Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 21 included in the new system and be accessible and searchable in a safe way just like the new files and that seems to be where the new products falter. So, until Mills is 100-per-cent con- fident that he's found the right tool and it has been tested extensively, he isn't prepared to hit the switch. On the other end of the spectrum is Rosen Sunshine LLP, a boutique firm with three lawyers and an office manag- er where partner Elyse Sunshine looks to balance technology with the firm's lean operations. Through the use of tools such as time-keeping, accounting and dictation-type services, the lawyers can keep their support needs at a mini- mum. The days of an assistant for every lawyer are gone, says Sunshine. But being a small firm means that some of the tech tools Sunshine would like to have remain out of reach. "We want technology to help us become more efficient and help provide better services to our clients, and also, from a practical perspective, keep our internal costs as low as possible," says Sunshine. "The one thing for a small firm that can be a bit challenging that bigger firms can access more easily is things like document management sys- tems" or more sophisticated programs such as those that allow lawyers to scan in transcripts. But they're expensive, she says, so the firm doesn't use them. Sunshine sees the tech evolution of law continuing, however. The cloud, for instance, has become more commonly used in the six years since Rosen Sun- shine launched and opted to go with servers and a VPN network to allow remote connection instead. Indeed, the evolution continues. The old and existing tools don't always oper- ate seamlessly with other tools to meet all of the needs of today's law firm. And there is now an increased reliance upon cloud-based computing and software- as-a-service that can be accessed from any device and anywhere, providing there is internet connection, through a subscription service, eliminating upfront costs. Cloud computing also allows sub- scription services to be scalable. Through a pay-per-use approach, users can be added or removed from the ser- vice. Alan Bass, president of Toronto- based Korbitec Inc., which provides tools for law firms, says that removes the upfront fees and makes it more affordable to adopt. That approach, which includes training and support, allows his document assembly service to be used by firms large and small. In the legal sphere, he adds, he is seeing a lot of new applications provid- ing these cloud-based services aimed at small law. "The small firms are not at a disad- vantage because it's a pay-per-use. So there's no upfront, big, capital invest- ment that's needed, nor is there a large footprint where you need an IT staff to implement. We also do all the training and support," he says. "I think the big message is that it does take the commit- ment of time to learn what is out there to use it" and that applies to those work- ing in both big and small firms. The other benefit is that a lot of the ;m|u-Ѵb;71-v;ķl-;uķ-m71om|-1|l-m-];l;m| -r|u;lou;0bѴѴ-0Ѵ;_ouv-m7=;;v -vbѴl-m-];|uv|-11omঞm] (bv-Ѵ-m-Ѵঞ1v=ou0vbm;vv7;1bvbomv SHARPEN YOUR "LAWYER'S EYE VIEW" -]b;vou;-Ѵঞl;-11;vv|o;;u-vr;1|o=ouCulbmou7;u|o l-m-];1Ѵb;m|ķl-;uķ-m70vbm;vvbm=oul-ঞomĺ|bv|_;bm7v|uŊѴ;-7bm]ķ -ѴѴŊbmŊom;voѴঞom=ou|uv|-m7];m;u-Ѵ-11omঞm]|_-|ruob7;v-m -|ol-|;7bmob1bm]-m7-11om|vu;1;b-0Ѵ;vv|;lķ-m7-vou1;=ou 0vbm;vv-m-Ѵঞ1vo=ঞl;-m7=;;7-|-ĺ obm|_;ƐƒķƏƏƏ-m-7b-mCulvvbm]-our]u-7;ou;bvঞm]vo[-u; |o|_;m;;v|;uvbomĺCall 1-800-328-2898oubvb|pclaw.ca PCLaw ® helps you manage your legal business lexisnexis.ca/pclaw ntitled-3 1 2017-08-15 4:05 PM

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