In commenting on the post iFuture by Jordan Furlong over at Slaw, the potential I see in the iPad (for my practice at least) crystalized a bit. And that is flexibility.
Any tool that cost effectively gives me choice in how I deliver services is a win. Maybe it is a fortunate benefit of my transactional practice but only a small part of my it requires me to be sitting at a full blown PC in the office. The overwhelming majority of the time, I can handle the emails, calls, quick drafts, calculations, research and thinking from just about anywhere and anytime. Flexibility makes me more responsive to clients and allows me to be available to them in multiple ways and with fewer barriers.
I think the benefit of the iPad will be in allowing me to deliver my product – my services – better than the next guy stuck to a PC in his office. Sure, I don’t have everything in my hands and the machine isn’t perfect. But, an overwhelming percentage of the time, it won’t matter. Considering the benefit of good design, Jordan Furlong hints how the iPad can benefit lawyers:
Apple doesn’t get everything right, but it does make sure that everything it makes and everything it does puts the customer experience front and center. How many law firms can honestly say that? How many lawyers can say, and back it up with evidence, that the ways in which they work, communicate and bill their services are designed and delivered with the client’s complete personal satisfaction in mind? If your firm wants to have a fighting chance at making it through this coming decade in one piece, then it needs to take a lesson from Apple: design matters. If the customer is delighted, you win.
Using an iPad as part of one’s practice isn’t a substitute for killer client service, but it may help deliver on that promise.
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