The Technology Wave and the Solo Practitioner
Friday’s meeting introduced us to the brave new world of technology changing law firms as we know them. It was both fascinating and a little fear inducing. There certainly seems to be a wave of technological advances pushing out the “old law”. Corporate law is changing. Big law is changing. While it was interesting, the focus on corporate law left me wondering about solo practitioners and small law firms. Much of the software discussed at the meeting was not affordable nor tailored towards solo practitioners. How is technology affecting them? What technology is available to help to them?
I decided to do make a list of a few different programs available out there that might help solo practitioners or smaller firms. They are not all legal based, but then running a law firm is a business as much as it is a law practice.
- Accounting software
It’s important to stay on top of your accounting as a small business. You don’t want to be that person making a frantic run to your accountant with a shoe box full of receipts at the year end. Using Cloud-based software such as Toronto’s Wave, or Mint (now owned by intuit), it’s easy to update your records from your laptop, tablet or even your phone when you have some free time. Wave is geared towards companies with 9 or less employees, and it’s free to use. Mint supports all Canadian banks and is user-friendly.
- SEO (search engine optimization) software
You’ve made a sleek, modern, professional website for your firm! It cost a pretty penny (okay, a few hundred thousand now obsolete pennies) but it was worth it. Proudly you type your company name into Google. Nothing. You search frantically, page after page, but nope, Google doesn’t seem to know your beautiful website exists. That’s where SEO software comes in.
SEO is a massive industry. So don’t be afraid to hire someone to do this for you (which will also cost many obsolete pennies). However, if you are feeling brave (or cheap), here are some Cloud-based SEO products that may help: Moz.com can give you a simple action plan with steps to help you rank, position, and building your search rating on Google. SEMRush takes a different approach. They let you see what your competitors are spending adwords to help you stay in the top advertising spots.
- Clio
Yes, Clio has its own category. This product isn’t just for larger firms. They have packages as cheap as $39/month. Time tracking, billing, and lots of other goodies make Clio a useful product for almost any firm.
- Other niche software
There are lots of programs out there for specific legal areas. DivorceMate is a software product aimed at family law. It streamlines child support guidelines and spousal support guidelines, among other things. They have a Cloud-based version as well as a desktop version. You can choose to pay for a $500/subscription or $55 per file option. Do Process Software has several different specialized software for real estate, wills, estates, and others. The costs vary on the product you choose.
Hopefully this list helps you think of the different ways technology can help solo practitioners and small firms. The technology wave is coming for everyone, not just big law. We should all learn to ride and embrace the wave.
What a great post! Thank you for making the connection from the “disruption” of BigLaw that we talked about a lot on Friday and the world of small and solo practices. These spheres are different in many ways, but they are affected by similar forces. I’m glad you mentioned Clio, because I think small and sole practitioners are their target market, and I hope using it in class will give you a sense of how it can empower lawyers running their own practices. I have a suggestion for you: in the panel discussion on starting an innovative law practice (October 21), it would be really interesting to ask the panelists about how innovation and technology support their businesses. Maybe they use some of the tools you found – or maybe they don’t and you can give them some suggestions 🙂
I will definitely ask about it at that discussion! I wish there was more focus on solo practice and small firms. I think they have a real place in accessible legal services. I’m looking forward to that panel discussion!
Mint and Clio are amazing! I have worked with both of them before and they are super useful to track time, money, and all client matters.
How do you feel about things like BridgeUS? They take the project management side substantially out of the hands of the lawyer as far as I can tell, but provide what appears to be good project management software. Do you think they are a good thing or a bad thing?
http://www.bridge.us/attorneys/
That’s an interesting one, Greg – I haven’t come across it before. Just goes to show how many of these “new law” businesses there are out there. I do know that project management is a huge buzzword and area of demand in law at the moment. Develop skills in legal project management and you’ll have something the market values very much. See this story about project managers as “the new rainmakers” (it mentions SeyfarthLean, the topic of the HLS case study we discussed in class): http://www.law.com/sites/almstaff/2016/09/22/legal-project-managers-the-new-rainmakers/?slreturn=20160822230332
Very interesting idea. I will have to look into it more deeply to answer your question. However I think there is a market there for these services. And as always when you look at whether something is “good” or “bad” it will depend from whose side you are viewing it. I bet we will see more of these types of project management software entering law firms.
Hi Greg,
I had never heard of BridgeUS before and had a quick look online and found this link: https://youtu.be/4haTGwnlYaY — easy to understand YouTube video that summarizes the functionalities of this tool. (I think these types of videos are immensely helpful to the end user– it seems the website is geared towards lawyers specifically, but wouldn’t it be helpful for clients if there was a link that showed firms that are using this system in their area?)
I think these are the exact types of industry shaking tools that address access to justice issues. (I vote it’s a “good thing”) Awesome share!
Great post, Kristin! For someone planning on practicing in a small firm, this is very relevant. Although some may see the evolution of technology in the legal world as “scary”, it seems smaller firms can use this technology to become more efficient. With the rapid advancement of technology, would you say it would be worthwhile for someone entering the profession to become familiar with coding? I see coding be advantageous in building one’s own website, reducing the time it takes to complete mundane tasks or, perhaps, developing simple software that could aid in a niche area.
Thanks Brandon! Interesting question. Knowing coding would definitely be beneficial, even if it’s just to fix your own website. It could also be good to create newsletters for clients, research data, etc. In a niche market, coding would be a very useful tool to sort though Google results. For example, in the intellectual property area you could create a code to monitor for copyright violations, trademark infringements etc. If you really have the coding bug, and develop a strong knowledge of a niche market, I think the opportunity to create an app/software for that market would be really high. Of course you’d want to hire a developer, but you would see a solution to problem that someone who doesn’t know coding might miss. Let’s not forget that any time you don’t have to pay someone else to do a job will save you money!
Some good intro programming languages to check out if you’re interested: python, Java Script (useful for the client end and not too difficult to learn), and good ol’ PHP. There are others too, but those are my personal favourite.
Those of you who are interested in this – whether lawyers should learn to code – should ask some of our guests what they think about it, especially Adam La France – I think you’d be interested in his thoughts. I have heard some people say it’s going to be an essential skill for tomorrow’s lawyers, like knowing how to use Westlaw now, and others say it’s fine and useful if you’re interested in it but not essential and not really where our main skills lie as lawyers. I lean towards the latter view, but maybe that’s because I don’t know how to code! I will say though that I don’t agree that you always save money by having someone else do something. It depends on whether the time you save outsourcing it is worth more than you pay to get someone else to do it. Those of you who’ve taken International Trade with me (or who have studied economics) will recognize this as the theory of comparative advantage. And finally: if you do want to learn to code I think there are amazing, very accessible opportunities to do it through online MOOCs and the like. Also: take the apps course! (Shameless plug) It doesn’t involve learning to write code, but it’s all about translating legal processes into a software platform, and I think anyone who’s drawn to designing and creating technology will get a lot out of it.