When it comes to keeping up with the times, the legal profession has always been a bit behind the curve. When people think “attorney”, some of the first images that come to mind are numerous filing cabinets, stacks of papers, and hundreds of yellow legal pads. No doubt, plenty of attorney still use the old-fashioned, pen-and-paper method of practicing law, and for many attorneys, this works just fine. Even when the old-fashioned way does work, though, it’s undeniable that it can slow down the process, and create a degree of separation between the attorney and the client.
That’s why, at Thompson Law, P.A., we’ve put our resources into creating an office that is almost completely paperless.
A number of factors went into the decision to create a paperless office. For one, Attorney Matt Thompson has always been a bit of techie, and he likes to consider Thompson Law’s local and global impact. Having a paperless office also makes us more of a “green” office and lessens our environmental impact from right here in DeLand, Florida, throughout our entire practice area in Central Florida. Being tech-based has paved the way for us to create an attorney-client relationship that is based on the client feeling heavily involved in their case.
What can you expect as a client at Thompson Law?During your free client consultation, you will sit down with Attorney Matt Thompson and tell us about what happened, and what you are looking for in an attorney. Unlike most meetings with attorneys, you’ll never see a yellow legal pad. Instead, we use an iPad Pro to take all of our meeting notes. Using the iPad Pro, we can scan your documents that you bring to your meetings, as well as have you sign forms instantly. All of this allows us to immediately upload important information to your client file, which gives the rest of our team the ability to quickly begin working on your legal matter.
Once you become an official client of Thompson Law, P.A., one of the first things Attorney Matt Thompson will do is send you a text message that contains all of our contact information, including our office phone numbers, physical and mailing address, Twitter handle, and most importantly, our text-based number that is only accessible to clients. While we never text sensitive information about your case, or discuss legal matters using this method, we’ve found that our text-only phone has made it much easier for clients to ask questions, send photos of car accidents or other evidence, and get reminders about upcoming meetings.
Aside from our texting number, the day that we start working on your case, you will receive an email from our office containing the initial documents for your case, as well as a letter welcoming you to Thompson Law. In this email, we will also send instructions for creating a Dropbox account in order to access your client file.
What is Dropbox, and how does Thompson Law use it for clients?Dropbox is an Internet-based file storage and sharing system, similar to iCloud. Everything that we do for your case gets uploaded to your file on Dropbox. Your file is accessible only to the Thompson Law team, and is kept completely confidential.
Dropbox also enables us to share your client file directly with you via email. You can then view every letter, every court pleading, and all of the notes that Attorney Matt Thompson prepares for your case. We do not delete our files, so you will have access to these record for years, even after your legal matter is resolved which may come in handy in the future.
Even if you do not use Dropbox, we send updates to our clients via email and attach the most recent documents for each case.
We have found that using this tech-based system has greatly increased our productivity on each case – our time is spent getting familiar with you and your case, not searching through cabinets for paperwork. Clients are kept informed and updated about every movement in their case. The ability for our clients to look at their files and see the work getting done has greatly increased our clients’ sense of trust and ease in our representation of them. While the legal field is certainly working to catch up with the information age, Thompson Law, P.A. has set itself apart by taking the lead in becoming a tech savvy law firm.
Become a client at Thompson LawIf you are in need of an attorney, call (386) 280-4977, or call toll free (386) 280-4977 to set up a free case evaluation. We handle a variety of cases, from misdemeanors to felonies, as well as personal injury claims. Attorney Matt Thompson looks forward to helping you or your loved ones navigate your legal matter – come see for yourself what a paperless, electronic law office has to offer.