Why MidwestAre You A Tech-A-Legal
What are They making us do now?
Breathe Deep. The paralegal profession is evolving right along with many other industries. The paralegal job I had in 1981 (be kind, don’t do the math) is nothing like the paralegal jobs of today. The expectations and demands made of paralegals to keep current with technology are often linked to departments with tight budgets and attorneys with sometimes unrealistic expectations of the software and paralegals.
Software tools are purchased with the goal of improving efficiencies, but the hardware is not upgraded to keep pace with the speed or power needed for the intended software.
Paralegals are chosen for increased techie tasks because they either show interest, aptitude or happen to pull the short straw in the paralegal team meeting. Training is a faint memory in some firms and whole cases are managed by paralegals that “think” they know the software through their self-taught methods. They do their best, but is it good enough for your client?
Imagine expecting a paralegal to work with sophisticated software on a case only to find out after the fact that searches and results they THOUGHT they were doing right, in fact was capturing only a small percentage of the data.
Reliance on the IT person (often times a staff of one) can add to the frustration if their plate is already full with the day to day systems management functions. If the hub of your computer systems wheel is not on board with the software tools – and in some instances “refuses” to support them, you have just handed off another hat to your already multi-tasking paralegal.
What is the solution to the hybrid Tech-a-Legal that most firms need today? Money.
- Involve the paralegal in the software choice that is to be made. The paralegal has the best sense of the real-world practice of the attorneys he/she supports. What the attorney says will be done vs. practical real life patterns.
- Purchase software that will serve multiple services for diverse law practices.
- Keep in mind that if you want minimum results - go with the minimum hardware requirements stated by the software distributor. Knock, Knock – there is a reason they use the word minimum!
- Plan for an expansion of server space and need for speed. speed. speed. You don’t understand how long two minutes is, until you have a humorless senior partner waiting for a document in your doorway while you retrieve from a database that is grinding on a too-slow processor.
- Avoid falling into the trap of launching a new system on the eve of a massive case with short timelines. Such a pressure pit eliminates the needed time allowances for learning curve mistakes.
- Train. Train. Train. The efficiencies in software will recoup the cost of the training on the first case. Not to mention the sleep factor of knowing as your drifting off to slumber land – that a hot document isn’t buried in a place your novice IT person over looked
Is your paralegal going to be your tech-a-legal? Then set up the position so that it has a hope of succeeding by your commitment in hardware and training. To do anything else is to point to a failed system that still cost money, took time away from your day and reaped very little benefits.
How To Foster Good Client Relationships
While On-Site
Sometimes “The Us and the Them” feeling can be brutal. However there are certain ways to foster good client relationships.
- Adopt a Client knows best attitude
- Be prepared to deal with staff who may not welcome you, but remember to stay positive and always pitch, “we’re here to help.
- Don’t be surprised if you aren’t invited to the events - but be thankful when you are.
- Communication is key to lessen uncertainties.
More Bang for Your Buck
To keep the relationship of one document to another in a database, make sure the vendor you are using captures the association of records being processed. (i.e. Family Summaries) When processing email, the attachments will always be associated with its “parent” email. Likewise when processing paper scanning, the preparation will take into consideration the documents that were stapled together. This will keep the physical relationship in tact when working with records in a database.
Getting To The Good Stuff
Midwest Paralegal was recently hired to handle an unusual document review. When John Maloney was contacted regarding a client file, he soon realized he needed trustworthy, competent assistance to help with processing the document scope. John's client had assembled literally tons of paper over the decades, mixing valuable, substantive documents among materials that held little value. To review the hundreds of boxes and dozens of file cabinet drawers, a meticulous review needed to take place to find the highlighted, focused documents that were literally buried among the files. The process took three paralegals, four weeks and three dumpsters to complete. The paperwork that was located assisted in recreating the fact trail that John needed established. "Following my direction, Midwest's paralegals were able to identify the substantive documents and worked independently, reporting on a regular basis. We were able to identify the materials of need, while my regular staff tracked other elements of the file, that needed their attention". reported Attorney Maloney.
Many Thanks
Thanks to Bill Mulligan at Davis & Kuelthau, S.C. for his presentation “Proposed Changes Expected December 2006 to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure”. The June Litigation Practice Series, sponsored by Midwest Paralegal Services, Inc. was well attended.
Anyone interested in getting a copy of the hand-outs, please contact Bill Kuffel at bkuffel@midwestparalegal.com
Midwest has upgraded its upstream internet connection to 608 kbps (kilobytes per second) to maintain the speed of the many Citrix users that Midwest currently assists. Midwest also upgraded an additional 838 Gigabyte of memory space.
We are happy to announce that Roland Johnson married Sarah Ledanski on August 12, 2006. Roland is the Systems Manager for Midwest. They will be living in Milwaukee. Congratulations!
Rick Stieghorst and Shawn Olley will be featured speakers at this years’ Wisconsin Solo & Small Firm Technology Conference on November 16th at the Wyndham Hotel in Milwaukee. This event is sponsored by the Milwaukee Bar Association.
