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Is It Time for a Legal Tech Intervention?

By William Vogeler, Esq. on May 15, 2018 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Are you slowing down, missing a step, or getting that eerie feeling that you're at a high risk of crashing?

These are signs that you might need an intervention. Or at least need somebody to help you regain control to get you back up and running.

We're talking about a legal tech intervention here. Sometimes it's hard to admit your law firm needs one, but these signs can help.

Slowing Down

Your computer system is slowing down. You have glitches and crashes. It's time to pray you don't lose your data to that computer error you've been ignoring, and get some help.

Just like interventions for personal issues, a legal tech intervention has to come from someone on the outside. Asking an insider, however well-intentioned, is like asking an enabler for a solution.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to cost money because FindLaw can help. The Legal Technology Center has free resources on legal tech such as "Electronic Discovery, Law Office Hardware, Legal Practice Software, Mobile, Networking, Data Storage, and Modern Law Practice."

And if you want to go way outside, check out the "Legal Innovation Center." Ivy B. Grey also posted there about legal tech interventions.

Is It Working?

You have to ask yourself, according to Grey, is your legal tech initiative working? You can't answer that question unless you are measuring your performance.

"We introduce technology and process improvement initiatives, but rarely track their progress," she writes. "We don't know whether benefits outweigh costs--or the costs outweigh benefits."

That's why law firms sometimes don't realize they need help. Even after investing in tech upgrades, they don't know if it's working.

Joe Patrice, writing for Above the Law, says don't upgrade -- at least not all at once. That would be like going cold turkey, and everybody knows what that tastes like.

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