Technology

Lawyers Thinking About Adopting Slack? Read This First

Will Slack actually make you more productive? Columnist Zach Abramowitz doesn't think so.

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SlackAt a recent lunch, someone on the marketing team at a major legal tech software company asked me what I thought would be the next “big thing” in social media and communication. My instinct was to say Slack. Slack, if you do not already know, is a messaging app for teams and one of the fastest growing communication platforms. The idea behind Slack, in a nutshell, is to provide a synchronous messaging app that is designed for 2016, unlike email which is designed for 1999.

And, if you do a Google search for “Lawyers use Slack,” you will find a plethora of articles simply singing hosannas to Slack. And, to be fair, I have spoken with startup CEOs I respect who swear by Slack, claiming that the constant chatter between team members has played a significant role in shaping their company’s culture. The primary value adds are that (1) Slack is powerfully searchable, (2) it reduces the clutter inside email inboxes, and (3) it facilitates constant contact between people on teams and thereby increases transparency.

Here is my question: even if all that is true, will Slack actually make you more productive?

So while some teams are addicted to Slack, more and more are deciding its simply not for them. Our team at ReplyAll began using Slack and we quickly realized that, while it did reduce our email clutter, it was yet another thing to keep track of and manage. And, maybe I am alone, but I have never had trouble searching for old emails. After a week or two, I deleted the app and went back to good old email.

Where Slack is categorically different, although not necessarily better, is in the type of communication it encourages. Unlike email, which is asynchronous, Slack does not facilitate and encourage long, thoughtful dialogue. The communication feels more, well, chatty.

When I was a first-year lawyer, I had an exchange with midlevel associate that left a real impression on me. I had sent him a string of piecemeal emails about the deal we working on and he finally responded, “Think carefully about what you want to say and then say it.” But those piecemeal emails which were not well thought out are exactly the kind of communication you would see on Slack.

And this gets back to the question of whether or not Slack makes your team more productive. Again, maybe I am alone on this, but chatting all day with members of my team does not feel particularly productive. In fact, that kind of communication can be a real distraction. When you are working on discovery, due diligence, or a mark-up of a purchase agreement, do you really want to have to follow an ongoing chat between the rest of your team? When it comes to communication, sometimes less is more.

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Have you had similar experiences with Slack, or do you find that is, indeed, helping your team become more productive? Email me, tweet to me, or leave a comment.

Zach Abramowitz is a former Biglaw associate and currently CEO and co-founder of ReplyAll. You can follow Zach on Twitter (@zachabramowitz) or reach him by email at zach@replyall.me.

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