Lawyers News And Updates: How Lawyers Work: Mary Juetten, Persistent Advocate for Change and Online Shopping Maven

In this week’s edition of How Lawyers Work, we hear from Mary Juetten. Mary is the CEO of Traklight and the managing director of Evolve Law in Bellingham, Washington.

You can follow Mary on both LinkedIn and Twitter.

What’s your elevator pitch?

I don’t practice law—yet (more on that in 2018). Instead, out of law school, I created software that helps small businesses self-identify risk and intellectual property; it doubles as lead generation for companies or issue-spotting for lawyers. Along the way, I created the Evolve Law community to accelerate the pace of change within the legal industry. In my spare time, I write and consult on practice management, law reform, and small business issues.

What apps or tools are essential to your daily workflow?

To run two companies as well as write books and consult, I need mad project organization. These are some of the tools I use daily to do just that:

Google Apps. (1) Google Docs – I use this for project lists and collaboration (cannot live without this); (2) Google Calendar; and of course, (3) Gmail – I use my email to organize myself and work towards inbox zero (I panic if it’s over 50).
Slack. It’s much better than email. I now use it to run Evolve Law with Above the Law.
iPhone on T-mobile. The hotspot allows me to work anywhere in all 3 countries I travel to including my kid in Canada, my homes in the U.S., and my husband’s work in Mexico.
iPhone apps. (1) Notes – I have written entire blog posts during a car or plane ride; (2) Dragon – It’s come a long way and great to dictate for books or blogs; (3) Kindle (unlimited) – It keeps me sane in long lines and while traveling.
Asana. However, If I practiced or worked with more than one person, I would use Trello as it is more visual.
Post-its, colored pens, and legal pads. I not only run all my businesses with these basics, but I also use them in our household (the kids all lived in the house into their twenties; it’s basic but it works).
Whiteboards. When I write, I use these for storyboards. When we had a Traklight office, we painted the walls with whiteboard paint, and I would do that in a heartbeat for any office.
Google Home. I can play peaceful piano music from Spotify to work by—soothing but not distracting.

What does your workspace look like?

Click to view slideshow.

Which one? I am a nomad with three residences, plus I can work on the airport floor if necessary or traveling in the car. I carry post-its and colored pens with me at all times and have whiteboards in all three places. They say sitting is the new smoking so I move around during the day from table to countertop, etc. When I leave one place, I take pictures of the lists, post-its, and whiteboards to go to the next stop.

How do you keep track of your calendars and deadlines?

Google Calendar. It’s on my laptop and phone and accessible anywhere. I calendar all my tasks as appointments and create repeating calendar invites. Each week, I create a master to-do list on an old-fashioned yellow pad—one for each of my companies and writing projects. I also have large lined Post-its for daily tasks and regular Post-it notes for reminders. Lastly, I print out my daily calendar and am delighted to cross off tasks.

What is your coffee service setup?

I only drink coffee until noon. If I am lucky enough to be in the same city as my husband, he brings me coffee in bed. I will drink green tea, but my go-to is coffee with almond milk and I like the regular grind and drip. We have some complicated machines in our houses that I do not use!

What is one thing that you listen to, read, or watch that everyone should?

I read and watch to escape. I’m not sure anyone shares my obsession with Criminal Minds or now, Mindhunter. But I think everyone should listen to music every day.