Why Embracing Legal Technology is Essential for Your Firm

 

Recent research by The University of Manchester, University College London and the Law Society indicates that a very low number of solicitors and legal professionals, less than one-third, are making use basic legal technology. The research suggested that a major obstacle to the adoption of technology in firms is the lack of understanding amongst senior management, who fail to encourage the integration of new technological tools.

With the rise in artificial intelligence and new legal technology solutions, it is essential that those working within the legal sector are aware of the main benefits of legal technology so that they can incorporate the same within their legal practice.

 

The Benefits of Legal Technology

 

Legal technology has the potential to revolutionise your firm, benefitting not only your employees but also your clients. Listed below are reasons as to why it’s crucial to embrace legal technology.

 

Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity

For any law firm, having the right tools and practice management software in place is essential for delivering legal services efficiently and effectively. This will also assist in driving business growth, and providing high-quality client service.

Automated workflows and template management can streamline processes, enabling teams to work at maximum efficiency. By freeing up lawyers’ valuable time, these tools allow them to concentrate on other key drivers, such as business or personal development and improving work-life balance.

Implementing these processes reduces the time spent on routine administrative tasks, allowing lawyers to dedicate more time to high-quality legal work, legal research and client service.

When considering system implementation or changes, firms often seek solutions that seamlessly integrate with other software, enhancing client service and productivity. Examples include e-bundle software for document management and the ability to complete and sign documents electronically.

 

Risk and Compliance

 

Many technology and case management systems can be tailored to meet regulatory obligations and minimise risk in a simple and cost-effective manner. These systems can include electronic reviews of matter files and supervision forms, as well as the creation and management of breach registers and other central registers.

Integration with other software solutions enables firms to comply with anti-money laundering and customer due diligence requirements, facilitating initial payments on account and effective follow-up on outstanding invoices.

Implementing workflow processes ensures appropriate supervision at crucial points in time, particularly in areas of law deemed high risk, such as conveyancing.

Exception reporting and dashboards can alert relevant individuals to areas requiring attention, such as missing customer due diligence documentation, incomplete risk assessments, or client balances with no activity for an extended period.

Given the multitude of issues that law firms manage, investing in technology that aids rather than hinders becomes a sensible choice, particularly when it comes to regulation.

 

Financial Management and Reporting

 

Data plays a vital role in law firms, making it crucial to establish data visibility and measure performance accurately. To gauge key performance indicators, law firms should have a comprehensive set of reports. These reports can include metrics such as gross profit margins of teams, recovery rates, and lock-up, all of which assist in identifying areas for improvement and focus.

Some systems offer dashboard reporting, providing a visual representation of performance at both the team and individual levels. These reporting capabilities can be part of a case management system, with additional software available from various suppliers to extract data and present it in a user-friendly and comprehensible manner through business intelligence tools.

Legal Practice Support are experts in legal software and can use your data points to create interactive law firm dashboards. We can retrieve data from your Proclaim or other case management system to help you understand your data better.

 

Client Service

Providing an exceptional customer experience is cruicial to the success of your law firm. Law firm clients expect more than just great legal advice and access to justice, they expect great customer care, speedy processes, updates on their cases, and multiple methods of communication with their file handler.

Evaluate how your technology facilitates client service and communication to meet evolving client expectations. Secure client portals can be used to share information, and electronic signatures can streamline the signing of appropriate documentation.

Implementing the right technology in your firm can significantly enhance the client experience. Shifting toward online and automated processes simplifies and accelerates work that was previously time-consuming and costly.

 

Employee Satisfaction

Since the pandemic, employees in most industries, including the legal industry expect hybrid or remote working options. These types of working models will offer your employees more work-life balance and greater satisfaction within their roles.

Legal tech can enable employees to work from anywhere using cloud based systems and technologies.

If you are still using a paper system, or haven’t fully embraced legal technology to allow your fee earners to work remotely, your firm may be in need of a digital transformation.

 

How Proclaim Development can Help you Reap the Benefits of Legal Technology

The Proclaim case management system can be developed to help you reap the benefits of legal technology. Adapting the out of the box software to create a bespoke system tailored to your law firm will not only improve your business processes but also improve efficiency and productivity.

Some of the ways our team can develop Proclaim for your business include:

• Integrations: The Proclaim case management system can be integrated with other software and tools that users already use, such as email, calendaring, and document management systems.
• Reporting and analytics: Users can create custom reports and dashboards to visualize and analyze the data stored in the system, providing insights into case performance and trends.
• Customisable user interface: Users can customise the look and feel of the system to meet their individual needs and preferences.
• Custom fields and tags: Users can create custom fields and tags to store and organise information that is specific to their cases and workflows.
• Custom workflows: Proclaim can be configured to support the specific workflows and processes used by individual users or teams, making it easier to manage cases in the way that works best for them.
• Automation: At Legal Practice Support we have years of experience creating versatile and detailed reports to provide a range of different business functions. Furthermore, with the correct setup you can ensure that all key reports are scheduled to run automatically and to be disclosed to predefined contacts or locations at specified times. Thus ensuring you are never missing the information you need to make key business decisions.

How can Legal Practice Support assist?

 

Legal Practice Support are a legal technology company specialising in Proclaim and case management system development. We understand the benefits of legal technology for your firm.

Our team provide a range of services to all types of legal professionals to help their firms become more efficient and more profitable. Our services include, Proclaim development/ Case management system development, MI reporting and KPI dashboards, Integrations, Legal cost and Legal marketing.

If you would like to discuss how a Proclaim Developer from the LPS team could assist with the development of your practice management software solutions or discuss any other service we offer, please contact us for further information. We can be contacted via e-mail at enquiries@legalpracticesupport.co.uk, and a member of our team will be in touch as soon as possible.