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A Wireless Practice
In a world driven by technology yet somehow tied down by the fear of change, I found myself committed to making Miller, Kagan, Rodriguez & Silver (MKRS) stand out as a productive mobile practice ' one that could reap all the benefits of technology but maintain camaraderie, efficiency and productivity.
While technology has always been at the forefront of my concerns as the Managing Partner, I bore witness to its true impact and accepted its feasibility during a trial last year. As opposing counsel shuffled through boxes of paper and filled the courtroom with staff for the sole purpose of carrying documents, I was able to handle the entire trial with my iPad and its infinite resources at my fingertips.
Remotely Connected
As I proceeded through the trial, each passing day provided further evidence of the benefits of having my mobile office at my grasp within the iPad. While opposing counsel dug for paper documents, I instantly accessed documents and presented them on a monitor for the judge and courtroom to see. When a legal point was presented to which I disagreed, while standing in front of the judge and without even turning my head, I pulled up the supportive content on WestlawNext and e-mailed it to the bench while explaining its relevance. Ultimately, we won the trial ' yielding the positive results for our clients in the most effective manner possible. This was all I needed ' the end goal ' a win for our clients. Moving forward, it was my goal to ensure that this same mobile practice was used throughout the firm.
My specialization is workers compensation litigation, and I maintain a very high case load while also being very involved in the administration of the firm. Being remotely connected means that I am always working, always on the clock, and I expect that same level of dedication from my entire legal and administrative team. Something as simple as an app to read documents to me in the car, an app to create complex legal documents, or an app for legal research enables me to multitask at a high level, and frees staff to focus on other areas, such as frequent communication with our clients, since client service is at the top of our list of priorities.
Transforming the Office Culture
After six months of using the iPad exclusively, I met with administration to put into place a plan to roll out an iPad to each of our attorneys; the iPad would essentially replace the use of the laptop in an effort to have more instant access to information and ease of mobility. With the purchase of the iPads came high expectations of improved productivity and efficiencies. Together with IT and administration, we implemented training plans, checklists to ensure proper use, meetings to review best practices, etc. As the partner leading this technology charge, I expect all of our staff to be charging along with me, so it is my responsibility to ensure that they are all provided with the tools and training necessary to utilize this new technology and culture shift.
To stay current on new apps and developments, our staff reads technology blogs like iPhoneJD and TabletLegal. We also schedule an off-site meeting each year for “forward thinking” about the firm. During this time, we offer extensive training, open the floor for collaborative thinking and ensure that we remain unified in our firm vision of excellence in defense through the use of efficient practices and models (this year, technology and the iPad was the focus). This is clearly a large investment, but I have come to find that investment in technology (when implemented effectively) can reap large rewards.
The Mobile World Uncovered
I am frequently asked three questions about becoming a mobile lawyer: how long did it take you to get to this point, what about security, and what are your favorite apps?
Like most firms, MKRS wanted to go green and reduce the use of paper in our practice. In 2005, we started an aggressive policy of scanning all documents into a case management system. To this end, we chose, and have been pleased with, the “Client Profiles” system to store and organize our electronic documents. To support this initiative, we adopted cloud technology in 2011, enabling full access to documents anywhere there is wireless access. We use Dropbox and PocketCloud, and we also make sure to have a redundancy of back-ups built into our office files and on the cloud service.
Today, MKRS works in a nearly paperless system. All notes, client letters, documents and legal research are saved to the cloud. Through these steps we have become a radically mobile and remote work force.
Lucky 13
I couldn't complete the complex legal work that I do without what I like to call my “Lucky 13″ list of necessary apps.
1. GoodReader
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