Written by:
Grant Yuill
Head of Marketing & Customer Engagement
In the legal industry, tradition often reigns supreme. For generations, the legal profession has remained faithful to time-honoured practices and techniques, depending primarily on established standards. However, as the world advances rapidly, adhering to the status quo may prevent growth, inhibit creativity, and, in the long run, leave the firm far behind competitors.
Law firms are under more pressure than ever to adapt and upgrade their practice management in order to remain competitive, thanks to the proliferation of technologies that enable lawyers to access more clients. Client expectations are also increasing as technology makes online purchases and meetings increasingly common. Despite this, many law firms are cautious about accepting change and disrupting traditional routines and processes due to the time and effort required.
In this post, we’ll look at how legal technology can transform the way your firm works, and why ignoring these tools could mean missing out on valuable revenue.
The Cost of Indecision
It might be hard to calculate how much money or productivity you’re losing by continuing to do things the same way you always have. Even if you don’t notice any problems with your current method of operation, there is almost certainly room for improvement. Time is a lawyer’s most important resource, so investing in software frees up more time in your day, allowing you to focus on billable work or greater firm improvement projects.
It might seem difficult to justify the time investment in adopting novel processes and technologies at first since time is quantifiable but not as tangible as money in the bank. While the time saved may not immediately translate into cash in your bank account, you will notice a general improvement in your firm’s efficiency, extending the chance to take on additional billable tasks.
The Price of Not Adopting New Tools for Your Law Firm
When analysing your present procedures, spotting inefficiencies is usually simple.
You can spot time-consuming non-billable work without any great level of insight being required, but it’s harder to recognise the real impact it has on your firm’s profits.
Speak with your team to find out which tasks take the most time and cause the most frustration. By measuring the time spent and factoring in business costs, you can uncover areas for improvement.
Here are some questions to ask yourself and your staff:
- How long do your routine processes take? Are any taking more time than they should? Is there a better method or tool to carry them out more efficiently?
- How reliable is your current solution? Does it get the job done, or is it slow and prone to crashes, bugs, or interruptions?
- How integrated is your current system? Do you need different platforms for billing, case management, payments, document automation, reporting, and calendar management?
- How user-friendly is your current process? Can your team easily use the tools, and is onboarding new members straightforward?
- How accessible is customer support? When setting up new workflows or tools, can you easily get help, and are your questions answered promptly?
- How prone is your workflow to errors? Relying on manual steps increases the chance of mistakes, such as missing documents, signatures, or deadlines.
Another way to assess the cost of inefficiencies is to include billable hours missed. According to the most recent Legal Trends Report, lawyers continue to spend the majority of their time working on non-billable tasks. For example, if you continue to use your current system for client intake and onboarding rather than using a solution that allows you to significantly cut time spent on intake, appointment booking, and writing engagement letters, you may be losing money.
How Technology Boosts Employee Satisfaction
Keeping employees satisfied is essential when shifting from old ways. Some team members resist change, while others are ready for it.
For instance, requiring all team members to use software that is slow or prone to errors can cause frustration and even resentment. Conversely, some employees may resist change, preferring the comfort and familiarity of tools they’ve used for years.
Before changing the way your firm operates, there are a few important factors to consider.
- Would changes at your firm risk losing key employees? Consider how staff might respond, the cost of turnover, and which team members are critical. Communicate clearly and develop an implementation plan that secures buy-in and sets everyone up for success.
- If just one team member knows your software, what would happen if they were gone? Ensure several staff members are proficient, and when adopting new tools, provide training and clear documentation for everyone.
- Will your employees succeed with the new software? Proper training is key to smooth adoption and ensuring you get the full value from your investment.
According to legal research from the 2023 Legal Trends Report for Mid-Sized Law Firms, 67% of lawyers in mid-sized firms using cloud-based LPM software reported strong or very good connections with colleagues (compared to 35% of lawyers in mid-sized firms who did not use cloud-based LPM software).
Solo law firms using cloud-based LPM software report higher satisfaction, with 24% more indicating happiness in their professional life and 21% more reporting good mental and emotional well-being, according to the 2023 Legal Trends Report for Solo Law Firms.
How Legal Software Improves Productivity and Efficiency
Here are some ways that legal software can improve your firm’s efficiency and employee productivity.
1. Minimising Billing Inefficiencies
If you don’t use legal billing software, you might end up spending a lot of time manually monitoring time, expenses, and bills, as well as emailing clients with follow-ups and payment reminders.
According to the 2023 Legal Trends Report for Mid-Market Firms, 24% of those surveyed said that their firm takes too long to invoice or bill clients after finishing work. These inefficiencies in the billing process might result in unpaid invoices, as the longer an invoice remains unpaid after the case is completed, the more likely it will never be paid. Mid-sized law firms also reported receiving payments more than twice as quickly when using a legal billing software.
Furthermore, according to the 2023 Legal Trends Report, firms that use billing features experienced modest increases in their realisation rates (number of hours billed) and collection rates. In other words, not only does the average law firm use these billing features as a powerful business tool, but they also collect a higher proportion of their bills. Using this technology will allow your employees and clients to have a better billing workflow while you obtain more billable hours in your week.
2. Automate Client Intake
Client onboarding can take up a lot of time, from collecting information and scheduling calls to setting up new clients in your system.
Traditional client onboarding often involves phone or email exchanges, manually entering client information, and coordinating schedules, creating a repetitive process that consumes time and pulls staff away from billable work.
Automate client intake with software that uses online forms to fill documents and a calendar tool to schedule appointments. This makes it easy to turn leads into clients and gives you more time to work on your cases.
3. Save Time Finding Templates and Forms
Searching for the right forms and legal templates can eat up valuable time for lawyers, paralegals, and staff that could be spent on billable work. Sifting and sorting through documents is frequently a part of the job, but it does not have to be. There are simple solutions to fix this.
Without a document management tool, legal professionals often spend too much time on routine, repetitive tasks instead of high-value work that benefits the firm. With an online library of court forms and legal templates, the ability to save frequently used documents, auto-fill information, and upload files from tools like OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive directly into the system, a document management tool can reduce errors and frustration while giving your team valuable time back.
How Employees Can Embrace Change
Change can be difficult, but employees can ease the transition by seeing how new tools and processes help. Highlight how they can save time, reduce repetitive tasks, and allow more focus on high-value work. Seeing change as an opportunity instead of a disruption encourages a positive mindset.
Active communication and collaboration are essential. Encourage employees to ask questions, share feedback, and learn from one another. Being proactive in adapting to new systems not only makes the change easier, but it also helps people do their jobs better, which is good for the firm’s long-term performance.
Leverage Modern Tools to Transform Your Law Firm
Legal technology can transform law firm operations. Modern software streamlines tasks such as client intake, document management, and payment processing. This allows your firm to operate more effectively while keeping both clients and employees satisfied.
With legal case management software, you can get more done in less time and handle more tasks. As technology evolves, it strengthens law firm operations, freeing up more time for lawyers to support their clients.
Embracing new technology and leaving behind outdated processes might feel challenging, but the benefits are clear from the start. It is time for law firms to adopt smarter workflows, increase efficiency, and focus on what truly matters, serving clients and growing profits.
Book a free demo today to see how Denovo’s CaseLoad can transform your workflow.
