Legal management software is essential to the functionality of your law firm. Managing and prioritizing legal tasks for your team can be a daunting task without it - but, updating your software can be daunting as well. After relying on the same legal management software for years, it can seem like a challenge to successfully migrate into an upgraded legal system.

While most law firms understand that cloud-based practice management is an option for them, many still hesitate when it comes to adopting new technologies, according to the 2021 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report. Twenty-five percent of the lawyers surveyed said their firm doesn’t use cloud services. Those holding out are talking the talk but not walking the walk.

If your law firm’s current technology solution isn’t working, it’s time to consider an end-to-end solution that will cater to all your business needs. When your firm has decided to incorporate new legal technology into its practice, you must apply a comprehensive onboarding and training process to help ensure buy-in, acceptance, and adoption by lawyers, staff members and clients.

Today’s legal clients demand high-quality service from their attorneys, particularly regarding technology. Using the latest legal technology typically makes an attorney more efficient, accurate and productive, resulting in happier clients and more time to do what they are trained to do: practice law.

Attorneys work in a very high-stress environment and oftentimes feel they must always be the expert in the room. Embracing organization can not only make repetitive tasks more efficient, but also reduce stress. Well-organized attorneys will take advantage of the ability to automate many daily tasks. Being organized is not “set it and forget it.” It is an ongoing process. Being organized should be a firm initiative and everyone in the law firm needs to embrace increased organization.

Automation can be defined in many ways by many industries; however, it doesn’t always have to apply to complex procedures like robotic process automation (RPA) or “advanced tasks.” In law firms, automation is frequently defined as using software to automate tedious and repetitive tasks to get work done faster and more efficiently. Law firms can automate a substantial portion of their work with technology. For example, most firms repurpose their pleadings, templates, form letters, and other documents completed for past clients – why reinvent the wheel? Yet, according to a recent Statista survey, 75 percent of the lawyers who responded said they spent more than 20 hours per week on non-billable work like legal research, court filings, and administrative tasks.

For attorneys, missing a deadline is no laughing matter. Depending on the jurisdiction, rules and the judge, sanctions might be a stern admonishment by the judge, an order to pay some or all the attorneys' fees incurred by the opposing party or, worst case, dismissal of a party’s lawsuit. If you practice in more than one jurisdiction, the rules may differ, making date tracking even more complex.

Now that most mask mandates and mandatory quarantines have been lifted, law firms are increasingly being faced with decisions regarding employee flexibility. Those that adapt and change to thrive in the new environment will likely reap the benefits of engaged flexible employees, while those that go back to the old ways might be left with a less productive and engaged workforce.

A siege mentality has long pervaded attempts to secure IT networks, encrypt data, and control access to a law firm’s sensitive information. That thinking tracked along medieval concepts of securing a fortress using thicker walls, stronger gates, and deeper moats. If you remained inside the walls, then you were protected, but if you ventured out then risks spiked, and all protection was lost.