Even Marie Kondo might dither when it comes to sorting through the mess that is legal paperwork. It’s gigantic, all over the place and frankly just never ending. Yet every legal firm spends countless hours managing the unmanageable.
As per an estimate by IDC, typically lawyers and paralegals waste as many as 2.3 hours/week searching, but not finding, the right documents. And another 2 hours recreating documents that can’t be found. Though taking a more comprehensive view, a lawyer wastes 6 hours every week on legal file management, which can be easily avoided.
According to Above the Law, roughly 70% of lawyers and paralegals lose over 20% of their week to “repetitive, non-billable tasks that could easily be automated.” Over 40% lawyers say they lose 35% of their time to non-billable tasks. Clearly, it’s a widespread problem, but more importantly it’s the loss of focus and pointless repetitiveness of trivial work that irritates everyone.
The Challenge
It’s difficult to imagine any lawyer enjoying such work. No one really likes organizing files and constantly tallying records across documents. And yes, there are hundreds of companies which have tried solving this problem, but it’s still not fixed yet.
But where do you even begin understanding how to choose the right legal tech software when there are 200+ legal tech start-ups with more than 1000 new software tools, all promising to revolutionize the world.
It’s scary, time-consuming, and frankly inconclusive for a legal professional who can’t really figure out the technical differences between machine learning, deep learning, AI, or the latest tech-buzzword. Who really has time for that?
Context Matters
A sword may make for a great weapon, but it wouldn’t be appropriate either in a gun-fight nor in a weaving competition. Likewise every legal management software is only useful in specific contexts. And thus, it’s always best to start your search by defining the core purpose and use-cases for which your law-firm needs a legal-tech software solution.
Defining the purpose and scope upfront will also help you avoid opting for a comprehensive but ultimately costly software. Just like you don’t need a high cost scientific calculator for everyday calculations, an all-in-one costly software might not be what you need for your daily operations.
Most common use-cases
Based on several in-depth studies of law firms across the US, there are a few common use-cases where software can really help legal firms multiply productivity. What follows is a list of high-value use-cases and a curated recommendation for the best-in-class software option for each of them.
1. Practice Management
Practice management software serves as the bedrock of a law firm’s functioning. Software solutions within this domain work to streamline processes, foster communication, and elevate client experiences. Key functionalities encompass case administration, client onboarding, scheduling, and task coordination.
These systems usually store the data on cloud servers and help streamline appointments, client communication and case notes.
Top Pick – Clio Manage (https://www.clio.com/)
A software tailored explicitly for legal practitioners and firms. Seamlessly integrating case oversight, client correspondence, and beyond, its user-friendly interface and extensive toolkit makes it the preferred option for firms looking to change how they manage their client practice.
2. Client Data Room
Every lawyer manages a long list of documents for every single client. Though, cross verifying each document for consistency and ensuring that everyone has the same updated documents is a nightmare.
An easy to use data room makes it painless for everyone, be it clients or lawyers and staff to avoid making unnecessary errors and wasting time by managing all the necessary documents comprehensively. This calms client nerves about the status and updates of their documents and information without forcing lawyers to don the role of client service reps.
Top Pick – Aerial (https://www.aerialops.io/)
Aerial automatically sorts through legal documents, contracts, and corporate information without any manual organization, tagging, renaming, or effort. It provides a centralized platform for organizing, accessing, and sharing legal documents securely.
Its powerful upload-it and forget-it capability along with its user-friendly AI interface makes it a top-choice for corporate lawyers specializing in fundraising, M&A and other governance tasks.
3. Document Drafting and Management
Legal file management software is critical for drafting and easily retrieving legal documents and case files. On a daily basis lawyers deal with a wide variety of documents like NDAs, contracts, intake forms and more. Softwares in this category helps cut down on drafting time and keeps company files manageable.
Top Pick – iManage (https://imanage.com/)
iManage provides law firms with advanced document and email management solutions. Their solutions streamline workflows and foster collaboration by featuring robust security measures, efficient version control, and seamless integration with existing software. Furthermore, it prioritizes compliance and adheres to legal industry standards and honors client confidentiality.
4. Accounting
On average most law firms are only able to collect their full-payment from just 86% clients. Accounting for such complicated financial aspects can only be handled by an accounting software specifically designed for legal firms. Ensuring proper compliance, financial health and top-notch data-privacy isn’t easy for non-legal accounting tools.
Top Pick – Juris (https://juris.com/)
Juris is tailored specifically for managing the financial aspects of law practices, ensuring compliance, and maintaining financial health. Its comprehensive features include trust accounting, billing, expense tracking, and reporting, making it an indispensable tool for law firms seeking financial efficiency and compliance. Moreover, it easily integrates with other legal-tech software.
5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
CRMs are vital for managing client relationships and streamlining the client intake process, enhancing both marketing and client service.
They help in managing client communication by sending out timely messages across different channels in a way that’s client-friendly and doesn’t cause any headache for you. Overall result, it helps law firms close more deals and grow the business seamlessly.
Top Pick – Law Ruler (https://www.lawruler.com/)
Law Ruler’s advanced features were designed for growing a legal firm’s client base through lead tracking, automated follow-ups, and client communication tools. It has proven to improve conversion rates for many medium and large law firms by enhancing both marketing efforts and client service quality.
Its integrated performance analytics and document generation capabilities make it stand out from the market.
6. Time and Billing Software
These softwares automate the process of tracking billable hours, generating invoices, and managing accounts receivable. They ensure accuracy in timekeeping, streamline the billing process, and facilitate prompt invoicing and payment collection, thereby maximizing revenue and cash flow.
Top Pick – Bill4Time (https://www.bill4time.com/)
Bill4Time’s robust time-tracking capabilities combined with its intuitive dashboards and integrations with various invoicing softwares make it a top-choice for legal firms across the US. Its customizable billing templates, expense management, and easy client invoicing help law firms to streamline operations across the law-firm’s hierarchy- from senior partners to new joiners.
7. General Productivity
In a law firm with multiple lawyers and paralegals, all with their own working styles, it becomes challenging to manage tasks. Ensuring visibility for all stakeholders with a strict view of timelines and clear ownership gets painful, when done manually.
General productivity tools encompass a range of software solutions that aid in task management, internal communication, and collaboration. They play a crucial role in the day-to-day operations at every law firm to minimize surprises and last-minute scares.
Top Pick – LexWorkplace (https://lexworkplace.com/)
LexWorkplace enhances general productivity by facilitating internal communication, project management, version controlling, calendaring, search, and collaboration. Its versatile features and collaborative interface empower legal teams to streamline workflows.
Given that 36% law-firms reported a security-breach in 2021, LexWorkplace’s bank-grade security with end to end encryption is a major differentiator, setting it ahead of the crowd.
Summary
| Software Name | Category | Free Trial? |
| Clio Manage | Practice Management | No |
| Aerial | Client Data Room | Yes |
| iManage | Document Drafting and Management | No |
| Juris | Legal Accounting | No |
| Law Ruler | CRM | No |
| Bill4Time | Time and Billing | Yes, for 14 days |
| LexWorkplace | General Productivity | Yes |
Conclusion
Times have evolved. Just like you can’t expect a horse (no matter how fast) to race against a car, traditional law firm procedures can’t outcompete tech-enabled law firms. From streamlining operations to enhancing client service and maximizing profitability, the benefits of leveraging these innovative solutions are undeniable.
To see a free demo, just try uploading a few documents on Aerial‘s AI legal file management system. You will simply be amazed about how much time you are able to save.
Try it here: www.aerialops.io