to do something that could be done in 20 minutes, you are not doing right by your law practice or your client." Primerus firms work hard to do right by their clients in all arenas, including the use of technology, according to Primerus President and Founder John C. Buchanan. "Primerus firms are embracing new technologies that allow them to accomplish things that would not have been possible a short time ago," he said. "It allows them to offer better services at less cost, as well as collaborate more closely with their fellow Primerus members around the world." Buchanan pointed out two examples, among many. The first is V-Rooms Virtual Data Rooms, which provides attorney client extranets and secure document sharing platforms. Buchanan said he has used it extensively in major lawsuits. "Instead of copying, for discovery, tens of thousands of documents for opposing counsel, the documents are scanned into the Internet V-Room that all interested and authorized parties may review at their leisure without the heavy cost of copying and handling thousands of paper documents to multiple parties," Buchanan said. Dan R. Bradbary, founder and CEO of V-Rooms, describes it this way: "A client extranet, sometimes referred to as a `client portal' or `client login' feature, is a cloud-based network that allows controlled document sharing outside an organization's firewall. A client extranet can be viewed as a secure extension of an organization's internal computer network to external users, such as clients, experts, accountants and other attorneys. In essence, using is a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that adds additional layers of security to an organization's internal network when sharing and collaborating with external parties." Buchanan also cited the example of videoconferencing (with tools such as WebEx, communication tools) as revolutionizing communication between lawyer and lawyer, as well as lawyer and client. "It now makes true collaboration between lawyers in a tightly knit organization such as Primerus work much more effectively and economically for the best interest of their mutual clients," Buchanan said. "Since Primerus has very high quality law firms all over the world, and all must speak English, clients with multi-national legal matters can really benefit from this combination of communication technology and collaboration within the Primerus organization." It's one more way Primerus, and its small to mid-sized member firms, can do big things with technology. "Where the mega law firms had an exclusive on handling gigantic matters requiring hundreds of lawyers, this is also going the way of the horse and buggy," Buchanan said. "Using the latest technology, networks like Primerus are now able to provide that kind of work with high quality lawyers at a fraction of the fees now charged by larger firms." Technology Tips for Smaller Law Firms in 2015 Project Leadership tools offer your firm. The price points have dropped significantly and smaller firms have the ability to leverage these tools faster and easier than large law firms. looking for processes you can automate. |