We often tout the flexibility of the cloud versions of our software. You can get access to client and practice information from your office, your home, the courthouse, a coffee shop or anywhere else. However just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should!
Tools like cloud-based time and billing software for lawyers give attorneys the power to take control of their work-life balance. Unfortunately it can also utterly disrupt that balance by effectively putting attorneys in the office at all times.
It’s great to have the option to be available 24/7 when you need to be. It might be the type of practice you are in, a specific case that is changing rapidly, or just a client who brings a ton of money into your firm every year so requires extra attention. Cloud-based attorney practice management software gives you easy and secure access to case files from anywhere with an internet connection, and time and billing software ensures you record this out-of-the-office time accurately.
However you have to know when to turn the computer off. Have dinner with the family. Watch Junior’s softball game. Go to a movie. Relax. You are allowed to take time to yourself and you will be a better attorney for it.
Vacations can be especially tricky. You tell your clients to contact you only if it’s an emergency–but clients always think it’s an emergency! Yes, you should check your email while on vacation. No, you shouldn’t check it hourly. If possible filter all communication through another attorney who you can trust to pass on only the actual emergencies. If you do need to handle something, tools like attorney time and billing software give you the resources you need to practice, and also the option not to.
We’ve all heard the cliché: Nobody lies on his death bed wishing he’d spent more time at work. Contact us to find out more about how Easysoft legal software for attorneys gives you choices in how you balance your practice and your personal responsibilities…but also learn to recognize when the right choice is to close the computer and have a life.
