Top Takeaways: ABA TechShow 2020

Gwen Murray

Gwen Murray

February 7, 2020

Top Takeaways: ABA TechShow 2020

2020 was Earth Class Mail’s first year sponsoring and exhibiting at the ABA TechShow.  After weeks of preparing and planning, the conference flew by and it’s hard to believe that it’s already over. Lawyers, legal professionals, and technology all came together at the conference, providing a great opportunity to network with others passionate about “legal tech.” There were lots of great educational sessions, the EXPO hall was packed, and there were a variety of networking events – everything from group yoga to breakfast for women in legal tech to after-hour parties.

We were thrilled to have an existing legal customer with us at the event. Devon Slovenksy, owner of Slovensky Law, shared her first-hand experience and explained how Earth Class Mail enables her to focus more on practicing law because we scan and digitize all of her important legal mail. Listen to Devon talk about Earth Class Mail in an interview she recently gave on Maximum Lawyer’s Podcast.

ABA-Show-Booth

While we had a great time working the booth and networking, we also learned a lot about the legal tech needs across the profession – from solopreneurs to small and mid-sized law firms, and even corporate legal departments – and how new technology is impacting their operations. We gained a lot of knowledge about the current state of law firms and how technology is impacting all aspects of their business. 

Top 3 Takeaways from ABA TechShow 2020

  1. Lawyers Want to Practice Law, Not Run a Business or Open Postal Mail

Lawyers go to years of school to develop a proficiency in practicing law, not running a business. While business acumen is crucial to a law firm’s growth and success, many lawyers struggle with business operations and growing their practices.  Lawyers need help in organizing and conducting manual work – such as opening mail, scanning documents, answering phones, scheduling meetings, and billing clients – in order to maintain productivity and efficiency. While this can be done through training and education, it is extremely costly and time-consuming. Additionally, it is error prone given manual entry is involved and many of these tasks could be automated.  New technological developments and services enable firms to outsource these operations with ease and for a fraction of the cost. A variety of exhibitors provided solutions to these challenges, Earth Class Mail being one of them. Our digital mail service receives, scans, and delivers postal mail items and legal documents online, which increases efficiency by eliminating the need for manually opening mail

2. The Rise of the “Virtual Lawyer”

At the conference, we heard from countless “virtual lawyers” who have abandoned office space to run their law firms virtually.  This is a growing trend with lawyers and other professions who don’t necessarily need a brick and mortar presence. This new generation of lawyers does not want to be tied to an office and they’re looking for ways to most efficiently run a “remote practice.” There were lots of exhibitors with solutions to help virtual lawyers, but Earth Class Mail virtual address offering received tons of interest because it provides you with an address where all your postal mail is routed to our secure processing facilities, scanned, and delivered online so that lawyers can access digital copies of their postal mail from anywhere, anytime, and on any device.  Furthermore, they can sync their digital mail with cloud based storage devices and integrate with other business tools like accounting software. 

3. Continued Focus on Going Paperless

After attending the ABA TechShow, it’s clear that the goals of law firms are to grow their client base, expand their scope of service, and increase their revenue.  By leveraging legal technology, firms are able to work in new ways that allow them to achieve these goals. A main focus of this year’s conference, which has been a consistent focus for the last few years, is the value of going paperless. By making the transition to a paperless law firm using digital solutions, all important documents can be found with ease through the use of cloud-based technology and integrations with case/practice management software. This allows lawyers to avoid the liability associated with lost physical documents and save time by having a centralized system for document storage. Earth Class Mail’s digital mail solution provides a way for lawyers to stop mail and paper from ever entering the office by using a virtual address from our vast network. We receive and scan physical mail using optical character recognition (OCR) technology, and then deliver electronically to an inbox. Digital mail items are easily accessible, searchable, and actionable. Overall, operating a paperless practice enables lawyers to elevate their practice by allowing them to spend more time focusing on their existing clients and growing their practice.

In Summary

While the legal profession has been historically slow to adopt technology, the ABA TechShow highlighted the importance that technology will play in the legal profession going forward. The need for technology is so great that a niche industry has developed to help lawyers transition – legal tech and it will only grow in importance as lawyers embrace technology and digital transformation so they can focus on practicing law, not managing a business.  To learn more about Earth Class Mail’s digital mail solution, please visit: https://www.earthclassmail.com


new-postcard

Find out more with The Postcard

The Postcard, our monthly email, keeps you updated on new products, event invites, virtual mailbox tips, and special promotions.

invisible

Related Posts

P.O. Box change of address

P.O. Box change of address

Planning to move soon? Moving is a stressful and busy time. It’s easy to forget you need to forward your mail.

By Earth Class Mail Team

December 14, 2021

What do expats do about mail?

What do expats do about mail?

If you’re planning to move to another country, you have a lot of logistics to take care of before you set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Whether you’re moving away for a few months or forever, you may still want to keep a U.S. address. Why?

By Joanna Heep

November 8, 2021

Does USPS deliver on Sunday?

Does USPS deliver on Sunday?

Luckily, USPS, like many other services, has recognized the growing need for regular deliveries and offers weekend mail delivery. The United States Postal Service delivers two types of packages on Sundays

By Earth Class Mail Team

November 5, 2021

Virtual Mailbox for you!