If you work for a law firm or related business, you’ve probably heard many times how important it is to invest in legal technology if you want to grow your business. But is it actually true?

Our view on the matter should be obvious, but we only say it because we truly believe it. We launched Zeus because we saw the benefits and successes that legal tech can have on businesses and since then we’ve been able to help many law firms use new tech solutions to grow. So rather than simply tell you that you need to invest in it, let us show you what we’ve seen within the industry so that you can make up your own mind.

Here’s how legal tech can help you grow your business.

What do we mean by legal tech?

Before we begin, it would help to define what legal tech is. It’s actually a very wide-ranging term that encompasses any software or technology that can be used to provide a legal service. So that’s anything from case management systems to online chatbots to Alexa skills.

So there’s not actually one single product or solution that we’re talking about when we encourage law firms to embrace legal tech. Instead we’re addressing a culture shift, one that encourages law firms to be more open to adapting the way they conduct their business to use the benefits of newly available technologies.

The legal industry has a reputation for being fairly traditional in its operations, and yet there are myriad technologies that they can use to improve their own efficiencies or provide a wider-ranging service to their clients. You simply have to look at how other sectors – such as retail – have embraced new technologies and changed the way we all use their services. Those that push further, innovate better and deliver more for their customers grow the fastest and change the entire industry for the rest.

How can legal tech help my business?

Because we have such a wide definition of legal tech, there are a vast number of solutions that businesses can benefit from. And of course, there are new technologies being developed and introduced to the market all the time, so for a savvy law firm there’s always a fresh idea to adapt in to your workflow.

For starters though it’s best to consider what improvements you want to make to your business. Is it increasing efficiency in your day-to-day operations? Is it introducing the flexibility to let your staff perform the same tasks to the same standard away from the office? Or is it improving the client experience?

When you’ve answered these questions you should be able to narrow down the tech solutions that you’re looking for and invest in the right areas to support your needs.

Here are just a few of the more popular benefits that firms are seeking:

  • Automation
    This is one area that is getting increasingly sought after now that law firms are realising how much time and manual work can be saved.

It’s no secret how much of lawyers’ time is spent dealing with administrative tasks, case management reporting and other repetitive activities. So introducing automated systems to take over those tasks can free up your team’s time to deal with other, more complex issues or take on more clients.

According to some research more than 60% of what lawyers refer to as day-to-day activity could be automated. And that doesn’t even take into account the operations of paralegals, finance teams, ICT departments and other sectors. Automated systems are now sophisticated enough to take over a large amount of routine tasks, without the added risk of human error.

  • Improved management information

Business development depends on you being able to view and understand key data gathered from your operations.
From viewing your YOY revenue to monitoring client satisfaction, there is a huge amount of information that can be produced on a day to day basis that can help you make big decisions about your short term operations and long term business strategy. Management information systems collate, analyse and present that data to you so that you always have the latest decision-making information at your fingertips.

  • Client convenience

There are many solutions out there that can make it easier for clients to follow their case, get in touch with you or communicate details about their case. Obviously every firm wants to deliver the best service for their customers, so introducing these solutions will help you improve their experience and bring in good reviews and new leads for your business.

  • Information security

Legal businesses have access to a lot of sensitive information and it is imperative that this is kept secure. From keeping up with the latest GDPR protocols to protecting you from cyber criminals, your infosec policy must be constantly refreshed to ensure you’re taking the latest precautions.

  • Remote working

Zoom meetings, cloud data storage, remote access – we’ve all become familiar with those functionalities over the course of the Covid pandemic. But even as things open up again, our dependence on these solutions may not go away. The workplace is undergoing a big change in culture as more people have grown used to the benefits of remote work. Particularly in younger age groups, remote or hybrid working is seen as preferable to being in the office full time, so if you want your business to be seen as a competitive place to work for the next generation of top talent, you’ll want to ensure your remote systems are in order.

What solutions are available?

To cover the above and other business needs, there are a lot of available options out there. Here are a few solutions that Zeus offer that can support your business.

As the most widely used case management system by law firms, Proclaim is built to handle a huge range of tasks, with a flexible system that can be adapted to your particular needs.

And yet many firms don’t take advantage of the full flexibility of the system, or adapt their own processes to fit the way that Proclaim is set up for them.

A full Proclaim Development service will create a bespoke layout for your business with a system optimised to follow your ideal workflow.

Automations can be set up within proclaim to handle much of the data management side of things so that your lawyers don’t have to. And report and management systems can deliver important data on your caseloads or wider business without having to be manually analysed.

Zeus’s Proclaim service includes development and set up of Proclaim, optimised to your business plus a support service to resolve any issues you have when using the system.

As discussed above, management information is essential for business and team leaders to keep track of the operations within a firm and make decisions on future strategies and targets.

Your case management system, website and other operating systems can be integrated to provide an overall picture of your business. You can even receive up to date reports through a smartphone app at any time of day.

We covered why this is important above, but the important thing is to find a service that not only understands the latest information security threats and countermeasures, but also understands your business so that data protection can be integrated into your current workflow to keep you safe with minimal disruption to your work.

Information security services can include gap analysis of your systems to locate potential weaknesses and threats, training awareness for staff to and an on-going security shield service to regularly monitor and maintain your systems.

Another automation, this time one that helps you organise your leads by integrating them directly into your claims management system, removing delays and extra work and allowing your team to start working on them immediately.

This works in the form of an online portal to input lead data that can be made available to your work sources directly, including optional processes for vetting and authorising them.

Improve the experience of your customers by reducing the amount of time they have to spend on the phone with your while you bring up their case details.

A click to dial system can be built to integrate directly with Proclaim, redirecting client calls straight to the relevant team or person and automatically bringing up their details on the receiver’s screen. It can also be used to handle outbound calls with automatic dialing made available through the client’s Proclaim file for a more efficient operation.

Stay in touch with your clients easier with a simple system that allows you to send out SMS or WhatsApp messages directly from a centralised web interface that also stores a full message history so you can keep up with their most recent interactions and allow multiple team members to work on an account with full transparency.

A brand new way for clients to keep up to date on the progress of their case, an Alexa Skill built specifically for your firm can be developed to answer basic client questions and offer them the most recent updates from an Amazon Echo device. Not only is this a smart new way to impress clients, but it also allows them to get the answers they need instantly at any time of day without having to call or email.

You can also adapt it for your own use, providing reports on business metrics, targets and other management information.

Grow your business with Zeus Technology Solutions

These are just a few solutions that can be introduced into your legal business to help you streamline your workflow, manage your information, secure your data and improve your customer experience, but there are many more ways that new technology solutions can benefit you.

As we said at the beginning, we’ve seen businesses who have embraced investment into legal technology improve their services and grow faster than they imagined. And we want to help more businesses do the same so that they can deliver a world class service to more clients.

Zeus Technology Solutions provides a flexible service that can be suited to your business needs. Our team of legal technology experts understand what makes businesses in the legal sector tick and will work with you to determine how your particular service operates, what technologies you can benefit from and how your business can grow.

Get in touch with our team to find out more.