Solo Practitioners, Technology

Today's Tech: How A Solo Lawyer Uses Web-Based Technology During Mediations

How can you use technology to supplement your practice, and ultimately become a better lawyer?

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Has technology changed the ways that we practice law? I think it has. That’s why I write this column: to show how lawyers across the country are using technology to deliver legal services more efficiently, effectively, and affordably.

I’ve featured lawyers who use mobile devices in their practices, including iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones and tablets, and smartwatches. I’ve also covered lawyers who use software tools to communicate with their clients and streamline the delivery of legal services.

Today you’ll learn how one solo practitioner has used Google Docs and Facetime to facilitate mediations between parties located in two different states. Julie Tolek is an attorney with a law practice located in Brookline, Massachusetts. Her practice is primarily focused on family law and estate planning.

She hung her law firm’s shingle right out of law school with the intention of incorporating cutting-edge technology into her practice right from the ground up: “I started my own practice in in December 2013, right after I graduated from law school and took the bar. I wanted to use my experience with technology in a law practice and decided the best way to do that was to go solo. Because family law and mediation can involve turbulent times for my clients, I wanted to use technology to make things as easy and comfortable as possible for my clients.”

According to Julie, her use of technology — especially web-based tools — has made her practice more appealing to the younger generation of legal consumers. “The clients that I’ve used it with most often are probably between the ages of 25-45. Clients in this age group already use technology every day,” she explains. “They bank online, order food online, and use Amazon to shop. They are used to doing things at their convenience so the ability to provide them with access to web-based technology such as Google Docs and Facetime — technology that many other firms aren’t already embracing — appeals to this demographic since they already do everything online.”

Julie often uses Google Docs or other tools to collaborate online with clients when drafting documents for their case. “One way or another, I try to work on documents with clients real-time, by using Google Docs or a conference call software that includes document sharing capabilities. Another thing I’ve started to do recently is to connect my computer to the television in my office using wifi and Apple TV. That way  we can review and modify documents together instead of printing out paper copies and taking notes,” she says. “I use Google Docs with many of my uncontested cases and prenuptial matters. I create a Google Doc after intake and share with both clients so they can add everything into the document. And in estate planning, if there are extensive assets, I sometimes create a Google Doc for both spouses so they can then review the document and answer the questions. That way there’s no emailing back and forth.”

Julie explains that her clients are more receptive to collaborating on documents using online tools than they are with the idea of using Facetime or Skype for video conference calls. “While many of my clients adapt quickly to using Google Docs, for most, Facetime and Skype have been a bit more difficult. It’s been hard to get clients to use these tools. I’m not sure if they’re scared of it or uneasy with it.”

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Despite her clients’ reticence to use video conferencing tools, she reports success using Facetime during a recent mediation. “I used Google Docs and FaceTime in a paternity case with a client who had moved to Philadelphia. The wife contacted me so she could set a visitation schedule with the father. Because they were communicating well, I suggested it might be a good case for mediation. I reached out to the father, who lives here in Boston, and suggested we hold a video conference because it would be the easiest way for us to speak together face-to-face. He agreed so I arranged for a mediation,” she explains.

“Next, I created a Google Doc and shared it with both of them and asked them to write down what they’d already agreed to for visitation terms. Then we set up an appointment for us to meet. The father met with me in Boston at the Boston Bar Association (a neutral location) and we used Facetime to get the mother on the call. We pulled up the Google Doc and we talked through each term and added notes and comments to the document. We were able to flesh out what the details of the terms would be in real-time. After that, I added all the terms they’d agreed to in a document to present to the judge. Finally, I created a new Google Doc with the Order and then had each of them read it and make comments on the document.”

Importantly, Julie stresses that technology supplements her practice and allows her to provide better client representation. She doesn’t use technology to replace face-to-face meetings — she selectively uses it to enhance client interaction. “I’m not trying to eliminate human contact,” she explains. “Technology is not a substitute face-to-face interaction. I’m not losing the personal touch — it’s still very important and is a priority for me, especially given my practice areas. Instead, technology is an important tool that I use to supplement my practice — and ultimately it makes me a better lawyer.”

Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikiblack and she can be reached atniki.black@mycase.com.

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