Administrative time and the associated costs for firms nowadays can prove to be a make or break for profitability. Process time across many client service areas and workflows are key, but now, with automated form use, we can see dramatic changes in speed of process plus plentiful time and cost savings – it’s now easier to see how vital bridging the gap between legal service requirements and IT really is.
Rising pressure on costs is just one reason that law firms are forced to evaluate their methods and break down the dated barriers seen across a firm’s admin work. In recent years we have seen major steps in implementing a more intelligent and efficient way of making IT work for us – and so the changes continue and the opportunities grow.
For example, rapid changes in technology can still cater for those who prefer the so-called ‘traditional methods’ of note taking, combining old with new by using sophisticated gateway software which will transfer handwritten notes straight from a note pad directly into your PMS, accurately filed to a chosen client or other destination, reducing the margin for error and saving time.
Then there’s your shop window – the website. Not only can you track and collect vital demographic data, but you can now harvest the information generated by your web form enquiries in an automated way directly to your PMS, helping you with the client onboarding process. Automated emails can be triggered as an extension of this process, providing new clients with the peace of mind that they’re being attended to while also sending alert emails to a nominated business development manager (BDM) to follow up. Clearly, firms that have adopted these techniques have a much better chance of gaining that competitive edge through automation and customer relationship marketing. Needless to say, they can now also tangibly measure what their ROI is, allowing them to make a much more informed decision about how to spend more money in the right places. Highly informative, highly efficient and highly valuable.
The rise in app use has now provided instant ‘secure’ chat between client and lawyer while out of the office and on the move, cutting down message-taking via older methods. They are a constant reminder to clients that their case is progressing.
So, despite the age-old adage of how the legal space is a slow adopter of the changes in an ever faster-moving IT landscape, a prominent shift is well underway as it progressively rises to the challenge and adopts not just these examples but other new advances in technology.