MyFax – the backup plan for lawyers moving too fast

In the infamous “perfect world,” lettuce would taste like chocolate, children (and some adults) would come with volume controls, and we’d never rush out of the office leaving important papers behind.

Of course, we all live in the real world where none of that is true. I mean, does anyone really like the taste of lettuce versus tolerate it?

Dinesh Kandanchatha, just returned from speaking at LegalTech New York 2009. He’s heard the stories about lawyers rushing out of the office without important documents, too. It can certainly be embarrassing to show up at a customer’s or partner’s location without the handout you prepared. But it can be a lot more than embarrassing for lawyers. It can be unrecoverable.

Think about it. They spend days preparing their cases – doing research, writing notes in the margins of printouts, maybe even preparing diagrams. Then they grab the wrong folder on their way out the door and suddenly all that work is lost. And unlike the rest of us, who simply have to admit our mistake and beg to reschedule, a lawyer either has to stand in front of a judge and ask for a continuance – never easy under these circumstances, and understanding it could be denied – or wing it. If he/she is lucky, someone from the office can run the papers over during the trial.

Of course, that’s not an issue if the law firm is using MyFax. As long as the courtroom or a nearby area has Internet access or the attorney has a PDA, he/she can call back to the office and have the missing notes faxed over instantly. They’ll show up in all their glory as an attachment, complete with all the handwritten additions. Which means the lawyer will be in a better position to win his/her case.

It’s easy to get overtaken by events sometimes. Fortunately, MyFax makes a great backup plan.