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 While you may know the move is needed, transitioning from the outdated software applications your firm uses now to a new modern system for the future – the process of data migration – can be stressful.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.

According to a McKinsey Global Institute report, over 23 percent of a lawyer’s work can be handled by technology. In addition, half of all lawyers are already using some form of workflow automation. Legal practice management software is a valuable part of a law firm’s toolkit that will save time by automating tedious, low-value tasks, allowing attorneys to focus on substantive legal work instead.

Law firms have unique accounting requirements. Selecting the proper accounting system for a law firm requires an understanding of those unique requirements. For example, law firms are required by the code of ethics to account for any funds held in trust on behalf of clients.

Payment management is a critical workflow that every law practice must manage. The reality is that payment management is no longer just about invoices mailed to clients or waiting to receive payments by mail. It has evolved into something more mobile and flexible, which benefits both firms and clients.

In a flat fee arrangement, a law firm provides specific services to a client for a specified fee, no matter how many hours the attorneys spend performing those services. The legal fees are decided before the work is undertaken, making billing more manageable and reducing attorneys’ pressure to achieve billable targets.

Law firm clients increasingly favor the modern convenience and enhanced security of digital payments over paper checks. As this trend continues to accelerate, the payment options law firms offer will significantly impact clients’ choice of firms to hire. Read on to learn how enabling electronic payments through ACH bank transfers and credit cards can help your firm meet clients’ evolving payment preferences as well as get paid faster and hold on to more profits.

Each year, the Zola Suite development team releases hundreds of updates and dozens of new features to help law firms be more efficient and profitable. While this year was full of updates and changes, Zola Suite users have spoken, and we’re pleased to share our top 10 releases of 2021.

No business owner wants to deal with a financial emergency due to lack of planning. In order to monitor how a firm is doing financially year to year, every law firm should maintain an internal budget/forecast. A budget/forecast report provides the owner a monthly snapshot of how the firm is doing at least yearly with monthly updates.