Introduction
With so many legal technology products available, it is no wonder many of our clients have struggled with implementing technology solutions that provide results. This occurs when you implement new technologies without creating processes for using them. Implementing the most powerful legal technology solutions will not provide you results without the proper processes in place to use them. In this post, we will go over some of the top tools to improve your law firm’s profitability and discuss an effective way to use each one.
Law Practice Management Software
Specifically, one that can handle matters from lead through the conclusion of their matter. Having a system to collect all relevant information at the right time can provide a boost in profits. Tasks will not be repeated, the number of new clients you can take on will increase and your clients will become happier.
Most Effective Use
You should use your practice management software to its fullest potential. If your current system has many features unused, that is an indication you are not receiving a return on that investment. Even worse it could be eating away at your profits by clogging up the workflow. The perfect system should include a potential client being entered as lead so that the client’s information is captured once and continually used by the system thereafter to ensure accuracy and consistency as you deliver legal services.
Document Assembly or Document Automation
Depending on the types of matters you handle, and the operational structure of your law firm, a document assembly or document automation tool can reduce costs immediately upon implementation. These tools will store a database of your form templates so that users can generate documents for any matter, without having to manually update the custom sections of the form. The tools available vary from basic to advanced coding, and the most effective choice would depend on how the users of your system generally create documents, how many document templates you can utilize on a regular basis, and how the users will access information required to customize the documents.
Most Effective Use
It depends. Document assembly provides a consistent output when the user generating the forms is entering data each time to obtain a final document. It can be more effective for legal departments, or insurance companies, as the users generating the forms are normally only handling that specific task in the overall matter. Document automation is a powerful solution when it can be done as part of a global practice management solution. When you design a system to collect specific information at specific steps, that information can be used for full documentation automation.
AI based Billing
Artificial Intelligence-based billing tools will track what you are doing on your computer and generate proposed billing records for you based on your activities. Those proposed billing records are reviewed, edited and if approved transmitted to the software you use to handle your billing. This not only captures time otherwise forgotten or missed, but it also significantly reduces the amount of time you spend keeping track of your time. There are many options to automate your billing processes and finding the solution that streamlines your billing and time recording will increase your revenue and profits.
Most Effective Use
Artificial Intelligence-based billing is most effective when used by firms whose primary source of revenues comes from billable hours. The return on investment will be robust for these firms, as it reduces a large amount of administrative non-billable time that your team spends manually recording their time. Depending on how you collect and record your time records, it can also automate the process of data entry into your billing software.
CRM
Although law firms do not have a sales team, client relationship management is just as important as it is for businesses that do have a sales team.
Most Effective Use
Collecting a potential client's information online, or as soon as they contact your office, and automating communications and tasks to streamline the intake process for your prospective clients.
Selecting the most effective legal technology tools for your law firm requires you to align your operational structures with available features so that it becomes part of your workflow and used to its maximum potential. Any solution you use should work around your workflows and should not require you to work around it.
The Ultimate Law Firm Efficiency & Profitability Resource
