Law Technology Today From the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center
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Many attorneys remain stuck in neutral. They won’t make the move to the cloud, even as more and more jurisdictions underscore the efficacy of such a maneuver. They believe that security concerns outweigh benefits related to flexibility, mobility and integration.
But, that’s not you. You know that built-in system features and user-generated add-ons can make cloud systems even more secure than traditional office settings. You understand that an approach grounded in reasonableness is all that is required in most jurisdictions. You’ve shifted into drive.
You’re not trying to figure out whether to use a cloud-based system, you want to know which one to choose. But, before you make that assessment, understand that there are some latent advantages of practice management systems that you might not otherwise be seeking out.
Project Management. Even at this late date, many lawyers continue to view their cases as something more than projects to manage. But, the most organized lawyers treat matters as projects, and apply project management tactics to the way they handle their cases. Practice management systems, as modernized relationship databases built for the legal vertical, are uniquely effective in supporting lawyers who manage by project. The ability to retain all relevant case data in a single repository means that any speck of case information can be used in the development of workflows, the generation of assignments and the creation of notifications. For small firms, the management of teams can be effectively accomplished through practice management software, which retains the major functions of a project management system, while enabling legal-specific operations.
Workflow. Solo and small firm lawyers using practice management systems as project management platforms will, as a consequence of that, improve their workflow. The majority of ethics and malpractice claims generate from simple errors, which can often be avoided by the application of integrated checklists. Workflows, at heart, are aggregations of tasks tied to specific projects, or matters. Practice management systems allow lawyers to develop complete checklists that are linked to the full corpus of client information. The ability to implement checklists specific to certain case types is a powerful malpractice avoidance tactic that appeals to the modern-day niche practitioner.
Defining projects and refining workflows can be particularly valuable processes for litigation attorneys to engage. Do your matter management strategies measure up? Find out.
Time. The alternative to a holistic platform, like a practice management system, is the cobbling together of various programs, cloud-based or otherwise, to maintain your database. That necessitates a lot of toggling back and forth, getting into and out of what you need. Practice management systems, then, save you time the same way that buying a second monitor or using a social media dashboard will: you’ll open and close fewer windows. Beyond that basic speed boost, practice management systems allow lawyers to store all of their data electronically: so, no more sifting through files, or applications.
When you add it all up, a practice management system may deliver even more than you thought.
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