Legal Tech to Drive Efficiency is the Name of the Game... or is it?

Everyone wants to be efficient. Doesn’t matter what you are doing. And let’s face it, we’re all a bit stressed out. We all need more downtime.

So, how does technology give attorneys more downtime? Can you be efficient AND keep clients happy? Because that’s the goal.

Legal tech is a tool built specifically for that reason; however, it is a tool, not the focus of your practice. The right software supports attorneys and clients. And yes, efficiency is important, but not as important as client confidence. After all, it's about people and the law. Not tech and the law.

What We’re Up Against

Clients already come into the legal process a bit worried. In a recent report, 46% of clients said they feel anxiety when dealing with their legal matters. Additionally, 40% of clients report feeling frustration.

The good news is attorneys have an accurate perception of clients’ feelings of anxiety. But there’s a sizeable perception gap when it comes to frustration, with attorneys estimating that only 8% of clients feel frustrated. That tells you something... based on our experience with clients, the frustration stems from lack of insight to their case. But we will come back to that later.

Suffice it to say, regardless of the perception gap on frustration, the real concern is the emotional state of clients and how attorneys can help alleviate those issues.

What You Can Do

First, recognize your clients’ concerns. Having an open dialogue, where clients aren’t worried about being ‘“on the clock,” can get things started on the right foot. Let them share their questions and concerns. After all, most people don’t have extensive experience in managing legal matters. And the topic area is likely one of contention if they are hiring an attorney.

You can also gather some great information that has already been developed to help clients understand some of the basics of any legal case. Like the information we offer, there are multiple resource out there. But do be sure they are coming from a credible source.

Whether it’s documents about options in legal billing or a description of the various roles in your practice, information is key to understanding. Especially for clients who have likely not had many legal matters.

Although they may still have concerns, at least being uninformed isn’t one of them. So, how can attorneys provide the clients’ necessary case updates and still be efficient? Technology is the right tool. But make sure it’s the right technology.

Peace of Mind for Clients, Efficiency for Attorneys

Back to that efficiency thing. Yes, attorneys can be more efficient with legal tech. And clients can be more informed and therefore a bit more at ease. But that’s just the beginning.

Many attorneys spend quite a bit of time keeping clients up to date on their case, and rightly so, for all the reasons we just reviewed. But, what if clients can be informed AND attorneys can save time? In fact, attorneys report a savings of 25% of their time keeping clients informed and improved client satisfaction when using legal tech.

But that is just the beginning of the benefits. Document management, client communications, co-counsel, referral, appointments, invoicing, payments, and so much more are seriously streamlined. In fact, one firm reported increasing attorney productivity to the point of handling 3x the number of cases with the same staff. And they kept their clients happy at the same time.

Legal tech isn’t about efficiency alone. It’s about attorneys having a growing, productive, and efficient firm while delivering superior client care. Technology can do a lot of things but increasing client satisfaction takes both tech and some human touch. It's all about people and the law, after all. Tech remains a (great!) tool. But it's the people that make it happen.

See how SimpleLaw brings the human element to legal technology. Attracting clients, making co-counsel and referral simple, and offering on-demand paralegal support. Without people, it's just tech. Add your attorney or client profile and book a demo. We love talking about our platform.