Knowing When to Get Help (from LOS Spring 2022 Newsletter)
Posted April 5, 2022 to Legal Tech Consulting.
Law firms often think they are “saving money” by avoiding hiring consultants. Sometimes this means having a current employee train a new hire. Other times it means spending hours collecting and reformatting information requested by a partner or client when a simple report would fulfill the request. Using built in formats on many billing systems can result in confusing bills for clients resulting in repetitive questions from clients or delays in getting paid.
Much of the technology we use every day is intuitive enough that we can master basic functions without training or reading instructions. Office applications and law firm software, however, are a different animal. While the vendors market their products as easy to use, the more mature products include advanced functions and often the functions being automated are more complex to meet the needs of many different law practices. This is where consultants can assist with training on and sharing best practices and documenting those procedures. Often a small investment can yield big results. Think of us at that experienced hand who can give you a leg up! Give us a call!
Recently, we worked with several clients who needed reports for year-end compensation. In previous years, they spent hours extracting and formatting the information from their billing program. In less than an hour working together, we were able to create a report that not only gave them the results they needed for this year but will be able to generate the information next year at the push of a button. I have often said to clients, “if you feel like you are doing something the long way, reach out because there is probably a faster and better way to do the same task.”