By Anne Kammer
I am a career government employee. What, one might wonder, do I know about the “business of law”? Admittedly, not much, but I do occasionally spend time at a law firm during meetings of the William B. Enright Chapter of the American Inns of Court. Those meetings are graciously hosted in a well-appointed conference room at the offices of Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. It was during one of those meetings that I had the opportunity to hear Adriana Linares speak (back in the fall, before the onset of a global pandemic brought gatherings of more than 10 people to an unceremonious halt; more on that in a moment).
Adriana is the San Diego County Bar Association’s Technology and Practice Management Advisor. She describes herself as a “human member benefit,” providing her technological expertise and unique business acumen to members at no charge. Adriana is not an attorney, and she does not advise members on e-discovery or financial issues. Her tradecraft includes marketing technology and advising members about practical matters, such as using professional software suites and cloud technology.
At the aforementioned meeting, Adriana focused her comments on the topic at hand: how to get and keep clients. While the subject was not relevant to my line of work, Adriana captivated my attention with her advice on how attorneys can harness technology to build a successful practice. It turns out that relevance becomes tangential when one’s interest is piqued.
Fast-forward several months and Californians were suddenly living under a statewide stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Practically overnight, legal professionals throughout California had to work from home. Teleworking is a benefit available to many federal employees, and I had occasionally worked remotely. The nature of my profession lends itself well to doing so. But what about attorneys in the private sector? How do attorneys meet with clients when they have to stay home? How do they keep up with billing requirements? Remember what I said about relevance and tangents — these issues might not impact me personally, but I felt compelled to find answers. Luckily, I knew just the person to ask. Amid the chaos, Adriana graciously set aside time to answer my questions and discuss her ongoing efforts to assist members with technology during an unprecedented and stressful time.
First and foremost, Adriana reported being “slammed” — not surprisingly. There is nothing like teleworking during a pandemic to make folks appreciate free access to a technology guru. I asked Adriana what question members were asking her most frequently. She reported attorneys were concerned about their staff members: how to provide their staff with secure, remote access, and how to ensure continued productivity. Adriana’s advice: conduct regularly-scheduled meetings. Adriana suggested that attorneys need to set sensible goals for their staff, taking into consideration the difficulties of working remotely for some people. With respect to clients, Adriana emphasized that attorneys need more than one method of communication at their disposal. Meeting with clients remotely is imminently doable and has advantages, such as convenience.
Finally, I asked Adriana to give her number one tip for practicing successfully from home. According to Adriana, attorneys should set realistic billable goals for themselves and their staff. If eight hours is not realistic, aim for four or five. Adriana mused that ultimately the profession might find itself turning a corner with respect to teleworking, taking advantage of its availability and providing it as a benefit to staff members going forward. And if that happens, Adriana will be ready to assist.
Editor’s Note: Members can access Adriana by visiting sdcbalawandtech.org/about-the-mto and view her webinars by visiting www,sdcba.org/helpful-webinars
Anne Kammer is a career law clerk for a federal judge and an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law.