Top 5 Tech Products For a Successful and Efficient Law Firm
I work in marketing and so part of my day involves checking social media and reading up on
legal news. Today I was really struck by how Tech focussed the profession is becoming – gone is the image of the lawyer surrounded by paper and difficult to get in touch with.
Now everything is electronically stored and you can even read an email on your watch. It is really beneficial for lawyers to be aware of potential opportunities through the use of technology and at the minute there is more of it available than ever to help your firm function better and more efficiently.
In our everyday life we are surrounded by advancing technology, smart TVs, apps to control your central heating and our cars aren’t far away from driving themselves! We need to embrace technology (many already are!) in the workplace too. As well as technology, the workforce is focusing more on work-life balance and flexible working than ever before. I believe the two go hand in hand.
Below are 5 techie products that I believe would make running your law firm easier and help you get more out of your working hours.
My top 5 tech finds
Nobody understands working in a law firm better than a lawyer and this product is designed by a Lawyer for lawyers. This app puts client communication at the core of your business. At the touch of a button you can keep clients up to date with their case. Client cases can be accessed at any time of day, at your desktop or on the go. A happy client comes back again and again; and are your best referrers!
Anti-money laundering, identity and compliance checks online. Ok, so I know that not many people get excited about this process, but the checks are there to protect the profession and Amiqus ID is a fantastic product which makes the process and checks much quicker and is cost effective too. When you just want to focus on managing incoming client care, Amiqus can securely handle the money laundering checks and on boarding.
As a growing business, we have discovered that HR is really important. But you don’t need to pay for someone in-house. We took our own advice and outsourced but in the form of an App called Breathe HR. There are a lot of these products out there but this one works great for us. Staff holidays and sickness can be logged easily and teams can view when other members have holidays booked. Staff contracts and documentation can all be stored in one secure place and it is easy to claim expenses and have them go direct to your accounts department. A great all around company tool.
Of course our Cashroom portal! We are an outsourced accounts department for legal firms and we also provide management accounts and payroll services.
We have been developing our very own portal, it is a secure method for clients to send their instructions to us and both organisations benefit from a full audit trail, it is extremely user friendly.
You will always have your own dedicated cashier however with the ability to add attachments and comments to the portal the need for phone calls and emails is minimal. An efficient and compliant accounts department should be a top priority for every law firm. Download our client portal presentation here.
E-CPD
CLT Scotland are now offering e-learning CPD -you can now gain the necessary CPD hours by fitting it into your own schedule, you could even do it from home wearing your pyjamas (if you wished!) Topics include the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016, powers of attorney and social media law. I really think that CPD without having to leave your desk is a great idea.
If you know of any other products then please let me know, we are always looking for tools that can benefit our clients.
Emma O’Day
Marketing and Communications Manager
