You Can't Base Your Law Practice on an App

It's an appy world, where you can tap an app and do just about anything.

Conference with a client; there's an app for that. Deposit a retainer; tap that app in a snap.

In the law business, however, not everything is so automatic. Some things take a little more time, like best practices behavior.

No App for That

Computer applications and programs are great for productivity, but they are only as good as the users. It's the old computer caveat: garbage in, garbage out.

It's especially true when it comes to numbers. Financial writer Alicia Adamczyk has studied the shortcomings of finance apps, and says they work so long as people do.

"The main takeaway being, you can't rely on an app alone to change your behaviors," she says. "Especially in the financial space, where there is, literally, so much money on the line."

Lawyers, too, cannot rely on automation to replace judgment. That's one reason law firm websites should have disclaimers.

Ethical Considerations

The same can be said for apps, email, and social media posts. There are a lot of ethical considerations for lawyers communicating in the virtual world.

Keeping data private, in particular, requires that attorneys be extremely vigilant. As Facebook and Yahoo have learned from massive data breaches, there's no an app that can handle that.

Related Resources:

• What Are Best Practices for Texting Clients? (FindLaw's Technologist)
• Smart Tech Security Fails From Mini to Massive (FindLaw's Technologist)
• Major Advertisers Flee YouTube Over Pedophile Comments (FindLaw's Technologist)