Resources

Red Cave Law Firm Consulting's Technology Blog Series (from CEO Jared D. Correia, Esq.)

2024 Quarter 2

June 23, 2024: Role Models: To Better Ensure Data Security, Check Your User Permissions

Every law firm owner is aware that outside actors can breach data, and cause a host of problems.  Hackers are the bogeyman, in this situation.  And so, much concern is spent over password management, encryption and email scams, including ransomware and phishing.

But, to have a truly effective data security program, law firms also need to consider the access that internal staff enjoys.  An under-covered segment of most data protection laws is that those laws also require that internal users only have access to the data that they need to have access to to perform their jobs.

So, ask yourself: Does your paralegal need access to your financial data?  Must your bookkeeper have full access to your case files?  For screening purposes, should certain lawyers be barred from viewing certain case files?

That’s just a smattering of potential queries you could make, but the overarching idea is that you should look at each person in your organization, and ask what information each of those persons needs access to.

Then, to ensure that your wishes are met, you’ll need to do some detective work, and look at the roles and permissions options in your various software tools.  Those options are getting more and more granular, beyond simply opting everyone in as an administrator, and hoping for the best.

If you can align your data security requirements with your technology, you’re in business.  (And, will likely stay in business.)

May 10, 2024: Everything, Everywhere, All At Once: Lead Tracking Can Be for Anything Now

With the ubiquity of cloud software and sophistication in legal marketing on the rise, there is not a single thing you can’t track as a law firm, when it comes to marketing.

First off, every web marketing campaign, from SEO to social media ads, come with identifiable criteria, that allows attorneys to track for ‘lead sources’, as well as for specific marketing campaigns.  You can even track phone calls via lead source and campaign, using a software like Call Rail.

Now, even if you do get walk-ins, who have no attachment to the internet whatsoever, in having come in to see you – you can still capture that data online/electronically, by using an intake form or a chat, to have the lead complete on their smartphone, on a tablet, or with the assistance of your staff.  Just ask them how they found you, and give them lots of options across default or custom form fields.

So, if you’re thinking that it’s really tough to determine return on investment for your marketing efforts, you can do it!  And, it all starts with lead tracking.

May 05, 2024: Dual Threat: Why You Need a Backup Attorney

Every year, on your malpractice insurance application, you’re asked to identify a ‘backup attorney’ – another attorney who can help you to manage your practice for short-term (or, long-term) absences.  Now, most lawyers just write down any old name, often without much thought – and, usually without asking the subject whether or not they even want to be a backup attorney.

But, not only should you be more thoughtful about making the selection in the first place, you should (especially if you are a solo attorney, or the sole owner of a small firm) build your backup attorney relationship with succession planning in mind.  And, while most lawyers who tackle this problem think of it in that way: here’s how ownership of the law firm will pass upon my disability or death – there is another really useful aspect of adding a backup attorney, which is to cover for short-term absences.

Now, I can tell you some stories about solo attorneys, who never go on vacation; and, that’s a damn shame, that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, when everybody just got really comfortable and used to staying home.  So, if you feel like you can’t go on vacation, because you’re worried about court coverage, or getting documents signed, you just need another attorney, who can step in, and do those things for you.  Now, you’ll want to have a contract for your backup attorney, and figure out a secure way for that person to access your law firm staff and systems – but, that’s all manageable.

If you’re looking to take some time off, a backup attorney may be your answer.

April 24, 2024: Activate: How to Streamline Law Firm Billing

Effective billing, like learning any skill, requires repetition.

If you can use the same process for billing every time, it makes it much easier to repeat that process, including for collection purposes.

But, as with many things that require repetition in business, the use of templates can help tremendously, in streamlining your law firm processes.

So, the first question is whether you use ‘activity codes’ for billing.  If you do, it’s easier to generate items on an invoice, tied to the specific activities you perform for clients regularly.  There are activity codes/billing codes for law firms available online (‘LEDES billing’ is a common set of activity codes for law firms to employ), and some softwares include default activity codes for billing – but, you can also generate and maintain your own activity codes, if you wish.  All you need to do is create a shorthand for the task, and maybe employ a number, to make it look official, ya know.

That’s step one; but, step two is where the magic starts.  If you can attach templated billing descriptions to your activity codes, then you’re in business.  That way, every time you select a billing code, you will also produce a billing description, which can be the final version of that billing description, or which can serve as a foundation (draft) of a final version.

Billing can be a repeatable motion, even though most law firms don’t treat it that way.

April 17, 2024: Window Dressing: A Client Portal Is the Next Step in Attorney-Client Relations

These days, most law firms have invested in a law practice management software solution – that’s a relational database organized around matters; and, it helps law firms to better organize their cases.  Law practice management, or case management, software often becomes the business software hub for lawyers that adopt it.

Most modern law practice management softwares now include ‘client portals’, which allow law firms to share information with clients, via the software, through a secure platform.  Lawyers add information to the client portal; and, clients access the information by creating a unique login and password to the portal.  For the law firms, this is an effective and easy way to gather and share data with clients.  But, it’s also inherently more secure than using email for the same purpose, because that data never leaves the law practice management system – whereas email messages (including their content) may be exposed, as they pass through various servers on the way to their final destination.  Data accessible via the client portal never goes to transit, and remains encrypted the entire time.

Law firms can add branding, share notifications, documents, invoices and more, via a client portal.  Truly, almost any client interaction can take place through this media.  And, some lawyers love client portals so much, they direct all client communication to that spot – even including a clause in the engagement agreement reflecting that.

So, if you’re not using a law practice management software, check out the options.  And, if you’re already using one, consider the client portal as an efficient and effective communication platform for your clients.

April 12, 2024: Phone It In: How Do You Get Calls Answered?

Law firms only answer 1 of 3 phones call they receive, on average.  Couple that with the fact that 64% of law firm voicemails are not returned, and there isn’t much ‘service’ left in law firm ‘customer service’.

The good news is that this is all fixable.  And, it’s merely a matter of how you might array a number of call-answering options.

Although lawyers can pick up phones on their own (delighting leads and clients in doing so), that can be a difficult thing for solo and small law firms to do, because they run the risk of having each of those calls converted into an open consultation.  The better solution is to have an administrative staffperson dedicated to answering calls; and, it’s better if that person is not a paralegal, who would be drawn off of performing billable work, in order to answer the phone.  But, perhaps the best option of all is to engage a virtual receptionist service, whose staff can follow scripts, and answer your calls 24 hours a day.  That also allows you to mix-and-match solutions.  For example, if the attorney and/or her staff are able to answer the phone during working hours, a virtual receptionist service could pick up after-hours calls, at a reduced rate.

No matter how you manage the logistics, it’s important to ensure that clients (and especially) leads get an answer when they call your law firm.  If that doesn’t happen, you’re likely to lose new business, and endanger the happiness of your current clients.

April 4, 2024: Price Rise: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Law firms don’t do price rises nearly enough.  Law firm pricing barely keep up with inflation, as it is.  And, with the current rate of inflation, law firm pricing is likely being lapped.  That means that, even if your gross law firm revenue is rising year over year, the purchasing power you accrue from that revenue is declining.

In case you’re having trouble reading between the lines here, it probably makes sense to at least consider a law firm price rise right now, like following Labor Day, or at the start of the new year.

Now, if you’re like most law firm owners, you probably haven’t raised your rates for quite some time.  And, let’s be clear: the goal is not to make up for lost time, but just to execute a successful price rise, for perhaps the first time ever.  So, what you’re not looking to do is to double your rates, or to try to sell a massive increase into your clientbase.  Aim lower; and, there may still be a significant benefit to your practice.  Even if you execute on a 5% price rise, assuming the same level of work for the next 12 months of your practice (and you’re likely to take on more work, year over year), that would mean a 5% gross revenue increase, without you having done anything more than readjusting your pricing model.  This is perhaps the quickest and easiest of the quick and easy wins you can acquire in a law practice.

Even if you grandfather in your existing clients, and make the change prospective, you’ll still make more money moving forward.  In a wholly transactional practice, where there aren’t a lot of retroactive billings, this is even easier.

And, if you need any inspiration for what you’re about to do, go buy a bottle of milk, or a gallon gas.  There’s not a better time to generate more revenue than right now, especially since your rate increase will look extremely reasonable, by comparison.