Consumerization – Some Tips for IT

Back in May, David Whelan wrote an excellent column on the pressures law firms experience because of consumer technology products titled The Core of Legal Technology. This month, the Law Society Gazette (UK) contained an article titled Technology in law firms transformed by ‘consumerisation’. Today I found a clever way to get the alternate spelling into the keywords of this article. Clever keyword content is not what I want to write about though.

I want to share three ideas to help law firm technology departments cope with the issue of consumer (and by this I mean Partner) demand for the latest gadget. These ideas are meant to help you respond to the demands or requests or pleas that come to you.

1. The latest gadget is probably a productivity tool

Just because it is a consumer product doesn’t mean that it isn’t a productivity tool. For example, my firm spends less money on hard copies of the Alberta Rules of Court because many lawyers access a nice current, useable, free pdf version on their personal mobile devices. I am certain that no one told our IT department that those personal iPads were going to be used to write textbooks, reference Rules, or look at images at a discovery. Just because a tool is marketed like a toy doesn’t mean that it won’t be used like a tool in your law firm.

2. Embrace change

People don’t look for technology solutions because they have nothing better to do. We are in a reality where technology tools are what 40 somethings (who are supposed to be planning a seminar) talk about when they have breakfast (and thanks for the tips ladies). Sharing best practices can happen within Google+, even though to you it is just another new social media time waster. Certainly one of your jobs is to remind people about policies and security if that comes up, but policies and security are not the automatic ‘no’ to innovation that is driven by Your clients – the lawyers and staff you work with.

3. Document your processes

I know that connecting the first iPad to Outlook was a big pain in your tush. As long as you made a note of the steps, the second, third, and 30th times were a breeze. No one wants your job, they won’t outsource you and just use your procedures manual. If you can document your work and use that documentation to create standard, stable methods, you will have great success. Your credibility will be firmly established when you say “let me get my notes on that, I have done it before so I know the method”. Even better is “my group has a standard method for that”.

As the Dalai Lama tweeted: “Taking care of our neighbors’ interests is essentially taking care of our own future.”

I look forward to comments.