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Mobile Lawyer Profile: David L. Raybin

David L. Raybin, Member
Hollins, Wagster, Yarbrough, Weatherly & Raybin, P.C.
22nd Floor The Financial Center
424 Church Street
Nashville, Tennessee 37219
Telephone: 615-256-6666 ext 220
Fax: 615-254-4254
E-Mail: draybin@hwylaw.com
WEB: http://www.hwylaw.com

Q. What mobile technology and remote work practices do the attorneys and support staff in you firm use regularly?

A. Several of us use the Treo 650 which accesses our server. All the lawyers have remote desktop access from our home computers

Q. How user-friendly have you found today’s mobile technology in the practice of law?

A. It has improved greatly over the last year. It was, at one time, way too complex and unreliable but now it is very easy to use.

Q. Have you seen a noticeable difference in your and your firm’s productivity as a direct result of mobile technology? If so, in what ways?

A. Yes. The lawyers are able to access information themselves, thereby removing the necessity of going through staff. We have fewer secretaries as a result. The main improvement is 24/7 access to office data and files.

Q. Has your firm met resistance among its attorneys and staff with regard to accepting mobile technology and remote work practices?

A. The only “resistance” is the learning curve and figuring out new ways to use the new technology.

Q. What do you see as the obstacles, if any, to accepting mobile technology by the legal profession?

A. The main problem is uniformity. There are several platforms out there, which are good for competition purposes, but the various phones (e.g., the TREO 650 (with Palm OS) versus the TREO 700w (with Windows Mobile 5.0)) keep a common standard from existing. Thus you may have to learn a new system later. However, in time you will have more uniformity such as MS Office etc. Also because mobile technology is changing very fast all the time, there is a fear among attorneys of their technology and systems becoming obsolete and having to purchase new equipment all the time.

Q. Do you see mobile technology in the legal profession as just a fad or as bringing about a fundamental change in the way law is practiced?

A. There is a fundamental change already occurring, but there is huge resistance to that change. It took forever to go from legal-size paper to letter-size paper. Again I think that being able to have total access to information is very important and it will allow me to practice law more efficiently.

Q. What aspects of mobile technology do you like most?

A. Remote access to my office files. I don’t have to come downtown on weekends. I can spend more time with my family. The only negative is that you need to train yourself to “unhook” the connection. That will be the next human factor development: knowing when to quit.

Q. Can you give an example or two of a way in which mobile technology has benefited you and/or your firm?

A. It is like voice mail multiplied by a factor of ten. We don’t remember much of what we hear, but we tend to remember more of what we see.

Q. What advice would you give to attorneys looking to use mobile technology in their profession?

A. Talk to as many lawyers as possible about success and failure stories. We did that with our phone system for example. I am a firm believer in General Patton’s statement that a pint of sweat today will save a gallon of blood tomorrow.

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Source: The LogicForce Letter, Spring 2006

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