Welcome to an El Nino Year

While January 2014 saw the little law office on the prairie dealing with outside temperatures usually seen cooling superconductors and had me emulating the Michelin Man every time I bundle up to go outside, 2015 has blown in under milder conditions. Something I hope will prove to be a positive omen for the year to come given that 2014 was marked more by upheaval and chaos than stability – basically it was a bad year when it came to keeping the cats in a herd.

Now, however cathartic it may be to reflect on the past year’s woes – the spontaneous and catastrophic self-disassembly of my mower-conditioner while in use or the demonic possession of my car as examples – it seems that it is more appropriate to look forward on the birth of the new year and set some goals for the coming year. So, here’s my list of tech goals for 2015 – I’ll let you know how things progress over the coming year.

• Make better use of technology to reduce errors. First, stop relying on memory and my computer’s file system to manage documents and put them under a document management system like OpenDocMan. Second, use document automation tools (e.g.: Doxsera or Pathagoras).

• Learn to use the CRM component of my practice management software. Given the myriad of ways clients can come into a practice (referrals, social media, web sites, etc.) there comes a point where managing interactions with clients (past, present & future) moves beyond scribbled notes in the margins of one’s day planner and into the realm of technology. Given that my practice management software incorporates a CRM component and can integrate with other CRM applications, perhaps it is time I started learning to use what’s available to me.

•  Build a new website. If I’m going to improve CRM, then a client’s first introduction to my practice (my firm’s website) needs to be more tightly integrated into the “know, like, trust, try, buy, refer, repeat” cycle. While having static pages and a blog can address the “know, like, trust”, adding inbound marketing tools can add “try” into the mix.

• Introduce a bit of health tech. We all know that the chaotic stableness that is a law practice can tempt us to throw more into the work side of the ol’ work/life balance, so it’s time to put that smartphone to work evening the balance. With the assistance of Stop, Breathe & Think I’m going to add a little more mindfulness into my practice to see if I can even the balance a bit.