Maine Law Practice Management

Legal research options abound, more so than ever before.  This is in line with the general proliferation of law firm technology, buoyed by the rapid advancement of cloud technology for use in business.  But, with legal research, the challenge of finding the right products at the right rate structure is particularly important, because legal research is still a high - number budget line item for law firms.   Legal research is the life-blood of substantive work for so many attorneys that the systems they use for research just have to work.  But, no law firm has an unlimited budget.  And, if you try to research legal research tools on Google, or a lesser search engine, the results are often overwhelming, and only bring more confusion into the equation.  Ah, the irony drips.     To cut through the noise, check out the ‘ Legal Information Buyer’s Guide & Reference Manual ’ , which is updated annually, to get am organized, unbiased collection of legal research tool features and costs.  T

Just because you want to be a modern lawyer, that doesn’t mean that you have to give up all of your paper .   For lawyers, the love of paper persists; it often hearkens back to a prior age of law practice.  In practice, it’s a tactile sensation.  Many lawyers just like to write on paper, to hold it.  A lot of attorneys still print files to review their work .   So, if going full electric make you uncomfortable, there is a middle ground.   Apps like LiveScribe allow you to  use smart pens and smart paper to capture traditional and nontraditional electronic notes via the traditional mechanism you still love.  Yes, it’s a real ink pen.  Yes, it’s real paper.  Sorry, fountain pens are unavailable.   But, otherwise -- it’s the best of both worlds .     I often tell attorneys that, if you can think of a workflow you need covered, there’s a technology tool out there for the job.       It turns out that some of that technology is a gateway to a simpler time .     . . .     Whether you’re

Phone systems, and managing phone systems, are essential for law firms -- even if managing lawyers can tend to overlook the importance of such things.  But, in a very real sense, law firm phone systems are really money machine s.  Getting a lead to the right person, transferring calls appropriately, accessing a message in a timely fashion, utilizing a system in which leads most often reach humans, even if those humans are part of a contracted virtual receptionist service . . . any or all of those attributes of a feature set and their application can increase your chances of converting a lead by degrees.  You can also utilize phone systems to keep existing clients happy, including by reducing the perceived layers of administration between lawyers and their customers.   As with most technology options that face modern attorneys, there are no easy choices.  Not only is a lawyer’s ethical competency now often tied to their ability to select and utilize appropriate technology , but modern

Every time you complete a business-facing page -- your website, a social media profile, a review platform page -- you're always asked to provide an opening and closing time for your office.     Don't.     I mean, think about it: Does that jibe with the way modern consumers access businesses, or the way that modern business owners work ?   Do you work 9-5?  Of course not.  You do things after hours, and you're frustrated when consumer service options don't exist after hours, too.  So are your clients.  And, guess what: If you indicate that your office close s at 5 pm, you're just giving your potential clients an excuse not to call you, and to call someone else instead . Of course, this course of action necessitates the need for providing contact options for potential clients who contact you on off hours.  That c ontact option c ould be you.  Or , it could be a contact form.  Or, it could be a virtual engagement service or tool, like a virtual receptionist, live c