What’s It All About, Anyway?

One of the reasons I decided to go on my own and start my solo practice is that I am kind of a technology geek and I wanted to incorporate my love of technology with my practice of law. As 2008 looms before us, it is simply amazing what technology allows a solo practitioner to do. What, only a few years ago, would require a full sized firm with support staff and in-house technology experts can now be done with me, my computer, and the internet. There are options out there for everything from dictation to phone operation all the way to full case management and pretty effective speech recognition.

As usual, with the good comes the bad, and one of the issues we must deal with is the sheer amount of bad programs clouding an otherwise promising landscape. As developers begin to realize that an entire generation of attorneys are salivating at the gates of innovation, just waiting for that next best thing, there is the unfortunate impetus to come to market with products that are either poorly designed, poorly executed or both. As someone who usually tries whatever is new, I have had my share of these unhappy experiences.

This web site, I hope, will allow me to share what I have found that works, what does not work, and what is out there tha has yet to be tried. My hope is to set the flame to a continous discourse between lawyers, technologists, futurists, programmers, and anyone else who either has their finger on the pulse of whats new, or is searching for the pulse as we speak. I know from spending time at the various web sites where these subjects are discussed, in addition to conversations with colleagues on and off the web, this is am incredibly exciting time to be an attorney and a techno-geek at the same time.

Perhaps the biggest sign that technology has a deserved seat at the trial table is the fact that I have software programs just waiting for a case to put them to the test. I actually want to work harder so that I can see what does and does not work. Hopefully, this will be a place where we can learn about whats new, what is on the horizon, and what is better off passing by.

My office is still filled with yet to be opened boxes. Only now, I have had to pull out some legal pads and pens and begin to do some work. Im gonna have to open this office and prepare for this new experience while bringing my clients along for the ride. Dramamine is available for those less apt to enjoy the bumpy ride.