“Warning: Creating default object from empty value.” Ever seen that error message on a website? Oftentimes, the culprit is that the website is built on WordPress, and is running on an outdated version. Most recently, I ran across that error message on a law firm’s website…the irony was not lost on me.
Most firms are still running on an outdated practice model. Staying set in your ways (default object) may be comfortable, but it’s hurting your clients (empty value). As a simple example, even in 2021, LinkedIn is flooded with job postings for legal secretary positions with the key job description being to re-type attorneys’ hand-written time entries into a software system. 😳
Instead of hiring an army of people to enter your time “because that’s how we’ve always done it,” what would happen if your firm used a slick, cloud-based timekeeping system that your attorneys could use themselves? And those empty desk chairs, once occupied by the time-enterers–what if you filled them with project managers to help substantively push your matters forward? Using a cloud-based practice management system, rather than a pile of paper files?
Your practice model is your operating system. You can run on an outdated version…for a while, if you can tolerate the occasional error message. But this won’t be sustainable in the long run. Don’t wait until the point of total system failure to bring your law firm OS into the 21st Century.
