In today’s legal environment, efficiency is the name of the game -, particularly for boutique firms.
Long gone are the days where a firm’s bottom line was measured in sweat hours – technology has come such a long way that the best firms are powered by massive technology engines.
While the legal field has traditionally been seen as not so “to the times” with technology, now is the ideal time to bolster your legal operations with a few useful tech tools.
If you’re like most lawyers, the ideal office tech should have a few basic features that can offer all you need. A few tools organized in a smart way will see your firm doubling your caseload in no time.
So, without further ado, we’ve highlighted some of the best tools on the market for legal teams of all sizes to help streamline your practice.
Legal Transcription Services
The legal transcription process is extremely time-consuming and laborious for in-house staff.
Legal transcription is even more challenging to complete with 99% accuracy, correct punctuation, and without spelling errors, especially for people who are two-fingered typists, and no formal training.
This is precisely where legal transcription services offered by TranscriptionOutsourcing.Net can be of significant value; we do the heavy lifting by converting those voluminous audio files into written format on-demand in the format you need.
Gone are the days of waiting for your local court reporting company to take their time and send you your transcripts back after months of waiting. On-demand legal transcription is all online now and can be ordered within seconds.
Cloud Storage
Although some other software programs (like accounting) offer users additional storage, having a dedicated cloud storage provider for backing up valuable data is essential for legal practices to scale up.
Cloud storage allows your data to be accumulated on external servers securely away from your PC hard drive. This also offers you secure remote access to important information and documents 24/7.
Google Drive and Box are two of the most popular and user-friendly cloud storage tools – more enterprise-grade options like AWS are ideal for bigger firms.
Furthermore, you might want to secure your client’s records externally as well.
As a lawyer, you must always be aware of the risks of backing up all your sensitive data on cloud storage since it could get hacked. It is, ultimately, your responsibility to protect the private and sensitive information of all your clients.
If you eventually opt to use cloud storage for saving your legal documents away from your workstation, ensure whatever setup you have is protected by two-factor authentication.
Research Tools
Do you spend endless hours conducting research the old-fashioned way (at the law library)? Then it’s probably time to try out some advanced research tools.
Examples of powerful yet affordable research tools worth checking out are Casetext or Ravel Law.
Ravel Law is ideal for collecting data for litigation purposes. All of their data is obtained from the Harvard Law Library.
Casetext can help find relevant information for letters, memos, legal briefs, and any other legal documents. Casetext services are free for pro bono lawyers and law students; otherwise, it’s a subscription-based program.
Accounting Software
Accounting apps are an excellent technical choice for any lawyer.
There are numerous accounting service providers out there, and they are focused on providing quality solutions for lawyers.
Below are some benefits of accounting software for your law firm:
- Invoicing and Billing
- Legal Calendaring
- Document Management
- Time Tracking
Whether you’re a solo practitioner or a small to a medium-sized law firm, using accounting software to streamline some of your office workloads is always a good idea.
Examples of major financial software providers are Abacus Law, Clio, Bill4Time, PC Law, and Legal Files.
Virtual Office
Even though this might not be regarded as dedicated tech software for lawyers, it is fast becoming a beneficial solution for lots of solo and small law firms.
Having a virtual office is time-saving and will allow lawyers to focus more on their firm’s success.
Virtual offices operate by outsourcing telephone calls to trained experts who can assist with in-taking and scheduling consultations.
The benefits of setting up a virtual office are as follows:
- More time for marketing legal services
- More time for clientele
- Increased productivity
- Reduced operations costs
- 24/7 operations
Setting up a virtual office assistant is especially effective for legal firms who deal with such a high volume of calls and interactions with clients. Depending on your area of expertise, you can get a dedicated team of assistants who can appreciate and speak the appropriate legal lingo for your niche.
Conclusion
Are you harnessing your full technological potential for better management of your law practice? Hopefully, this round-up of the ideal online tools and software systems for law firms is useful for helping you make the appropriate decisions to help move your law firm forward.