The Modern Law Office

In my over 20 years practicing criminal defense in California, I have observed law offices move from the old traditional system of advertising in the Yellow Pages phone book to creating dynamic web sites, along with television commercials and YouTube videos.

Unfortunately, what I have not seen locally here in Northern California are law offices that are taking advantage of technology to improve how their office works and to benefit clients.

Under the traditional model, law offices today have a web site that is basically a full page advertisement telling prospective clients about the services offered, the qualification of the attorneys and how to contact the office, either by telephone or a web site submission page asking to be contacted to set up an appointment.

These offices communicate with clients either face to face or on the telephone. Many law offices still send out written letters to their clients on expensive letterhead, and charging the client for the time it took the attorney or the secretary to draft the letter. The letter is then put in the mail and the client waits for it to show up at his or her home. The same happens with copies of reports, billing statements, and memos from the attorney. In this kind of system, if a client needs something right away, the client will stop by the office and pick up the documents in person. Most law offices will not send these kinds of documents by e-mail because e-mail is not secure and they do not want to risk confidential information being revealed through an unsecure system.

The traditional law office requires attorneys, secretaries, receptionists, paralegals, and investigators who are often full-time employees of the firm. The costs for the additional staff is passed along to the clients by either direct billing for each staff member (hourly billing systems) or by adding in staff time to the fee estimate (flat rate systems).

When a client wants to pay a bill at a traditional law office, the client must either get on the telephone during regular business hours and give credit card information, go to the law office to run a credit card, or mail a check.

At the Fannon Law Office, we are using technology to modernize communications with clients, provide clients with online access, and reduce staffing costs.

For example, on our web site, potential clients who want to make an appointment can do so through an automated system that allows the client to choose an available time that is convenient to the client without the need to call and speak with a secretary. This system allows potential clients to schedule an appointment at any time of the day or night, or even on weekends. There is no need to wait until the office is open to set an appointment.

In addition, once you decide to become an actual client, we set you up with credentials that allow you to log into our secure online client portal. This client portal is similar to online banking. In fact, our client portal has high end bank grade security so you can be sure confidential information is not put at risk.

In the client portal, you will be able to see all law enforcement reports relevant to your case, all written communications between the attorney and the prosecutor or any other person involved in the case, all research memos, all motions drafted by your attorney and responses from the prosecutor, and all billing statements. You will be able to comment on any document in your file and communicate directly with your attorney over a secure system.  All these features are available to you 24/7 so you can log in and leave a note or message at any time, on any day of the week, without having to wait for the office to open.

Because all documents are scanned and placed on the client portal, the attorney can access any document relevant to your case from anywhere an internet connection is available. And with cell phones equipped with hot spots, that is extended to anywhere a cell phone can get reception. You will never have to worry about an attorney appearing in court or at an off-site meeting and forgetting a necessary document—everything in your case will be available to you and your attorney online.

Using the client portal allows us to access your case file without the need to carry around bulky paper files every time we go to court or meet with a client.

In addition to online appointment scheduling and the client portal, we use virtual assistants as opposed to full-time employees to keep costs down with results in more reasonable attorney fees. Virtual assistants are professionals who do the regular jobs in a law office without the need to be physically present. Our office uses virtual receptionists to answer phones, contact clients, set appointments, and other duties of a traditional receptionist. Other services available to us include virtual paralegals, process servers, and private investigators. By utilizing virtual assistants and outside experts as opposed to full-time employees, we dramatically cut down on overhead and pass the savings on to you.

If you are looking for an experienced, reliable criminal defense attorney who will provide you with the best defense available while taking advantage of modern technology to meet your specific needs, schedule an appointment on this web site or call to set up a time to meet and discuss your case.

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