There is Never a Good Time — Legal Software Purchase

The firms that tend to run the best technology package usually have a standing committee or group who meet regularly to evaluate new technology.

This group can scale to the size of your firm — in some firms, it may be a single partner, while in others it may be a group comprising multiple partners and all levels of staff in the firm. The group should have two goals:

• Evaluate your firm's technological needs

  This means speaking with colleagues to determine what tasks, processes, or elements of practice are inefficient or could benefit from the assistance of technology.

• Review new software

  The pace of new software for the legal field has increased significantly, and where firms might have had two or three pieces of software in the past, there may be dozens of options now. Not everything will suit your firm, but knowing what is out there and how to evaluate it will allow you to more quickly connect technologies with your firm's needs.

Great IT providers, whether employed or outsourced, will understand your firm's unique needs, your firm's practice, and your firm's procedures. This is a critical element that is often overlooked. If your IT team does not understand how you practice, they can only offer a cookie-cutter approach to managing your technology. Once your IT team understands your firm, they can use their industry knowledge and connections to look out for software that will help make your firm more secure, more efficient, and more profitable.

Tracument works with a large number of IT firms as channel partners and we see a number of our new clients each year referred by their IT providers (who suggested us because they know what we do and thought it might help).

Not all firms will have the time for a standing technology group, nor will they have sufficient IT time or budget to have someone looking out for them. However, it is possible to do a year's worth of technology catch-up in a day or two. Attending conferences is an excellent way to keep up with new technology that might help your firm. Canada hosts a number of legal technology conferences, such as the World Technology Law Conference and CAN-TECH Law Conference in Toronto, just to name a few.

Additionally, many professional organisation conferences, including those for specific types of law like Personal Injury or Insurance Defence, are sponsored by technology companies whose products can be reviewed during breaks between sessions. Attending even one or two of these conferences a year can give you an idea of what new technology is available and a chance to get further information.

Similar to attending conferences, many organisations for legal professionals aim to keep their membership apprised of new technologies and software. The following is an incomplete list of associations that provide updates on new technologies (many of them also put on conferences that can be a great place to check out new ideas):

• Canadian Lawyer
• Canadian Technology Law Association
• Thompson Reuters
• Canadian Bar Association (and the Bar Associations of each province)
• Ontario Trial Lawyers Association
• Trial Lawyers Association of British Columbia
• The Law Office Management Association (TLOMA)

Additionally, many of Canada's Law Societies also publish information, though not usually endorsements, about current technological trends.