Bringing the Legal Industry into the 21st Century
Bringing the Legal Industry into the 21st Century
71% of top-performing law firms use technology to drive efficiency and performance, according to a survey by Altman Weil.
Are you harnessing the right tools to survive in an exceedingly complex world? Or is your firm at risk of extinction?
We look at how the landscape for lawyers is evolving thanks to digital transformation.
Keep reading to learn how to stay ahead of the technology game and secure a successful future for your business.
Braced for change
Technology, artificial intelligence and the power of data have created a world where results are delivered in record speeds, client service is incredibly personalised and costs are reduced to create compelling customer experiences. This is what customers now expect and demand.
The law industry has not escaped the call for innovation, despite the fact that many firms are operating in the same way they have for generations. And it’s not just clients who have higher expectations. Fee earners want flexible working options, better pay and high-tech offices to boost their performance and job satisfaction.
As transformational technology becomes more accessible, there is a growing pressure for traditional law firms to throw out their old models and embrace contemporary ways of working. Failure to modernise is a fast way to fall behind competitors.
While adapting to technological advances is necessary to survive, it doesn’t have to be a chore. In reality, it’s an exciting opportunity to thrive like never before. We’ve seen first hand the immense value of innovating through our work bringing legal clients into the 21st century.
Here are examples of real law firms that are embracing technology to gain a competitive advantage and a top reputation as both employer and brand.
From 6 to 60 People in Two Years
Example One – A Manchester based legal firm
Fast growth was their primary objective. To achieve this, they needed to future-proof the business’ IT infrastructure to provide the foundations for long-term success.
Before modernising, the legal firm was experiencing issues with its case management system. Employees were storing case files on their desktops making it difficult to:
- Keep track of where cases were up to
- Share files for others to work on
- Protect the business against lost work
To address these problems, they needed a cost-effective solution to grow quickly, protect themselves against disasters like fire or theft and manage cases efficiently with high data security and zero downtime. We helped them implement better technology to achieve these goals:
- Enables management of all software and systems in the cloud for business continuity and to ensure enterprise-level security for GDPR compliance
- Automates data backups so billing hours are never compromised
- We also helped them save 60% on the cost of Azure over 3 years through the Reserved Instance discount.
- San-iT built an office in the cloud using a virtual desktop infrastructure
- Saves money and time by enabling speed and efficiency through enhanced data accessibility
- Increases connection speeds to diminish downtime and improve client service
- Helps them manage cases intelligently
- Enables easy document recovery
- Supercharges productivity (using ProClaim, lawyers can track time spent on cases, easily see where they’re all up to, who’s working on them and any outstanding actions. The software also links directly to Skype so that when making calls, time spent is automatically logged)
Thanks to our help in implementing valuable technology and providing much-needed IT consultancy, they saw a 900% increase in staff in just two years.
Saving Costs and Abolishing Lost Time
Example two – A Liverpool based solicitors firm
A 120-strong firm, the team of solicitors were experiencing challenges with their previous IT supplier – a small company with just three staff.
The legal firm previously invested in a new server but after a year it still hadn’t been installed properly. This meant they had:
- No backups putting sensitive business data at risk
- Poor WiFi resulting in a lack of connectivity and lost fee earning time
These issues were causing big losses in time and money for the firm. They needed help updating their business from a proactive source.
We have been working with them since 2017, providing consultancy to address all the problems they face:
- For cost savings and improved security, we recommended a hosted server for a more effective solution that protects the firm against loss of data in the event of a disaster like theft or a flood.
- We set up the server quickly to enable regular back-ups, easy access to files, high-level security for GDPR compliance and fast WiFi all over the business increasing data security and productivity dramatically.
- We helped them move to ProClaim to improve the efficiency of their case management, enable flexible working and drive exceptional client service.
By upgrading their technological solutions, they gained high-level data protection and improved their processes for massive cost and time savings.
Full Support for a Technology Overhaul
Example Three – A Manchester based claims management firm
The firm was having significant problems across their IT and telephony. They were in urgent need of better technology and specialist consultancy to secure their business’ future and supercharge employee productivity.
Before working with us, the business was suffering from:
- Bottlenecks causing stalls in cases, increased pressure from clients and low employee morale
- Poor network speed harming the business’ efficiency
- A faulty server that was slowing the business down and jeopardising data security
- Poor WiFi connections that compromised client communication
- Telephony issues (they have previously been advised to purchase low price handsets but soon learned that it would cost £60 to replace every handset).
We helped them address all of these problems through expert consultancy, suggesting the best solutions. And by sourcing suppliers or integrating new tech, they got the services and tools needed to:
- Upgrade their server to improve sensitive data protection, business software and file availability
- Protect themselves against worst-case scenarios, such as data theft or fire through automated backups and an effective disaster recovery plan
- Drive employee and business efficiency while enabling flexible working through the cloud and improved case management
- Save money by investing in the right tech rather than shoehorning expensive equipment into the business
Today, the law firm receive ongoing technical support with their email, security, network and server management to ensure they keep their systems and processes updated and working optimally. Owing to this, they can focus on building a bright future.
Adapt. Evolve. Thrive.
As you’ve just discovered, outdated systems and old-fashioned practices can not only slow you down but seriously impact your bottom line. But you don’t have to tackle these problems on your own.
At San-iT, our clients poor IT infrastructure and platforms are no longer their problem, they’re ours.
They don’t need to hire a costly in-house team to look after everything because they have us. They can spend that extra revenue on boosting salaries, building client relationships and rejuvenating their brand.
Save the cost of hiring an internal team and bring your legal practice into the 21st century with our help. Call today on 0161 359 3689 or email us at info@san-it.co.uk to leverage ground-breaking technology and upgrade your business.
