Why legal admin and film festival manager, Luci Hamilton, loves Surface
No two days are the same when you’re managing a legal office, and efficiency counts. Surface saves Luci time every day as she runs from meeting to meeting and crisis to crisis. Initially she got Surface Pro because “I can take my desktop with me without having to carry a 100-pound laptop.” She was traveling a lot and just wanted something light but powerful. Surface works for Luci because she still gets the “prettiness of a tablet,” but gets to keep all her files with her.
Luci has been a law practice management consultant for nearly 30 years, from the department of justice in Brazil to boutique firm Ivie, McNeill &Wyatt in downtown Los Angeles. We know how many attorneys love Surface, but Luci gave further insight on why: “the business of law has changed drastically and the use of new technology is paramount when collaborating with clients. The ability to feel like you can transport your work with you and connect wherever you are in the world is incredible.” Since Luci is always on the go and meeting with different people, she carries a trusty USB drive so that she can easily transfer files to and from her Surface.
And when Luci’s not working and raising her family, she manages the Broad Humor Film Festival in Los Angeles. The Festival’s tagline is “where women tickle your funny bone” and its mission is provide a venue for female writers and directors to showcase their comedy. This year marked the 11th anniversary of the Festival, so they wanted to figure out how to use technology to improve the event’s operations. Enter Surface Pro. Rather than selling day-of tickets at the door, which always makes line management a challenge, they set up Surface Pro to facilitate online purchase. In addition to improving the customer experience, this also helped the Festival organizers because they didn’t have to manage a cash box.
The Festival is a nonprofit organization so it depends on donations. This year, thanks to Surface Pro, they were able to collect donations throughout the Festival online. During Q&A sessions with the artists, Luci passed around her Surface Pro to get donations. This had two primary benefits: 1- people were able to donate with credit cards, which increased the average donation amount dramatically, 2- the Festival was able to easily track the donors so that they can effectively thank them for their generosity.
Luci truly valued having her Surface Pro at the festival because she could easily transition from her legal work to managing the entire event to taking a donation. According to Luci “I need a fully equipped computer to do what I do but the portability of the Surface Pro is as good as a tablet.” Her colleagues were skeptical initially, but Surface Pro won them over throughout the festival. “I think what really got them was the battery life. We had 12 hour days, and I only had to plug in during our dinner break. I can’t wait ‘til next year!”