This Week In Legal Tech: 6 Questions To Ask Before Selecting A Practice Management System
The key questions to ask before selecting a practice management system, per tech columnist Bob Ambrogi.
Most solo and small-firm lawyers should be using a practice management system. In a previous column, I offered 10 reasons why lawyers should use practice management software.
Today, I’ll lay out some of the key questions you should ask before selecting a practice management system.
- Should you get a cloud system or one installed on premises?
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Let me save you some trouble and answer this one for you: Go cloud. For a solo or small firm, the advantages of a cloud system far outweigh those of an on-premises system.
The most notable advantage of the cloud is the lack of need for any IT infrastructure or support. With a cloud system, simply sign up and start working. There is no hardware or software to purchase or install. No IT consultants need be hired. Software upgrades are seamless. Security is robust and backups are automatic.
Other advantages of the cloud are mobility, meaning you can access your system anywhere on any device; scalability, meaning you can easily add or subtract seats as your firm grows or contracts; and pay-as-you-go subscriptions, meaning you can always change your mind.
- What do you want to pay?
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Determine your budget for a practice management system and then shop for systems that fit it. Prices range widely. For the frugal, the practice management app CaseManager can be purchased for a one-time payment of $35 for the mobile app or $75 for the desktop version. Most cloud systems charge monthly subscriptions ranging from $39 to $105.
Be aware, however, that those advertised subscription rates may not be the sum of what you will have to pay. As I explained in a prior column, some practice management companies offer extra features or added integrations that come at an additional cost. Examples of this include credit card processing, accounting, and client-relationship management. Some platforms include one or another of these at no cost, while others require an added cost.
- Does the vendor meet ethics and security requirements?
When selecting cloud platforms of any kind – practice management or otherwise – lawyers should pay special attention to ethical and security requirements. Ethics rules require lawyers to safeguard confidential client information and to protect client property, including files, from loss. Lawyers, therefore, have a duty to ensure a cloud service is consistent with these obligations.
Whether lawyers may ethically use the cloud is essentially a settled question. Every state ethics panel that has considered the question has answered it in the affirmative. But they uniformly say that, while lawyers may use the cloud, they must also take reasonable steps to minimize risk to confidential information and client files.
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What those reasonable steps are varies somewhat from state to state. You should review your state’s ethics opinions. I summarized some of the leading opinions in a 2013 presentation. Some of the top considerations are the stability and reputation of the company, your ability to have unrestricted access to your data, your ability to retrieve your data in a vendor-neutral format, how the company encrypts your data, how it backs up your data, and where it stores your data.
- Does it have the basic features I need?
Virtually all practice management platforms have the same basic set of features. These are matter management, contact management, calendaring, document management, task management, and time and billing.
But how they implement these features varies. For example, for document management, some have an integrated document-management system, others connect to an external system such as Dropbox or Box, and still others allow documents to be stored both within the system and on external systems.
Consider also whether it plays well with the systems you currently use, if you plan to continue using them. Does it integrate with your email platform or calendar system? Does it integrate with your accounting platform?
In short, before deciding on a system, look carefully at how it implements these core features and make sure it aligns with your needs.
- Does it have the advanced features I need?
Before even beginning to look at practice management systems, make a list of the features your firm needs. Beyond the basic features described above, there are a range of additional features you may want or need.
Among the features to consider: accounting, email management, legal calendaring, Office 365 integration, client portals, legal research integration, document assembly, client-relationship management, native iOS or Android apps, e-payments, and virtual-receptionist integration.
Here again, platforms vary widely in whether they offer advanced features and how. Some come with some of these features as standard. Others offer them as add-ons or through third-party integrations. Others do not offer them at all.
- How does it feel?
Last but not least is how it feels. Virtually all of these systems offer free trials. Take them for a test drive. Kick the tires. Do you like the user interface? How easy is it to use on mobile devices? What training and support are available? What is the company’s reputation for customer service?
The bottom line is to carefully think through and outline your requirements in advance and then look for a system that best fits your requirements at the best price, considering also company reputation and customer support.
If you would like to hear more about this topic and happen to be attending Legalweek in New York next week, I will be part of a panel, “All Things Implementation: Improving Technology Management in the Small Firm,” Feb. 1, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., together with Heidi Alexander, law practice advisor at Massachusetts Law Office Management Assistance Program, and Penn Dodson, partner at AndersonDodson, P.C., and moderated by Tracee Wagner, director of sales at Trialworks.
Earlier: This Week In Legal Tech: 10 Reasons You Should Use Practice Management Software
Robert Ambrogi is a Massachusetts lawyer and journalist who has been covering legal technology and the web for more than 20 years, primarily through his blog LawSites.com. Former editor-in-chief of several legal newspapers, he is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and an inaugural Fastcase 50 honoree. He can be reached by email at [email protected], and you can follow him on Twitter (@BobAmbrogi).
