#48: Tech Mentors for Lawyers: Interview with J. Ryann Peyton from the Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program

The Tech Savvy Lawyer

The development of new technology is conquering every corner of every industry in the world which makes it hard to ignore that lawyers need to be proficient in technology to engage with clients. But still, there are flaws that lawyers need to overcome to get the best outcome from the new technologies. This week, we are having a fascinating conversation with J. Ryann Peyton about what technologies they use at present and how they can use the new technologies to give their maximum service to the clients.

Ryann serves as the Director of the Colorado Attorney Mentoring Program (CAMP), a program of the Colorado Supreme Court. Ryann is a former litigator and a seasoned consultant and advocate of professionalism, diversity, and equity in the legal field. Ryann has been routinely recognized for their legal practice, earning the 2022 40 Under 40 Award, the 2019 American Bar Association Rosner & Rosner Young Lawyer Professionalism award, and the 2014 Colorado Bar Association’s Outstanding Young Attorney of the Year award.

The following three questions and more will be answered throughout the conversation,

1. As a mentor to attorneys, what three things are attorneys still not getting right with their technology in their practice?
2. What are three ways technology allows attorneys to help those who typically cannot afford or have access to private attorneys?
3. During COVID, technology has allowed more attorneys to work from home. With this new dynamic, some attorneys have been a little lacking in being professional?

In our conversation, we cover:

[06.22] Current tech setup – Ryann talks about their current technology setup and their favorite apps on iPhone.

[10.03] Utilizing – Ryann shares their opinion on what is the biggest things that lawyers get wrong when it comes to using technology and the programs that they recommend for lawyers.

[15.06] Human check – Ryann talks about what usually makes lawyers hesitate in developing workflows.

[20.47] Brick and motor versus virtual – Ryann dives into how lawyers got into virtual practice during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, how most of the lawyers get back to brick and motor practice, and how virtual practice serves both the client and the lawyer in terms of time and others.

[25.45] Credibility – Ryann shares their opinion on the credibility of virtual hearings where there is a question about how to ensure justice is done.

[29.21] Utilizing AI – Ryann dives into how to help clients by utilizing AI and how it helps both the clients and the lawyers at the end of the day.

[34.40] Utilizing technology – Ryann talks about utilizing technology to help clients identify what kind of legal problems they have because clients sometimes misidentify their legal problems which prevent them from hiring a lawyer or talking to a lawyer.

[39.36] Educating – Ryann dives into what kind of facilities they have in every judicial district in Colorado to educate people if they want to hire an attorney or not.

[40.31] Connecting lawyers – Ryann shares information about a platform that connects the lawyers who are looking for pro bono services in Colorado.

[44.28] Hurdles – Ryann dives into the broadband issue that most of the communities have including Colorado which makes it difficult for people to connect with a lawyer and how self-help representatives create access to technologies like zoom and email on behalf of the people who have those kinds of problems.

[47.32] Maintaining professionalism – Being present and attentive, maintaining humanity, and not overriding the silence as the three things attorneys need to be mindful of when working remotely while using technology says, Ryann.

Connect with Ryann:

Website - https://coloradomentoring.org/

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ryann-peyton-7bb8794/

Equipment/Software mentioned:

AirPods Pro - https://www.apple.com/airpods-pro/

iPhone 12 - https://www.apple.com/iphone-12/specs/

Apple Watch - https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-watch/apple-watch

Overcast - https://overcast.fm/

Paladin website - https://www.joinpaladin.com/

Hello divorce - https://hellodivorce.com/

Clio - https://www.clio.com/

Calendly - https://calendly.com/

Zoom - https://zoom.us/

Slack - https://slack.com/

Microsoft teams - https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-teams/teams-for-work

Zapier - https://zapier.com/

Apple podcasts - https://www.apple.com/apple-podcasts/

Microsoft surface - https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface