Five ways to use legal cloud technology and get ahead in a turbulent law market
Having previously been relatively slow to modernise compared to other industries, the legal sector has jumped forward in its adoption of technology and more flexible ways of working in the past few years.
These changes are proving crucial to the business success of legal institutions across the sector. Employees now expect to be able to work where and when they want (within reason), while clients are ever more demanding in wanting maximum value from the law firms they hire. This also has to be balanced with keeping sensitive data safe from cyber-attack, and improving efficiency so that the costs of growth can be kept down.
In this blog, we’ll explore the five key areas where legal cloud technology supports law firms in these endeavours, and how tech can put them on the right track in the months and years ahead.
Enhance lawyer performance
Lawyers are always under pressure to deliver, both in terms of the quality of their work and the quantity. But of course, human beings only have so much energy, and there are only so many hours in a day. However, technology can help them achieve more on a number of fronts, including:
- Productivity: streamlining administration with the help of paperless documents and automation can reduce the number of non-billable hours lawyers have to work
- Expertise: access to training and knowledge software online allows them to keep their expertise current, and ensure they don’t lose out on learning opportunities when working remotely
- Value: the combination of both of the above maximises the quality of their work and their billable hours, helping to boost the profitability of the business
Appeal to digitally-oriented clients
Think about how easy and quick it is nowadays to buy goods off Amazon, order a cab from Uber or buy a train ticket from a rail app. Then consider that people have become so used to the sheer convenience of the modern world that they expect it from everything - including from law firms.
The legal sector is increasingly being expected to respond to client queries quickly, and to always have access to vital information whenever the clients need it. This is where legal cloud technology, which gives cloud access to data and applications, can allow staff to remain connected to information from anywhere, at any time.
Deliver secure and compliant performance
While the accessibility of data is important (as mentioned in the previous point), this can’t come with any compromise of the security of that data. The sensitivity of the documents and information that law firms routinely handle is extremely high, and the penalties for data loss or breach are therefore extremely severe, whether they be financial, legal, or reputational.
This is why cyber security for law firms is so important, especially when using the cloud, to ensure that security is maintained at all times. This has to be approached on a number of fronts: keeping security up-to-date within a cloud platform itself; enforcing the right level of access control for different users and different documents and applications; and encouraging best security practice among the workforce, especially if using personal devices for corporate means.
Transform towards hybrid and flexible working
With the right balance of security and accessibility in place, a cloud-based practice management platform also allows firms to perfect their hybrid or flexible working model. Staff can work seamlessly across multiple locations and devices, without unduly risking a security breach or compromising their productivity.
At a time when employees across all sectors are increasingly concerned about their work/life balance and employee experience, delivering this level of flexibility is vital. If an employee feels that the law firm they work for isn’t giving them enough flexibility, then they’ll jump ship to a competitor that will.
Focus more on business development
Every law firm wants to develop strategies that help them grow their client base and expand into new areas, but they regularly can’t find the time to do it. Day-to-day activities and the burden of administration can quickly consume everyone’s working hours, meaning business development and work on strengthening client relationships quickly gets pushed to the sidelines.
Legal cloud technology can help law firms find this time by streamlining basic admin tasks, and automating the most repetitive parts so that staff can put their valuable time to better use elsewhere. Every hour saved is an hour of extra value that the workforce can put into the business as a whole.
In summary
Any law firm that wants to stand out from the crowd needs to use technology so that they can position themselves as more advanced and forward-thinking than their competitors. Companies that can do so will not only appeal more to clients and be able to serve them better, but they’ll be able to streamline day-to-day tasks and operate more productively internally, too.
Oosha’s Digital Workplace is one of the key technologies to make this happen. As an integrated, centralised solution that brings everything an employee needs into one place, it connects employees to data and applications through the cloud, whenever and wherever they’re working. That way, you can balance top-quality service and flexible employee experience with robust security for your sensitive data and documents.
