Should You Build Your Own Case Management Software from Scratch?
I occasionally see lawyers who have spent a lot of time and effort building their own case management systems. With the tools available today, it’s easier and cheaper than ever. Should you do this for yourself?
As an ex-programmer, I have NOT written my own software because I don't want the primary expertise/ knowledge base for our computer system to be with me. I want to spend my time being a trial lawyer. My primary objections to ‘rolling your own’ are not technical.
- Upgrading and maintenance – It's one thing to block out the time and put together a system. But as things change, versions of word processing software gets upgraded, links have to change. As new technology comes out and gets integrated into the system, it becomes work keeping everything current and up to date. I paid LexBlog to set up my blog and do it the right way. I willingly pay LexBlog too much money for the amount of work done. I pay them too much money not to do the work, but to stay up to date on the technology and keep my blog up to date on what needs to be done. They do a fabulous job of it and I am very happy to use the best in the country instead of worrying about that myself.
- The amount of time it takes me away from legal work – The older I get, the more I realize that I only have so many 'clock cycles' in my head. If I fill my head up with worrying about computer stuff, it takes away time from thinking of legal matters. I used to be a programmer for a living. I love computers. I love logic. I love making the computer do what I want. My question to myself is “Where do I want to put my limited time and resources?” Personally, I'd rather take the time and effort to be a better trial lawyer and run a better trial practice than diving into the nitty-gritty of building a case management system from scratch.
My opinion is that if someone wants to set up a case management system from scratch, then that's fine as long as they realize it's like a hobby and an extra-curricular activity as opposed to one of the main things that helps them practice law. If they want to set a system up from scratch and realize that they're not being the most productive with their time, but they enjoy the computer work and want to do it anyways, I don't have a problem with it. But at that point, it’s a personal decision and not a business decision.
David, you are writing this post to the .00001% of lawyers. Most of us would have no clue where to begin for something like this.
Ron Miller
www.marylandinjurylawyerblog.com
Ron,
You could be right. However, you'd be surprised about the number of lawyers that actually 'roll their own'.
There was recently a discussion of this on ATLA's legal technology listserv. A number of lawyers wrote about the system that they set up themselves and they were happy with it.
Go figure.
