“All anyone asks for is a chance to work with pride” - William Edwards Deming The principles of total quality management (TQM), spearheaded by William Edwards Deming decades ago, continue to be exceptional tools for practicing attorneys. Given the competitive landscape currently facing the legal community, it is essential for any law firm to offer best-in-class service. After all, the name of the game is client satisfaction and their happiness drives referrals. These principles are not for rainmakers only, however, and it is critical for your entire team to buy into TQM.

What are the unique steps your firm takes to complete tasks? By now you’ve processed hundreds of new clients. You perform the same steps for every new client, but have no way of knowing their status in the process. With all the work you have on your plate, there is no time to run around the office, figuring out which member of your staff was in charge of each task and if they are on track.

There are so many benefits to keeping track of your time: efficiency, organization, and responsibility. Once you figure out where specifically you are spending your time, you can then determine where improvements in your time management need to be made. Budgeting your time and allotting more time for higher priority tasks, will lead to fewer distractions, better organization, and more responsibility (and accountability).

Unless you’ve been living off the grid, by now you’ve most likely heard the term that has been catching fire around the world: “the cloud.” But what is it exactly and how are these “tech-savvy” people using it? As it turns out, you are probably using “the cloud” on a daily basis without ever taking notice. Popular platforms for cloud computing include Google Drive, Office 365/Microsoft 365, Apple iCloud, and Dropbox, to name a few. These applications store and access information through the Internet, in contrast to the traditional, physical, in-house servers that interact with a computer’s hard drive to manage data.

At long last, the legal sector is getting with the program. Adoption of legal technology is on the rise. Lawyers are starting to use legal practice management software to enhance the productivity of their practices. With cloud-based applications, lawyers can easily store and access all of their legal documents and client information in one portable device in any location at any time of the day.

As an attorney, you are trained to keep track of every minute and bill accordingly. But what if you decide that you don’t want to bill your client for the extra time it has taken your new associate to research a topic related to their case? Or perhaps you’re feeling super generous and want to write-off the 20-minute conversation you had with your client updating them about their case. While you should be aware of every second spent sending emails, following up on payments, and learning a new skill, every second spent on a case may not be worth a check from your client.

Have you ever woken up from a late night panic wondering if you sent an email to the right Susan? Scenario: It’s a busy Friday afternoon. You have so many emails to get to before you go away for the weekend (which you’ve been looking forward to all week). There are so many contacts in your address book, it’s hard to remember which contact is related to which matter. You’re supposed to email Susan Smith but you have three Susans (plus a Sue and a Suzanne) in your contacts, all related to different matters. It’s absolutely crucial to keep track of the right parties and the right matters to maintain client confidentiality…

Practicing law is more than advocating for clients by appearing in court, negotiating and preparing contracts or signing papers. The key to running a successful firm is managing and developing the business. Certainly, being a knowledgeable and highly-skilled attorney is essential to attracting and retaining clients, but it takes more to build a successful practice.

We believe that in order for a law practice to thrive, it must operate like a business. A key component of operating like a business is understanding metrics and gaining insight in order to understand how the business is operating – what is working and what can be improved. This is displayed in our guiding principles – what isn’t MEASURED cannot be IMPROVED. As a result, we offer real-time data with comprehensive reports and analytics to help you better understand the business side of your practice.