What is Legal Operations Software?
Legal operations software includes all the tools that support a legal department’s day-to-day management so that legal professionals can build better professional relationships, save time and increase compliance. One of the most common functions of legal technology is to automate the more tedious law firm processes, such as billing and invoice approval, scheduling and calendaring, performance management and storage for important and sensitive documents.
Many of these solutions exist as standalone applications, which means that multiple platforms will be used to complete a workflow. A legal operations platform addresses this need by integrating existing tools with each other and with project-specific applications. For example, a legal operations platform can give you an overview of pending cases along with relevant statistics, such as the win rate for different practice areas or attorneys. Alternatively, it might allow you to effortlessly contribute to a case regardless of which application you are using or what screen you are currently on.
In terms of practice management automation , legal technology is not unlike most up-to-date office practices. The best solutions automatically create documents from templates, assist with matter management by providing legally compliant emails, reminders and alerts, and incorporate data from other systems. For example, it is possible to create a matter directly from a new lead received through an online form on your website. Workflows can be tied into that lead and follow through to new case documents, updated calendars and accurately titled invoices — all new processes triggered by your first interaction with a client.
What is common to legal operations software is its consolidated view of your business library and its tools. In a sense, it is the command center of your law firm, allowing you to view the data of all your different applications, and it can accompany attorneys to their different locations, from the conference room to their homes, due to predictive syncing.
Advantages of Legal Operations Software
For corporate legal departments and law firms, adopting legal operations software can spell a drastic shift in terms of efficiency, savings and overall productivity. In negotiating for their companies, attuning compliance with federal and state legal standards, and handling all aspects of organizational governance, attorneys often find themselves bogged down by documentation, research, case management, client communications and follow-up as they try to keep track of looming deadlines, milestones and always-changing legal parameters as they relate to their firms or corporate legal departments.
The other major advantage that organizational software provides is in terms of the bottom line. In using all-paper systems, there are a number of logistical costs which can drive up the costs of legal operations software justify its implementation. The good news is that the amount of money saved in terms of time, labor and general productivity are so significant that they often translate into overall savings.
A document management system, simply put, allows for the efficient management of records. Using document management, large amounts of information pertaining to business and legal matters can be securely stored, organized, and protected. Most importantly, however, the information can be easily located and retrieved at a rapid pace. When it comes to tight deadlines at odd hours, this becomes a huge asset.
Essential Features of Legal Operations Software
Successful legal operations software offers a range of features that facilitate tasks, improve internal workflows, promote efficiency, and encourage collaboration across the organization. It’s an indispensable addition that can impact the way business is done. As legal departments rely more on technology, seeking the needs of the client towards the top of their focus scales, more are implementing legal project management, e-billing, and the means to better house these processes. Document management, billing solutions, contract management and analytics tools are some of the essential features legal operations software must possess. On the document management side, the software must not only mirror the format of the organization’s data, but also integrate seamlessly with other applications in use. A central repository brings information together for ease of access. By providing instant access to accurate, timely information, it also facilitates compliance within your organization. An improved billing solution streamlines the payment process, ensuring bills are created and processed in a consistent, timely manner. Your policy can be embedded in the system so that there is no chance of misunderstanding. Billable hours and expenses can be tracked automatically, so the entire process is less time consuming and expensive. Business analytics is essential as organizations try to find ways to quantify their value. Analytic tools measure success in achieving strategic goals by examining key performance metrics, enabling them to make sound data-driven decisions. As they illustrate trends, they arm your client with the information necessary to craft a budget and allocate resources accordingly. It also has a hand in future forecasting. Contract management is a critical component in the business world today. A central repository makes it easier for both internal and external parties to locate contracts, eliminating inefficiencies, improving the response time, and allowing for more accurate tracking. Integrating contract management systems streamlines your operations, improves visibility, secures information, enforces compliance, and is generally beneficial for your business. The features you embrace in legal operations software should reflect your objectives, the challenges you face, and the needs of your clients. When your focus is on streamlining processes and maximizing efficiency, you achieve more and set the stage for future success.
Bridging Legal Tech with Pre-Existing Systems
A seamless transition is often the largest obstacle to adopting new legal processes and protocols. When selecting legal operations software, a crucial factor is its compatibility with current IT systems and business processes. Ensuring the new software can easily integrate with existing tools can help in the transition process, and improve user adoption rates.
Software Compatibility
When selecting software, one should consider its compatibility with existing hardware. If you currently operate a Mac system, it’s critical to ask if there is a version compatible with your new software. For other systems, one should always verify what operating systems are in use by your business and what systems the software program will work with.
Just as vital as the software’s compatibility with existing hardware, is compatibility with existing software programs that may be used alongside it. If you’re using an existing document management system, the new legal operations software should interface with that system. If that’s not possible, you should understand the implications for using both systems.
Existing processes are affected by transitioning to new software. Before you choose a legal operations software, speak with your staff about their requirements and how they envision using the software. The insight you gain may help improve its compatibility with your current business processes.
User Adoption Strategies
Legal operations software is generally user-friendly, but it’s no secret that not all employees are eager to adopt new technologies. Even when the software is enhanced with cutting-edge features, employees may still be resistant to learning how to use it. In order to ensure syncing of both IT systems and business processes, it’s essential to involve your staff at all levels of the integration process.
Focus on compatibility first. The first step in ensuring compatibility, is to listen to your staff. Seek their input on the compatibility of the new software with existing systems, as well as their feedback on your software selection process. Ask if there are any potential obstacles to adopting the new software, so you can plan for them in advance.
Also, create a plan for adoption of the new software program. Will all employees use it or only specific departments? Conduct an assessment of your current systems. Determine if a large percentage of your employees currently work from home or remotely, as well as where they access internal business systems. All of this information will help you make the right choices when selecting legal operations software.
Vetting your options with your employees is just as important as securing their buy-in during the implementation process. Consult with employees at all levels and share your plan for integration. Once you select a vendor, discuss how they will offer training and support to aid in the transition process.
The Contribution of Artificial Intelligence to Legal Operations Software
Artificial intelligence (AI) has begun playing a vital role in enhancing the capabilities of legal operations software. As the amount and complexity of data continue to grow, the deployment of AI in legal functions has proven to be a game changer in areas such as predictive analytics, contract review, and legal research.
Predictive analytics help legal teams better understand and avoid risks by analyzing past legal documents and identifying any patterns that can predict future outcomes. Predictive analytics also free lawyers from having to sort through massive amounts of data in order to identify relevant information. Such tools can parse through emails, contracts, and briefs with greater accuracy and present the most relevant documents at the appropriate time.
Contract Review tools incorporate AI to reduce errors and the time it takes to review a contract. AI analyzes various contract-related factors and identifies variations from the average practice. Innovations in contract technology have also broken apart language in a contract to show the how the pieces fit together. This model improves contract review in three ways. Firstly , it allows extensive customization of the contract review process to mitigate the risks faced by particular companies in in specific industries. Secondly, it helps to identify the most significant risks in the contract that need to be addressed. Lastly, this creates a repeatable process for contract review that reduces time and minimizes the chance of error.
Research tools applies AI to, once again, break apart what would otherwise be extremely complex law into three different factors, case law, statutes, and secondary materials. This method makes legal research more efficient because it improves accuracy and enables broad searches. In the past, lawyers had to read through cases that looked similar to their own matters. This is still the case for junior associates at a law firm or first year students in legal research class. AI allows the ability to run efficient searches and provide relevant case references based on the current matter at hand.
Selecting the Most Suitable Software for Your Organization
For firms to benefit from operational efficiency, they need to ensure that any legal operations management software that they purchase is the right match for their business. For instance, if a firm is too small to have an online database to manage records, they may find a close-knit intranet with access for a number of users to be adequate. However, a larger firm may need a much more robust software solution to be able to scale operations effectively.
The first step in determining what kind of software will prove most beneficial is to create a short list of processes that need to be addressed. Determine what types of legal operations management tasks need to be automated within a reasonable timeframe. For instance, does the firm spend a large amount of time drawing up standard contracts and legal documents? Does the firm require financial reporting on a wide range of operations? Is effective timekeeping and billing procedures a priority? Determining which tasks are the biggest efficiency problems for the firm provides the basis on which to select software that will help solve those problems.
Another factor to consider is budgetary requirements. If the firm operates within an extremely tight budget, it may be best to select a software solution that delivers the most essential features at the lowest overall cost. In many cases, these solutions are fairly basic but can still provide benefits for legal operations. More sophisticated or customized solutions can be added in the future as additional budgetary funds become available.
Use Cases: How Legal Operations Software Works
The law firms and in-house departments alike have deployed legal operations software with positive results. Let’s look more closely at two of them:
Morrison Foerster. The international law firm of Morrison & Foerster, with more than 1,000 attorneys, has a financial data warehouse that provides its corporate financial data in a consistent manner for analysis and reporting from any perspective – line-of-business, product, service, region, etc. In the words of CFO Keith Wetzel, "LegalKey has enabled Morrison & Foerster to obtain important information on a timely basis , enabling users to make decisions based on facts rather than fables." Corporate legal managers can produce a wide range of automated reports with this software for the first time.
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada. This 300+ lawyer Canadian law firm has implemented legal operations software to improve profitability visibility and pricing/evaluation/management of litigation and due diligence. "The biggest drivers of profit for law firms are people and technology, and we need to be able to analyze and manage these resources better," says John Heinz, Director of Practice Group Administration.
These anecdotes prove that legal operations software can help law firms and legal departments of all sizes save time and money on administrative tasks while gaining powerful tools that allow them to minimize excess costs and add real value in their services.
