Justice moves slowly–this is the thesis of the American legal system. Cases wind a long, slow trail up from court to court and circuit to circuit; they are settled, appealed, thrown out, and most of the ends of any individual court session will prolong a case, rather than end it. Further, the laws themselves remain largely the same over time. Subtle alterations appear in policy with raised or lowered fees for bureaucratic machinations, or perhaps something will change locally to re-zone a bit of property, but for the most part, few truly unique laws are ever entered into law or repealed. Criminality does not change, and our felonies remain felonies, and our misdemeanors will almost assuredly always be misdemeanors.
Law practice, on the other hand, is a rapidly evolving entity. It cannot, as a matter of necessity, go unaltered. We tend to think of lawyers as wizened in some capacity with age, or else as young and snappy kids fresh out of their graduate programs, wielding their degrees and trimmed suits like apprentice sorcerers, but in truth neither of these are accurate. They are quite mortal, and their legal practice is subject to the same seismic forces as e-business, medicine, transportation and etc. Attorneys are neither depending upon years of exercise nor new mastery of an unchanging art, even if their catalyst and raison d’etre, law, is slow to change. If they hope to survive, they must keep above the surface tension of the world’s technological progress and stave off obsolescence with all the ferocity of an oncologist searing tumors.
How, though, can one tech-up law? Rhetoric as it doesn’t need any sort of technology behind it in court, and divorce papers will always be divorce papers. At a glance, the digital spreadsheet was the last technological advance to matter to your family lawyer. However, law, while often thought of as a practice in a category of its own, is in truth the classiest of service industries. As such, the name of the game is ease of access.
Proper e-mail communications can connect Los Angeles law firms to Modesto clients. Consultations across hundreds of miles are now possible and feasible. Law specialties can now be shared with infinitely more ease than before–but only by the firms snappy enough to keep up. Your market as a lawyer can expand exponentially, but only if you keep up with the times. A simple e-mail form advertising a free consultation can make your firm accessible and bring in business you would ordinarily miss. Face-to-face encounters are excellent to provide, but not every customer requires them. And for that, they may come to you, but only if distance services are provided.
With the advent of Web 2.0, even live chat is viable. Not every client will be comfortable with a phone call, let alone a formal e-mail–but a chat window is innocuous and non-threatening. People aren’t intimidated, but they are almost assuredly impressed by the availability of instant messaging. Providing it as a gateway can further bolster your clientele in ways you may not have imagined.
While technology is not commonly associated with the practice of law, it is no less important. The devil is in the details, but the details can make all the difference in this digital age. Make every hit online count!
