When we think of the law, we think of a traditional profession. It's always been a good career choice- leading to other great jobs if we ever chose to stop practicing. Everyone needed a lawyer at some point in their life, and you could always find work. Now we know that the market is changing. What people what, and how they want it delivered is not the same as it was 20 years ago. This is no longer a stable, secure career path. We're now forced to be innovators who are responsive to the invisible hand of the market.

What is changing about the law? Everything. The influencers and lawmakers who write laws are not lawyers anymore. The way clients expect services delivered doesn't fit within the billable hour. What clients expect to pay is radically less than what we think they should pay. The response time between when a client asks a question, and when they want an answer is so abbreviated as to be ludicrous. The threats to our digital security are coming so fast, that we can hardly keep up. And that's just the beginning.

As lawyers, we like to believe that we can do anything we set our minds to- and responding to changes in our market is one of those challenges we think we can overcome. But I challenge you to really consider whether your firm is positioned to face the future. Do you know what your clients want? Do you have the ability to deliver services in a way that makes them happy (or as happy as clients can be)? Do you provide them with enough information to keep them informed. If you answered "no" to any of these questions, you need to think about how your firm can evolve.

The first prediction is that if you don't budget, your clients will balk at your bottom line.

Your clients don't care much about what you bill- they care about the total amount you're going to ask for at the conclusion of your services. You need to be able to tell your client about what they can expect to spend, and you need to be able to justify it. No longer is career longevity and subject matter expertise enough to justify an exorbitant hourly rate. Even the most seasoned among us are expected to keep overhead low, streamline processes to maximize work done in a billable hour, and have a clear understanding of practice management. If you can't deliver a more efficient service than your competition, expect to be priced out of the market.

Know who you are, and who you are not. Gone are the days when you can afford to accept all the business that walks into your front door. Determine who you want to serve, the services you want to provide, and the method by which you want to deliver them. Everything else is superfluous, and should be as minimal as possible. Every time you take business outside of your defined brand, you dilute what you do, and you make it harder to market yourself. Additionally, you make your services more expensive. Streamline, synthesize, and reduce scope. Only then can you be agile enough to be responsive to your ideal customer, and offer a greater value proposition than your competitors.

Prepare for Non-Lawyer Ownership of Law Firms. Oh yeah- It's going to happen.

Why- because it makes business sense for a group of needed professionals to have access to finical backers and improved business services.
I don't think this is coming right away, but it is going to happen. We've already seen it in the UK and Australia. And it's happening with a fair degree of success. Ethics complaints are down, and there is a perception of greater market stability.
By having more financial stability, and improved business practices, law firms can offer more innovative services with a pricing structure that works better for clients.

In every sector, we see more women owning business, graduating from colleges, and becoming thought leaders. Law firms will face this same change, albeit a little later than in some other sectors.
But the change in the leaders at the top means more than more women in board of directors meetings. It means that we'll see a change in law firm policies effecting pay, time off, and promotions. There'll be a greater understanding of work-life balance, and less pressure on getting in every billable hour possible.

Customers will go to you for research, free advice, publications, and much more. All for free. When they do become paying clients, they will ask you to provide more than just legal services. You'll need a secure email provider, a secure client portal, referrals to other, related professionals, and ways to provide realtime updates on their case through a trusted SaaS provider.

I'm borrowing the next prediction from Erik Mazzone.
At some point in the near future, there will be a major security breach at a law firm. Clients will realize how poorly we protect their data, and that we are leaving our selves, our firms, and our clients open to cyber attacks. The lost trust in our digital security will lead Fortune 1000 companies to require tech audits of law firms before they become clients. The market will eventually require all law firms to be more accountable about digital security, and responsible if there is a breach.

Now that we know what's facing us, let's talk about where to go from here. In reality, there's only One Direction.

The first tool i your arsenal should be practice management software. There are many iterations of practice management software. While some are more robust than others, what we're essentially talking about are programs that manage clients, calendars, documents, and time tracking.

You have a duty to manage your client files responsibly. That means several things: Maintain client confidentiality; Maintain accurate records of your work; Maintain accurate records for conflicts check; and Keep track of your upcoming responsibilities for each active matter. Use practice management software to do any or all of these things. It doesn't matter which you choose- Clio, Firm Manager, Practice Master, MyCase, or any other system, so long as there are adequate security measures.

Having a calendar that tracks all of your court dates, SOLs, deadlines for responding to a motion, etc, is one of the most important tools you can have in your practice management tool bag. There are many fantastic calendars you can try including Sunrise, Fantastical, and Outlook. We'll come back to those later in the presentation.

For so many of us, the idea of a sophisticated filing system seems unnecessary. But I encourage you to rethink the assumption that you are too well organized, or your firm is too small for a doc management system. Think about this- how much time do you spend looking for documents each day/week? If you can't pull up a search tool and find what you're looking for in less than 30 seconds, you need a better system. Doc Man tools come in a wide variety. Worldox and Smokeball are good for small firms. Netdocuments is better for mid sized firms. Essentially, you want a tool that makes it easy to keep track of all your documents, including emails, by file name, creator, related matter, date created, and more.

Most good practice management solutions will include some document automation features. Essentially, you create templates which are populated with information from your clients and matters.
There are also many stand-alone products for document automation. My favorites are HotDocs, The Form Tool and Smoke Ball.

If you aren't willing to go all in on a full practice management software solution, you need at least a time and billing program. There are so many to choose from. Check out Time59, Bill4Time, and Bill Tracker Pro.

Aside from practice management software, you also need tools to help you manage your day-to-day life.

You know how hard it is to stay focused. With constant emails, social media notifications, and texts, sometimes we need help to manage all the distractions. Try FocusMe and Stay Focused.

When traveling for business or pleasure, you want to find great hotels and unique expereinces. For booking, try AirBnB, and Hipmunk. For exploring a new city Yelp a must-have, and Localeur is wonderful for large cities with local hotspots you may miss if you aren't plugged in to the local scene.

You have a smartphone either in your pocket, or on the table in front of you. I bet you've looked at it several times in the last hour. It's OK. Most of us are really attached to those little things. Since you're already so devoted to it, let it work for you. The next several apps are all about voice control, and making your phone a more effective tool.

Dragon, the world’s best-selling speech recognition software, lets you dictate documents, search the web, email and more on your computer — quickly and accurately — just by using your voice. You don’t even have to lift a finger.

Google Voice gives you one number for all your phones -- a phone number that is tied to you, not to a device or a location. Use Google Voice to simplify the way you use phones, make using voicemail as easy as email, customize your callers' experience, and more.

Google Voice isn't a phone service, but it lets you manage all of your phones. Google Voice works with mobile phones, desk phones, work phones, and VoIP lines. There's nothing to download, upload, or install, and you don't have to make or take calls using a computer.

Google Voice will let you define which phones ring, based on who's calling, and even let you ListenInTM on voicemail before answering the call. We use smart technology to route your calls. So, if you're already on a Google Voice call, we'll recognize it and use call waiting to reach you on the phone you're on

WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. WhatsApp Messenger is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Windows Phone and Nokia and yes, those phones can all message each other! Because WhatsApp Messenger uses the same internet data plan that you use for email and web browsing, there is no cost to message and stay in touch with your friends.

Simple per-user pricing makes it possible to spread join.me throughout the organization, without hidden fees or additional costs per minute. Plus, unlimited audio is included, so you never have to put a cap on your collaboration.

Basic is Free!

There are so many apps out there to help increase your productivity. Juggle all your tasks, assignments, and projects with just a couple simple tools. Never let anything drop through the cracks again.

WRITE
From short lists to lengthy research, no matter what form your writing takes, Evernote keeps you focused on moving those ideas from inspiration to completion.
COLLECT
Easily gather everything that matters. Clip web articles, capture handwritten notes, and snap photos to keep the physical and digital details of your projects with you at all times.
FIND
Your words, images, and documents are always close at hand. Evernote’s powerful search and discovery features make everything you’ve collected easy to find.

Whether you’re sharing a grocery list with a loved one, working on a project, or planning a vacation, Wunderlist makes it easy to share your lists and collaborate with everyone in your life. Wunderlist instantly syncs between your phone, tablet and computer, so you can access your lists from anywhere.

“Wunderlist is our favorite to-do list manager for just about every platform.” - Lifehacker.

As “Mac App of the Year - 2013,” Wunderlist has also been featured in The New York Times, The Verge, TechCrunch, CNET, The Guardian, Wired, and Vanity Fair, just to name a few.

Key Wunderlist Features:
• Create all the lists you need and access them from your phone, tablet and computer
• Easily share lists and collaborate with family, friends and colleagues
• Start conversations about your to-dos
• Attach photos, PDFs, presentations and more
• Share the work and delegate to-dos
• Setting a Reminder ensures you never forget important deadlines (or birthday gifts) ever again

Not every app is designed for your professional life. Here are a few that were made with your worklife in mind.

With OWA for iPhone you can:
Get work done faster with email
- Organize your email quickly with Conversation View, Mark as Junk, Flag, and Categories
- Quickly search or browse email in all folders including Outlook Favorites
Manage your schedule with ease
- Schedule meetings using attendee free/busy and room finder
- View shared calendars including delegate support
- Use your voice to look up a contact or bring up your schedule
Keep business data secure
- Remote wipe erases only your corporate data in OWA for iPhone and leaves your personal data on the device alone
- Separate passcode for OWA for iPhone provides an additional layer of security

100% free calendar app with a gorgeous design.
• Compatible with Google Calendar, iCloud, Exchange.
• A completely redesigned calendar experience for your iPhone and iPad.
• Synchronization that just works, in real-time and with background updates.
• Quick Add Event just by typing "Lunch tomorrow at 9pm" (long-press on the +) (for Google Calendars only).
• Reminders.
• Timezone Support. No more headache when traveling!
• Facebook Events and Birthdays included.
• See faces and profiles of people you are meeting with using LinkedIn.
• Weather forecast based on your location.
• Smart icons.
• Tag location to events.
• Use Google Maps for Directions.
• Connect multiple Google Calendars.

Expense reports that don't suck!
Hassle-free expense reporting built for employees and loved by admins.
$5- Quick and simple for startups, non-profits, churches, and student groups.

Unlimited SmartScans
Basic expense approval
Reimburse online
Sync with QuickBooks and Xero

Our virtual receptionists seamlessly connect callers to you when you’re available, wherever you are. When you’re not able to take calls, you’ll receive detailed messages delivered to you via email or text message. Even voicemail messages are emailed as a .wav file so you never have to wonder if you have messages waiting.

When you’re on the go, feel free to update us as to your whereabouts in a snap with our free iPhone app, Android app or our mobile-friendly Member Services Area.
$249/mo

Contracts, NDA's, forms, you name it
Secure, legally binding e-signatures
No downloads, no plugins, no hassle
#1 Easy-to-use, all-in-one solution
Quick setup, great customer service
Save time, cut costs, impress clients

Even with the best intentions, we still make mistakes, and don't live up to our potential. The next apps help you handle your human nature

Don’t panic. If one of your Apple devices goes missing, iCloud can help you figure out where it is. Just sign in at iCloud.com or use the Find My iPhone app to see your missing iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac on a map. And with the Lost Mode feature you don’t just see where your device is, you can track where it’s been. That way you can decide on your best course of action. You can immediately lock your device and send it a message with a contact number. Then whoever finds it can call you from the Lock screen without accessing the rest of the information on your device.

Help A Reporter Out (HARO) is a publicity tool available to you by simply starting a free account today. Reporters need expert sources for their stories, and HARO connects you with their queries.

You can segment out your specific expertise verticals and only get alerts tailored to your industry knowledge. Send unlimited pitches to over 30,000 influential reporters on a deadline who are partnered with HARO.