Using the tools discussed in their book, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, authors Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell created a guide for making the most out of collaboration tools and this future of legal technology. Collaboration tools and technologies by their very terms refer to means and methods, in this case electronic, which allow people to work together in a joint or common effort. The authors separate these tools into two types: those used inside the office and those used outside the office. The tasks and/or processes are the same, but there are distinctions between the two because of the obvious fact that the people who are communicating outside the office are not necessarily in the same physical location.
Moving beyond the basic discussion of the use of collaboration generally, the authors get into some specifics related to collaborating on documents, e.g. creating a document online and working simultaneously on a document, and working together on cases, transactions, and projects using such means as scheduling tools, conference calls, and real-time meetings.
The next part of the book focuses on commonly used collaboration platforms, including email, SharePoint, Adobe Acrobat, and Slack. Specialized collaboration platforms also merit some discussion by the authors. These include some practice management programs and knowledge management software. The authors conclude with recommended choices for some law practice scenarios, such as solo lawyers, government law departments, and legal services organizations.
Written by an information technology lawyer and a technology consultant and former litigator, The Lawyer’s Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together is a must-read for lawyers, legal professionals, and anyone who wants to discover the vast array of collaboration technologies available and how they can be implemented. You can find it here at the Law Library in our Legal Tech Collection.
