David Bitton, PracticePanther CEO
Automation. Productivity. Paperless. Efficiency.
Any of these ring a bell?
If so, it’s because they’ve been all the rage in the last two years of legal conferences. Productivity and automation remain top priorities for law firms as they search for ways to maximize efficiency and, in turn, revenue.
However, what many lawyers, particularly those venturing out on their first attempts at law firm automation, don’t know is that there are tons of easy-to-use and affordable (if not totally free) tools available to them to get started right now. In this post, I’ll share some of my favorite automation secrets with you, so you can get started automating your law firm today.
X.ai. This scheduling tool is relatively new to the game, but it’s at the top of my list because I utilize it daily. Scheduling meetings upon meetings, and the related back-and-forth attempts at getting various different schedules to coordinate is an inescapable part of participating in or running a business. Or so I thought. X.ai came along and automated the entire process. Unlike other scheduling tools, which allow others to schedule appointments with you, x.ai is a cutting-edge artificial intelligent (A.I.) assistant that gets your meetings scheduled for you. If time is money, then x.ai is an extremely easy way to instantaneously make your practice more lucrative.
Streak.com. This one has been a staple at my company for years. We swear by it, and I insist that this is an absolute must-have for any business using Gmail or Google Business Apps. This tool allows you to create email snippets that can be saved and used by anyone at your company, saving you from the tediousness of writing countless identical emails repeatedly. It also allows you to manage your inbox by snoozing emails and reminding you to follow up at a later time!
Hootsuite.com. While running an up-and-coming firm, it’s critical that you stay at the very top of your social media game. This doesn’t just mean having a presence on social networking giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. It means updating these accounts regularly with content that will keep you relevant. This important tool enables you to schedule multiple social media posts in one go, then have them post automatically at a future date and time and on whichever social media network(s) you select. The great thing about Hootsuite is that it allows you to stay on top of your posts without having to stay glued to your screen. Set the pre-scheduled posts one time, then let this automated service do the rest of the thinking for you for weeks and months at a time.
IFTTT.com. This incredible automation tool has the potential to transcend the boundaries of your law firm and apply to your life in general. Standing for “If This, Then That,” it operates under that basic philosophy: when you complete an action, it triggers the completion of another related task. For example, if you post an image to Twitter, then IFTTT will instantaneously post the same image on your Instagram, and yet another trigger will post this image to your LinkedIn, and yet another to your Facebook. This program streamlines and updates your social media presence for you, making you appear consistent, diligent, and at the top of your marketing game (which, of course, you are). IFTTT also syncs with any smart home or smart office installations you might have. For example, if you use Phillips Hue Smart Bulbs, then IFTTT will use a tracker on your phone to sense when you are coming to or leaving from your office, and will either turn on or shut off the lights.
Ruby Receptionists. This tool is a seamless way to polish your firm’s “professional appearance” without the cost or time commitment of recruiting, hiring, and training an in-house receptionist or assistant. This program’s receptionists can answer your office phone remotely with any pre-determined message you submit to them. They can also transfer calls, take messages, and ask questions meant to determine the urgency of the call. Because every single lead or client’s call is answered within seconds, they will immediately receive the impression that they’ve gotten in touch with a large, efficient, and highly professional firm. With just a subscription to Ruby Receptionists, you’ll eliminate the chance of losing any potential clients to an unanswered call.
Case management software. No matter which one you choose, certain features are non-negotiable. Of these, probably the most effective is the ability to create intake forms to gather any relevant information and answers from your clients. These intake forms can be embedded into your website or given to new clients in an electronic format when they arrive at your office. Regardless, their answers will populate into your software, saving you endless hours (and countless dollars) spent by either yourself or your paralegal manually inputting information.
Document generation. You can choose a program that generates documents for you, or take advantage of the one built into your case management software. Whichever you select, you’ll be saving a major amount of time. Once your intake form inputs your clients’ information into your case management software, document generating products allow you to create retainer agreements, contracts, or any other document relevant to your practice in just one click. The most amazing part? Any of the client information saved in your software is input into these documents for you. Awesome, right?
Don’t wait to save time! Start going through this list and give yourself the tools to make your rising law firm as efficient, professional, and lucrative as possible.
As an author, CLE speaker, and founder of PracticePanther.com, David Bitton is obsessed with automating law firms with the help of today’s technology. He’s revolutionizing the legal industry by helping lawyers get more done in less time using PracticePanther’s case management software.
