ByLawyers News and Updates

Habits should be broken

by

By Guy Dawson, CEO

Despite the encouragement to self-help with the writings of such as Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey on winning friends and being highly effective the one habit that remains rigid is the resistance to change.

So as legal insurers struggle to make safe the behaviour of older practitioners, and only have hope for influencing the practice of younger ones, those heralding change from paper to digital from old language to new, from old precedents to better new ones, struggle for converts.

Admittedly change is painful – like learning the operation of a new phone or assembling Ikea furniture. A bit of time and a bit of patience is required for both, and yet neither is plentiful in the life of a practitioner. Yet the rewards are!

It seems the most successful firms welcome and embrace new technology, modernise their precedents, improve management, incentivise staff and refresh their practices each and every day. They make more money, and the practice of law becomes a little easier. Vitality is their habit.

Sounds exhausting – but much less so than the apathy of endless hours of unchanging slog.

 

Matter management

by

By Guy Dawson, CEO

All practices use technology to a lesser or greater extent to run client matters, produce documents, keep accounts, and access information on ever changing law and practice.

In their guides and precedents, By Lawyers have responded to law office needs by providing practitioners with a system for running all common matters encountered in practice. They have brought together all the ingredients needed for the conduct of most matters in matter plans, taking practitioners from file opening to finalisation with all required letters and documents provided in sequential order accompanied by practical guides and research materials.

These guides and precedents are practice based not academic. Accompanying the precedents are the research materials relevant to each matter. If preparing a contract the law relating to such matters as disclosure requirements or GST are a click away. If conducting a family law matter the rules on pre-action procedures are again a click away. The information runs with the precedents. The precedents themselves run sequentially from starting to ending every matter.

Behind the straightforward commentary is further research material in the 101 series. Alternate precedents are found in libraries so for example the terms of a testamentary discretionary trust are found in the wills library of clauses. As the law changes, so the commentaries are updated on a daily basis relieving the practitioner of the need to keep abreast of changes in the law. If a precedent is not provided then users are welcome to contact By Lawyers and discuss their requirements, which will be met. This pro activity is central to our ethos of providing all that is necessary for practices to conduct all common matters.

By the use of this system it makes little sense for any member of staff including the principal to dictate a letter, or make written notes, or write time sheets to be put on the file later, by someone else. Uniform practices are established throughout the office and immediate and substantial increases in production and profits are achieved.

By Lawyers also provides a subscription based mentoring service to assist with answers that arise in general practice in most areas of law.

The legal technology revolution and the small law firm

by

In reviewing many of the topics of discussion in any major business publication during 2015 and early 2016 it is easy to see that ‘digital disruption’ is posing significant threats and opportunities to almost every industry. The World Economic Forum has described the current period as a ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ which will see widespread innovation and greater adoption of technology in almost every profession.

The legal services industry is already being re-shaped by technology in a variety of formats that extend beyond document automation and practice management software. The role of the lawyer is being transformed; both routine and more complex analytical tasks can now be performed by artificial intelligence technologies such as IBM’s ROSS and Lex Machina. ROSS is capable of reading and analysing over one billion legal documents per second to produce plain English answers to complex legal questions that include relevant citation, while Lex Machina uses databases and modelling software to accurately estimate the odds of winning a patent suit.

The focal point of the advances in legal technology is the client, who is poised to benefit greatly as they are empowered by a wealth of information to demand legal services of higher quality delivered at a greater speed and lower cost. Services such as the Google funded Rocket Lawyer, Legal Zoom and donotpay.co.uk take client agency even further by enabling clients to create their own legal documents and appeal parking fees online.

Although the widespread use of advanced technology such as ROSS is still far on the horizon, many firms are currently using technology to enhance their practices. Adopting technology is an essential move in creating a firm that is able to adapt to changing market conditions.

As technology is a considerable investment for a small law firm there are a number of things that should be considered before choosing which systems to implement. Legal technology that is not properly leveraged can cause disruptions, security concerns and hinder firm performance. By taking the approach used by leading legal technology start-ups and keeping the ultimate goal of delivering greater client value in mind when evaluating practice management technology, it becomes easier to ensure that a firm achieves maximum return on investment.

Client value

In the traditional model of the legal profession, the lawyer is characterised as an educated professional who sell’s their expertise and time to clients in six-minute increments. However, many experts have observed that this model does not deal with client experience.

In an article for Lawyers Weekly John Chisholm argues that a client is actually buying intellectual capital from a lawyer: a client is seeking outcomes, solutions and peace of mind.

Legal expertise is assumed and a lawyer that is able to build a relationship with their client and take an active role in managing their client’s concerns and financial constraints is much more likely to have their services used again and be recommended to friends and family.

Using technology to enhance value for clients

Here are four main considerations for small law firms looking to get the most out of legal technology and enhance the ability of their practice to serve clients.

Mobility

A practice management system that is accompanied by a strong smartphone app which allows you to access critical client information at any time in any location is essential for delivering a high level of service quality to clients. A lawyers who is able to answer client questions and concerns and act on urgent issues at any time or place will most likely be perceived by clients as accessible and motivated.

Efficiency and user interface

The primary aim of all practice management software is to improve firm efficiency however if only a select number of staff members in a firm can actually use the software then the firm will inevitably experience bottlenecks in workflow. Usability and intuitiveness are key to ensuring that all staff members time and skills are properly deployed.

Content

Content is an important area that is often lacking in many legal practice management systems however it can be a key way to deliver excellent service to clients. Quality content allows small firms to expand into areas of practice that would have previously been avoided, minimising the number of clients lost to outside referrals. High quality content can also be used as a way to enhance a firms existing precedents.

Support

A system that is supported properly can save many wasted hours waiting for a call back from tech support. Proper support and resources can also assist firms in getting the most out of their software system.

Content support is just as important as tech support and is often overlooked in practice management systems. Being able to access a network of experienced practitioners providing guidance in difficult legal matters can save a firm hours of research time and ensure lawyers can be confident that they are providing their clients with the best possible solutions and outcomes.

Sources

Diving in head first – Stephanie Garber– Blog post 06 October 2015 – Lawyers weekly

Robot invasion – Story by Felicity Nelson and Stephanie Garber – 19 January 2016 – Lawyers Weekly

Robot doctors, online lawyers and automated architects: the future of the professions? – Tom Meltzer – 16 June 2014- The Guardian Technology

 

Avril Cauchi,
Senior Copy Editor, By Lawyers
21 January 2016

 

 

Connect with us