From the November 11, 2005 Issues of Technolawyer's Fat Friday Issue:
5. ANDREA CANNAVINA, FORGET TRAINING; OUTSOURCE
INSTEAD
A TechnoLawyer member who practices law, invests in
technology startups, and wishes to remain anonymous writes:
"I'm dumbfounded to see how profoundly backward many law firms are. How they are more worried about partner draws than making meaningful investments in technology, are totally averse to learning new technology, and/or in just learning how to use the technology that they
have, and rather than making investments in either stuff that works and that would allow for the smart people on their staff to get more done, they are afraid of the impact...."
Neil J. Squillante wrote
in his CM's note:
"This could very well be the most important Post of 2004 because it discusses the number one problem with technology — failing to invest beyond the price of the product. Legal software companies know this, and in their pursuit of growth, I think a few of them have latched onto a superior business model — Web-based services rather than local software, plus free online training seminars...."
Martin Dean wrote:
"I must absolutely disagree. The absolute bottom line here is buy software that doesn't need training.... Good software or hardware (how many of you were "trained" to use a fax machine?) should be self supporting and self teaching."
Bob Hughes responded:
"I was really flabergasted when I saw this post, and the fax machine analogy is ludicrous. Using a wheelbarrow or a bike may take no or little training. But, I would not want any air force folks flying jet fighters without some schooling.... The software I need (HotDocs & Time Matters/Billing Matters) will help my practice big time. And, I might be able to learn it on my own in about 10 years. I'm thankful there are people who will learn the details of those programs and who will teach it to me in much less time for a reasonable fee. That way I can spend more time representing my clients and learning how to be a better lawyer. We will both make a living doing what we do best. Isn't that how it usually works?"
I must politely disagree with Bob. I think that rather than paying the professionals to train a fee earner on the ins and outs of a particular application, sole practitioners and firms would be much better off investing that training in their support or paraprofessional staff or, even better, outsourcing the function altogether. My rationale is that attorneys should be focusing their energy, talents and time on two activities: present client service and new client generation (and the various subcategories of these activities: research; writing; court; association meetings; networking). In fact, I'll even be so bold as to say that attorneys should limit their administrative functions to time keeping for billing purposes, or they are not making the
most productive (revenue-wise) use of their time.
Of course, the whole idea of investing in technology is to increase productivity and/or reduce costs. The Virtual Assistance industry is meeting more and more of the challenges faced by businesses, including law firms and the legal industry, by providing off site transcription, billing, accounting and escrow functions, research and even legal writing. By contracting with a VA (or service provider), attorneys can gain the assistance of a top notch legal secretary gone cyber; without incurring all the employer liabilities: taxes; reporting and otherwise. If you already have a top notch secretary — great — why not promote her and get rid of her administrative functions and make her a more active role in fee producing — have her join networking and other paraprofessional organizations .. but I digress... ;)
It's my perception that it is difficult for law firm administrators, managing partners and working attorneys to know what "technology" they need and then to properly configure it to work as efficiently as possible — e-mail (security, confidentiality and storage); software applications; client communications; not to mention correctly shop for the best value on things such as telephone usage or even office equipment — the landscape of choices is shifting so rapidly and technology is advancing in so many different directions its hard to digest it all on top of running a successful business.
That's why resources such as TechnoLawyer, the Bar Association and other legal networking sites are so important — it is one place where attorneys will hear about technology being put into actual practice! Another fantastic resource is the International Virtual Assistant's
Association as it offers a free Request for Proposal process where attorneys, etc. post their needs and/or questions and receive contact from those with solutions and answers.
Regards,
Andrea Cannavina,
EthicsChecked MVA
LegalTypist, Inc.
5. ANDREA CANNAVINA, FORGET TRAINING; OUTSOURCE
INSTEAD
A TechnoLawyer member who practices law, invests in
technology startups, and wishes to remain anonymous writes:
"I'm dumbfounded to see how profoundly backward many law firms are. How they are more worried about partner draws than making meaningful investments in technology, are totally averse to learning new technology, and/or in just learning how to use the technology that they
have, and rather than making investments in either stuff that works and that would allow for the smart people on their staff to get more done, they are afraid of the impact...."
Neil J. Squillante wrote
in his CM's note:
"This could very well be the most important Post of 2004 because it discusses the number one problem with technology — failing to invest beyond the price of the product. Legal software companies know this, and in their pursuit of growth, I think a few of them have latched onto a superior business model — Web-based services rather than local software, plus free online training seminars...."
Martin Dean wrote:
"I must absolutely disagree. The absolute bottom line here is buy software that doesn't need training.... Good software or hardware (how many of you were "trained" to use a fax machine?) should be self supporting and self teaching."
Bob Hughes responded:
"I was really flabergasted when I saw this post, and the fax machine analogy is ludicrous. Using a wheelbarrow or a bike may take no or little training. But, I would not want any air force folks flying jet fighters without some schooling.... The software I need (HotDocs & Time Matters/Billing Matters) will help my practice big time. And, I might be able to learn it on my own in about 10 years. I'm thankful there are people who will learn the details of those programs and who will teach it to me in much less time for a reasonable fee. That way I can spend more time representing my clients and learning how to be a better lawyer. We will both make a living doing what we do best. Isn't that how it usually works?"
I must politely disagree with Bob. I think that rather than paying the professionals to train a fee earner on the ins and outs of a particular application, sole practitioners and firms would be much better off investing that training in their support or paraprofessional staff or, even better, outsourcing the function altogether. My rationale is that attorneys should be focusing their energy, talents and time on two activities: present client service and new client generation (and the various subcategories of these activities: research; writing; court; association meetings; networking). In fact, I'll even be so bold as to say that attorneys should limit their administrative functions to time keeping for billing purposes, or they are not making the
most productive (revenue-wise) use of their time.
Of course, the whole idea of investing in technology is to increase productivity and/or reduce costs. The Virtual Assistance industry is meeting more and more of the challenges faced by businesses, including law firms and the legal industry, by providing off site transcription, billing, accounting and escrow functions, research and even legal writing. By contracting with a VA (or service provider), attorneys can gain the assistance of a top notch legal secretary gone cyber; without incurring all the employer liabilities: taxes; reporting and otherwise. If you already have a top notch secretary — great — why not promote her and get rid of her administrative functions and make her a more active role in fee producing — have her join networking and other paraprofessional organizations .. but I digress... ;)
It's my perception that it is difficult for law firm administrators, managing partners and working attorneys to know what "technology" they need and then to properly configure it to work as efficiently as possible — e-mail (security, confidentiality and storage); software applications; client communications; not to mention correctly shop for the best value on things such as telephone usage or even office equipment — the landscape of choices is shifting so rapidly and technology is advancing in so many different directions its hard to digest it all on top of running a successful business.
That's why resources such as TechnoLawyer, the Bar Association and other legal networking sites are so important — it is one place where attorneys will hear about technology being put into actual practice! Another fantastic resource is the International Virtual Assistant's
Association as it offers a free Request for Proposal process where attorneys, etc. post their needs and/or questions and receive contact from those with solutions and answers.
Regards,
Andrea Cannavina,
EthicsChecked MVA
LegalTypist, Inc.
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