Technology today helps businesses grow and stay competitive and law firms are not an exception. Legal practice management software can ensure that your firm and employees stay focused on clients instead of wasting time looking for lost documents and spending non-billable time tracking billable time. Below are the top 5 reasons why your firm needs legal practice management software now:
- Stay Organized
Although, many attorneys are type A personalities many lack organizational skills and even the most organized can benefit from the assistance of practice management software. As caseloads increase, it is essential to give your employees the tools needed to manage their workload. Legal practice management software allows for everything associated with a client and/or matter to be kept in one place from calendars, notes, documents, reports, emails, other communications, tasks, research, contacts, time records, expenses, and invoices.
Document Management: Never lose another file or document again. Practice management software allows for every item related to a client to be stored in one centralized location. Have all notes, documents, reports, research, and past communications at your fingertips if a client calls or when you are rushing to a meeting, deposition, or court. Simply open the client’s file and perform a simple search to find what you need. Practice management software also allows for all nonclient related files to be kept in one place. Keep your firm’s internal documents, policies, procedures, and forms all in one location with the ability to control what employees have access to what files. Easy access to this information creates efficiency and cuts the time and expense of new employee onboarding and training. Practice management systems can also be synchronized with other software systems such as Microsoft Office Suite and document management software.
Calendar Management: Legal practice management software can help ensure you never miss a deadline again. Easy access to your calendar with important dates and deadlines will help you and your employees keep up with their busy schedules and workloads. Practice management software allows for synchronization of calendars, real time updates to calendars, monitoring of deadlines, mobile access, and automatic notifications.
Workflow Development: Give your employees the tools needed to work as a team. Legal practice management software allows for effortless collaboration between employees with real time updates to documents. Stop wasting time tracking edits and redlines with network access and cloud solutions. Stop the unnecessary collection of dozens of versions of the same document by integrating a practice management software with a collaboration tool. Attorneys and other support staff will have access to each file and document creating efficiency and reducing the need for paper. Allow for new clients and tasks to be delegated to attorneys and legal assistants through the click of a button. Keep your employees informed about urgent, time sensitive matters. Never worry again about an employee’s unexpected absence or emergency with easy access to entire files in order to keep matters moving forward.
Track Contacts: Legal practice management software allows for a contact’s information to be synchronized across files when that contact is associated with another matter. There will be no need to reenter all of their information again, simply note their involvement in the case and the practice management system will import the information for you.
- Save Money, Improve Profits
Increased profits are certainly a goal of any law practice as it is of any other business. Legal practice management software can increase efficiency, reduce waste, and assist in the proper financial management of any law office.
Reduce Nonbillable Time and Increase Billable Hours: Legal practice management software can drastically decrease the number of any firm’s nonbillable hours by creating organization and efficiency through proper document management, easy access to files, reducing time spent on administrative tasks, improving collaboration, and providing remote capabilities. Reduced nonbillable hours will increase the billable hours of a firm when utilized and managed properly.
Improved Time Tracking to Increase Billable Hours: Legal practice management software can provide many solutions for capturing more time and improving time tracking. Every second of billable time can be captured through time tracking timers, the ability to continue to track time when switching between tasks, phone call time tracking, and mobile apps. Less manual time tracking also reduces nonbillable hours spent tracking time.
Improved Billing and Financial Management: Legal practice management software can synchronize your time tracking for easy client invoice creation. Get paid faster by providing online payment options through electronic invoices and building efficiency into your firm’s billing process. A practice management system can also provide efficiency in managing your own firm’s finances through the synching of all software systems and improved expense reporting. Easily view invoice data, receivables, overhead costs, aging accounts, and write-offs through the practice management system’s ability to create financial reports. Improve your firm’s profits through better financial oversight and integration of accounting software with your practice management software. Some practice management software also offer accounting features.
Reduced Malpractice Exposure and Insurance Costs: Many malpractice claims are the result of administrative errors such as missed filing deadlines and statute of limitations deadlines. Legal practice management software can greatly reduce administrative errors that can lead to increased insurance costs by malpractice claims. Practice management systems include solutions such as calendar management, conflicts checkers, and data breach security to decrease malpractice claims. Practice Management programs can reduce the price of malpractice insurance.
- Mobility
Employees and prospective employees are increasingly wanting and demanding the ability to work remotely in order to assist in creating a work life balance. However, the benefits of remote access are not all related to employee happiness. The ability for lawyers to have mobile and remote access increases efficiency, productivity, billable hours, effective case management, and client satisfaction. Legal practice management software cloud-based solutions can create a virtual office on any device and anywhere your employees may be.
- Improved Security
Cybersecurity, data breach, and data loss is a major concern for any business and especially for law firms. Law firms are responsible for securing a wide range of client’s private information, including financial, medical, personal, and attorney-client privileged information. Legal practice management software can assist in securing this data by providing a variety of security features and data backup options.
- Improved Client Relations
Last but not least, legal practice management software improves client relations, which can help retain clients and grow your business. Share information and calendar notices through client portals. A practice management system allows for improved communication with clients and better case supervision to help ensure your client’s happiness with the management of their matter.
Let legal practice management software help provide better client satisfaction, maximize profits, employee happiness, and grow your firm. There are a variety of practice management solutions out there. For help finding the right legal practice management software for your firm click here or read How to Choose the Right Legal Practice Management Software for Your Firm.
By: Renee Schildgen, Business Development Consultant