Wendy James grew up in a small town in North Carolina and had hopes of spending her whole life there. But when she was in law school, she never really thought that would be possible, at least if she wanted a career in law. Many of the opportunities in law are found in bigger centers and with bigger firms. She assumed she was going to have to follow suit and pack up for the big city. Or at least a bigger city.
However, that would not be the case. In fact, Wendy was able to find an opportunity in her hometown. Although, she would have to practice law for a number of years with a big firm. Well, relatively speaking. “In Kernersville, North Carolina, a four-lawyer law firm IS a big firm,” says Wendy. “But I didn’t get into law to make a lot of money; I wanted to help other people. And when I became a mother, I wanted a practice that would let me do that and spend time with my daughters.”
In 2012, Wendy branched out from the “big firm” (again, we are talking about a small town practice here) and began her own independent practice. Wendy’s practice focuses on bankruptcy and is almost entirely transactional in nature, which means she has a great deal of flexibility in how she runs her practice. While she works out of an office in downtown Kernersville, a town of just over 20,000 east of Winston-Salem, she also works remotely and from home That meant finding a practice management solution that would fit her needs as well as those of her clients. Wendy looked at a number of options. Clio was the one that best fit her practice. And she’s never looked back.
Well, maybe once…just to reflect on how far things have come in the management of a law practice. “When I started practicing in 2004, we used to have index cards that we typed client information on to. But when I would leave the office at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have access to any of that information,” says Wendy. “Now with Clio, I have all of my information accessible to me even on my phone so I can get at it when I need it, no matter where I am.” She can even bring Clio along with her on field trips with her daughters. Indeed, that’s what Wendy was doing when she recorded her #Clioday video. Watch it now to see Wendy surprise 6-year-old Camryn at a school field trip–time she was able to take because of the well-managed flexibility and time savings Clio adds to her practice.
We think both Camryn and little sister Caylee deserve more field trips and more time with their mom. So as a thanks to Wendy for sending us her awesome Clioday video, we sent the family an annual membership to SciWorks, the science education center in nearby Winston-Salem. That also includes adopting a river otter in their name and a behind-the-scenes tour on the otter and its world. It does mean leaving the small town every now and then, but we’re sure they’ll all have have a fun time learning together. That alone ‘otter’ make it worth the drive.
Posted to the Clio blog in May 2014 as part of the company’s Clioday campaign.
Tim Travis 