In this week’s edition of How Lawyers Work, we hear from Jason Beahm. Jason is a San Francisco-based criminal defense attorney whose practice areas include DUI’s, traffic, personal injury and criminal cases.
I am a trial lawyer whose practice emphasizes protecting talented nightlife professionals, venue owners, and artists.
What apps or tools are essential to your daily workflow?
Everything I do begins with my iPhone. Over time I use it more and all other devices less. That means that I use a lot of applications, such as Gmail, Dropbox, and Clio. These applications allow me to stay in touch with my clients and colleagues, no matter where I am.
What does your workspace look like?
Jason’s office under construction.
Jason’s office under construction.
All cleaned up.
Where the magic happens.
Either a desk or an airplane tray. I travel frequently for clients and events, so I am very comfortable working from just about anywhere. Some of my favorite workspaces are at hotels and airports. When it comes to the office, we are a paperless office, which means, we still have lots of paper. That being said, we make a concentrated effort to scan and save everything that can possibly be stored online and get rid of paper.
For some reason, ever since I was a kid, I have had a strange love for office supplies and things like scanners and printers. My favorite gizmos at the office are the Dymo label printer and Fujitsu ScanSnap. I never get tired of seeing the documents speed through the ScanSnap like magic, or the thrill of seeing the name of a new client being printed on a label. Pure thrills.
How do you keep track of your calendars and deadlines?
Google Calendar. It’s simple, it works, everyone knows how to use it and it links with everything. I have it linked with Clio as well, since Clio has a calendar built in, with a sync feature. Of course, my amazing executive assistant is a huge help as well. Since everyone works differently, discuss how lawyers work with all new team members so they can get in line with your expectations.
What is your coffee service setup?
Right now we are serving bicycle coffee made with a Chemex pot. It’s simple and makes great coffee. If I am the first one into the office, I make it. Otherwise, a member of my team always has coffee on hand, as well as a variety of teas, sparkling water, and juices.
How do you or your team approach problems?
First, we seek to understand them and then we solve them. Every client is different and every situation is different, so it is crucial to always take a fresh approach. We want to learn from the past but never become so mechanical that we lose the ability to see what makes each case compelling and unique. The goal is to understand the client and the case so well that we arrive at the winning argument, and achieve our client’s objectives. When your team knows how lawyers work it makes it easier for them to meet expectations.
What is one thing that you listen to, read, or watch that everyone should?
The Daily (New York Times Podcast). The quality of this podcast is just so amazing. The Daily does an amazing job of taking you through the big stories of the day, in a patient way. It avoids the typical for/against format where a bunch of talking heads scream at each other. Instead, they bring in an expert and ask them compelling questions. It’s often the first thing that I listen to as I start my workday.
What is your favorite local place to network or work solo?
I love working solo at the office, from the comfort of my office chair. I also love working at Node, a tech community just down the street that puts on amazing events and has been a great source of business and inspiration.
What are three things you do without fail every day?
Laugh, go for a walk and listen to music. Laughter feels amazing and is basically the opposite of sadness. Walking is good for you and it’s a great time to listen to music. I could live a million lifetimes and there would still not be enough time to explore how much fantastic music is out there. How amazing is that? Rarely does a day go by that I don’t get to carve out a walk and listen to some music. Life is too short not to.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?