Technology has allowed us to do so much more on our own.  The need for secretaries and assistants becomes less and less necessary as our technology reminds us of our appointments and deadlines, running to the courthouse or government agencies to file documents, or spend hours in a library researching through multiple aisles of books.  Plus, with computer workflows, one triggering action can automatically accomplish other actions in our work files, communications, and calendars.  But this information, e.g., entry, processes, and confirmation, is only as good as the person(s) entering it.

The security attorneys rely on from their technology can be all-too misplaced.  If any entry on their calendar is not done correctly or saved properly, it can cause an attorney to miss a deadline.  If a word file has not been properly converted to a pdf but filed, it could cause an attorney to miss a deadline.  If your automation is either not programed properly or not working, you could find yourself not following up on work and missing a deadline.  Lastly, if a file has not been properly filed with the court, or e-mailed or faxed to the other party, it could cause an attorney to miss a deadline. Don’t be that attorney!

Being Tech-Savvy does not make you any less susceptible to certain human errors.  I don’t have any tried-and-true solutions on this front.  But here are some suggestions. Check your work routinely. Review your calendars, task lists and entries.  Its easy to say “don’t make these mistakes;” but we are all human and like all humans, we, even attorneys, are prone to make mistakes. 

MTC.