Case Management

Plan of Campaign

November 21, 2007 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

In thinking about the transition from Windows to Macs, it makes sense to break it down into stages.

The first stage involves Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, Plato’s ideal form and a lot of coffee. It’s really about identifying what would make an “ideal” law office–how things ought to be if you had software developers at your beck and call and an unlimited supply of cash. I won’t get real detailed here, just identify some big themes. I’ll call these First Principles.

The second stage takes these First Principles and applies them to my current setup to determine how well we measure up. It examines the pros and cons of the current configuration in light of these principles.

Then, in the the third stage, I’ll focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the Mac in a law office. There’s a lot more guesswork involved in this since I’m just now learning the Mac way of thinking after 20+ years with Windows and DOS. My current assessment will likely change as I get a better handle on Macs and how they operate.

Finally, I’ll evaluate Mac software. This will take a lot of time. This is where I intend to do video podcasts as I begin integrating the Mac into my practice. But I’m already clear that my transition to Macs will be incremental at best. After a month of reading and evaluating, I’m pretty sure that I’d be reverting to a much less efficient kind of practice if I go All Mac right out of the gate. But more about that later.

So that’s the plan of campaign. Next time we’ll look at First Principles.