Managing Up

Choosing the Right Tech Tools for Law Firm Growth

By Erik Mazzone

Staying profitable as your practice expands isn’t a given. It requires investing in systems and technology that will scale to support your growth, such as case management software, which is essential for improving operational efficiency, reducing errors, and enhancing client satisfaction.

Here are six places to start.

tech tools law firm growth

Some years ago, I knew a lawyer who had started and grown his firm. The firm had expanded to about 10 lawyers before shrinking back down to just him and one other person. When I met him, he was in the process of building his firm back to its previous size.

Since I was a young lawyer interested in practice management, he shared his theory on firm growth:

“Once you get big enough that everybody can’t fit in the car to go to lunch together, it’s the beginning of the end.”

It was said tongue-and-cheek, but there’s a kernal of truth.

Introduction to Law Firm Growth

Law firms must prioritize growth and efficiency to remain successful. The integration of technology has revolutionized the way law firms operate, enabling them to streamline processes, enhance client satisfaction, and increase productivity. Legal practice management software, document management tools, and client relationship management systems are important components that can drive a law firm’s growth. By leveraging these technologies, legal practices can optimize their operations, reduce administrative burdens, and focus more on delivering high-quality legal services to their clients.

Understanding Law Firm Needs

To implement effective technology solutions, law firms must understand their unique needs and challenges. This involves an assessment of current workflows, identifying bottlenecks, and pinpointing areas for improvement. By evaluating these aspects, law firms can determine the specific features and functionalities required in their legal technology tools. Understanding these needs is important for selecting the most suitable software to benefit operations, improve client satisfaction, and ultimately drive growth. Tailoring technology solutions to fit the unique demands of a law firm ensures that the investment in legal technology yields the best possible outcomes.

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

To grow, your tools, skills and management practices must evolve.

Law firms grow because the founder is good at several different competencies (marketing, legal work, financial discipline and so on). As the firm grows, the founder gets stretched further and further until, at some point, she can no longer personally do all the things she did to make the firm a success.

At that point, she either finds a way to change the way things get done or, like the lawyer I had lunch with, she finds herself at the beginning of the end.

Choosing the Right Tech Tools for Law Firm Growth

Staying profitable as you build your firm is all about systems and scale. It’s about making sure you have the right tools to support growth, the right processes and procedures, a scalable client acquisition strategy, and a plan for expanding and managing your team.

Here are some of the tools you will want to consider adding as you prepare to grow your firm.

I’m going to assume that many of you already have practice management and time and billing software. Document management software is another vital tool that complements practice management software by efficiently storing, organizing, and managing documents. If you don’t use practice management software in your firm, that needs to be your first step.

There are lots of great options available, but here are a few tips to help you decide:

  • Think of your practice management software as a platform, the central hub for your firm’s technology that will hook into your other critical tools. Look not just for features included in the software but for integrations and interoperability.
  • Think about your practice management software as a 10-plus-year investment.
  • Kick the tires hard on reporting options — no firm is going to scale effectively without a robust set of reporting features so you can keep tabs on your growing enterprise.
  • If you are already in a practice management software and it works, stick with it. There is a huge tendency to peer over the fence at greener grass. Resist.
  • If you are already in a practice management software and it legitimately is not getting the job done (or is being wound down and lacks support, etc.), I strongly urge you to find an implementation partner before you choose a new software. Changing tires while the bus is rolling is significantly more complicated, and it will not be money wasted on finding a consultant to make the process smoother and easier.

2. Intake and Client Relationship Management

For many firms, the intake process is a growth bottleneck. You have worked hard to develop your reputation and secure valuable referrals. When those referrals take the step to contact your firm, they need to be wrapped into a well-designed and managed system that treats them well and doesn’t let them slip through the cracks.

As you prepare to be less hands-on in every single part of running your firm, you need systems in place that reduce friction, create standards and delight potential clients. Many practice management software programs have a fully integrated intake feature or the ability to add it as a module. It’s worth doing. Also, intake capabilities combined with practice management software become your CRM (customer relations software). As you start to button down your intake and sales process, keeping good data about calls, consultations, retention rates and so on will make it much easier to engage in rational, data-driven decision-making.

(Related: Read “Tech Tips: Best Advice for Improving Client Intake”)

3. Document Automation

Once your firm has taken the time to set up and use practice management and intake software, you will have client data that is (hopefully) only being entered (typed) into the database once. Each time you add additional information to the client’s file, that additional data represents the opportunity to save labor and reduce errors in producing documents. The way to do this is via document assembly or automation.

Legal research tools, such as Relativity and Westlaw, also play a crucial role in enhancing efficiency by streamlining the research process and reducing time spent on paperwork.

Again, several of the major practice management software programs include document assembly tools. If yours does not, it can be worth engaging a legal technology consultant to help you build your library of fillable forms and connect them to your practice management software.

Document assembly will help your team get more done in less time with fewer mistakes. It’s a lot of work to put together the fillable forms and train the team on the system, but once you do, it can be a win for clients, your team and the firm.

(Related: Read “Document Automation 101: Techniques You Use Today Without Spending a Dollar” by Erik Mazzone)

4. Asynchronous Communications

One of the lessons of the pandemic is that business can be interrupted, substantially and for long periods of time. Smart law firms have retooled in the years since to maintain strong business continuity plans, so if need be, all the professionals can work from anywhere they have a laptop and an internet connection. That’s been a great change in some ways, but it has created some challenges in maintaining team culture.

Efficient communication tools not only help in maintaining team culture but also aid in conducting thorough legal research. Modern legal research tools provide quick access to extensive legal data, enabling lawyers to analyze cases and regulations more thoroughly and accurately.

Similarly, law firm growth often makes it harder to maintain the firm culture. Interactions that happen effortlessly with a small team need to be proactively created and maintained as you grow. A Slack or Teams channel for the firm with several side discussion channels for discussing cases, blowing off steam, discussing weekend plans and so on can be a great way to build team culture asynchronously and from a distance.

(Related: Top Personal Productivity Apps for Lawyers)

5. Process Documentation — SOPs

In the dark ages of law firm management, it was common to find, somewhere deep in the dusty crevices of a law firm’s back room, an overstuffed and underused binder marked “Firm Standard Operating Procedures.” Don’t get me wrong; I am not against establishing and recording procedures and processes. On the contrary, it’s an essential part of growing a law firm. Without well-established and documented procedures, your firm will never achieve any uniformity or consistency in its service.

Happily, the world has moved on a bit past giant SOP binders. There’s a lot of process documentation software out there now. Sweet Process and Process Street are two strong contenders worth considering.

(Related: Read “Ready to Scale: Add More SOPs Before You Add More People” by Karen and David Skinner)

6. A Delegation Mindset

This last item is not necessarily a tool for law firm growth but more of a mindset change: To grow, you have to accept that you can no longer do everything yourself. Some pieces of the operation must be delegated.

The more your firm grows, the more your competencies need to evolve from “getting it all done” to “getting work done through others.”

This is a big change for a lot of lawyer-entrepreneurs and, frankly, a challenging one. But it’s essential if you want to grow your firm.

Or you could just try taking a really big car to lunch.

Law Firm Security and Ethics

Law firms handle sensitive and confidential information, making security and ethics a top priority. When implementing technology solutions, ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards, such as GDPR and HIPAA. This means selecting software and tools that offer good security features, including encryption, access controls, and data backup. Additionally, law firms must establish clear policies and procedures for data management, ensuring that all employees understand their roles and responsibilities in maintaining confidentiality and integrity. By prioritizing security and ethics, law firms can protect their clients’ information and uphold their professional reputation.

Implementing Technology in Your Law Firm

Implementing Technology in Your Law Firm

Implementing technology in a law firm requires a structured approach for a smooth transition and maximum benefit. The process involves several key steps:

  1. Assessing Current Workflows: Begin by evaluating existing processes to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement.
  2. Selecting Suitable Technology Solutions: Choose technology tools and software that align with the firm’s specific needs and goals.
  3. Providing Training and Support: Ensure that all employees receive adequate training and support to effectively use the new technology.
  4. Establishing Clear Policies and Procedures: Develop and communicate clear guidelines for technology use to maintain consistency and security.
  5. Monitoring and Evaluating Effectiveness: Continuously monitor the performance of the technology solutions and make adjustments as needed to optimize their impact.

Following these steps, law firms can successfully implement technology solutions that enhance their operations, improve client satisfaction, and drive growth.

Conclusion

Law firm growth and success depend on the effective implementation of technology solutions. By understanding their unique needs, prioritizing security and ethics, and implementing technology in a structured approach, law firms can enhance their operations, improve client satisfaction, and drive growth. As the legal industry continues to evolve, law firms need to stay ahead of the curve, embracing innovation and technology to remain competitive and successful.

share TWEET PIN IT share share
Erik Mazzone Erik Mazzone

Erik Mazzone is a law practice management advisor, writer, speaker and adjunct law professor. As a consultant, he works with individuals and organizations to help them use technology and strategic business practices to reign in chaos, build systems, and grow their practices in smart, sustainable ways. Previously, Erik served as Senior Director of the North Carolina Bar Association Membership Experience and Director of the NCBA Center for Practice Management. He writes and speaks widely on legal technology and practice management, in North Carolina and throughout the country. Follow him on Twitter @ErikMazzone and on LinkedIn.

More Posts By This Author
MUST READ Articles for Law Firms Click to expand
envelope

Welcome to Attorney at Work!

       

Sign up for our free newsletter.

x

All fields are required. By signing up, you are opting in to Attorney at Work's free practice tips newsletter and occasional emails with news and offers. By using this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understand our Privacy Policy.