Harnessing Microsoft Dynamics 365 to drive profitable ...

Harnessing Microsoft Dynamics 365 to drive profitable outcomes in the legal sector

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ContentsSection 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Summary 3

Section 2 Trends in the legal sector 4 2.1 Data driven decision making 4 2.2 Security and data attacks 5 2.3 Client portals and chatbots 6 2.4 Modern working environments 7 Section 3 The Microsoft toolkit 8 3.1 Intro 8 3.2 Dynamics365Sales 9 3.3 Dynamics 365 Customer Service 10 3.4 Dynamics 365 Marketing 10 3.5 Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation 11

Section 4 Dynamics in action 13 4.1 Intro 13 4.2 Customer showcase - Slaughter and May 13

Section 5 Conclusion 15

Harnessing Microsoft Dynamics 365 to drive profitable outcomes

in the legal sectorincrementalgroup.co.uk

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1.1 Summary

Introduction

Successful legal practices know the importance of clarity. The ability to understand all the details, review facts against the law and make intelligent decisions and recommendations is essential to the success of a firm.

Whatever the size of your legal practice, having a clear view across your organisationis of the utmost importance. This helps drive the best results for your clients whileoperatingefficientlyandprofitably.Successfulfirmspredominatelyfocusoncultivating trusted advisor relationships and fostering long-term repeat business with profitableclients.Successfulorganisationseffectivelynurturelong-termbusinesspartnershipstodeliverysteadyfeegrowthtogenerateprofitableand recurring revenue.

Todrivethissuccess,legalfirmsmustadoptstrategicandcomprehensivefinancial,projectandresourceplanningpractices.Successfulfirmsadoptthesepracticeswithrobust technology platforms. Implementing a platform such as Microsoft Dynamics 365providesincreasedprofitabilityandenhancedcustomerservice.Behindthescenes,thetechnologyplatformenablesfirmstogainbettercontrolofinternalprocesses and improve their ability to take advantage of new business opportunities.Lawyers are, however, still somewhat known to be techno-sceptics and embracing technologyremainsasignificantchallengefacingthesector.

Existing and emerging technology has the power to make the changes that many law firmsneed.Adigitaltransformationjourneyandthetechnologyyourfirminvestsinallowsyoutomakeincrementalchangessothatyoudonotscareoffthosehesitantto change.

Existing technology, such as case management systems, can drive quick and transformationalimprovementstolawfirms,enablingpracticestoquicklyfindoperationalefficienciesanddeliverbetterclientservice.Aswelookintothefuture,however, concerns over data security, privacy and customer experience, will put growingpressureonlawfirmstodomorewithtechnologywhilealsolookingatadoption of emerging solutions.

Aimed at those working within the legal industry, this guide discusses a number of current trends impacting the legal sector and how, through the use of modern technology,firmscanstayincontrol,minimiseriskandprovideanoutstanding client experience.

Section 1


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The legal sector can be unpredictable with new trends and requirements emerging frequently and often unexpectedly. Some trends can force firms to rapidly respond and change their ways of working for the long run, on the other hand, others can be short-lived. It can, therefore, be difficult to know what trends to embrace or reject.

IncrementalGrouphasidentifiedfourcurrenttrendswithinthelegalsectorthatwebelieveareheretostay.Thesetrendsrepresentseveralchallengesforfirmstoovercome, but also huge opportunities if embraced correctly.

2.1 Data driven decision makingItisagiventhatlawfirmsneedtobeabletoanalyseandprocessinformationquickly.Firms require systems that not only give them a single, 360 view of their data but also the ability to be able to analyse this data to inform decision making and draw conclusions.

Wearewitnessingamovetowardsfirmsbeingdatadrivenandbasingdecisionsonrelevantandrelatedinformation,ratherthanintuitionoropinion.Thefirststeptowards being data driven is having a modern technology platform in place to keep all yourdatainonesafeandsecureplace.Doingsoisthefirststeptohavingsounddatafoundations to build upon. From there you can begin to derive deep analytical insights.

Luckily the complexity of data analytics has reduced substantially in recent years due to business intelligence tools such as Microsoft Power BIandin-builtartificialintelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities within many modern platforms. AI is drastically reducing the time spent by lawyers on manual entry, search and other time-consuming, low-skilled tasks. This is ultimately freeing up the time of skilled qualifiedprofessionalstoshifttheirfocusontovalue-addtasks.

TheuseofAIwithinlawfirmswillcertainlyexpandoverintodecisionmakingandprediction making in the near future. Already we are witnessing academics suggesting that the combination of automated systems and human judgement perform better than human analysis alone for a variety of legal prediction tasks.

Section 2

Trends in the legal sector



https://incrementalgroup.co.uk/partners/power-bi/

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2.2 Security and data attacksTheamountofconfidentialdataalawfirmhandlescanmakethemaprimetargetofattacks.Poordatamanagementleavesyourfirmvulnerabletothreatsincludingphishing emails, ransomware and data breaches, which bring along additional compliance risks. The theme of security and data protection is therefore not a new trend within the legal sector, however, it remains as relevant as ever.

Looking at the news, it does not take long to understand how relevant and high on theagendasecurityanddataprotectionneedstobeforlawfirms.Forexample,consider the leak at Mossack Fonseca which resulted in the headline news of the PanamaPapers.Hacksandleakshavebroughtsomeoftheworld’sleadinglawfirmsunder the spotlight of the world.

In 2018, a survey by PWC UK found that cyber security was a concern for 82% of the world’stop100firms.Inthesamesurvey,60%ofthefirmsreportedhavingsufferedasecurityincidentin2018.However,formostfirms,especiallysmallerfirms,dataprotection can be somewhat of an afterthought, with more business focus prioritised aroundotherareas.Despitetheheadlinesandworryingstatistics,manyfirmsbelievethattheyarewellprotected,orthathacksandleaksonlyhappentobiglawfirmsandso do not prioritise IT investments.

Legalprofessionalprivilegeisbuiltonentrustinglawfirmstoprotectsensitivedatasuchaspatentinformation,insiderinformationandfinancialdata.Customersexpectfirmstotakeprecautionstokeeptheirdatasecure,sowhenadataleakorhackhappens,thistrustisbroken,damagingafirm’sreputationandmakingtherelationshipdifficulttorestoreorbuildupon.

Itisimportantforfirmstohaveabackupsysteminplacetohelpwithdatarecoveryshould a disaster happen. Cloud solutions are the natural choice as they keep data securefromphysicalthreats(forexample,afireorrobbery)andregularbackupstakeplace.Usingdedicatedsecurefilesharingportalsorcommunicationchannelssuch as Teams, instead of email, are also a way to reduce cybersecurity risks. These systemsalsoallowyoutoputinplaceaccessandsharingrestrictionsforconfidentialdocumentsandallowyoutoviewaudittrailsofwhohasviewedandeditedfiles.

Asalawfirm,youmusttakemeasurestocombatthepossibilityofadatabreachbyensuring that the data you hold is secure.

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2.3 Client portals and chatbotsAn interesting trend in the current age of convenience is the rise of client portals and adoptionofchatbots.Clientportalsareincreasinglybeingusedbyfirmswhoseektogain a competitive edge by making their services easy to utilise while also improving communication with their clients.

Portals can provide clients with secure 24/7 access to their documents and case information through just a few clicks. They can enable customers to digitally sign documentationratherthanhavingtoprint,signandreturnfiles.Portalscanremovetheneedforlengthyphonecallsoremailtrails,allowingfirmstoprovidebetterandquicker service. InthewakeoftheuncertaintycausedbyBrexit,manyfirmsareseeingincreasedenquiriesfromclientslookingforadvice.Somemajorfirmshaveopened24-hourhotlinestodealwiththemassiveinfluxofclientdemand.Theuseofchatbotstorespond to these types of, often repetitive, enquiries has the power to reduce strain onfirmsofallsizes.

Chatbots can be programmed to support many local languages thereby breaking down language barriers which might arise on phone calls. This is particularly useful forfirmswhooperategloballyorhaveclientswhooperateacrossborders,forwhomtheir native language might not be English.

Bothclientportalsandchatbotsenablefirmstoputtheirclientfirst,providinganimproved customer experience by providing them with the information they require, when or wherever they need it.



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2.4 Modern working environments A trend we are seeing at a more detailed project level is collaborative working enabled bymodern,agileworkingenviroments.Amodernlawfirmismadeupofpeoplewhoworkremotely,invariousofficelocationsand/oronthemove.Technologydrivenimprovements are being made, enabling teams made up of various stakeholders acrossdifferentlocationstocommunicateeasily.

Aswellascommunicatingwellinternally,firmssometimesneedtodeliverservicesusing a combination of both service provider and client-side resources. Taken together, the combined challenges of globalisation, a changing workforce and demand from customers for transparency are driving the adoption of systems that supportvirtualteamsthatspangeographicdistancestoofferserviceandadvicewherever or whenever it is required.

Thesetypesofsystemsalsogivefirmstheabilitytomaintaincommonprocessesandtools that can simultaneously support many local languages and currencies. In other words, true cross-border collaboration.

Sowhetheryouarearealawyeroperatingonyourown,avirtuallawfirmoralawfirmoperatinginatraditionalofficeenvironment,modernplatformsempoweryoutoworkfrom multiple locations. These systems allow you to access and update information and tasks on a mobile device in real time wherever you are. For instance, you can workonacase,shareacustomerfileorupdateyourtimesheetfromyourmobileortablet while in an airport.

Linking back to the theme of security and data protection, it is however critical to ensureyourfirmputssufficientdataprotectioninplaceifemployeesareallowedtotake devices home or access client data on mobile devices.

The above trends offer a range of opportunities for firms in terms of providing a better service for customers, discovering new opportunities and enabling collaboration within your firm. Embracing these trends requires an increasingly integrated technology stack which brings together, optimises and empowers your organisation.



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3.1 Intro

The Microsoft toolkitSection 3

Microsoft outlines three persistent business priorities which it believes are front and centre for all leaders within the legal sector. These priorities, mining data, finding the right talent and managing the business holistically, are made easy to manage through the use of Microsoft’s CRM solution.

Dynamics 365 has been designed in a way which enables firms to improve their customer experience and drive profitable outcomes whilst providing leaders with the information they need, when they need it.

It is Microsoft’s mission to help individuals and businesses realise their full potential. Dynamics 365 therefore helps people perform at their best and achieve greater job satisfaction through improved ability to collaborate with colleagues and productively serve their clients. Microsoft’s solutions are designed to work together seamlessly, supporting and linking key people in businesses and enhance both individual performanceandfirm-wideoperations.

Microsoft’stechnologysolutionsgivefirmsaholisticbusinessmanagementapproachthattiestogetheritscustomerrelationships,data,projectsandfinancialresults.

This section of the guide will provide an overview of four Dynamics 365 applications andhoweachofthesehelplawfirms.


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Legal practice business priorities

• Mining data

• Finding the right talent

• Managing your firm holisitically

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3.2 Dynamics 365 SalesDynamics 365 Sales is Microsoft’s CRM Solution for sales and business development teams.Itisaflexible,cloud-basedsolutionthatprovidesanabundanceoffunctionalitystraightout-of-the-boxandcanbeeasilytailoredtosuitanyfirm.Itprovidescapabilitythatsupportsclientandprojecttracking,salesworkflows,reporting, opportunity management, pipeline management and more.

» Boost productivity –SeamlesslyconnectbusinessprocessdatawithOffice365 and LinkedIn data to save time at every step of the sales process.

» Track sales performance – With analytics dashboards showing historical and predictive data, organisations can have greater visibility of sales performance andtheirteam’sactivity.Salesforecastscanbeautomated,helpingfirmsplantheir resource commitments in advance and spot any resource gaps.

» Tailored insights – The system can be easily shaped to an organisation’s sales process and extended/connected to other apps and services already used within the business. The system allows businesses to decide their target industries and buyerpersonas.Dashboardscanbeeasilypersonalisedfordifferentuserstoshow them everything they need to know at just a glance.

» Sell smarter with artificial intelligence (AI) – The system can provide recommendations and guidance at every stage of a business’s sales process with built-in intelligence, helping to move deals and prospects forward.

» Make it personal – Using the integrated LinkedIn Sales Navigator, users can easilyfindoutmoreabouttheirtargetaudienceandengagewiththemonamore personal level.



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3.2 Dynamics 365 Customer ServiceDynamics 365 Customer Service is Microsoft’s CRM solution for the service area of a firm.Itisperfectforfirmswhoneedtomanagetheircallcentresormanagequeries,operational actions, complaints and case management. It comes with personalised workflowsforanyactionorprocessthatstaffneedtofollow.Thiscanallbemonitoredandimprovedwitheasyreportingtoshowhowstaffareperformingagainsttargetsand areas that require improvement.

» Engage with customers on any channel or device – The system allows organisationstodelivereffortlessexperiencesontheirclients’terms,throughany channel and on any device.

» Deliver a fast, personalised service – The system makes it easy for agents to meet ever-rising client expectations. Intelligent processes easily guide agents to the right action every time with set SLAs.

» Learn from every interaction – Teams can continuously improve while reducing the cost to serve using data and intelligence to transform how services are provided.

» Innovate with a modern and adaptable platform – Customer Service helps organisations to drive innovation as the application is easy to tailor, extend and connect to other apps and services that are already used.

3.4 Dynamics 365 MarketingDynamics 365 Marketing is a Microsoft’s marketing tool, built on the same platform and database as Sales and Customer Service. Marketing gives organisations the opportunity to manage their entire sales pipeline from marketing to long term client, all in one system with an easy handover to sales.

Dynamics 365 Marketing enables companies to:

» Create and nurture leads – Seamlessly connect business process data with Office365andLinkedIndatatosavetimeateverystepofthesalesprocess.

» Align sales and marketing – Enables companies to prioritise leads, automate handover and track client progress with shared information and connected processes.

» Make smarter decisions – Improves marketing ROI with embedded intelligence and analytics that track marketing performance.

» Innovate with a modern and adaptable platform – Just like Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Marketing empowers organisations to drive innovation with an application that’s easy to tailor, extend and connect to other apps and services that are already used.

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3.5 Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation Dynamics365ProjectServiceAutomationisatoolusedbymanylawfirmstoimprovethe productivity of their projects, resources and services. Project Service Automation providesanendtoendprojectexperiencetoenablefirmstobuildtrustedrelationships with clients by delivering outstanding experiences.

ProjectServiceAutomationempowersfirms,throughthebelowcapabilities,todeliverprofitableprojectsontimeandwithinbudgetwhileincreasingtheproductivityoftheirmostvaluableresource–billablestaff.

Project Service Automation enables businesses to plan and deliver successful projects using a predictable and client-centric service delivery model.

» Earn clients’ trust–Allowsfirmstoensureprojectdeliverablesreflecttheterms of their contract, approved work and expenses.

» Plan for success –Visualiseaccuratecosts,effortandrevenueandachieve predictable project delivery using robust project planning capabilities such as native Microsoft Project integration.

» Manage with precision –Providesfirm’sprojectmanagerswithintuitive dashboards to review, monitor and approve all costs and time impacting their projects.

Optimise valuable resources

Project Service Automation allows businesses to anticipate resource demand and ensure the right resources are on the right projects, keeping utilisation high.

» Streamline scheduling – Enables intelligent and relevant skills-based assignmentswithreal-timevisibilitytoresourcesusingaunifiedschedulingengine.

» Increase billable hours –Allowsfirmstoaccuratelymeasureutilisationandmake intelligent decisions to get the most out of their billable resources using real-time dashboards.

» Empower service professionals –Forexternalstaff,ProjectServiceAutomation allowsconsultantsandsub-contractorstoupdatetheirskillsprofileandapply directly for relevant projects.



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Forecastprojectprofitability

ProjectServiceAutomationenablesfirmstoprioritiseproject-basedsalesopportunities with built-in intelligence to plan for successful outcomes.

» Collaborate with clients – Allows businesses to engage directly with their clients on quotes, project scope and resource requirements through a secure portal.

» Simplify the contract process – Ensures a seamless collaboration with sales team by creating project contracts, tracking resource rates and generating statements of work directly within Dynamics 365 Sales.

Increase resource productivity

Project Service Automation empowers people to deliver their best work through intuitive and collaborative tools.

» Elevate collaboration – Firms can foster collaboration across project teams using audio,videoanddocumentmanagementwithintegrationtoOffice365applications.

» Manage with agility – Empowers managers to respond quickly to scope changes and project risks by managing critical key performance indicators to ensure profitableservicedelivery.

» Simplify time and expense management –Allowsstafftosubmit,approve, process and reconcile time and expenses anytime and anywhere, for timely client billing.

Innovate with a modern and adaptable platform

Project Service Automation empowers organisations to drive innovation with an application that is easy to tailor, extend and connect to other apps and services that are already used.

» Adapt quickly – Firms can accelerate their time to market and adapt the application totheirspecificneedswithno-codevisualeditorsandtoolsthatmakeiteasytobuild and deploy web and mobile apps, for example a client portal.

» Unify service environment – Processes can be automated across Dynamics 365 applications and third-party systems for better service engagement experiences.

» Invest with confidence – Firms can rely on the Microsoft cloud platform to reduce the cost and complexity of operating a global infrastructure. Leaders can rest easy with the knowledge that their data is safeguarded by Microsoft’s state-of-the-art datacentres.

» Drive innovation – Firms can transform their interactions with clients with deep insights provided by AI that guide them to the right business outcomes.

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Today’s law practices are becoming increasingly competitive. Many leading firms are developing aggressive growth strategies, including mergers and acquisitions and a move toward a more traditional view of marketing and sales practices.

Asaresultofthisheightenedcompetition,lawfirmsofallsizes,fromsmallpracticestothosewithglobalreach,areredoublingtheireffortstonotonlymaintaintheirexistingclientbasebutalsoincreasetheirnewclientacquisitionefforts.

Unfortunately,convincingmanylegalprofessionalstousetechnologyisstilladifficultchallenge.Toovercomethisbarrier,lawfirmsrequiresolutionsthatcanautomatethe capture of client interactions, enable across-business development initiatives and provideprofessionalswithcriticalinsightsaboutthefirm’srelationshipsandgrowthinitiatives.Thebusinessandpersonalproductivitybenefitsneedtobecrystalcleartojustify investment and drive user adoption.

4.2 Customer showcase – Slaughter and MaySlaughterandMayisaprestigiousinternationallawfirmwithavariedclientlistincludingleadingcorporations,financialinstitutionsandgovernments.ThefirmhasofficesinLondon,Brussels,HongKongandBeijing.

SlaughterandMaywantedtogivecertainareasoftheirfirmaccesstoaCRMsolutiontoenablethemtobecomemoreefficientfromanadministrativepointofview.ThefirmhadMicrosoftExcel-basedinformationspreadacrossthecompanyandacrossmultiple disparate systems. It was, therefore, challenging to ensure visibility of both legacy information and up-to-date data on clients and prospects who were being contactedbythefirm.

4.1 Intro

Dynamics in action Section 4

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For seamless communication and integrity of client relationships, it was imperative that individuals were contacted only with relevant information tailored to their needs. With the current way of working, there was the potential for duplication of data and also data accuracy could not always be guaranteed.

Slaughter and May worked with Incremental Group to implement a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution that would drive improvements in several key business areas.

Microsoft Dynamics has brought a wide range of benefits to Slaughter and May, including:

» Single view of client information –Staffcannowdynamicallymanagetheir contacts and view all information relating to that client in one place.

» Centrally updated information – If a contact moves organisation, this is centrally recorded so that the individual can continue receiving relevant information about events and newsletters.

» Ability to provide dynamic real-time reports – The principle client contact has anup-to-daterecordofalleventsandindividualsregisteredtoallowstafftocreate tailored reporting and feedback.

» Clarity of client distribution lists – One record for one client provides all the information about all of the distributions that they receive, rather than having multiple disparate lists.

» Process efficiency –Thesystemprovidesamoreefficientprocesswithinthe organisation of managing the client record and for sending out newsletters and event information.

» Time-saving –Administrativestaffnowsavehoursoftimeastheyhaveasingle snapshot view of a client record and data entry time has been reduced.



“Personalisation is a key element to the firm, who offer a customised service. Therefore it was important to us that we could very carefully tailor our communications according to a client’s information needs”

Alison Brown, Programme Manager, Slaughter and May.

0345 565 3000 [email protected] www.incrementalgroup.co.uk

With our strong track record and expertise in helping law firms, Incremental Group helps your organisation to improve operations and deliver projects and services as effectively and efficiently as possible.

We have been supporting the legal profession and wider professional services sector with CRM services for over 20 years, working with some of the biggest names in the industry including ACS, Slaughter and May, Rathbones, AMI and Willis Towers Watson.

As a Microsoft Gold CRM Partner, we have deep expertise and a large team of certifiedDynamics365ConsultantstodeliverMicrosoftCRMsolutions.

See Dynamics in action for your practice – Book a free 2 Hour Demo – Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement.

At Incremental we use our expertise to provide CRM systems which deliver for youandyourcustomers.Thisdemoandbriefingwillhighlightthekeyfunctionalityavailable from Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement and demonstrate the areasmostrelevantforyourfirm.

ConclusionSection 5

https://www2.incrementalgroup.co.uk/dynamics/d365_for_ce_crm

https://www2.incrementalgroup.co.uk/dynamics/d365_for_ce_crm

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