Written by:

Grant Yuill
Head of Marketing & Customer Engagement
Try this exercise: add up the time you spend on a typical day hunting files, using the software to locate misfiled information, creating filing and calendaring systems, and sorting through the clutter on your desk . For example, a typical person spends sixteen minutes each day looking for missing items. Multiply it by the number of days you work every year. Multiply it by your hourly charging rate. Think about that amount.
Lawyers devote an excessive quantity of time to collecting data and administrative tasks. And, if time is money, lawyers should look for ways to streamline the amount of time they spend doing nothing.
You certainly would be first in line to sign up for something if it allowed you and the other staff at your law firm to always have access to your files, organise your client information, cut down on paper and clutter, speed up the intake and retrieval of information, generate reports that provide you with useful information about your practice, and always have information at your fingertips. All of these possible advantages, plus others, can be accessed with case management software.
Despite many years of seminars and consultants, many lawyers and legal firms have yet to implement these practice management and case management systems.
Reason Why Some Lawyers Don’t Use Legal Case Management Software
Many Law Firms Don’t know what it is
Each lawyer has a process in place for dealing with both active and dormant or closed cases. Usually, this system consists of case file folders, filing cabinets, and documents stacked on their desks and in their offices. Memory, also known as knowledge of an individual filing system, a byzantine numbering system, and a lot of scrambling to retrieve items are common information retrieval tasks.
Using case management software, the administrative process is automated. It makes data accessible to those who do not physically control the file, allows for easy updating and modification of information, and, most importantly, makes it easier to retrieve information quickly when needed. More advanced solutions allow lawyers to combine timekeeping, billing, accounting, and even document management into one software package.
Therefore, you can quickly get the information you need to handle the situation at hand on your computer screen by accessing the case management software whenever a client or opposing counsel calls. It will also provide increased security measures ensuring your law firm’s credibility and trust when concerning client data.
Is legal software not expensive for UK law firms?
When it comes to legal case management software, concentrating only on the software’s costs is unwise.
Rather, you need to assess this software’s needs in terms of “return on investment.” If you fee by the hour, your income is restricted to the amount of hours you may fee. When you use value feeing, the more efficiently you work, the more profit you gain on each transaction. In either case, regaining lost or unproductive hours will result in a substantial return.
Reducing the amount of time spent on searching for misplaced documents by half can potentially save an average lawyer £4000 in time annually. Case management software solutions also provide further efficiency, and its costs and benefits can be measured and evaluated. You may make a wise choice by determining how long it will take for the cloud-based software to pay for itself. These determinations will apply to every law firm in the legal industry.
Lawyers who are just starting out in business clearly recognise the advantages of case management software. If an individual can use case management software to help operate a firm without having a secretary (or hire a fee-earning paralegal instead of a secretary), the savings alone may make the decision easy. In medium-sized law firms and larger firms, even decreasing or holding the line on staff hiring may be enough to justify a switch to case management software.
It’s very complicated
We just had a presentation on two case management software provider options for small firms, and the option to enter information in six different ways was praised as a key feature. Not Right! Giving lawyers too many options leads to a training disaster. Lawyers want to be able to use a system easily, obtain the information they need, and not be welcomed with a computer screen that resembles the controls of an F-18 fighter plane.
Often enough, consultants and sales representatives present an overwhelming representation of case management that includes all papers digitised, no paper, filing cabinets, and client files that appear on your screen as soon as you pick up the phone.
When a lawyer thinks about it, he or she may find one to three administrative issues that, if made available or eliminated, could significantly enhance his or her practice. Some examples include having accounting and timekeeping information readily available when the other side calls with a settlement offer, having a list of all cases involving the same opposing solicitor or judge, having a chronology of all contacts with a client, and being able to send an email to all clients whose wills are older than two years.
Most case management software achieves this objective by allowing you to enter data about a client or individual once and having it show in a firm address book, time, billing and accounting, and case and matter management. You don’t have to make changes in three or four different programs.
The main point to remember is to focus on your needs rather than the bells and whistles. In numerous situations, less is more, and simplicity is preferable. You probably won’t find the program to be all that complex if it can accomplish the one or two tasks that you believe are most important in a reasonably easy manner.
It doesn’t fit their needs
It is hard to make meaningful decisions unless you work in a specialised practice area that may be covered by one or several products. As previously said, the word “case management” refers to the practice of case lawyers, and you may observe that certain systems adopt this approach. If you conduct estate planning, for example, “matters” won’t represent much because each client has the same issue. A software demonstration that focuses on the software’s features rather than its value to your practice will give you the impression that the software is not for you.
There is some case management software that offers a certain amount of customisation. The option to customise the product should be a key consideration, in addition to reviewing reviews and speaking with other users who follow a similar routine. If you also do a good job figuring out what the program can do to help you in your practice and focus on finding one that does, we believe you will discover programs that match your law firm’s needs.
Too Busy
Remember, time is money. And what’s keeping you so busy? If you’re searching for documents or practicing ineffectively, you should consider case management. Do you, for example, regularly work ten to twelve-hour days, resulting in six to eight billable hours?
If you are overwhelmed by your workflow, comprehensive case management software can assist you in handling the constant flow of fresh cases effectively. Since case management information can be accessed remotely or transferred to a hand held device, some lawyers have discovered that the software allows them to avoid going to the office on weekends.
Once more, the key is identifying those barriers that prevent you from functioning effectively and determining whether case management software can help you with those specific issues. More straightforward modifications can sometimes result in the greatest benefits.
It might control their life
This reaction is reasonable. After all, for better or worse, you’ve created a system of organisation that has led you to where you are now. You want to practice law, not organise.
We’ve discovered that sometimes this explanation conceals another one. Lawyers may be degraded by their lack of technology knowledge, the disorder that passes for a “system” of organisation in their offices, or their complete reliance on a secretary who understands the system. In fact, it’s interesting to see how the potential loss of a long-term secretary leads lawyers to examine new software for case management. You can expect the best outcomes if you analyse your current processes before implementing case management software.
Another serious issue is the amount of time required to convert existing systems and move data to new case management software. Will you not be operating a paper system and a computer system simultaneously, at least for a while? Consider these issues when performing your return on investment analysis.
Lastly, the more precisely a case management software program can imitate or adapt to your current processes, the better it is for you. Again, customisation may be an essential consideration and worth the additional cost. Your software should help you practice law better, not make you an expert at using it.
Being efficient implies losing money
Hourly billing procedures are the culprit in this situation. What if you were 20% to 40% more efficient? Won’t that just mean you’ll make 20 to 40% less per year? Why would I want to do this?
As of now, clients are not holding lawyers accountable for inefficiencies. That trend is shifting. As non-traditional competition and competition from law firms that use technology increase, the costs offered for typical legal services will come under pressure.
Case management software allows you to deal with a high volume, low margin practice. It can also assist you in using the information you have to strengthen personal relationships with clients. For example, your software automatically provides you with a list of clients you haven’t spoken with in over 6 months) or to track and identify sources of new clients (for example, which clients reported that they came to you as a result of an ad you placed. A decision to start using case management software will force you to reconsider your billing procedures and explore alternate options.
More importantly, the argument depends on the idea that the time you save will result in the elimination of billable hours. In fact, it is likely to reduce non-productive time that would not have been invoiced in the first place.
Streamline the Best Practices of your Law Firm with Denovo
Most popular complaints about case management software have some validity. However, upon further inspection, concerns tend to vanish when using a case management solution. Legal Case Management Software will provide you with meaningful and measurable business results and financial benefits if you focus on your most pressing demands and the easiest actions. That is the fundamental reason for using legal technology in your practice. Take a look at the present software and its capabilities and qualities. Determine what your needs are. Then consider case management software. Your life might get a little easier.
Ready to integrate Denovo’s software solution into your operations? Reach out to us today to learn more:
- Email: info@denovobi.com
- Call: 0141 331 5290
- Book a Demo: Experience CaseLoad in action by booking a demo now.