To whoever is in charge of the global thermostat, I’d like to register a few words of dissatisfaction. While I fully understand that it is not uncommon for the air of a midwestern July to be humid enough to cut and for the temperature to provide a gentle counterpoint to January’s chill, but your latest variations on the hot/humid theme are perhaps a bit too avant-garde for us conservative Minnesotans. For future reference, it is generally accepted that it is time to turn the heat down once one observes that the hound-dogs quietly lurking on front porches have transformed into oddly shaped throw rugs and that the dairy cows are producing cafe-au-lait rather than their more plebeian fair.
But all is not gloom and doom here in the little law office on the prairie, after all it is time to put the second crop of hay into the barn and were it not for your endeavors, I would have to head into the gym for my afternoon sauna. I must also admit that the tenor warble of an air conditioner’s compressor heard from afar brings a tear of joy to my eye as I know that my silicon darlings are running cool and dry. I am sure that next month’s electric bill will make my heart skip a beat from sheer exhilaration.
Speaking of hot technology, the stuff that’s getting this rural lawyer all het-up is most likely old-hat for those of you living where the calendars read 2014 rather than 1954, but its a simple mind-mapping app that’s turning out to be my hottest hit.
As an Estate Planner, Collaborative lawyer, and mediator a large part of my interactions with clients center around the development of goals, issues, and options; all of which are tracked on bits of highly processed tree (flip-charts, legal pads, etc) – much to the chagrin of my “less paper” approach to office management. Ah, but now the days of lugging easels and flip-charts are over, replaced by a projector, lightweight screen, and a mind mapping iPad (weight-wise, I’m not sure I’m ahead of the game). Now, I can list goals, outline issues, and diagram options in a free-hand and free-form way as conversations develop; saving it all at the end of the session as a PDF. There is less worry that the ordering of items may imply some type of priority or lack of neutrality and the electronic documents are far easier to distribute to the parties.
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