M - Voice For The Defense Online

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Law Office Technol Rethinking the Law Computer Network By Clay S. Conrad 1
VOICE for the defense Dear Reader: I know what you are thinking —“Not another article on law office technology!” How dry, boring, and what a waste of time. A bunch of overpriced, unreliable, incomprehensible toys that will not help me win cases and will just cause frustration and anxiety. I will never be able to figure them out. Fahgedaboudit. Gimme an IBM Selectric® any day. The secretaries can make do with what they have. :: feature article A persistent myth exists that a good lawyer armed with nothing more than his file, a pen, and a legal pad can go down to the courthouse and work magic. I cannot say whether this has ever been true. It is certainly not true in the 21st century. Today, the results obtained in a case are often directly related to the resources available with which to fight the case. This does not mean money is never wasted on poorly or underutilized technology or that spending more money guarantees better results. Nor does it mean that unnecessary bells and whistles never get in the way, acting as a detriment to productivity. Getting the right technology integrated into your practice, so that everything there is needed and everything needed is there, is one of the most important decisions we can make in shaping our practices. Computer hardware may be commoditized (or nearly so), but the creation of an information technology (IT) system for a small law office 2 remains an art form — one is not taught in most law schools. ogy: Office This may explain why so few small law firms have good IT systems. Their systems do not appear large enough to justify paying a high-priced consultant to design and set them up; lawyers often do not know where to find good consultants at a reasonable price; and the users are not technically sophisticated enough to know what they are missing by suffering with a poorly-considered system. Technology in many law offices accumulates and is added to or replaced in a slap-dash, haphazard manner. Instead of well-integrated systems, most small firms purchase pieces/parts as needs arise, without considering how they will work within the larger network. Pieces/parts get replaced or upgraded when they break or become incompatible with newer pieces/parts, again without a view to a larger design. In June 2006, when our former law firm dissolved, Paul Looney, Kathryn Marteeny and I began the firm of Conrad, Marteeny & Looney, P.C. Because of our dissatisfaction with the resources of our former firm, we decided to build a network that would impose greater efficiency and work as a tool for winning cases through better preparation and presentation. With a background in entertainment technology, I was comfortable with using technology as a tool for greater productivity and creativity, and aware of the pitfalls of poorly utilized technology. The system we developed employs readily available, relatively inexpensive tools, and resources that are easily mastered and maintained. It does so systematically in a way that gets the most productivity from each piece. Moreover, the entire system, including software and training, was obtained for well under $17,000. The final price included the services of a certified Microsoft® technician to get it up and running. 17 |
Page 2 and 3: Robert Barrera, Richard “Racehors
Page 4 and 5: Voice for the Defense EDITOR Emmett
Page 6 and 7: july/august 2007 :: committees Amic
Page 8 and 9: july/august 2007 Craig Jett The Tim
Page 10 and 11: july/august 2007 Joseph A Martinez
Page 12 and 13: july/august 2007 Emmett Harris Stil
Page 14 and 15: july/august 2007 FR Buck Files, Jr
Page 18 and 19: july/august 2007 :: feature article
Page 22 and 23: june 2007 vanilla system for her us
Page 28 and 29: july/august 2007 :: motion of the m
Page 30 and 31: july/august 2007 :: motion of the m
Page 32 and 33: july/august 2007 july|august 2007 S
Page 34 and 35: july/august 2007 :: sDR Defendant
Page 36 and 37: july/august 2007 :: sDR could reaso
Page 38 and 39: july/august 2007 :: sDR State’s P
Page 40 and 41: july/august 2007 :: sDR Writ Opinio
Page 42 and 43: july/august 2007 :: sDR Constitutio
Page 44 and 45: july/august 2007 ment can be justif
Page 46 and 47: 20th Annual Rusty Duncan advanced c
Page 48: o i n TCDLA Jo i n TCDLA Jo i n TCD

M - Voice For The Defense Online

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?