Midyear SoloDay program teaches technology tools for the trade

"You gotta play the [technology] game," said panelist Natalie Thornwell at a Midyear Meeting continuing legal education session. The ideal is to "be the smartest player in the game."

The SoloDay program, "Profit, Promote and Protect: The Three Ps of a Smart, Small Firm Practice," sponsored by the General Practice/Solo and Small Firm Division, focused on using software and programs to increase your law firm's profit margin, new marketing technology to better your firm, and tools to put into place as protections against disasters – including digital disasters – that might strike your practice.

Return on investment is one of the most basic business calculations, said panelist Ross Kodner. It's a calculation that most small firm lawyers and solo practitioners are not familiar with, he said, but not utilizing this business tool can be extremely costly. Another inefficiency many firms face – small and large alike – is time wasted looking for both paper and electronic files. A tool that can help, the panelists agreed, was case management software, which helps with calendaring, contact management and conflict checking. As panelist Jim Calloway said, the software is designed specifically for lawyers created by people who think like lawyers.

During the marketing section of the program, panelists urged lawyers to have a marketing plan – a written document with deadlines that includes tracking and quantitative aspects. Catherine Sanders-Reach and other panelists spoke of such technologies as blogs, Web sites, extranets and client portals, and how they can expand your presence at a low cost.

Lawyers can protect their business by having a written disaster plan in place, including instructions on who should assist clients in the event the firm or lawyer isn't able to. Disasters can include those digital in nature: security may be breached, laptops can be stolen. Back up your data, advised the panelists, and burn back-up fire drills to see if you can restore files from the back-up medium.

Materials from the program are available free online, as are materials from CLE programs on "What Every Lawyer Needs to Know About Real Estate Leases" and "Business Bankruptcy and Commercial Law."

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© 2006 American Bar Association