Law.com has an article today called “When to Go VoIP? That Is The Question” As always, it seems some of the “mainstream” legal publications are behind the eight ball on advances in law firm technology.
Some of us have been discussing VoIP for law firms now for some time. Some of those bloggers include:
I know I have missed some. My point is this. Solos are in a position to try new technology before “big law” is. How much easier it is for the “partnership committee” of a solo firm to make a change and adopt new things. How much easier is it for the solo “technology committee” to adapt to new technology. We are the committee. I remember recently I received an email from Richard Georges of the FutureLawyer describing how he was having a partnership committee meeting on his way to his office. The meeting involved himself. No senior partners to contend with and no other committee to deal with. Topic brought up, discussion ensued, and decision made. How great is that.
For all of you law students who read this blog, and I thank you, don’t overlook a solo practice. One of the best things about it, is you will be the firm and you can do things the way you want. You can pick the type of law you want to practice. You can pick the technology you want to use. Which will be Mac of course!!! And you are the one who makes the decisions that affect you and the future of your firm. You and no one else. There is a sense of freedom in that. And I know, there is a sense of fear too. The great thing about it for you law students is that you are not going at it alone. There is a ton of information and help out there and I have only mentioned a small part of it. If you don’t read Build a Solo Practice, LLC and My Shingle, shame on you. They should both be required reading at law school.
Grant, as always, you are ahead of the curve. Thanks for an enlightening post.
Rick
Grant, well put. Additionally, it’s tough to argue with math:
Sample of recent international call charges to same client:
from my cell @ $3.02/min;
from voip @ $.021/min.
I’ll bet this client smiles when he hears that very minor difference in call quality (by the way, that client is also in the position that he “don’t need no stinking” committee to decide what type of call — hence charge — he prefers).
I’m working hard to claim the lowest phone costs. I work entirely by Skype, making all calls with this handy system. I purchased unlimited SkypeIn and SkypeOut for $90 combined. Divide that by 12 months and you’ve got a darn small number to work with.