Resources

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

2021 Quarter 3

September 28, 2021: Low Bar: How to Differentiate Your Law Firm from Competitors

Lawyers are trained to be risk-averse, and to cling to the status quo.  Because lawyers manage law firms, change within those law firms happens at a glacial pace.  Yet, while law firms cling to the status quo, upstarts in other industries redefine life and culture.  Not that law firm managers need to be out to change the world, writ large.  They just need to change their own worlds, just a little bit.

The fact of the matter is that any small innovation in a law firm has a greater impact than in another business, because most law firms are so far behind the curve.  While many businesses view esignatures and electronic payment processing tools as business necessities, in legal, these are still fairly risqué technologies.  Many law firms eschew cloud-based technologies for premise-based software. Law firms are reluctant to embrace process management.  I mean, you get the picture.

The point is that, if you can gain a single technology or marketing advantage over your competitors (or better yet: stack those up) it can potentially have massive effects on your bottom line.  The good news is that the bar is extremely low for innovation in law firms.  So, you don’t have to do something spectacular: you just have to do something.

Need help accessing competitive advantages?  We can help.

The Westchester Bar Association now offers DISCOUNTED law practice management consulting services through Red Cave Law Firm Consulting.  To access consulting services, visit this website, and start running your law firm like a business.

September 20, 2021: You Shall Not Pass!: How to Build Memorable (and Secure) Passwords

Password management is no sweat these days -- with tools like LastPass, a master password unlocks all doors.  Not only will such a service obviate the need for memorizing any passwords, it will also automatically creates secure passwords for you.  No fuss, no muss.

But, what if you don’t have the volume of accounts that would necessitate the use of a service like LastPass?  Or, what if you’re old school, and like creating your own passwords -- you know, ones that you can remember without an assistive device.  I get it.  There’s still a world for you.

Try passphrases.  Whereas most passwords include numbers, special characters, uppercase and lowercase letters, you don’t necessarily need all that jazz.  Passphrases are just combinations of words and phrases that are potentially meaningless to the rest of the planet, but have some significance to you.  Try to build a passphrase, and you’ll begin to make the right connections.  Their length and complexity make them tough to crack; but, the fact that they are real words, makes them memorable.  Passphrases are a great solution for password management, without the need for a password management system. 

However, you should be aware that some software systems will force you to use number or special characters in a password.  Somebody’s always gotta ruin the fun, right?. . . 

Need to double-down on your data security?  We can help. 

The Westchester Bar Association now offers DISCOUNTED law practice management consulting services through Red Cave Law Firm Consulting.  To access consulting services, visit this website, and start running your law firm like a business.

September 14, 2021: New or Noob: How Law Firms Tend to Hire

Every lawyer I’ve ever met wants to do everything on their own.  In other words, every lawyer secretly desires to be a solo attorney.  Of course, there comes a time when your business grows to the point that you need some real help; and, since you can’t clone yourself, it’s necessary to hire.

Many attorneys who start to hire want to do so as cheaply as possible; and, that often means, in addition to probably not offering substantial benefits (or, maybe opting for a contractor), that lawyer will hire another attorney or paralegal or legal assistant with little to no experience.  The low salary is appealing, as is the presumed clean slate being offered: you can train someone up now, exactly the way you want to.  But, that line of thinking can be replete with holes.  In the first instance, this notion of law firm training is more theory than practice -- as this purported intensive training for attorneys and paralegals and legal assistants doesn’t really ever materialize beyond dumping a computer in front of someone, and having them figure it out.  Neither are law firms good at instituting workflows that streamline business processes.  Furthermore, cheaper is not always better, as more experienced staff can require less training, tend to work faster and more efficiently, and may not have received inferior training at a prior job that would required a revamping of their work style.  Plus, more experienced attorneys and staff can bill out at higher rates.

So, when you’re filling out a job description, don’t automatically opt for the shortest experience possible.

Need help hiring?  We can get you there.

The Westchester Bar Association now offers DISCOUNTED law practice management consulting services through Red Cave Law Firm Consulting.  To access consulting services, visit this website, and start running your law firm like a business.

September 6, 2021: Easy Money: Modernize Your Payment Processing Before Your Competitors Do

If you’re still waiting on cash, checks or money orders, there’s a better way.

Consumers want, and you can offer them, electronic payment processing, via credit or debit card.  Many law firms avoid this option, because of payment processing fees associated with these systems; but, the fact of the matter is that electronic payment processing tools get you more money, sooner -- and, even assuming the processing fees attached to these accounts, they still cost less than traditional payment methods when you consider collection costs.  Some lawyers avoid electronic payment processing because of perceived ethics issues.  But, there’s a simple solution to those: make sure any fees (payment processing and chargebacks) come out of your operating account and not your IOLTA account.

If you can collect more, more quickly, and can also automate payments via electronic payment processing systems, it will reduce or eliminate your accounts receivable -- and, backlogged accounts receivable are a long-standing problem for law firms.

But, perhaps the biggest reason for adopting electronic payment processing is that modern clients want it.  Only, they won’t tell you to add it – they’ll just find another attorney who offers it, thereby silently and consistently reducing your revenue, until you’re forced to change.  But, by then, it may be too late.

August 30, 2021: Legal Tech Goes Boom: What Does That Mean for Lawyers?

Most practicing lawyers are immersed in legal technology, without following the news about legal technology.  I understand that: I use Microsoft 365 everyday; but, I don’t follow the news about Microsoft’s larger machinations.

Of course, legal technology is a smaller subset of technology; and, many states have now added Comment 8 to Rule 1.1 of their lawyers’ rules of professional conduct, which suggests that a lawyer’s general competency is tied to her competency respecting the use of law firm technology.  And, ven if that doesn’t set up a requirement for lawyers to follow legal technology news, those same lawyers should at least understand that that news affects them in some significant ways.  In the first instance, more funding for legal technology companies and consolidation among software providers means changes to the technology you already use.  But, funding for legal technology also means that there will be new technologies coming to the fore, of which you should also become aware.  In many ways, #legaltech is in its infancy.  The law firms that become early adopters of new and improved technology should be able to add further efficiencies, in order to create a significant competitive advantage as against law firms that linger in older technology stacks.

Listen to this podcast, for a pre-pandemic view of legaltech investment.

Follow Bob Ambrogi’s blog for updates of corporate mergers and partnerships in the legal space.

August 23, 2021: But I Might Die Tonight . . . What Happens to Your Law Firm If You Do?

Sorry to be morbid (that’s a great Cat Stevens’ song, though) — but do you know what will happen to your law firm if you die or become disabled?  Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen; but, if it did, are you ultimately placing the unenviable task of winding down your law firm upon your family?

Over my years of consulting, I’ve seen a number of solo and small law firms fall apart, and then shutter, upon the unexpected death or disability of a founding or managing partner.  In that case, family members are often called upon to try to close a business they have no idea how to manage and aren’t even licensed to run.  Oftentimes, other lawyers don’t (or can’t) help, because there’s no revenue incentive to do so — always in solo offices, and especially for small firms, the death or disability of a partner means the end of new business.

So, if you’re operating without a succession plan, or a wind-down program, for your law firm, you’re potentially driving your grieving family members into years of taxing and fatiguing work.  No law firm closure I have ever seen that has been managed by family members of the lawyers has been easy, or gone well.

Therefore, it’s essential for you to take the time to create a plan of action now.

Fortunately, there are a number of resources available, including some bar association-designed productions, that have been made publicly available, that should help you in the construction phase.

August 18, 2021: That Syncing Feeling: Law Firm Technology Management is About Integrating Software

Have ever had trouble finding information in your law firm?  Probably, right.  Because looking for something is like the lawyer default mode.  The vast majority of law firms I consult with have their client information all over the place.  Every time I ask an attorney where she stores her practice documents, I get nine answers, not one.  In the first instance, of course, it pays to have one place to store all of your stuff, because it’s easier to find all of your stuff that way.

But, I do have good news for you: the modern lawyer can have it both ways.  And, that’s because you can store everything you want anywhere you want, so that your database of files and documents is accessible as a whole, across a variety of softwares.  And, you’re probably already doing this to some extent, perhaps without even knowing t.  Do you sync your music files from your home computer to your smartphone?  Do you use a law practice management software that’s synced with your productivity software, so you can archive your email, save documents and add calendar tasks and events across both systems?  It’s not a far step ahead of that to sync data across three or four systems, to make sure that the same client document are available in your productivity software, your case management software, your document automation software and your document management software.

I often tell lawyers that if there’s something you think you could do with technology, it’s probably possible.  It’s just a matter of expending the time, effort and money to get it done.  But, with the advent of cloud software supported by APIs, and products like Zapier, it’s becoming easier than ever before to access a corpus of client information wherever, and through whichever tool, you want to.

August 9, 2021: Knowledge Base: How Tech-Competent Are You?

Almost every state has adopted some variation of a new comment (inspired by the American Bar Association Model rule) to Rule 1.1 respecting lawyer competence.  In essence, the comment indicates that a lawyer’s competency is, in part, based on her familiarity and understanding of technology.  This comment has recently been adopted, but it was probably long overdue.

But, with real life stakes (potential discipline) on the table, the comment to the rule begs the question: How tech competent are you and your law firm?  Do you reach the reasonable level of competency that the comment requires?  If not, it’s time to get up to speed.

If you’ve never paid much attention to your law office technology infrastructure, now is probably the time to start doing so.  If you need to build or rebuild your law firm technology suite, this would be a good time to look into doing so.  As a lawyer, your job, outside of the substantive work you do, is to oversee the work of others, or the operation of your law firm.  Most attorneys don’t take enough time or make enough effort to modernize the technology they use.  But, with an ethics rule comment in place, it’s a great time to reorganize how you and your staff utilize technology in your law firm.

While many attorneys view this as another burden, it can (and should) be viewed as an opportunity to modernize your law practice.

August 2, 2021: Reply All: The Second Biggest Hidden Efficiency In Every Law Office

Quick: What are the two things that lawyers do the most?

If you answered: respond to email and create documents, you’d be right.  Yet, even as lawyers spend more time answering emails than maybe anyone else, they’re still using antiquated methods for managing conversations with clients and colleagues.

So, if you’re looking to get a better handle on your inbox, here are a few tools you can apply:

Apply an email management tools that can automate some of your workflow.  If you’re a Gmail user, you already see notifications and tools flowing through that system design to save you time and effort, with respect to automated or suggested replies, nudges and priority inbox options.  But, even if you’re not using built-ins, you could buy into a standalone program, like SaneBox, that will help you to better organize and manage your email.

Push conversations elsewhere.  You can use other communication platforms to supplement email, and to make sure that your inbox only includes ‘mission critical’ information.  The rise of Slack, addition of Microsoft Teams to the Office suite, and the use of similar internal communication tools indicates a strong desire to remove internal work conversations, as well as other business conservations, out of the traditional email inbox.

Integrate other software systems.  By integrating your email client to other software systems, you provide yourself an opportunity to communicate with clients and staff in alternative platforms, e.g. - by using a client portal or building a workflow in a case management system.

07/26/2021: Factory Belt: The Biggest Hidden Efficiency In Every Law Office

Quick: What are the two things that lawyers do the most?

If you answered: respond to email and create documents, you’d be right.  Yet, even as lawyers spend more time creating documents (pushing electronic paper) than anyone else, they’re still using antiquated methods for building documents from templates.

Attorneys are very good at creating specific documents for clients from existing templates.  But, when they run through that process, they’re often using antiquated tools, like ‘find and replace’, or making edits by hand.  That’s one of the reasons that legal services are so expensive, is that lawyers’ old school methods make it that way.

The average solo lawyer would pay less than $100 per month for document automation software; and still, most law firms don’t implement it.  Think, however, about the advantages of doing so.  What if you could finalize an estate planning package in 1/4 of the time.  Imagine the possibilities!  You could do 4 estate plans in the time it now takes you to do one, with an aim to increase your revenue.  You could charge less for the estate plans you now create.  Or, you could just go on a couple more vacations each year.

The point is, that for most law firms, the easiest, and also most massive efficiency upgrade that can be made is to adopt and master document automation software.

So, what are you waiting for?  Oh, yeah: find and replace.

07/19/2021: Next Phase: Why Law Firms Need to Build Calls to Action

Lawyers have always been good at networking because they know what they do like the back of their hands, and they’re good at talking about it.  Other marketing avenues, including online marketing, well . . . not so much.  Law firms often drop advertising without a clear call to action.

Don’t know what a call to action is?  Here’s the only thing you need to know: if you look at a piece of marketing, and you can’t discern what to do next, then you’ve failed as a marketer, because there is no ‘call to action’, no invitation to take the next step.

You can write Don Draper-level ad copy; but, if your potential law firms clients don’t know what to do next, you’ve already lost them.  This is especially true of web-based marketing, where it’s not enough to just throw up a phone number.  Instead, you need to create a click-to-call link, or you need to move the potential client into whatever lead funnel you’ve established.

If you’re not sure whether you’ve placed an effective call to action, ask a nonlawyer, who is unfamiliar with your business, to review your ad, and see if she understands, intuitively, how you want consumers to interact with it.  If there is a moment of hesitation, that’s all it takes for a modern law firm consumer to move on.  You’ve then got to be more direct, and obvious.

Because, if you can’t bait the hook, you won’t be afforded the opportunity to pull up the line.

07/12/2021: High Hurdles: How Law Firms Alienate Potential Clients

Remember that scene from the ‘Wizard of Oz’, where the guard at the gates of the Emerald City is very reticent to let Dorothy and her friends in, until he realizes who they are, and changes his tune?  Well, consider yourself the green-mustachioed guard, and your law firm clients Dorothy Gale.  The only problem is, by the time you figure out who’s at your gates, and when you’re ready to help them, they’re already long gone.

The point is that most law firms unconsciously set up barriers between themselves and their clients.  Lawyers don’t like to pick up the phone, and talk to existing clients, let alone potential clients, thereby driving a wedge between them and their business.  Clunky contact forms at law firm websites don’t always work.  Well, that’s another barrier.  Believe it or not, voicemail is a barrier.  Anything that stands between you and engagement with a potential client is a barrier.  And, more than anything else, the modern practice of law is about breaking down barriers between you and your clients.

This is not to say that engagement always needs to be personal.  In many cases, engagement can be automated by building out responses to potential clients.  A contact form can be replaced by a chatbot.  A virtual receptionist can stand in place of an attorney.  But, the key is that the lead inquiry receives a reply, that there is some kind of return, rather than the more common situation, where a response is dropped into a vacuum, and the reply is too late in coming.

When you can effectively create engagement points for law firm intake, you’ll close more clients, and make more money.

07/06/2021: Room at the Top: How to Stay Top of Mind

Marketing is often more subtle than people think.  It’s usually more about creating and maintaining subtle methods for extending brand awareness than anything else.  If you can stay ‘top of mind’, by figuring out ways to regularly disseminate information to potentially interested parties, then it becomes more likely that potential clients will find you, and existing clients and referral sources will send new clients your way.  Most businesspeople, including most lawyers, already know that this is kind of a subliminal game;  the challenge is putting yourself in a position to be recognized as an appropriate solution when a potential law firm client or referral source is seeking a legal service provider to use or recommend.

Here are three ways, then, to stay top of mind:

Publish an eNewsletter.  If you produce any kind of content for your law firm, this is a great place to highlight it.  Being top of mind is more about getting your brand in front of people, than it is about them actually getting those people to do a deep dive into your resources; and, an enewsletter is perfect for that.  Your brand can flash across the eyes of a potential client or referral source, while you’re simultaneously offering the opportunity to access some of your best content -- just in case the desire is there to review it.  By collecting emails aggressively, and creating email lists dedicated to specific contact categories (e.g. – existing clients, referral sources, colleagues), you maximize your chances to acquiring new business.

Build a Bigger Social Media Profile.  With the prevalence of mobile devices, more consumers are bypassing traditional search tools (like Google), and looking for information directly through apps.  Couple that with the fact that more and more potential law firm clients are doing their own searches for legal service providers, rather than asking for personal recommendations, and it’s clear that your alternate client acquisition channels cannot be ignored or neglected any longer.  And, social media is a legitimate acquisition channel for law firms, in this environment.  The idea is to extend your reach across multiple channels; and, if the appropriate notion is to fish where the fish are . . . well, there are a bunch of people on social media, right?

Throw a Party.  I know, law firms + parties?  Not the first thing you think of.  But, as the country begins to reopen, if you want to get people out to meet you, on your own terms, put on a bash, open a bar, create a fun contest and a giveaway, and let the good times roll.  If you want to make more of your personal networking efforts, in a way in which you can feel comfortable, plan your own event, the way you want, and let the people come to you.  And, if you can’t think of a reason to celebrate, you’re probably just not being creative enough: Revise your website?  Plan a soiree.  Win a big case?  Throw a fete.  Hire a new associate?  Party like it’s 1999.

Be memorable, and stay memorable.