The COVID-19 pandemic has altered much of how we do day-to-day business. With so many of us working from home for the last 16 months, how we operate has fundamentally changed. Offices are out and remote working is in. In-person interactions have been replaced with teleconferences. The digital transformation has been coming for decades now, but the pandemic accelerated it.

Technology is now at the heart of almost everything we do.

This applies to virtually every industry, law firms included. Legal work has been greatly impacted, of course, with even the Supreme Court shifting to remote hearings. Law firms embraced technology in 2020 because they had to. 

Automated technology is the next innovation up and should be adopted because of the return on investment firms receive. Automating manual tasks has wide ranging impacts on how firms operate. Staff burdens are eased and operating costs are reduced. That means an administrative staff is freed to do more impactful work, while the costs of doing business decrease.

What is Automated Technology?

Automated technology takes manual tasks and shifts the burden to a technology solution. You’ll find it in any industry, from manufacturing to healthcare to government. The higher the degree of automation, the less humans need to be involved. It allows work to proceed around the clock, without human intervention.

Automation has changed the face of Industry. Workers are freed from doing repetitive and mundane tasks and productivity is increased.

Why are Law Firms Adopting Automated Technology?

There was a trend towards automating manual processes pre-pandemic, but the shift to remote work has kicked this into high gear. While some firms viewed technology solutions as a “nice to have”, the pandemic made them essential.

With the digital transformation thrust upon even late adopters, law firms are now required to view business through a tech lens. They’re looking for ways to increase productivity while reducing non-billable hours. Automation makes this possible.

How can Automation help my Firm?

For law firms, automation often takes the form of software platforms that remove the burden of daily tasks. Think of the small tasks that need to be done on a regular basis that, when aggregated, equal a significant workload for lawyers or administrative staff. They may not seem like much, but as a whole, they can equal the work of multiple FTEs.

Forward-looking firms are focusing on three specific areas where automation has the biggest impact.

Accounts Receivable

One of the most common uses of automation in the legal field is billing and collections. Accounts receivable (A/R) comes with its own set of complexities for law firms, where clients may be billed under one set of rules and another billed under different rates. Being able to easily track who is under a retainer agreement and who is billed by the hour removes a significant opportunity for human error.

You will also be able to automate cash flow processes to ensure that your firm is financially healthy at all times. A good automated A/R platform gets bills sent on time and gets your paid quicker, reducing the possibility of cash crunches. It also frees up your administrative staff to do more meaningful work that positively impacts the business. Instead of spending hours manually invoicing, they can work to discover new ways of optimizing operations.

Client Intake

Having a healthy client list is good, but failing to efficiently onboard them means more time spent on administrative tasks and fewer billable hours. Each client has unique needs and requires strong relationship building. It requires a significant amount of data entry and tracking.

An automated client intake solution makes this simple. A robust form builder can create the right document for the right client and then integrate it seamlessly with your practice management platform. A single setup for each type of case – divorce, personal injury, fraud, etc. – will create a tailored form that captures all the data you need, without involving your or your staff.

This puts time back in your calendar that is better spent working for your clients.

Document Automation

Authoring legal documents takes an inordinate amount of time. This can be reduced, however, by using an automation solution that merges data with templates. Combined with an automated client intake solution (see above), documents can import data and have fields filled out in seconds instead of manually entering data. The data is reliable, human errors are reduced and billable time is saved.

A Lasting Trend

Legal work has been impacted greatly by technology since the pandemic started. As the world returns to normal and in-person interactions return, the need for some will subside. However, automation will only see greater adoption in the future. The benefits (reduced work burden and costs) are lasting and provide a compelling case for why law firms should be embracing this technology. Automation helps you do more for less and the end result is a more efficient business and better service to your clients.