Contents

    Proudly featured in

    ForbesAdvisor - The Best Legal Billing Software Of 2022

    Do You Have the Right Mindset to Leverage Technology in Your Firm? Find Out Here!

    Contents

      Legal Mindset Score Card
       
      In a previous post, I talked about a new tool called The Legal Growth Mindset Scorecard. This scorecard contains eight key mindsets. You score yourself on each one. These mindsets include, for instance, Strategic Thinking and Future Driven.
      I’ll be delving into all the mindsets on my upcoming free webinar. (Sign up for it here!) For now, let’s dig into one of the eight mindsets: Values Technology.
      Identify the statement below that most closely reflects how you view technology and use it in your firm. Once you’ve selected the best statement, choose the appropriate number value within that level and record it in the “Score” column. You will only write one number in that entire column. Then record the number in the “Goal” column for the mindset level you’d like to achieve. So if you want to achieve somewhere in the middle of Mindset Level 3, you’d record an 8 in the “Goal” column.
       
      Legal Growth Mindset Scorecard
       
      Now that you have a score signifying where you are now and one where you would like to be, let’s explore how each of the four mindsets may impact your firm:
      Mindset Level 1: You view technology as an expense you want to minimize. Your attitude: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
      The legal field is not the most cutting edge of industries and has historically been slow to adapt and embrace technology. Attorneys that fall into this mindset may often say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Unfortunately, that is an incredibly flawed belief system.
      If your current mindset is in this category, it’s very likely you despise spending money on technology. You see it as waste that cuts into your profits. When you have no choice but to upgrade, this tends to be highly disruptive to your practice. The result of this behavior is similar to driving a car for three years with zero maintenance, bringing it in when smoke starts billowing out from under the hood, and then being shocked when the mechanic hands you the bill.
      If you currently hold this mindset, the odds that your technology will start working for you is slim. You also probably won’t leverage the full value of the technology within your firm. On a positive note, pinpointing this mindset may help you break free and move to the next level where technology starts working for you.
      Mindset Level 2: You’ll do anything you can to extend the life of your computers. However, you only buy new ones when they completely fail.
      I often come across this mindset on online forums where I’ll see attorneys looking for ways to squeeze a bit more life out a 5-year-old computer. Those with similar mindsets then enable the attorney, offering ways to upgrade the hard drive or add more RAM. They invest hours of their precious time into a computer that should be aged out and replaced instead of investing this time in billable work or higher ROI-generating activities.
      There is a lot of power realizing this is your mindset. In fact, many clients have come to us when they recognize that this mindset is holding them back from growing. They look to improve their mindset to get tech-related work off their plate.
      Mindset Level 3: You have no problem spending money on quality technology. You understand it provides your practice with a solid foundation.
      Attorneys with this mindset tend to leverage technology. In fact, they are considered “conventionally successful” in this regard. They understand that technology is a required cost of doing business. They believe not having a good handle on technology negatively impacts everyone’s productivity and lowers output, so they stay current with it. They also find a solid IT partner to maintain the firm’s technology on a proactive basis and to support and assist with major projects when needed.
      Lawyers with this mindset see themselves as having reached the top of the success ladder in terms of using technology, but they do not know there is something better. By having reached “conventional success,” this mindset focuses on maintaining the status quo. They are not looking to find new ways to improve the operations by leveraging technology since they feel they are already there.
      Mindset 4: You view technology as an investment and a massive profit lever inside your firm that you are always looking to maximize.
      This fourth mindset level represents a transformative mindset. Attorneys with this mindset are constantly looking for ways to improve. They search for better tools and for ways to get more out of their existing tools. They continually train their staff and find experts to assist in maximizing their technology. In other words, these attorneys are always increasing their leverage of technology so they can get bigger, faster, and easier results within their practice.
      Attorneys without this mindset may have the right tools in place, but due to not having this ambition, they will not leverage the technology to its full potential. An important key to point out is that the firm’s partner does not need to have this technical aptitude to embrace this mindset. If you have someone on your team or an outside vendor with this capability, then you have the capability. The key is the desire to continually find ways to maximize the technology in your practice.
      This was just a peek at one of the eight mindsets. Join me on my upcoming webinar to learn about the other mindsets, see how you score, and gain clarity on what you need to do to improve your mindsets.
       Tom Lambotte is the CEO of GlobalMacIT, a national managed service provider providing complete end-to end legal technology services to Mac-based law firms. GlobalMacIT provides leadership and direction to transform law firm operations and boost profits by leveraging technology.
      Tom is the author of Hassle Free Mac IT Support for Law Firms and Legal Boost: Big Profits Through an IT Transformation. He also speaks at many national events such as the ABA TECHSHOW and MacTrack Legal.
       

      Share post:

      Subscribe to our Newsletter & Stay up to date with the latest articles, educational resources, and news.