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STEVE SOWERS AND REBECCA CORMIER | Legal Technology Relevant Technology for Lawyers
Ithas been six years since the ABA added technology competence to the Model Rule 1.1. Florida requires three CLE credits each cycle and North Carolina
and Pennsylvania have proposed changes to their CLE re- quirements. e rule states: “A lawyer should keep abreast of changes in the law and its practice, including the ben- e ts and risks associated with relevant technology.” What are the relevant technologies available to lawyers today?
Here is an overview to help you understand how all the pieces t together so that you can implement your prac- tice’s technology ecosystem.
Practice Management So ware (PM): is is the core of a rm’s ecosystem. It will have the essential function- ality for managing clients, managing cases, and housing case matters. Platforms on the market in this category in- clude Clio and Practice Panther.
Client Relation Management (CRM): CRM systems focus on lead generation and prospect management. Many can handle simple PM tasks and most PM systems can handle light lead generation. e decision to use a PM, CRM, or both depends mainly on the rm’s growth strategy.
Virtual Assistant: is is one of the fastest growing technologies for lawyers and there are many new play- ers. With a virtual assistant, a rm can be reached at any time and they can be fully integrated with PM and CRM systems. ese systems are designed to scale as the rm grows, so that it won’t need to hire additional assistants and paralegals.
E-Discovery: Many rms have embraced e-discovery over the last few years because of the sheer amount of data available in electronic form. is space will continue to grow as more records are made available in digital format and as machine learning systems work out how to discov- er better with each successful search. Many e-discovery systems can integrate with a PM system for seamless re- cord keeping and case updating.
Billing and Timekeeping: Billable hours are still the standard. Billing and timekeeping so ware allows all members of sta and outsourced resources to maintain accurate records of task management and the time spent on tasks. e so ware can also identify tasks that need to be automated because they are not billable.
Task-Speci c Automation: is technology is revolu- tionizing rms today. It is also very misunderstood be- cause of the disruptive nature of automation. Some of the business tasks that used to be done by a lawyer or assistant can now be outsourced to an automation company.
e rst that most lawyers think of is document cre- ation. Documents no longer have to be typed out in Mi-
croso Word, since there are sys- tems that use a minimal amount of information to draw up con- tracts, articles of formation, pe- titions, patent requests and any other document you can think of.
Such systems are o ered pri- marily as so ware as a service (SaaS) and, despite what some people think, they do not break ethical or UPL rules. is was the main technology that the ABA was referring to in Model Rule 1.1 Comment 6. You should keep abreast of this eld because it will become the backbone of the legal practices of tomorrow.
ere are many resources avail-
able to help you understand the growing technology space. Many online CLE providers o er credits in technology even though these are not a requirement in all states – yet. Many of our industry leaders are writing about technol- ogy and there is a growing community of technologists and consultants who specialize in legal systems.
If you have not embraced any of the above technologies or have implemented only a PM system, you are not alone. Being a late adopter has its advantages, mainly price and experience. Most of the so ware providers o er free ac- counts and pay-as-you-use models.
is means you can sign up to get the world’s best tech- nology at your ngers ready for when you need it. If you do only one or two business formations a month, that doesn’t mean you don’t need access to automation that al- lows some rms to do 100s a month. If you sign up in ad- vance for an account, then the functionality will be there when you need it.
Technology will not only allow you to become more e cient and cut costs, it will also allow you to be a full- service rm without the overhead.
STEVE SOWERS IS THE VP OF PARTNERSHIPS AT LEGALINC, THE LEADER IN TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN NATIONWIDE REGIS- TERED AGENT, ENTITY MANAGEMENT, AND COMPLIANCE FOR LAW FIRMS. STEVE LIVES IN FRISCO, TEXAS WITH HIS WIFE AND THREE CHILDREN. STEVE CAN BE REACHED AT (972) 865-7425 AND AT [email protected]. RE- BECCA CORMIER IS A SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE AT LE- GALINC WITH OVER 10 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN THE LEGAL INDUSTRY. REBECCA LIVES IN FRISCO, TEXAS AND WHEN SHE IS NOT AT WORK, SHE LIKES TO SPEND HER TIME READ- ING, HIKING AND SPENDING QUALITY TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.
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