Law firm operations

 

Law firm operations refers to the way in which a law practice effectively manages its functions and processes. The aim for those working in operations is to ensure that law firms manage their processes in the most efficient and effective ways, whilst ensuring compliance.

Whether your firm has a dedicated operations team or not, it is likely that most law firm staff will deal with operations in one way or another. Operations within a law firm refers to strategies used for the prioritisation of work, technology management, resource management, and ensuring processes align with the goals of the company.

It is important the needs of your business to fully understand how to improve the operations and processes of your law firm.

Having an efficacious law firm operations software solution will make it much easier to manage your firm and ensure processes are running as efficiently as seamlessly as possible.

 

Law firm operations software to streamline you processes

 

Most law firms are now paperless, and the majority of legal professionals will use legal practice management software daily. Most firms will use a case management system for task management, document management, expense tracking, billing and time tracking.

Using a case management system that is specifically tailored to your law firm will vastly increase efficiency for your law firm. Some of the most popular practice management solutions include Proclaim, LEAP and Clio, although there are other options available. Proclaim case management software is one of the most popular systems, and is the only CMS to be endorsed by law societies. Proclaim now also offers a cloud based legal solution and a mobile app, so fee earners can continue to work from any location.

Proclaim software offers a number of great out-of-the-box functions; but one of its best features is that it can be developed to meet the bespoke needs of your business.

 

Law firm operations software: Developing your case management system

 

Our legal software development team have extensive years of experience of improving the day to day operations. We do this via workflow optimisation, automation of tasks and documentation, third party integration, and by providing firms with real time MI Reporting facilities, so critical business decisions can be made with ease, and bottlenecks in processes can be addressed.

The law firms we assist benefit from vastly improved efficiency and profitability as a result of developing their case management system which has and continued to enable them to adapt with modern law reforms, and to be a step ahead with regards to the embracing of technological changes in the legal landscape.

 

Automation to improve law firm operations

 

Law firm staff spend a lot of time conducting administrative tasks that could easily be automated within law firm operations software.

There are endless benefits to developing your case management system to allow automation of tasks. An automated solution can help your legal team save time, improve efficiency and reduce costs, as well as reducing the risk of human error in tasks.

Some of the tasks which can be automated for fee earners include, but are not limited to; 

• Keeping clients updated on their case
• Drafting documents
• Sending documents
• Billing
• Requesting e-signatures on documents
• Contract drafting
• Automatically producing hyperlinked indexed and paginated court bundles

 

Automation within your system could be extremely useful to reducing the amount of these time consuming, manual processing tasks.

 

Workflow optimisation

 

 Workflow optimisation is a type of automation which can be set up within a law firm operations software to reduce the number of tedious tasks that are required to be completed by a fee earner, thus, streamlining operations.

Automated workflows can be set up within most case management systems which allow for a number of legal processes to be triggered and carried out automatically within case files. This can help to ensure the smooth running of law firm operations as well as increasing efficiency for law firm staff.

A legal workflow automation can ensure effective communication between a law firm, its clients and any third parties.

 

Third party integration

 

 Most case management systems can be seamlessly integrated with other types of software and third party applications to improve operations through increased efficiency, productivity and profitability for your firm. Case management system integrations enable your staff to enjoy full and seamless, bespoke IT solutions with your chosen system as the data hub.

Examples of software and applications that can be integrated with a case management system include, but are not limited to:

• E-billing software
• E-signature software
• LawConnect
• Salesforce
• Zoho
• Microsoft Office applications
• Medical agency software
• ATE provider software
• Accountancy software
• Funding provider software

 

Using data to improve law firm operations

 

Analysing data is an important task for all businesses to assist with increasing profitability. Proclaim, and many other case management software provides analysis opportunities through the use of  MI reports. Staff performance, average monthly spends, financial reporting, and bottlenecks in processes can all be monitored and analysed through Proclaim analysis reports, which can also be automated.

 Business intelligence tools can be utilised to create KPI dashboards and reports to help you understand your data.

Examples of data which can be analysed and reported upon include:

• KPIs
• Fee earner performance
• Client feedback
• Client and matter inception data
• Profit and loss data
• Marketing data
• Amount of work in the pipeline

 

Law firms possess tons of legal data which can be used for process improvement and data analysis. If your firm utilises a case management system, most of this data will be right at your fingertips, making it easier for you to access, extract and analyse. Some examples of the use of data science within a law firm include:

• Progression Reports – Are tasks being completed on time, are files being progressed as quickly as they should be?
• Age Reports – What is the age of your caseload?
• Fee earner reports– Are fee earners completing their tasks on time- how many billable hours are being completed by fee earners?
• Profitability – Who is generating the most profit overall/per file, per claim type or per department? Which types of cases are generating the highest profits? Which types of cases should firms focus on within their marketing in order to obtain the highest levels of profits?
• WIP – Calculate the total firm WIP for reporting purposes, or in relation to certain case types or file handlers.

 

Proclaim development to improve your law firm’s operations

 

The core features of Proclaim are designed to handle various aspects of case management, including workflow automation, document management, time tracking, billing, and communication tracking. It is known for its flexibility and customisability, allowing law firms to tailor the system to their specific needs.

Since Proclaim is a case management system designed for the legal sector, it is suitable for use in law firms and can be used as a law firm operations software. This legal practice management solution can streamline processes, improve efficiency, and help manage cases and clients effectively.

 To improve law firm operations further, you can consider the following ways to enhance and customise your Proclaim practice management system in the following ways:

• Custom workflows: Analyse your law firm’s specific workflows and customise Proclaim to match them precisely. This can help streamline processes, reduce manual tasks, and improve overall efficiency.
• Document automation: Implement document assembly, templates and automation to generate legal documents quickly and accurately. This feature can save time, improve productivity and reduce the chances of human errors.
• Integration with other legal software solutions: Integrate Proclaim with other software used by your law firm, such as accounting systems, legal billing software, time tracking tools, or communication platforms. This integration ensures seamless data flow and minimises duplicate data entry.
• Reporting and analytics: Utilise Proclaim’s reporting and analytics features to gain insights into your law firm’s performance, case trends, and employee productivity. Data-driven decisions can help improve overall operations.
• Client portal: Implement a client portal within Proclaim to allow clients to access case updates, documents, and communicate with their case handler easily. This enhances client satisfaction and reduces administrative workload.
• Task management: Use Proclaim’s task management capabilities to assign and track tasks across the team. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and deadlines are met promptly.
• Time and billing management: Utilise Proclaim’s time tracking and billing solutions to accurately capture billable hours and expenses. This improves billing accuracy and ensures that the firm is properly compensated for services rendered.
• Remote access: Enable mobile access to Proclaim so that fee earners and staff can access case information, email clients and update records while on the go. This flexibility can increase productivity and responsiveness.
• Training and support: Invest in proper training and ongoing support for your law firm staff to ensure they use Proclaim effectively. Familiarity with the software’s key features can maximise its potential.
• Security and data protection: Implement robust security measures to protect sensitive client data stored within Proclaim. Ensure that the software complies with relevant data protection regulations.

By implementing these enhancements and customisations, you can make the most of Proclaim’s capabilities and improve your law firm’s operations, leading to increased productivity, better client service, and overall growth.

 

How can Legal Practice Support assist in improving your firm’s operations?

 

Legal Practice Support understand the importance of using law firm operations software to improve your firm’s processes.

We offer a range of software solutions and development services to help improve law firm operations, productivity and profitability. We can develop your legal case management software to allow for automation and integrations. We can also assist by providing dashboards and KPI analytics.

We are skilled in developing and optimising your case management system to fit 100% with your business needs. If you would like to find out more about law firm software integration and how a Software Developer from the Legal Practice Support team could assist your firm, or to find out more about our software development agreements, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Our development team can be contacted via e-mail at enquiries@legalpracticesupport.co.uk, or get in touch with us via Live Chat or the contact form below.