and advice.  Almost without exception, I quickly learn that these lawyers have used the efficiency which technology brings to reduce staff. 

Lawyers don’t need secretaries anymore.  They can type their own documents because of innovations in word processing and personal computers. 

It is now possible for three lawyers to share a single secretary.  Technology has increased efficiency by way of email.  Lawyers can type their own emails.  There is no need for correspondence and thus, less need for secretaries to type correspondence.

With technology, I can do everything myself! I don’t need any staff!

Case Management Solutions for Law Firms

There is an interesting discussion and a number of link resources over at the LinkedIn business networking questions and answer section.  A variety of attorneys have suggested different software tools for case management.  Of course, basecamphq.com is included.  Two new ones which I have not seen before are Open Practice and Serengeti Legal Matter Management and E-Billing System.

Has anyone had any experience with either Serengeti or Open Practice?  Does anyone have any other case management software tools which are web enabled to add to the list?

Recommitting to Technology

Technology is not, nor will it ever be, the answer.  Technology is a component of business process. 

When you recommit to use a particular piece of technology, you are essentially recommitting to your internal business process.

We try to recommit to technology all the time.  We do it by sending an email around encouraging each other to get back in to the process.  I call it “working the technology.”  We all need to recommit to our internal business process on a regular basis.  Over time, recommitment not causes you to leverage the process you have in place but inevitably results in upgrades to the process as well.

Technology is Great but the Phone is Better

There is no question that technology makes communication easy and convenient.  We use email, extranets, text messaging and voicemail to communicate by and between ourselves and our clients.

But when it comes to relationships, there is no substitute for face-to-face meetings.  A close second would be a phone call.

I think we sometimes get so enamored with technology that we forget to reach out and “touch someone.”  We have to remind ourselves to bring clients in for face-to-face meetings and call them on the phone as an alternative to email on certain issues.

Anyone who is involved with billing knows that a phone call is far more likely to secure payment than a series of emails.  And when you’re looking for new work, scheduling a client meeting (at no cost to them of course) is the best way to explore new projects with clients. 

Yes, technology rocks.  But the personal touch is still a mandatory part of any successful business plan. 

How To: The Test Drive

One of the most important principles of the tech-age firm is that the advancement to which we ascribe is a relative one. We must always remain open-minded, just as ready to challenge the techniques of our traditional counterparts as our own.

The most important tool in challenging ourselves is through the "test-drive". New technologies are erupting everyday on top of the Web 2.0 wave, and only through exploring and testing those technologies can we ensure that our firms are still deserving of the "technologically advanced" title.

But how do you conduct one of these test-drives?

First off, the process needs to begin with a little exploration. Most of the time, this is the hardest part, as the sheer size of the internet can make it difficult to know of a breakthrough that can help you. To conduct this exploration a subscription to tech magazines and blogs can be extremely helpful, as it allows us to pool our resources together to discover and share advances that may be of use to firms like ours.

Another way to tackle this "discovery" stage is to ask questions. Get your staff together and discuss ways that your firm may be deficient, without regard to solutions. Once you have realized a need in your firm, it is easy to search the internet for something that could satiate that need. This can be extremely helpful because in most cases all it takes is a realization of a need to find something that can provide for it.

Once the discovery is over, it is time to subscribe, download, or login to, whatever it is that you have found. In this test-drive stage, I suggest handing it off to a staffer who can try it themselves and report back as to how helpful it really was. This way, you can test it on a small scale without causing any shift in daily business. This also allows that staffer to become an expert on that technology, and puts them in a position to lead a potential transition.

Following this test-drive your office should be in a position to make an educated decision as to the merits of a shift in technology or technique, but before the decision is made it may be necessary to brief and prepare your entire team, so that everyone may wholeheartedly embrace and make the shift.

When the decision to change is made, it is best to jump with both feet. Half-adoptions never work and cause a dangerous chasm in your firm. This is why the discovery and test-driving is so important, because you have to be dedicated and confident enough in the new technology to release yourself from old dependencies.

So thats the test-drive. Discovery, testing, and adoption. A mastery of these techniques will be a great tool for your firm, as you will be explorers riding the top of the technological wave that is propelling us all into this century; but more importantly you will be constantly checking yourself for inefficiencies, making your firm a fine-tuned legal machine.

I Have Become the Conductor of our Law Firm Orchestra

You might recall I previously posted (here) about my attempts to become more of a coach and quarterback. I am happy to report that our firms extranet and the variety of workers we have performing specific tasks has allowed me to get out of the trenches and become more of a conductor of our law office symphony. In short, our law firm model takes advantage of my strategic and delegation skills. We are also accomplishing important things on behalf of the client, not the least of which is pushing tasks down to the lowest competent billing level.

Without virtual workers and the extranet system, it would be virtually impossible for me to effectively make sure that the music we are playing as a law firm is in sync, and in harmony. I truly believe that we are providing a superior product, in a more timely fashion on a more cost effective level.

Learning to Delegate

I admit that delegation has never been my strong suit; its not that I don’t know how to delegate, its not that I don’t know how to manage people. It is a fundamental and flawed belief that I am the only one that can do it. Even if I am the only one that can complete a specific task, I have this paranoia that if I don’t do it, it won’t be done exactly like I want it to be done.

It is interesting that virtually every time that I have been in a delegation situation at a law firm, I have been disappointed. I am now realizing that it was not because the worker wasn’t any good, but because I typically would drop a major project at their desk and have them handle it without any real instruction or guidance.

The beauty of our system here is that all tasks are broken down into such small pieces that execution of those tasks becomes relatively simple. That means that great work product comes back to us, and it also means that delegation becomes something I can embrace.