Top 5 Law Firm Pain Points - And Solutions

Practicing law takes a lot of time and attention. The devil is in the details. And it takes some time to do all the research to ensure your clients get the best advice. Careful and thoughtful consideration of all things legal takes time. And clearly, that's where time needs to be spent. That leaves a lot of admin work to do, though. These are the top 5 pain points attorneys tell us they face on the administration side of practicing law and some possible solutions.

Time Tracking

No system can take the task away, sadly. But there are some great options to make it more simple.

Manually tracking time, like writing it down on a piece of paper or the back of a case folder, certainly gets the job done. But it also drives a lot of downstream inefficiency. Someone has to take those handwritten hours and enter them into a billing system or some other tracking tool used to create actual invoices. 

Time tracking apps, and there are many, are another option. The flexibility is great. But the same issue exists. You still need to enter the time, and the data sits in the app. The downstream inefficiencies are still there. Sure, you can use another software tool to get the data to move to another app to proceed with the billing process. But now you have 3 apps to manage. Is that really best?

Case management software gives attorneys - and the entire downstream process - a more efficient approach. With the software, attorneys can effortlessly record and track their time in real-time, directly into the billing system. Not only does this ensure accurate billing for clients, but it also provides valuable insights into the productivity and efficiency of their work. By streamlining the time tracking process, as well as the entire billing and payment management process, the efficiency of the entire firm is supercharged. And who wouldn't want that?

Document Management

Lawyers have to deal with a lot of documents, including contracts, discovery materials, and documents from clients. It can be a challenge to keep track of all of these documents, let alone quickly finding the one you need. Case management software helps lawyers manage their documents by providing a central repository for all of their case files, by case. This makes it easy to find the documents you need when you need them. And with external portals for clients, co-counsel, or external paralegals, it's even easier.

Portals give clients, co-counsel, and even external paralegals or legal secretaries the option to add and view documents, too. Well, at least the documents you want them to see. With SimpleLaw, we offer a person-by-person permission set. So you decide exactly what each person sees or what they can do. This customized permission set gives you the ability to control documents but also streamline their management. Sweet, right?

Task Management

Task management is a crucial aspect of managing cases. With a seemingly endless list of tasks to juggle, it can be challenging to keep track of everything and avoid missing important deadlines.

Google and Outlook offer a really nice task management system. The trick? They aren't tied to a matter. So once again, the information, in this case the task, is in its own data silo. And there is no one place to look for all the information for each matter.

Case management software comes to the rescue for this pain point. Whether it's through a customized workflow or simply adding tasks as needed for each matter,  tasks are assigned to anyone involved, even the client. And the law firm gets the full picture. With a comprehensive to-do list, attorneys rest easy knowing that no task will slip through the cracks. Well, at least they will know if they are going to slip through the cracks, anyway. This lets attorneys focus on what they do best: practicing law like the legal superheroes they are.

Intake Process

Client intake is an essential process for law firms, but it often comes with its own set of challenges. From gathering necessary information to managing client expectations, this stage can be time-consuming and overwhelming.

Certainly, spending time with a potential client, either in person or via phone, is a great way to build a relationship. However, it's highly time-consuming. Not only does it use the intake person's time, but it removes other options that the person could be doing to further existing cases, too. That being said, a personal touch can be the right move, especially in some practice areas. But that's not the only intake that needs to be done. After engaging the firm, the real intake begins. So how does a firm balance the information gathering and the personal touch?

With the help of software, the time-consuming process can be seriously streamlined. Case management software, for instance, streamlines the intake process by providing a centralized platform for storing and organizing client information. With a client portal, the client enters the information the law firm needs, on their own time. Sure, the firm needs to assign and monitor its completion, but this makes the entire process more simple. After all, the client is also trying to manage their expenses. Giving them the option to submit the information on their own reduces their billing - a welcome benefit to most clients.

Using pre-built forms and templates, saving both time and effort for attorneys, streamlines it all even more. By leveraging technology, law firms can enhance their client intake procedures, improve efficiency, and ultimately provide better legal counsel to their clients.

Analysis

Do you know how your law firm is doing? Do you know if your firm is efficient, where new leads are coming from, or how your clients feel? Generally speaking, most firms we connect with don't know. Most of them go on to say it's kind of exceptional to know any of that. So while it isn't exactly a pain point, because many simply don't even try, it is a real game changer.

A firm can pick a metric or two and start tracking it all manually. Billable hours per week vs. hours spent working each week will determine efficiency. Asking leads how they found your firm and writing that down will handle that question. But it's a manual and time-consuming process.

This is another place where case management software eases the process. Since all information is put in one system, it's simple to get the information out. And that not only helps the firm understand where they are but becomes actionable information to help grow the firm. 

It's time to address the pain points to make sure your firm is as efficient and effective as possible. Do the work that makes a real difference to clients and your firm and let technology assist with the administrative stuff. What's holding you back?