I sat on a panel with productivity guru Merlin Mann today. We talked about a range of issues, from information overload to paperlessness to Getting Things Done and the Franklin-Covey method, all with reference to the life of lawyers.

If you are not familiar with Merlin Mann, check out the video below, “Inbox Zero,” which changed my e-mail life.

I wonder this quite a bit. Technology is one of the greatest tools available to the modern solo practitioner, and a great leveler. It gives one person the same capabilities as a huge law firm. And even aside from the advantages for productivity and efficiency, technology allows anyone to market effectively and directly to a target audience.

And yet few solo practitioners seem to think it is worth it to invest any time in technology.

A few reasons you should pay attention to technology:

• Cost savings. Going paperless saves me hundreds of dollars a month in office supplies, an extra fax line, etc. Plus, I don’t have boxes of files littering my office and I can work anywhere, any time.
• Marketing. My blog, Caveat Emptor draws hundreds of visitors a day, nearly all of whom are potential clients for my consumer law practice. It has been a lot of hard work, but it has paid off in spades. I don’t spend anything but the $8/month to host my website (including e-mail).
• Mobility. I have all my client files, archived files, and more, with me at all times. I can spend my day at a coffee shop, in my back yard, or at my office, and be equally productive in each place. At most, I just need to visit a printer and a mailbox at some point during the day.
• Conflicts. Every law firm needs to check conflicts. A well-maintained and categorized contacts database is crucial to ensuring that you don’t end up with conflicts.

There are a lot more reasons. Why aren’t you more involved in technology (or is that a stupid question to ask, given my likely reader base?)