Country Lawyer or High Tek Geek?

Administrator — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:10:38 +0000

This last week I was talking with collegue in another industry about how technology has changed the legal landscape. I’m a serious convert to legal technology. In my practice I use VoIP, virtual IT for backup and electronic filing with the courts. Technology allows me to do more work and serve my clients as if I have a huge fulltime staff. A recent study found that the typical American has the equivalent of 100 full time servants because of all of the time saving technology.
For example, I have recently aquired a portable scanner that runs off USB power. It is small enough to tuck in a laptop case. I recently had a will signing at a client’s home and was able to make copies and pdfs of the documents while we discussed her upcoming travel and cancer treatment plans. Instead of the week or so turnaround on returning executed documents by mail, I was able to hand a package of legal documents, including a CD containing copies of the powers of attorney, to my client at the close of the meeting.
My collegue, who works in the office supply industry, seemed impressed with my use of technology. (I don’t think he was just looking to sell me more stuff). He said that lawyers are some of the least tech saavy people he deals with. In my own legal career I have seen the same. Lawyers over a certain age were taught that “Lawyers don’t type.” He pointed out that as lawyers become more tech saavy, the industry will adapt and tech skills will become part of the job.
I was recently at lunch when my phone rang. It was a client who needed a particular document that afternoon. She had called the office looking for me and thanks to technology her call had rolled until it found me, in Dallas 276 miles away from my office. I was able to get her what she needed from my phone without leaving my Dallas lunch. The client never really knew that I was away from my desk.
So the good news is that I can work anytime from anywhere. The bad news is that I can work anytime from anywhere.
As a lawyer who once got paid in organic sweet potatoes and who once scared off a sales person because I annouced I had a sick chicken in the law office bathroom, I’m pretty amazed by the state of technology. By as my friend pointed out technology is now just part of the job.

Murphy's Law Blog » cloud computing

Country Lawyer or High Tek Geek?