How can technology give your SME law firm a competitive edge over bigger firms?

Technology can help law firms move towards digital working and away from the paper approach. Some would say this is only for the big law firms, but in today’s world there is affordable and scalable technology for the SME law firms too. Arguably paper is holding SME law firms back from increasing their business efficiency and client services. They should utilise technology that is now available for them; to save costs and compete with larger type firms.

LPM Magazine’s research ‘Paper to Process’ asked their audience what they have done to cut paper from their internal processes, and how they’re trying to digitise their work. They found that 88% of firms agree that they would be more efficient if their work was digitised*. Many lawyers still keep and print hard copies of important documents to organise them into files and matter, making digitising their work seem like a challenge. They may well have started to store some electronic files in a document management system, but this is a key area firms need to improve. In doing this they should no longer need to keep the paper file if it is all stored electronically. However the resistance to keeping the paper file, and hence not doing enough electronic filing, is the constant need to review these documents and ultimately lawyers up until recently have felt more comfortable dealing with paper. There is a change happening and there is technology out there to help. Digitally reviewing multiple documents stored in a document management system is now just as easy, if not easier, than reviewing a paper file.

LPM Magazine* also found that ‘a third of firms keep more than 75% of their paper files on-premise’. Storing files on premise can leave them vulnerable to damage and take up valuable office space, which can be limited for some SMEs. How much of a law firms expensive floor space is taken up by stacks of paper, boxes or filing cabinets. The answer isn’t necessarily to store these files offsite, as there is still an expense related to storing and retrieval, but it is to store them electronically.

The next problem for SME law firms, when storing documents electronically, is making these documents mobile, be that taking them to court or sharing them with clients. Implementing a solution that allows your lawyers to review a whole matter on the move or access individual documents is critical in the less paper process. If you don’t give the lawyers the tools to work with the electronic document they will soon fall back to the paper file and start printing out all those documents you scanned into your DMS. Storing the documents on a secure online file sharing platform, that integrates with your internal document management system, is far more secure than carrying the paper document. In today’s world you cannot risk a lawyer leaving a paper document in the back of a taxi, or run the risk of hacking on a non-secure files sharing platform. Just because you are electronic, doesn’t mean there isn’t a risk however.  being able to set security levels on files, allowing some users to read only, and others to download and keep a full audit trail to see who has downloaded or looked at any files and when it occurred is crucial. Lastly being able to control and remote wipe these documents from a lost or stolen mobile device is key.

So you have scanned your documents, stored them in a document management system, given your users the tools to work with these documents and make them mobile. Far too many firms stop here and think that is the loop closed, but it isn’t. Having a solution to share electronic documents with clients is the final link in the chain and these need to be more than just a file sharing solution. Yes these systems offer the basics, but they are more tailored towards individual document sharing and not collaborating on a whole matter. By collaborating on a matter we mean more than just documents, but financial information, matter knowledge and project time lines and critical dates. Law firms have lots of valuable information pertaining to a client’s matter stored in internal systems, which if they made available to their clients, would significantly increase their client engagement.

Technology can be easier to implement at smaller companies, as there’s less staff to train, so they can make sure that staff is competent with new hardware and software. Consequently SME law firms should take full advantage of affordable technology, as it can attract customers as well as new lawyers. Business is harder to win today than ever, so law firms have to be leading edge with the technology they use in order to retain clients and compete with the bigger firms.

In order to move your users from paper to electronic you need to give them the right tools. These tools need to make working with electronic documents easier than it was with paper.

* LPM Magazine Paper to Process, October 2015 

Is your firm making these collaboration mistakes?

We recently found an interesting article from the Tech Fest Conference ‘The Four Collaboration Mistakes You Need to Stop Making Today’. In this article we have highlighted the points we found most telling and tailored it to the collaboration mistakes law firms are making.  

With so many collaboration tools out there, it is important for law firms to choose the right tool to align with their goals. However, they cannot expect collaboration to simply just happen once they have selected a tool. We explore some of the collaboration mistakes your firm might be making that inhibits the potential to achieve your collaboration goals and make the most of your collaborative tool.

Mistake #1) Using technology to initiate collaboration

One of the biggest mistakes law firms make is using technology to initiate collaboration, before there is already a culture in the firm to encourage lawyers and other employees to collaborate. For a collaborative tool to be advantageous it should enhance collaboration as well as making it easier by minimising geographical distances, and bringing ideas together.

Furthermore, this collaboration culture doesn’t just need to be internal; it can be external with clients too. For example, we have found firms report that their clients want a portal where they can access all information about their matter in one place. If firm’s have this underlying demand already, then it is an appropriate starting point to initiate collaboration. Collaborative tools can provide one centralised space to present up to date information from different systems, keeping everyone (including the client) working on the matter informed with the same data, no matter where they are.

The need to collaborate will lay the way for a successful collaboration tool. Therefore, a firm should already be encouraging their employees to work together, and share ideas internally and externally before implementing any tool.

Mistake #2) Assigning the responsibility of collaboration to one person or department

Another mistake is forgetting that collaboration needs to be a team effort, and assigning the responsibility to one person or department is setting it up for failure.

Law firms should be encouraging everyone working on a matter to collaborate; if only one department is being encouraged to collaborate then others may think it’s not their job. Whilst those assigned to the role of collaboration may only collaborate with others assigned to this role, preventing collaboration on a wider scale. With an increase of mobile working, and law firms opening up offices across the country and the globe, it has become necessary for lawyers in different geographical locations to collaborate, but firms must be encouraging all employees to collaborate for enhanced communications and for a collaboration tool to be a success.

Mistake #3) Not involving key players in collaboration

Collaboration needs to be a team effort; it should be led by key players in the firm to encourage others. Partners need to lead the way in collaboration, if they do not recognise the benefits collaborating and collaboration tools bring, then the project will be at risk of failing. The task should not be left to CIOs or IT Directors, because if there is not support for the collaboration project from lawyers and other employee’s direct manager, then it is likely to sink and fail.  Partners should encourage lawyers and other key players who are working on a matter to utilise the tool.

Mistake #4) Making collaboration compulsory

Collaboration should not be compulsory; you cannot force lawyers to use a collaborative tool, they need to see the clear benefits it will bring. For example, if a client has requested a portal that presents all information about their matter as part of the deal then this is a clear benefit.  It’s beneficial as not only has helped win the client, but also improves the relationship with the client because they can access up to date information about their case whenever they want, which increases trust. In addition, another benefit for law firms is the ease of employees collaborating, sharing resources and ideas no matter where they are geographically. Users can give feedback, and deadlines can be marked clearly, laying out benefits like these will help to show how a collaborative tool will help lawyers personally as well as the law firm as a whole.

Mistake #5) Not organising collaboration

If collaboration is not organised it can lead to a lack of success. Clearly defined goals and what problems you are trying to solve should be coordinated before deciding to use a collaboration tool. However, if you create a clear implementation plan, which involves organising appropriate training, defining what the firm’s goals are and how you will achieve them. If this is organised properly and made clear to everyone at the firm, then the tool will be a success and inspire collaborative work. 

Therefore the things to keep in mind to make your firm’s collaboration tool a success are; already having a company practice encouraging collaboration. Furthermore, firms should not assign the role of collaboration to one person or department; it needs to be a team effort with those at the top leading the way, as well as other key players encouraging it. There needs to be a happy medium so that collaboration is not compulsory but also make sure that employees are organised and supported.

Read Tech Fest’s article; http://www.techfestconf.com/enterprise-collaboration/aus/blog/collaboration-culture/the-four-collaboration-mistakes-you-need-to-stop-making-today/