Episode 33 - Scott reports on the Above The Law - Academy of Private Practice Conference

Podcast Host Scott Limmer recently attended Above the Law’s Academy of Private Practice Conference and reports on some valuable insight and information he obtained at the conference. First and foremost, Scott mentions that lawyers have to get comfortable with the current and coming tech boom affecting lawyers and their practice. This has been a running theme on the show and the ATL APP conference just further solidified the need for practitioners to get up to speed – not just with tech for the office and staff but tech such as branded portals that put up clients’ needs and seek legal help for them through these special websites, like Upwork. Lawyers need to think about their practice areas as these sites proliferate and do things like wills; corporate start-ups; and document production. While these things will give people more access to legal services at a low cost – it will financially impact solo and small firms. Some tips to rise above the coming cyber-law-practice model:

- Focus on areas where personal interaction is still needed and highly valued
- Make sure you are marketing your expertise and giving confidence to prospective clients
- Take advantage of your skills and experience to add value to clients who may be thinking about going cyber for their legal needs
- Automate your documents and templates – following the Lean Law suggestions from prior podcasts – to make yourself competitive