Let’s face it:  it’s been a rough year.  If you still have a job you’re probably pulling the weight of the resources that were let go in a downsizing round (and if you’re doing really well you’re probably a bankruptcy or foreclosure attorney).

Necessity is the mother of invention as they say, and many attorneys had to go it alone or start part-time practices to help pay the bills.  And in a difficult environment like the current, you gotta do two things to survive:  1) keep costs down and 2) stay efficient.

Enter technology.  Need a way to keep your practice humming without having to spend thousands of dollars upfront in software, servers and IT personnel?  With Software as a Service, you can forget worrying about the purchasing software and servers, hiring consultants to install it, and laying out thousands of dollars before you open your doors.

Since Rocket Matter does away with servers, backup drives, and other headaches, you can startup your practice without actually having an office to sit in. Work from your office, an executive suite, or any WiFi location.  Rent conference rooms when you need them, and save that precious rent money.

SaaS allows you more freedom then traditional software with lower initial costs and IT expenses you can predict and budget. You’re going to want to save your money for your very much needed first vacation!

Join Master VA Andrea Cannavina (@LegalTypist on Twitter) and Alberta’s own
popular Laurie Mapp (@HaloSecretarial on Twitter), as they present real-life examples,
practical considerations and the pros and cons of locating, working with and
managing the virtual legal assistant relationship.

This session will specifically cover:
* What a virtual legal assistant is, and more importantly, is not.
* Which tasks, duties and processes are most easily outsourced.
* In-house, in-country or offshore – does it really matter?
* Confidentiality and security.
* The right technology for the job.

About The Presenters:

Andrea Cannavina, Master Virtual Assistant
As the founder of LegalTypist, Inc., Andrea is a seasoned legal VA who has
been helping attorneys upgrade to digital and use the power of the Internet
and virtual legal assistance for 8 years. Supporting law firm clients across
the US, Andrea doesn’t just suggest ways that could help – she gives real
life examples of the tech and systems you can put into use with a virtual
legal assistant to literally get the work done. Having incorporated her VA
practice into firms of 1-100, Andrea doesn’t just give lip service – she has
practical, day to day working knowledge of what a firm can accomplish with
the right VA.

Laurie Mapp, Virtual Legal Assistant
As the founder Halo Secretarial Services, an Alberta-based Virtual
Assistant practice which caters to attorneys in both the US and Canada,
Laurie has unique insights into setting up and maintaining virtual
relationships.

…With the smartphones of the near future at her command, that lawyer will be able to do everything on the road — call, e-mail, Web browse, review files, read cases, write memos, etc. — that she now does in the office. In fact, it’ll be expected of her. A lawyer with a smartphone is a walking law firm — one that hardly ever closes. Lawyers who obsessively check their smartphone messages are considered antisocial nuisances today, but before long, they’ll be the norm. I’m not saying that’s good, but I am saying it’s pretty much inevitable.

Smartphones can get all of that done, indeed.  A lawyer using Rocket Matter can use an iPhone to record expenses, set up calendar appointments, track to-do’s, and create and send invoices.

This convenience is possible because Safari is a full web browser.  As more full-featured web browsers for mobile devices become available, such as SkyFire for the Pocket PC, then web based case management and web legal software can be accessed from wherever, whenever.

But then there’s the question of desirability.  Sure, we can do all this stuff on the go, but the screen is tiny.  How can the experience be made comfortable, so that one is as happy using either a smartphone, laptop, or desktop?

Ariel Jatib, Rocket Matter’s Chief User Experience Designer and avid iPhone user, offers up some thoughts on the matter as a comment on Jordan’s blog.

While the iPhone does provide for significantly more real estate that competitors, it is still a challenge providing a significant amount of information on the screen. For example, I have downloaded PDFs, but trying to read them is far from a comfortable exercise.

The true value in this revolutionary phone is that it is the first device that truly extends my “desktop” experience to the mobile realm.

For now, I can’t see anything replacing my laptop; at the same time, I love my external display because of the extra “space” it provides. My iPhone allows me to wander from this familiar domain without feeling as limited as I do with other devices; it extends my ability to communicate and work efficiently.

The challenge for designers will be simplifying complicated interactions and information sets into smaller units that are easier to navigate. The winner will be the one who makes the experience comparable, or even better, than the desktop.

We’d like to throw it out there for the readers – what thoughts do you have on practicing law on an iPhone or other smartphone?

For lawyers displaced by this season’s natural disasters, who have lost their office and need to find new digs, we are offering Rocket Matter free of charge.  This offer stands for the remainder of 2008, and we can extend this until a new permanent home is established.

Having gone through four hurricanes and other disasters ourselves, Rocket Matter was designed for these situations.  You may want to talk to your regional Practice Management Advisor to see if it’s a good fit for your situation.

The Ultimate Virtual Assistant Guide

The nice thing about using Rocket Matter is that you have no barriers should you wish to hire a Virtual Assistant.  Just give them a URL and a login, and they’re able to work on your matters!

So you’ve been hearing the words Virtual Assistant pop up just about everywhere lately? Not surprising, because although the virtual assistant industry has been around for awhile, in our current economy using a virtual assistant is becoming a wise economical decision. For lawyers, especially solo practitioners and small law firms, a virtual assistant is the perfect choice. You get an experienced professional with no need for additional office space, office equipment or other costs associated with hiring an on-site employee. Internet technology has made working remotely not only possible, but practical.

Since a virtual assistant usually has a specialty niche, you can easily find those that have legal experience and training. You can search the Internet through a search engine using the terms ‘legal virtual assistant’ or go to one of the websites for VA’s like the Virtual Assistant Forums or VANA. You’ll find a wealth of highly capable professionals to choose from.

The internet based collaboration product that Rocket Matter offers is the perfect tool for an attorney/virtual assistant situation, allowing access from any computer with an Internet connection, anywhere. Rocket Matter becomes your ‘office’ where you and your virtual assistant ‘meet’, collaborate and share information. And it also offers the tight security measures that an attorney’s confidential documents require, so a virtual assistant doesn’t have to be concerned with the added responsibility of high security storage of files.

If all of this talk of virtual assistance has you curious and wanting to know more, I’ve written several articles on the industry over at the Home Office Warrior; Home Office Virtual Assistant, including my recent 4 part series on finding and working with a VA. Contracting with a virtual assistant could be your administrative answer to gaining more billable hours.

Tina Hilton, from Clerical Advantage, just posted about the natural relationship between virtual assistants and Rocket Matter. Take a look at her post, Virtual Assistants for Attorneys? Check out Rocket Matter…, to see how your firm may benefit from a Legal SaaS solution and the use of VA’s.

Thanks, Tina!