Today's Tech: How A Biglaw Attorney Uses Wearable Technology In His Practice
Which Biglaw firm is keeping up with the latest in wearable technology, and how has it helped their lawyers?
When I first started writing this column, I read about how attorneys at the oldest and second largest law firm in Arizona, Fennemore Craig, were incorporating technology, including wearables, into their practices in really interesting ways. I was so intrigued that I made a note to learn more about how the firm’s lawyers were using technology at some point down the road.
Well, that day has come. I finally reached out to this firm and am so impressed with how its lawyers are using technology in their injury law practice group within the firm, that I’ve decided to turn this feature into a three-part series.
In today’s post, I’ll be writing about Marc Lamber and how his practice group uses Google Glass and Fitbit during different stages of the litigation process. In my next column, I’ll write part two of this series based on my interview with James Goodnow, with a focus on how the group uses the Apple Watch in its practice. And finally in part three, I’ll draw on my conversations with both attorneys to explain how their practice group has used iPads in some very unusual, but effective ways.
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According to Marc, incorporating technology into their day-to-day practice is part of their firm’s culture and is an always-evolving process: “Our practice group is like a technology petri dish. We have a continuing focus on how to transition different technologies into our practice and how to do this responsibly. So we regularly experiment with technology and then we evaluate it to see if it’s benefiting our work and our clients. If it is, then more lawyers start to use it. The best part is that management is supportive of this petri dish mentality.”
One of the ways that Marc’s practice group has used technology in an innovative way is by providing Google Glass to its clients. Mark explains that when Google Glass was first rolled out, they immediately recognized it as an opportunity to tell their injured clients’ stories in a memorable way: “We’ve always looked at how we can harness tech to convey information in a more powerful and simplistic way. Google Glass provided us with a way to present evidence uniquely from the standpoint of the user’s perspective.”
He continues, “So for one of our clients who was a double amputee, we used Google Glass to tell his story instead of writing a demand letter describing the issues, or eliciting this information by asking him questions at trial about how his injuries affect his day-to-day life, or even entering into evidence a day-in-the-life video from a third party perspective. The reason Google Glass is so effective is because it offered a first-person perspective on the hardships our client encountered each and every day of his life.”
There was another added benefit to providing their clients with Google Glass: doing so encouraged an open line of communication. Marc explains: “If you give a severely injured client an iPad, he has more limitations since, for example, he has just one arm. But with Glass, despite his limitations he can communicate with us remotely using voice activation. It can be so much more seamless than other types of technology for him given his circumstances.”
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Marc is excited about the recent announcements regarding the reinvention of Google Glass and the possibilities it may offer: “When we first used it, Glass was in beta testing and was fairly primitive. But it’s exciting that it’s being reinvented and will be released again near the end of the year. When we first started using Glass, it allowed for video conferencing but Google later pulled that feature. We think Glass 2 will have that ability built into it, so that will provide one more way for us to keep an open dialogue with our clients.”
Marc’s practice group also uses Fitbit in ways you might not expect. “With Fitbit, there’s so many different angles. Think about how jurors process information and how you can measure that,” he says. “With Fitbit you can measure their heart rate so you can have the members of a focus jury group wear this device and then determine whether a particular piece of evidence resonates with them by seeing if it causes any of the jurors’ heartbeats to elevate.”
Marc also sees potential for using Fitbit with the firm’s clients: “If a piece of wearable technology such as Fitbit will allow our clients to monitor their activity levels over the course of a day, and if that’s consistent with their healthcare provider recommendations, that information could be valuable to help support their claims.”
According to Mark, embracing new technology is part of his firm’s culture and that’s why they use technology in so many unusual — and effective — ways. “At our firm, firm management supports incorporating new technologies into the firm — they even use it themselves. So when iPads first came out the management committee had iPads and used them, just as the entire organization uses technology as it comes out,” he explains. “When you buy in and aren’t simply paying lip service, you learn about the benefits. It’s a process.”
For Marc’s practice group, technology is a means to an end, with the goal being to provide the best representation possible: “We really believe in the possibilities of technology and the fact that it’s not going anywhere. That’s why we try to be innovative in the ways that we use technology. It’s also important to educate other lawyers about how technology can be used and lead by example. We like to think that we’re doing something good for the practice of law, for our firm, and for our clients.”
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To learn about more ways that March’s firm is innovating with technology, make sure to check back in two weeks. You’ll find out how Marc’s practice group is incorporating the Apple Watch into their practice and what they plan to do with this technology in the future.
So that’s how one law firm is using wearable technology. As always, if you or an attorney you know is using technology in a creative or unusual way in your law firm, drop me an email at niki.black@mycase.com. I’m always looking for new attorneys — or judges — to feature in this column.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York attorney and the Legal Technology Evangelist at MyCase, web-based law practice management software. She’s been blogging since 2005, has written a weekly column for the Daily Record since 2007, is the author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers, co-authors Social Media for Lawyers: the Next Frontier, and co-authors Criminal Law in New York. She’s easily distracted by the potential of bright and shiny tech gadgets, along with good food and wine. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikiblack and she can be reached atniki.black@mycase.com.
