Survey of Technology Used in the Food and Agriculture Law Office

American Agriculture Law AssociationTechnology Roundtable

November 2, 2013

By Cari B. Rincker, Esq.

Who I Am• Food and agriculture lawyer

based in New York City• Grew up on a beef cattle farm in

Central Illinois• Solo practitioner• Client range from small to mid-

size agribusiness, farmers, and start-up food entrepreneurs

• Chair of the American Bar Association, General Practice Agriculture Law Committee

Survey to Food & Agriculture Lawyers

• 3 day survey from October 3-5, 2013– Advertised on the AALA

Listserve, ABA GP Solo Agriculture Law Committee Listserve & Social Media

• 35 Responses

How Many Lawyers Are In Your Office?

Number of Lawyers

Solo2 to 45 to 1011 to 2526 to 7576 plus

Do You Use a Mac or PC?

McPCBoth

How Many Computers Per Attorney?

3 plus

2 computers

1 computer

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Do You Have a Virtual or Physical Brick and Mortar Office?

Virtual Physical Hybrid Other0

5

10

15

20

25

What kind of billing program(s) do you use? (You may select more than one)

PC Law

Clio

Rocket L

awye

r

Quickbooks

Timesli

ps

Fresh

books

Billings

3

Excel sp

readsh

eetOth

er0123456789

10

What Email Program Do You Use?

Outlook iMail Other0

5

10

15

20

25

What Techniques Have You Used to Manage Email?

• I use folders and sort by client and matter.

• Electronic filing to customer files• Flagging, saving to file• Delay send/receive function.

– Only check it 4 times a day• Maintain an inbox by client• E-mail is like telephone calls.

Done each day.

What Techniques Have You Used to Manage Email?

• 1 hour block of time each AM.• Sub folders in inbox, batch saving

emails as PDF• I use filters to sort e-mail.• Archiving• Folders• File emails in subject matter folders

• Creating rules in Outlook; separate email for news

What Techniques Have You Used to Manage Email?

• Prayer

What method(s) do you use for calendaring deadlines and task lists? (May choose more than 1 answer)

Outlook Time Matters

Amicus Attorney

PC Law Practice Master

iCal Things Other0

5

10

15

20

25

Other responses: Mostly Google calendar orPaper calendar

Which of the Following Forms of Administrative Help Do You Use?

Virtual Legal As-sistant

Legal Assistant at Office

Both Neither0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

What Kind of Phone Service Do You Use?

Answer Number of Responses Response Ratio

I answer my own phone! 23 63.8%

Live in-office receptionist 14 38.8%

Phone answering services (e.g., Ruby Receptionist)

1 2.7%

Google Voice 2 5.5%

Receptionist in Office Suite 3 8.3%

Other 3 8.3%

How often do you use Skype or other video conferencing techniques with clients?

• 68.5% - Rarely, if ever• 20.0% - A few times a year• 5.7% - A few times a week• 2.8%- A few times a month• 0.00% - Everyday

Which of the Following Conference Call Systems Do You Use?

GoTo MeetingATConferenceFree Conference CallSkypeGoogle MeetingOther

What are Your Most Regularly Used Applications on Your Smartphone?

• Emails• Text Messages• Social Media applications– Facebook – Twitter– LinkedIn

• Westlaw Next• Google Maps• Casemaker

What program do you most frequently use for word processing?

Microsoft WordWord PerfectPagesOther

Which of the Following Best Describes Your Use of a Scanner?

Never u

se it

Only sca

n a few se

lect docu

ments

I use

it as

much as

possible

Other

05

10152025

Which of the Following Payments Methods Does Your Firm Accept?

Cash

Check/ M

oney Ord

er

PayPal

Google Check

out

Mast

ercard

, Visa

, Disc

over

American

Express

Other

05

1015202530

Looks like a few attorneys take baked goods, Fruits/Vegetables, chickens or other bartering

How Do You Most Frequently Bill Clients?

Via EmailMail hard copyOther

What Type of Contact Management System Do You Use?

Outlook

TimeM

atters

iContact

Clio

Amicus A

ttorney

Daylite

Aweber

Practice

Mast

er

Apple contac

tsOth

er0

5

10

15

20

25

If You Use an Email Marketing Program, Which Do You Prefer?

• Very limited responses– Constant Contact (1)– Mail Chimp (3)– Aweber (1)

If You Use an Email Marketing Program, How Often Do You Send Updates?

• Few responses– A few times a year (6)– Once a week (2)– Once a month (1)

• Comments– “As issues arise, usually 6 times per month on

average”– “Typically through seminars to trade group who is

a client of the firm”

Which of the Following Back-Up Cloud Devices Do You Use?

Mozy Carbonite Dropbox External harddrive

only

Other0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

What Type of Hand-Held Tablet Do You Regularly Use?

• Few responses– iPad (12)– Android (4)– Kindle (1)

How Do You Use a Hand-Held Tablet in Your Law Practice?

• “Presentations, spreadsheets, mobile computing”• “Email, preparing documents, attending meetings”• “Email communication, research tools, meeting notes”• “Trial, work at home”• “Document review while traveling”• “Email, task list, review documents”• “Email, research, reading documents”• “Mostly to read news/blogs”• “I use my phone on house calls with no WiFi”

If You Remote Into Your Work Computer, Which Program Do You Use?

• VPN (8)• GoToMyPC (2)• TeamViewer (1)• LogMeIn (1)• Other (4)– Citrix– VM Ware View– Microsoft Web

What Program Do You Use For Postage?

Stamps.comI use a machineI use stamps

I was the lone survey taker who answeredStamps.com. No responses for Dymo or USPO ClicknShip

If You Have a Blog, What Platform Do You Use?

• Not many bloggers took the survey– Wordpress (7)– Typepad (2)– Blogger (0)– Tumblr (0)

Which of the Following Describes Your Use of Facebook?

I don't use FB

I have a personal page & business page- promote business on both

I have a personal page & business page- only promote business on business page

I have a personal page for family and friends only

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Which of the Following Social Media Platforms Do You Regularly Use?

Face

book

Twitter

Blogs

Linke

dIn

Instagra

m

Pinterest

Google +

FourSq

uare

YouTube0

5

10

15

20

25

30

What Have You Done to Help Build Search Engine Optimization for Your Food & Agriculture Law Practice?

• A few people hired outside consultants

• A few responses about blogs and backlinks

• Lawyers.com• One survey taker thinks

SEO is a scam

What Are Your Biggest Challenges with Technology While Running Food/Ag Law Practice?

• Availability of wifi & cellular service in rural community• Learning so many new programs• Staying informed of all the tools available!• Understanding what our IT folks are saying• An old dog constantly trying to learn new tricks• Choosing wisely• Hardware failure & broadband failure• Keeping website up-to-date• Nothing stands out as a big challenge.• Getting boss who has practiced 40 years to update

What Are Your Biggest Challenges with Technology While Running Food/Ag Law Practice?

• Document management, online research• Keeping up with advances• Content content content• Cost and maintenance• Case management system.. getting it up and running• Costs! I'm new: overhead must be minimal!• Client's lack of access to reliable Internet• Client information security Email management; doc

management

Please Stay in Touch• Send Me Snail Mail: 535 Fifth Avenue, 4th Floor, New

York, NY 10017• Call Me: (212) 427-2049 (office)• Email Me: cari@rinckerlaw.com• Visit My Website: www.rinckerlaw.com • Read My Food & Ag Law Blog: www.rinckerlaw.com/blog• Tweet Me: @CariRincker @RinckerLaw• Facebook Me: www.facebook.com/rinckerlaw • Link to Me: http://www.linkedin.com/in/caririncker • Skype Me: Cari.Rincker

Oh, P.S. – I Just Wrote a Book

Cari B. Rincker & Patrick B. Dillon, “Field Manual: Legal Guide for New York Farmers & Food Entrepreneurs” (2013)

Available at http://www.amazon.com/Field-Manual-Legal-Farmers-Entrepreneurs/dp/1484965191

…and that’s marketing.