Blog: The Totally Virtual Office

The purpose of this article is to help law firms who are concerned about the COVID-19 make good technology decisions that enable their staff to work remotely.

Often times we see firms that have challenges with laptops due to purchasing low-end "only good for YouTube" devices.  If you're going to be working from home or working remotely, you want to make sure you get a good device that can keep up with all of the different apps you use.
Recommendation #1:  HP Spectre laptops that meet our recommended specs
Recommendation #2:  Microsoft Surface Pro 7 laptops that meet our recommended specs
Recommendation #3:  Any kind of laptop that meets our recommended specs

Both the HP Spectre and the Microsoft Surface Pro 7s are great systems that come in configurations that meet our recommended specs.  At Faster Law, we use both kinds of laptops and everyone agrees that the Surface Pro 7's are great but the HP Spectre's are even nicer.

When you're picking out a laptop, you want to make sure you're getting a solid business-class machine that has the following specifications.

Recommended Specifications:
16 GB of RAM
Intel i7 Processor
Solid State Hard Drive

If you're reading this, you most likely already do but we wanted to make sure you knew you could run Faster Suite on any number of devices.  Simply download and install Faster Suite on your home computer, personal laptop, or new work computer and it will automatically detect your firm's license.

Please note that for security reasons, when a user signs into Faster Suite on one device, other devices will sign out momentarily.

Phone phone calls are the lifeblood of any law firm and if you're going to be working from home or working remotely, you're going to want a good VOIP phone system.  When Faster Law first started, we were very happy using Skype although it does not allow you to set up phone-trees and extensions.  We are currently transitioning to WixAnswers.com because of how well it integrates with our help desk system.

We have used and really like:
Fresh Works - Pricing varies based on chosen options.
Skype - Free + $3/mo for a phone number (Each person needs their own number).

Other people have used and really like:
Ring Central
Vonage
Microsoft Teams with a Calling Plan

If you have documents, files, or apps in your office that you just can't install on your laptop, ditch the VPN - there is a much easier way!

Start by downloading and installing Team Viewer on your work computer and home computer. When you do, each computer will get a unique ID and password that you can use to connect to the other one. Once you have it installed on both, you'll just type in your work PC's ID and password and the screen share will start! At Faster Law, we use Team Viewer dozens of times per day and love it because it is rock solid and easy to use.

We have used and really like:
Team Viewer 

Telephone calls are great but video conferencing can be so much better.  When you need to do that initial consultation, start up Zoom, enable your camera and get to work.

We have used and really like:
Zoom

When you need signatures, DocuSign is the way to go.

Other people have used and really like::
DocuSign

If there is another app you're using and you'd like for us to share it, please let us know and we'll update this article accordingly.