Want to raise your law firm performance and profitability? No problem! Just adopt new legal technology tools. That’s what all the hippest experts say.
Yet, you’re the one left alone to swim through oceans of information about all the legal software and digital tools out there. The sheer number of options threatens to pull you under. And you certainly don’t want to call for help and get a bunch of overeager salespeople all worked up, do you?
Let’s calm the overwhelm. Right now. You don’t have to go it alone, nor do you need an army of salespeople at your heels. Read on to discover three steps to start optimizing your law firm’s performance with new legal technology.
Step 1. What Are Your Most Critical Law Firm Performance Issues?
The first thing you’ll do is identify firm processes that are best addressed by technology. Involve key stakeholders in ranking the issues in order of importance. It’s okay to build a long, comprehensive list. You’ll choose one issue to focus on first, then move down and tackle the entire list as your firm improves in multiple areas.
Right off the bat, you might wonder: What issues can technology solve?
Find your trusted technology partner.
At some point, you will need to reach out to a trusted source for help. Modern complexities ensure that not many businesses, law firms included, can go it alone in the 21st century.
The path to a profitable future is paved with collaborative partnerships, as shown in a 2021 Harvard Pulse Survey in which 8 in 10 (83%) of companies believe external partnerships will be important to innovation goals over the next two years, with 40% already tapping technology partners for help on digital transformation and 79% expecting to increase collaboration with partners and vendors in the coming years.
A trustworthy partner is a technology strategist who focuses on bringing value to your firm. It’s not an overeager salesperson who cares only about their quota. For example, the right tech partner knows that your law firm is unique, but they can also show you key areas to look for solvable issues such as:
- Do your firm administrators spend too much time piecing together data points to respond to questions that visual, lawyer-friendly dashboards can answer instantly and directly?
- Would automated alerts and notifications improve accountability and timeliness and prevent workflow bottlenecks?
- Are billing delays holding back revenue collection?
Law firms need experienced technology partners who can help modernize operations, raise service capabilities, and protect from cyber risks. Find the right partner for your firm, and you can avoid dealing with zealous salespeople trying to corner you in your inbox.
Step 2. What Legal Technology Options Are Available to Solve Your Law Firm Performance Challenges?
Next, you’ll determine which technology options can efficiently and effectively address your performance challenges. Again, a knowledgeable technology partner can offer solutions that already work for law firms like yours while also ensuring access to the latest advancements.
Many firms start by adopting foundational BI and financial analytics products to accurately track, measure, and improve performance metrics. They establish effective data governance and reporting practices, then continually analyze data to assess how multiple variables influence the performance levels of individual lawyers, staff, cases, and various groupings of each. A healthy technology foundation enables firms to gauge the effectiveness of executed strategies and optimize new approaches to drive higher performance rates and profitability.
Step 3. Make Sure Your New Technology Integrates with Existing Systems.
Any new software you adopt must integrate with your existing practice management system and other critical software to ensure you get the most out of your investments.
Digital integration is becoming increasingly crucial as more troubles are arising from the growing number of software applications in the workplace. A few of the many struggles discussed in the 2021 Workgeist Report by Cornell University and Qatalog include:
- 43% of workers report spending too much time switching between different online tools, and 45% say this makes them less productive.
- In a typical day, people spend 59 minutes simply looking for information trapped within tools and applications, and 55% of people find themselves needing to ask more than one person for help.
- 21% of mistakes result from difficulties in accessing information in company online tools and applications.
Proper software integrations help to eliminate the cause of many of these issues. Integration allows software to automatically exchange data without manual intervention. It also saves lawyers, administrators, and staff from having to jump between multiple tools all day long.
The experts can opine all day long. It’s still left to you to open the road to improved law firm performance. The Iridium, now part of BigHand team has helped law firms of all sizes design technology-integrated approaches that find efficiencies and eliminate costs while enhancing speed and accuracy.
