Other times, not so much: The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was, um, rather shaky.

Lawyers love to tinker.  Especially solo and small firm lawyers, whose businesses are so completely in their own hands.  If they can’t find a system that works for them, they build one.  I once met a lawyer who kept a 40-year-old computer in a closet in his office, and that’s how he managed his practice.  He kept it up and running, like an old Dodge.

For a long time, it was hard to find useful software that was built for lawyers.  So, lawyers jury-rigged their own.  Even now, attorneys are still comfortable working with what they have.  Many use productivity software for case management.  If they can’t find a better way to store emails, they’ll PDF them and save them to their desktop.  I mean, any database can be replaced by a spreadsheet, amiright?

I certainly understand how the mindset developed.  If a professional is unable to find what he needs on the market, he creates his own solution.

But, the times they have a-changed.

Over the last decade the ramp-up on legal technology has been absolutely phenomenal, to the point where we are talking about artificial intelligence.  At this point, the point is that lawyers no longer have to create what they need, because it already exists.  Case management systems can deliver the majority of basic functionality that law firms require.  Document automation tools are sprouting in a field where professionals have trafficked in documents for years.  Even CRM tools are being developed for the legal market.  And, there’s no end in sight; not only is development continuing apace, but venture capital funding continues to pour into the legal sector.  Once a factor in choosing to build, rather than rent, buy-in on cloud-based products, charged on a monthly subscription basis, has made high-level software cost-effective for solo and small firms.

So, if you’re trying to cobble together your own technology solutions, stop wasting your time.

Get online, and find some information about what’s out there.  And, if you get overwhelmed or can’t decide, a consultant can help you to make the right choice.

. . .

Liner Notes

‘If I Were a Carpenter’ by Bobby Darin

This is my all-time favorite version of this song.  Though, I also like what Johnny and June do with it.

Keeping more than one calendar invites transposition errors.  Plus, it’s more likely that any one person will fail to do two things, than any one person will fail to do one thing.  (Enter a meeting twice?  The chances of success go down from it happening once.)  Then there’s the whole ‘too many chefs’ thing.  And, though it won’t matter for ethics purposes, under the dual calendar system, it’s too easy for lawyers to pin scheduling mistakes on staff.

The justification for a dual calendar system made some sense prior to the internet age.  There wasn’t really a better solution.  (I imagine Bob Cratchit keeping two sets of books for Ebenezer Scrooge.)  Now, there is.

In 2017 (wow – that was weird), the better strategy by far is to maintain one calendar.  Of course, that doesn’t mean that you access only one calendar.  The rise of cloud computing, including the modern facility of integrating between systems, makes it possible to link several calendars.  Enter appointments and tasks into any of those calendars, and the events and responsibilities will populate to every other calendar you’ve linked to it.  In terms of streamlining that process, a preferred workflow would be to utilize your law practice management system calendar as your primary entry point, and sync it to your email system,  which method would also allow you access to each of those systems’ mobile applications.

Create once, and populate everywhere . . . Just don’t get a God complex about your newfound power.

And, if you don’t think calendar management is essential to law practice management, I can tell you that the number of ethics and malpractice claims that arise out of missed deadlines and appointments is staggering.

. . .

Liner Notes

That’s some ill communication right there.

‘Sabotage’ by Beastie Boys