Written by:
Grant Yuill
Head of Marketing & Customer Engagement
By implementing the newest legal technology, your firm will be more prepared to compete with other law offices and set itself apart from its rivals.
In addition to improving your ability to serve your clients, adopting legal practice management software and other dependable technological solutions can give you insights you can use to seek growth and optimise key business operations.
Having said that, the previous ten years have seen enormous growth in the field of legal technology. Since there are so many technological options available, it can be difficult to cut through the clutter and find the software that will have the most influence on your legal practice. However, this stratospheric expansion has resulted in the creation of some very revolutionary legal technology.
We’ll look at some of the most common use cases for the most recent legal software in our thorough guide to technological solutions for law firms. We also offer some practical suggestions that you can use to locate the best legal technology option for your law practice.
How Technology Can Boost Efficiency in Your Law Firm
In a recent survey by Bloomberg Law, researchers asked lawyers about the benefits of using legal technology in their firms.
According to 86% of study participants, legal technology increases efficiency in their organisations. Other popular responses include streamlining workflows, satisfying client or organisational demands, and raising the calibre of output.
You’ll get access to these resources when you use modern technology tools:
Automation
Simplifying repetitive tasks like client intake is made easier by the complete automation features of leading legal technology software.
Mobility
You can access your client files from any location, whether you’re at the office or on the move, thanks to the top legal technology software.
Integrations
A case management software upgrade will provide you access to integrations that make data sharing throughout your whole practice easier and faster.
Enhanced Collaboration
Your data is consolidated using cloud storage by modern legal technology solutions. By enabling remote access to your client data for all authorised parties, cloud technology promotes better cooperation.
Expedited Payment Processing
The best solutions help you control cash flow with tools for financial management and online payment processing.
As you can see, an effective new practice management system can increase productivity throughout your entire organisation.
What Tools Are Used by Lawyers?
The most popular piece of legal technology is billing software. Given the tediousness of these tasks, it makes perfect sense that nearly four out of five legal firms (79%) utilise technology to help with delivering bills and processing payments.
With 70% of legal practitioners using them, legal research tools are the second most popular category of technology. The majority of law firms also use cloud-based storage solutions (62%), timekeeping software (63%), and e-signature software (69%).
Although these solutions can undoubtedly address some of your law firm’s needs, using them won’t always give you a competitive advantage.
You have to implement more cutting-edge strategies, such as comprehensive practice management software, if you want to stand out from other firms. Only three out of ten law firms, according to a Bloomberg poll, employ practice management software.
8 Ways that Legal Technology Software Can Help Lawyers
How you run your practice may change if you switch from basic programmes like Microsoft Office to ones made exclusively for lawyers. Here are a few of your law firm’s most prominent departments that can benefit from legal software.
#1. Client Onboarding and Intake
Manual client onboarding and intake procedures are time-consuming, ineffective, and frequently filled with conflict. The good news is that by using client intake software, you can automate this vital touchpoint in the client experience.
The following are some solutions you should think about implementing to help with intake and onboarding processes:
- Virtual Receptionist Service
A lead could be wasted every time a phone goes unanswered. Fortunately, if you use an online receptionist service, like Onwards Answering, missed calls will be a thing of the past. These tools assist you to lower your administrative costs while also getting rid of missed calls.
- E-Signature Software
It may be unnecessary for you and your clients to exchange physical documents back and forth in order to obtain signatures. E-signature software for lawyers streamlines the process of arranging signatures, saves paper, and lessens the chance of human error.
Although you might once in a while need to physically sign documents, most files can be executed digitally, allowing you to work more quickly.
- Client Interface
Legal client interfaces give you and your clients a safe channel for communicating and exchanging crucial files. A fantastic method to keep clients informed is to include a client portal in your arsenal of legal technology tools.
Clients who have safe access to dependable self-service tools won’t need to use your phone lines or send you emails to get updates. Your administrative team will consequently have more time to concentrate on their primary responsibilities.
- Lawyers’ mobile applications
Lawyers may access mobile remote desktop apps on leading law firm management platforms like Denovo. By enabling you to work while on the road, our software can increase your productivity.
#2. Processing Legal Billing & Payments
Solutions for Processing Legal Billing & Payments can help you manage cash flow more effectively, and boost income for your law practice, by helping you track billable work and issue bills to clients. Here are some tools for billing and payments that you might want to use.
It’s essential to accurately track billable hours if you want to run a profitable law firm. Keeping thorough records of tasks that can be billed also promotes client confidence and improves transparency.
Since these solutions do not require manual data entry, automatic time tracking software simplifies the process of keeping track of billable hours. You can boost productivity, lower errors, and make sure that all billable hours are recorded in your timekeeping system.
- Accounting and Billing
Using legal billing software, firms may send clients their bills right away. As a result, the revenue cycle is shortened, payment delays are reduced, and cash flow is stabilised. Modernising accounting and billing procedures can also reduce the need for manual labour and administrative costs.
At the end of the day, your firm will spend less on office administration tasks and have more money available to invest in expansion opportunities.
- Online Payment System
An online payment system is necessary if you want to please clients and make paying for services simple. Transparency regarding your prices and the due dates for payments is provided by such a system.
Make sure the platform you choose is reliable and that it connects with your legal practice management software when looking for online payment solutions for your law firm.
#3. Legal Case Management
Legal case management technologies will significantly impact the client service experience. To modernise essential business processes and better serve your clients, you may use a variety of legal case management solutions, such as the ones listed below:
- Software for Legal Practice Management
Denovo is the solution if you’re seeking a complete matter management and client communication solution for your practice. You may automate time-consuming operations with our comprehensive solution’s client interface, document-generation tools, and automation features.
With the help of this all-inclusive practice management software, you can increase the productivity and profitability of your firm while also better serving your clients. Book a Denovo demo when you’re ready to upgrade the technology stack to see our cutting-edge platform in action.
#4. Legal Research Tool
The basis of successful case outcomes is legal research. However, locating relevant case law and combing through extensive libraries of decisions can be tiresome and time-consuming tasks. The productivity suffers and your profits are decreased by this non-billable time.
The good news is that by using the most recent legal technology, you may speed up your legal research procedures. You may discover important case law, rules, legislation, and other materials rapidly with the aid of contemporary legal research tools.
#5. Analysing the Performance of a Law Firm
You’ll be able to get insightful information on law firms, and keep an eye on the state of your practice, if you have the correct tools in place. With the use of cutting-edge technology, the performance of each lawyer can be tracked, in addition to total billable hours. This information can help you figure out what you’re doing well and which procedures need to be improved.
Gaining business objectives and overcoming barriers to expansion is possible when you have a thorough picture of your law firm’s performance.
#6. Automating and Managing Legal Documents
Software for managing legal documents, such as Denovo, offers simple tools for managing and automating the creation of new documents.
The motions, letters, and other widely used forms can be filled up through these tools using previously acquired data, such as client contact information and appointment dates.
The use of document population tools will eliminate the need for human data entry, save time, and lessen the possibility of mistakes. These solutions not only let you create documents but also give you a safe place to store, manage, modify, and share data.
#7. Accounting and Financial Reports
Keeping thorough financial records is essential for your law firm’s success. You may stay organised, improve fiscal visibility, manage costs, safeguard cash flow, and spot waste, by using specialised legal software to manage your financial reporting and accounting procedures.
You’ll also make sure that you never lose track of the balance between expenses and revenue if you swap out outdated applications like spreadsheets for modern ones.
#8. Identifying and Addressing Specific Issues in Your Practice Area
Depending on your area of practice, your legal firm will have different special requirements. Fortunately, you may use flexible legal practice management software like Denovo to guarantee that your company’s requirements are met. We answer the difficulties that different practice areas face by creating software tools for specialised legal service markets like:
These are just a few of the many areas of practice that our all-in-one tools can help with. We invite you to check out the special tools we have for your area of practice.
How to Choose the Right Legal Tech for Law Your firms
Use the following advice when you begin evaluating solutions for your legal practice to choose the best platform for your needs.
Make problem-solving a priority
We suggest outlining your “why”, and deciding which issues you want your new technology to address, before you start your search. You may immediately eliminate any ideas that don’t fit the needs of your law firm by outlining your problem.
Let’s say document management is one of your main obstacles to productivity. A platform is not a good fit for your practice if it doesn’t have document management automation solutions.
You should think about the challenges your law firm faces as well as the resources you’ll need to overcome them. When looking for your law firm management software, these features should be regarded as “must-haves.”
Check for Fit, Form, and Function
Check the fit, form, and function of each solution after you’ve reduced your choices to a few viable ones. In other words, make sure that any technological advancement will benefit your practice. Ensure that you can combine the solution with the tools and technology you already have.
Scheduling a demo is the best approach to evaluate a platform. You can evaluate the solution’s usability, functionality, and adaptability during your demo.
Think about your security setup
Protecting client information is an ethical responsibility for your legal practice. In light of this, it’s essential to guarantee the security of the solution you use.
While new technologies are a great addition to your practice, they will also greatly influence law firms’ data security. Find out what kind of cybersecurity safeguards the developer has in place to protect your data before introducing more technology into your law firm.
Conclusion: Law Firm Technology
The success of your Law Firm, in the long run, depends on effective legal practice management software. The use of cutting-edge technology can pave the way for higher productivity, offer you access to the greatest resources, and automate repetitive operations to save time.
Denovo is the best platform for big businesses, emerging practices, and successful mid-sized businesses alike. How you engage with clients, control billing procedures, and create documents, may all be changed by using our flexible range of tools and capabilities.
Want to know more about Denovo’s capabilities? If yes, schedule a demo to learn why legal firms continue to rely on our software.
