The Law Firm of Tomorrow: 2020 Edition

Since we last wrote The Law Firm of Tomorrow, “tomorrow” has come and gone.

In the time since our first edition, back in 2011, humanity’s incessant march of progress has soldiered on. It is indeed now the future, with flying cars, food pills, intergalactic space travel, and servant robots arriving as we had predicted.

Well, maybe not.

Much to the annoyance of fans of the Jetsons and 80’s-era EPCOT, our advances have instead been to make things smaller, faster, and transmit more easily. Smartphonepros, just in their infancy in 2011, have since taken over, with almost all aspects of our lives firmly within their grasp. Broadband internet connectivity is ubiquitous save for the most remote locations. 

And if the high-speed networks and all manner of connected devices have heralded the call to make cool stuff, the creative people in the software industry have certainly answered it. We now have tools that allow us to collaborate in real-time across great distances—whether commenting on documents or chatting face-to-face on Zoom. Computers are more powerful and cloud infrastructures are available to anyone who wants one. Meanwhile, programming frameworks allow us to store unfathomable amounts of documents, stream gigabytes of data in the form of podcasts or videos, and even perform artificial intelligence functions.

Additionally, we’ve seen a revolution in affordability. Cloud-based software turned pricing on its head with its pay-as-you-go model. You don’t have to pay everything upfront anymore—even major products like Microsoft Office and Adobe Professional let consumers pay in monthly installments.

We’re excited to share our latest take on things with this new edition of The Law Firm of Tomorrow. In our latest free eBook, you’ll learn how to propel your firm into the future by going paperless, automating mundane tasks, streamlining your workflows, and embracing a flexible work environment. 

To give you a taste of what you’ll discover in this eBook, please enjoy this sample chapter on law firm automation. We firmly believe that by implementing the progressive practices mentioned in this book, you will put your law firm on the path to increased efficiency and higher profits!

Sample Chapter: Law Firm Automation

A whopping 69% of attorneys spend too much time on administrative tasks. The Law Firm of Tomorrow understands that attorneys can get back this time by automating certain aspects of their jobs. In fact, 23% of a lawyer’s job can be automated with existing technology! Let’s break down some major law firm processes that can be easily automated:

Inbound Calls

Of all communication channels, the phone call is still the preferred method customers choose to communicate with businesses. Invest in a virtual receptionist like Ruby or Smith.ai to ensure each of your callers receives a warm greeting and reaches the right person. These virtual receptionists can also route callers to voicemail, take messages, and much more!

Document Assembly

Automated document assembly systems can cut administrative time by 50% on average. All-encompassing legal practice management software such as Rocket Matter will enable you to create documents with just a few clicks. Take pre-existing and custom fields and automatically generate a document that you can use again and again. Any document that you would normally generate more than once is perfect for automation. You’ll save yourself hours of administrative time! 

Calendaring

Avoid missed deadlines (and malpractice suits!) by combining your legal practice management software with a court rules calendaring solution such as LawToolBox. You’ll be able to generate your court deadlines instantly, share calendar dates with your entire team, and have dates automatically update if something changes. You’ll minimize risk, and you’ll also qualify for the maximum discounts in malpractice insurance. 

Billing and Payments

Start automating this aspect of your business by accepting credit cards and offering alternative fee arrangements such as payment plans and recurring billing. With payment plans, lawyers can set an amount for an invoice and charge clients on a monthly basis until the balance is paid off. With recurring billing, clients pay a set amount of money every month to handle normal interactions. This ensures a steady cash flow to your firm. 

Want to read more? Download your free copy today!