Streamlining Legal Case Management: Best Practices for Medium Sized Law Firms

According to a survey conducted by Legal IT Insider, around 68% of UK law firms have implemented a case management system to manage their legal cases efficiently. However, this still leaves a staggering 32% without the ability to enhance productivity and improve client satisfaction through streamlined workflows.

The legal industry is subjected to stringent compliance regulations, especially concerning data protection and client confidentiality. A report by PwC revealed that 81% of UK law firms consider cyber threats a top business risk. By streamlining their case management processes, law firms can strengthen data security measures, minimise the risk of breaches, and ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks.

Never before has the legal sector been under such pressure from cybercrime or faced such serious repercussions in financial, ethical, legal, and reputational terms if attached. With this in mind, we have a blog that discusses the four main reasons why law firms need to prioritise cybersecurity.

Additionally, a study conducted by Thomson Reuters found that time management is one of the major challenges faced by law firms, The research revealed that lawyers spend on average 31% of their time on billable works, with the rest being consumed by admin tasks, document handling, and other non-billable activities. Implementing effective case management practices can help optimise time allocation and reduce non-billable work. In fact, you could save on average £111k per year with better time management; our blog discusses this in more detail.

Best practices for streamlining legal case management

1. Digitize Your Legal Case Management

In the digital era, law firms need to move away from traditional paper-based systems and adopt digital technology to streamline legal case management. Digitising information provides easy access to data, enabling fast dissemination and retrieval of cases. Some of the essential features of digital case management systems include document management, matter management, and calendaring tools that allow lawyers to track deadlines.

Document management is a critical feature in managing legal cases efficiently. It allows lawyers to organise client and case information in one centralised location, including court filings, pleadings, and exhibits. A matter management software lets the staff view deposition scheduling, communicate with clients, manage discovery, issue invoices, and track time. Lastly, a calendaring tool can support lawyers in managing their daily schedules, hearings, and deadlines.

The benefit of adopting a digital case management system is that it streamlines the collection, access, and sharing of information, increasing productivity. A digital process reduces the need for manual, labour-intensive tasks such as filing documents and tracking workflow manually. Additionally, with a cloud-based platform, lawyers and staff can access case files from anywhere and anytime, increasing efficiency and adding flexibility to day-to-day work.

2. Implement Workflows to Streamline Case Processes

Implementing workflows is an excellent way to streamline case processing, especially for law firms with a large caseload. A workflow is a set of rules that automate and prioritise handling a case, which can help organise workflows smoothly, improve process efficiency, and reduce delays.

Workflow management software can guide the team through the workflow steps, ensuring that tasks are completed timely and accurately, thus improving communication and collaboration. Moreover, workflow software can assign tasks to the right people, reducing the likelihood of a delay. This automation reduces the risk of error and makes it easier to track progress.

We cover the benefits of workflow customisation here in our blog: Should law firms customise their case management workflows

3. Implement a Paperless Office Solution

A paper-based office system is time-consuming, laborious, and error-prone. Filing cabinets, printed documents, and physical folders take up valuable office space and increase the likelihood of files getting lost or mishandled. In a legal environment with strict deadlines, losing or misplacing a file can result in significant losses for the client.

A paperless office system can help reduce the time spent on manual processes. With a document management system that includes optical character recognition (OCR), lawyers can quickly search and retrieve documents, while electronic signatures can hasten the sign-up process. In addition, online document sharing and digital editing tools help streamline the review, approval, and negotiation process, contributing to faster cycle times.

In our recent blog The paperless law firm: A real option or a 40-year old pipe dream we discuss what a paperless office system can look like.

4. Provide Client Portals for Better Communication

Clients are the backbone of the legal profession and often require personalised attention to understand their legal options. Failure to establish solid communication channels can result in lost business and misinformation. Providing a client portal for clients to access case-related information is an excellent way to show transparency and improve communication. A client portal provides secure access to case information, including communication exchanges with the lawyer, the case status, and documents related to the case.

A client portal facilitates secure communication between the legal team and the client, mitigating the risk of data breaches caused by unsecured communication technologies such as emails and unsecured attachments.

5. Conduct Due Diligence When Selecting a Legal Technology Vendor

Choosing the right technology partner is essential for successfully implementing a legal case management software system. Conducting due diligence, establishing assessment criteria, and asking the right questions can make choosing the right partner for your law firm easier.

Starting with what you want from a legal case management system is key to deciding what you want from your vendor. You can build and tailor your own case management demo to match your individual requirements and what key features your legal firms and stakeholders are actually interested in.

The right technology partner should align with your law firm’s needs, provide excellent support, and have expertise in the legal industry.

Questions to ask when selecting a technology vendor include the following:

• What is the vendor’s expertise in the legal industry?
• Does the vendor have reliable data storage and backup solutions?
• What level of support and training is available during the implementation process?
• What types of security features are implemented to protect sensitive information?

6. Train Your Staff on The Efficient Use of Legal Technology

Technology adoption is only effective when team members are trained on how to leverage technology to improve efficiencies. Investing in employee training and development is a worthwhile exercise that can improve the adoption rate of new technology and the team's overall efficiency.

Developing a team member who serves as an on-site champion who can lend expertise, support, and guidance ensures that employees continue achieving optimisation from their solutions. Investing in advanced training curriculums helps personnel better understand how technology platform works and devise more excellent approaches to boost efficiency across teams. Through engaging training activities and events, new skill sets are acquired and retained quickly, which puts into practice cutting-edge insights that increase performances.

If your fee earners are unwilling or nervous about embracing new software, we have a new blog Why don’t my fee earners want to use case management software? That explores five possible reasons for this and some practical tips to overcome them.

Final thoughts

To conclude, a legal case management software system is critical for medium-sized law firms. By adopting the practices discussed in the blog, medium-sized law firms can streamline legal case management, improve their efficiency, reduce costs, and improve client satisfaction. The practices include adopting a case management system, prioritising high-value cases, standardising processes, implementing a document management system carrying out periodic reviews, and leveraging technology. With these best practices in place, medium-sized law firms can compete effectively with larger firms while maintaining profitability and client satisfaction.

If you would like to book a call with a legal software consultant to discuss your requirements, we would be pleased to hear from you. You can download our case management brochure and you may also be interested in our latest guide The BIG guide to switching your legal case management software.