Tech Tips to Use Today in Your Practice
This practical, fast-paced session delivers a series of immediately usable technology strategies designed to make your day-to-day practice more efficient, organized, and effective. From capturing critical moments in police video to streamlining document workflows, this program walks you through tools—many of which you already have—that can significantly improve how you prepare cases, manage evidence, and communicate with clients.
You’ll learn how to save time and reduce errors with smarter document handling, including compressing and organizing large PDFs, reusing prior work product instantly, and avoiding costly mistakes like sending the wrong file or version. The program also highlights powerful features within Microsoft 365—such as automated email organization, integrated task management, and document-sharing controls—that help you maintain better control over your case materials while protecting confidentiality and improving collaboration.
Beyond workflow efficiency, this session equips defense lawyers with cutting-edge tools for investigation, client communication, and courtroom preparation. You’ll see how to leverage transcription and AI tools to summarize meetings, extract key information, and build stronger case narratives—while also understanding the ethical risks and limitations of these technologies. The result is a set of practical, courtroom-ready techniques that will help you work faster, stay organized, and deliver more effective representation in an increasingly digital practice.
Catherine Sanders Reach is Director for the Center for Practice Management at the North Carolina Bar Association, providing practice technology and management assistance to lawyers and legal professionals. Formerly she was Director, Law Practice Management and Technology for the Chicago Bar Association and the Director at the American Bar Association’s Legal Technology Resource Center. Prior to her work at the NCBA, CBA, and ABA she worked in library and information science environments for several years, working at Ross and Hardies as a librarian. She received a master’s degree in library and information Studies from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa in 1997. Ms. Reach’s professional activities include articles published in Law Practice magazine, Law Technology News and GPSolo Magazine, as well as numerous other publications. She has given presentations on the use of technology in law firms for national bar conferences, state, and local bar associations and organizations such as the National Association of Bar Council and the Association of American Law Schools. In 2011, she was selected to be one of the inaugural Fastcase 50, celebrating 50 innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the field of law. In 2013, she was inducted as a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management. In 2015, she was selected to be part of the ABA LTRC Women of Legal Tech. She served on the ABA TECHSHOW Board from 2007-2009, 2014-2016, was co-vice chair in 2019, and co-chair in 2020. She is the co-editor of the 2023 ABA book Design Your Law Practice.
