Admittedly, the basic hardware for a law office is not very sexy, but utilitarian seldom is. It will get the job done until the money starts rolling in. Now, should you want something a bit more, here’s what I’d add:
- A large LCD monitor, and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. While that laptop keyboard and screen are fine for on-the-go work, for long hours at a desk, an external monitor, and a fullsized keyboard and mouse will significantly reduce eye, neck and finger strain.
- A plain paper scanner (preferably one that will scan both sides of a page simultaneously). Anything that will reduce the amount of paper in your office is a time-saver. It is far easier to keep a digital client file organized than it is to track all the paper associated with the hard copy version.
- A removable USB hard drive system like the Iomega REV system. This is a backup to your backup. The idea is to have a set of periodic backups that you can store at a remote location and can cycle through on a periodic basis. This way you have a series of backups so that you are not dependent on any single storage device to preserve your data.
- A dual monitor desktop computer. Add this last, it ties you down and eats up desk real estate and for most purposes does not add a great deal more functionality than that provided by your laptop.
