Introducing Guest Blogger Paul Simms –
Paul Simms is Sales & Marketing Director for Reflect Digital, a digital marketing agency based in the UK, who specialise in design, development and marketing for legal websites.
In the past, lawyers and solicitors relied heavily on paper-based systems, and whilst many professionals coped dealing with their workloads in this manner just fine, few would argue against the contention that computer based systems such as legal case management software have made life easier for all concerned. When a law professional has so many clients to bill, it can be a tough juggling act working out just how much time has been spent on a case and what to charge. Law firm software is designed to put an end to all that, providing enhanced levels of efficiency and accuracy.
Never Miss a Call Again
Law firm software can offer an array of supportive features and can be used both in and out of the office. Reminders can be generated to prompt a wealth of different actions, whilst the software generally provides a clearer overview of what can tend to be an extremely hectic workload. Access can be provided to anyone who needs it, and may be given to staff that are responsible for booking appointments on behalf of other staff. Meanwhile, users can be prompted to return each and every call they ever miss to ensure that no important contact attempt goes without being acted upon again. Because legal software can make calculations automatically, hours that might be otherwise spent working on complex manual calculations can be used for alternative activities.
Legal Software for the Modern Lawyer
Legal software can be used to plan as much as a year in advance, if not longer. There are many compliance issues that law firms must address today around data management including disaster recovery, data retention, data security and integrity and back-ups, all of which remain firmly the responsibility of the law firm, but these systems can help ensure that these demands are met by providing off-site data back-ups that are SRA compliant allowing secure access. Old records can be accessed easily, and evidence held by the software can be crucial if law firms ever need to quickly return to it for any future legal battles. The software also enables lawyers to access their documents on any device that is connected to the internet, ensuring that geographical location is no barrier to getting anything done. The software makes overseeing the whole process of case management much more transparent, and can make it easier for all personnel to be on the same page, diminishing confusion and making goals easier to achieve.
A Clearer Filing System via Legal Software
With all relevant documents being stored on a central database, efficiency is heightened, making problems with locating physical paperwork a thing of the past. It’s said that the software can help firms achieve the compliance obligations expected of them with ease by securing data and allowing access in accordance to legal regulations. Various e-mail accounts can be integrated into the services too, making it far easier to stay on top of incoming and outgoing communication. Meanwhile, scanning modules are usually incorporated into the products, making it easier to archive all incoming paperwork electronically.