This Wave Is Yours

...but you gotta be willing to jump in and swim if you want to catch IT.

A few weeks ago I was linked in to an attorney blawger that I believe all solo practitioners and big firm lawyers should closely be paying attention to. His name is Charles "Chuck" Newton, he is a Texas lawyer, a father of four and husband to Jane who is also a lawyer.

Chuck does not maintain a traditional office that most consumers typically associate with law firms. He has no waiting rooms for clients to cool their heals, no reception area in which to be ignored, no meeting rooms for client visits, no file room in which to lose files, no law library, no messy private office for the firm’s attorneys to hide. There are no walls with licenses and diplomas hanging on them, no rec room to chat with staff over coffee and donuts, and his firm’s shingle hangs from no building. Go look in any phone book and you will not see a cheesy ad for Chuck's law firm. He answers his own phones, reads and responds to his own email, faxes and snail mail.

How does Chuck's law firm accomplish such a thing? Well IMHO, it looks like he gets things done because he doesn't need to rely heavily on anyone to do stuff for him, but instead utilizes the miracles of information technology:

• email
• Internet telephony
• Internet faxing
• electronic case filing
• Internet research
• blogging or blawging
  

There is virtually no person that cannot be reached, and no document that cannot be received or delivered, by phone, fax, email or snail mail. Chuck believes that staying connected allows him to tear down the barriers that keep him from his clients and their objectives.

Chuck is so on to IT that IT truly does radiate from his smile, just look at the picture of him below. This guy sees IT clear as day... He see's the future - NOW. He knows that we are all in the middle of a paradigm shift and he sees the beautiful future that is presenting itself for those willing to see IT.

"Think about what technology is all about.  It is about effortless collaboration and effective communication with those around you without the need for filters.  The whole purpose of technology in a Third Wave society is to knock down the structures that bind us, and to cut the levels of management and support help that hold us back.  In short, these technologies substantially improve what?  The productivity of all of those lawyers that become attuned to and use the new, cheap technologies." -Chuck Newton

We are indeed heading toward David Brin's transparent society of collaborative technologies. I'd like to believe that we are a culture of team work and a nation of unity, but lately there has been so much division. Who knows if it was policy or religion or just pure fear that caused us as a people to be broken asunder and segregated, but is it not apparent that we are all slowly but surely coming back together again? In a third wave world there are no walls and we are all the connector and the connection - Linking IN, teaching IT, and spreading IT all around the globe.

To learn more about Chuck or the Third Wave click on the respective links. Thanks for reading.

Technorati Tags: IT, Third wave, Transparency, Law2.0, Lawyer, Home Office, Solo Practice, Chuck Newton, Real Lawyer, Law Firm, Blawg, Legal Tech, Decentralization, Disintermediation, LinkedIn, GTD, DIY, SupportEyes

Comments

[Chuck Newton]

What a hoot. I appreciate the write up. Thank you.

[Brian]

Awesome article, Chuck. Thanks Real Lawyer News. Chuck sparked my interest in getting my feet wet in this Third Wave lifestyle.

[RealLawyerNews]

Glad to hear that you're diving in JBA! Looking forward to seeing your blog.

Feel free to contact RealLawyerNews if you need any help with setting your site up. I'd be more than happy to help you with graphics or what have you.