In poker, table stakes are the money or chips a player needs to lay on the table to be part of the game. Similarly, in a law practice, your ability to compete in legal services increasingly depends on the tools you have available to deliver excellent service to clients. In recent years, the shift to remote work and the increasingly sophisticated demands of clients have upped the ante on practice management software. Standard practice management software features have shifted from nice to have to must-have.

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.

We, as professionals, have been working remotely for years, long before the pandemic. Attorneys and paralegals have been emailing work home to themselves forever – despite IT’s pleas to not do that (you know who you are). The hybrid work environment is not new. What is new, however, is the normalization of it.

Our title borrows a famous quote from William Edwards Deming, an American engineer, statistician, professor and author often labeled “the original data scientist.” Deming also said, “Without data, you're just another person with an opinion.” Fortunately, the legal landscape is rapidly shifting, and digital transformation is allowing us to inform our business strategy opinions with facts. Firms of the future will enjoy a new digital reality with the help of practice management platforms and data analytics solutions. As new tools reduce complexity, data analytics has become a primary driver of business strategy. This is particularly in response to the continuing situation with COVID-19, which has changed every aspect of how and where law firms work and collaborate.

It can be daunting to even think about migrating to legal practice management systems. While you may know the move is needed, transitioning from the outdated software applications your firm uses now to a new modern system for the future – the process of data migration – can be stressful. The key is being prepared and planning ahead! Here are a few things to consider to ensure a successful migration.

Purchasing a new practice management system is a major step in moving towards increased productivity, efficiency and collaboration. However, when it comes to purchasing a legal practice management system (LPM), it is not a one-and-done deal. Your law firm will come to see that there are many LPMs to choose from, with varying degrees of transparency among the brands. Whether you work in a small practice or a larger one, firms of all sizes can benefit from understanding the costs associated with choosing a legal practice management software.