Originally published on August 23, 2011 in our free SmallLaw newsletter. Instead of reading SmallLaw here after the fact, sign up now to receive future issues in realtime.
2011 dropped a bomb on me. This year just plain stinks. It has tested my solo practice, my confidence, even my faith. On May 21st, my mother suffered a massive stroke. According to some interpretations of the Bible, the Rapture was supposed to occur on May 21, 2011. My father had planned to play a joke on my mother by piling up his clothes in the living room and hiding in a closet. Deciding against it, he went to let Mom in on the joke. She didn't laugh. She was too nauseous, and couldn't see or stand. After a 120 MPH drive to UAB Hospital, I was fortunate enough to see her smile one last time. She remained in a vegetative state for two more months before passing away on her 68th birthday.
My father, brother (also a lawyer), and I, with the help of my wonderful wife, sat by Mom's side day and night. I continued to work on existing cases, and decline new clients. To make matters worse it was the summer time — when the court system all but shuts down. I would have lost my business, let alone my mind, if not for virtual services.
We all read about virtual law firms and the virtual services they use such as receptionists, typists, and remote control applications. However, this summer I learned that these services provide an important safety net even in a traditional law practice like mine with office space. In this issue of SmallLaw, I'll tell you about three virtual services that literally saved my law firm.
You Can't Avoid the Phone Forever
After word got out that I was having a hard time, a friend relayed my troubles to Jill Nelson, the the top dog at Ruby Receptionists, a virtual receptionist service in Oregon gaining momentum among lawyers. Sympathetic to my plight, Ruby offered to answer my phones until I got back on my feet. A few email messages later I had a system in place. A warm, professional group of receptionists greeted callers, knew what to ask, and knew the people with whom I needed to talk. With Ruby I was able to concentrate on simply surviving the loss of a parent, instead of playing phone tag.
Making the benefits of Ruby even more obvious is my ability to review all calls from my iPhone via the Ruby Receptionist app. It displays who called, lets you know if they left a message (transcribed by the Ruby staff) or a voicemail, and enables you to create a new contact entry. Even cooler is the app's ability to notify Ruby of my whereabouts so that my phone doesn't ring during hearings. I can even message Ruby from the app to give them special instructions such as returning a call to a client for me.
You Can't Think of Everything
While sitting helpless in the hospital, I tried to get some work done. While I could accomplish more than I thought possible with my iPad (read my previous SmallLaw column, Using the iPad 2 in the Field in a Wrongful Death Case), there were times when I needed to access my desktop computer.
For example, the day I had to make a mad rush back from the hospital to the courthouse for a hearing I had forgotten a document I needed to present to the court in hardcopy form. Its residing in my Dropbox account was of little use since I couldn't print reliably from the iPad. I spent the hour drive to my hometown tracking down buddies who could print the document for me.
How much simpler it would have been to have a remote desktop server in place! Enter iTeleport for iPad, which I now have thanks to the efforts of TechnoLawyer. Now when I'm out of the office and need access to my desktop it's only a click away. iTeleport leverages the iPad's beautiful touchscreen to recreate my desktop computer. It perfectly implements the touch controls so that I can print documents, run non-iOS programs like Microsoft Word, and even stream music and movies from the office to my mobile location.
You Won't Have Time to Type
On another occasion, I again found myself in my least favorite place — under the gun. I had a brief due that couldn't be put off any longer without detriment to my client, so there I was resembling a trained bear on a motorcycle in a hospital waiting room pecking away at the iPad's virtual keyboard (sometimes virtual is not a virtue). This document needed some serious appellate formatting that made blood drip from my ears. If I'd only had somebody to type it for me.
Now that I'm enjoying 20/20 hindsight, I've started using LegalTypist. Unlike a virtual paralegal, which I suspect would be overkill for most of us, LegalTypist is simply that — an administrative assistant who optimizes your workflow. I can email a recorded dictation file or just dictate using a telephone. Within 24 hours, I received the document formatted properly for my jurisdiction. The best thing is I don't have to train anybody, implement weird proprietary software, or have a monthly contract for services I don't use often. The company is just there when I need them without a commitment to justify when bookkeeping.
The Bottom Line on Preserving Your Bottom Line: Plan Ahead
Life is unkind to everyone at times. However, a large law firm can keep rolling along if one of its lawyers becomes unavailable. Small law firms — solo practices in particular — don't have a deep bench or any bench at all. My mother's death crippled me emotionally and nearly crippled my law practice too. Had I known then what I know now I could have had services like Ruby, iTeleport, and LegalTypist in place to ease my stress during my time of need. These services are more affordable than ever, even on a rookie solo's nonexistent budget. You'll never be fully prepared for the unthinkable. Fires, natural disasters, and even death are very real threats to our legal careers. Plan ahead SmallLaw subscribers, plan ahead.
Written by Gadsden, Alabama lawyer Clark Stewart.
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