Next Generation: Practice Management Applications

Natalie R. Kelly

Darla W. Jackson

What Is It?

• Often Confused

• Not Litigation Support Software

• Not Just Outlook and Files

• A Relational Database

• Necessary

What is a Practice Management Application?

• PMAs provide “…attorneys with a convenient method of effectively managing client and case information, including contacts, calendaring, documents, and other specifics by facilitating automation in law practices. It can be used to share information with other attorneys in the firm and … help prevent having to enter duplicate data in conjunction with [time and] billing …” functions or features.

-Joshua Poje, Practice Management, ABA TECHREPORT 2016, AMERICANBAR.ORG (Dec.1, 2016)

What is a Practice Management Application?

• It is NOT Outlook!

What is a Practice Management Application?

• It is NOT document management, but it may integrate with document management applications or provide some features of document storage

What is a Practice Management Application?

• It may also provide some client relationship management features.

CRM - One Area On Which Many Firms Have Not Concentrated

• CLIO Legal Trends Report 2019 - Potential Clients: 32% of clients who have ever shopped for a lawyer don’t expect a law firm to get back to them, and 64% of those who contacted a lawyer they didn’t hire said a law firm didn’t respond to their phone or email.

• Legal Professionals: Yet, 89% of legal professionals we surveyed said that they respond to phone and email inquiries within 24 hours.

• Clio Study: Law firms are unable to follow up with clients who reach out via email. 60% of law firms didn’t respond to our emails at all.

"Deciding which practice management application is best for your firm is like

shopping for shoes."

Natalie Kelly

(adapted from former ABA TECHSHOW speaker circa 1998 and used shamelessly for over 20 years!)

Shopping Resources

• Capterra – https://www.capterra.com/law-practice-management-software/

• Lawsites – www.lawsites.com

Practice Management Options

Immigration- Specific Practice Management Solutions

Futuristic Practice Management Options

DOES A PRODUCT HAVE STAYING POWER OR IS THE PRODUCT AN IDEA WHOSE TIME MAY NOT HAVE COME YET?

• TALI - TIME TRACKING WITH VOICE ASSISTED CAPABILITY• ALEXA & GOOGLE

• CLIO, ROCKET MATTER, PRACTICEPANTHER

How Much Does It Cost?

So much per user per month…

So much per user per month

Tiered and based on your needs…

And sometimes free to start…

It Takes Your To Dos, Calendar and Contacts…It takes your calendar, your task list,

and your contact list…

… Adds other critical practice information for communication and time entry

Matters

Contacts Tasks Calendar Time Entries Communication

It works the way you work, it thinks the way you think.

Then, it brings in many other elements to help manage your

practice…

…and organizes it all by matter

Matters

Calendar

Docketing

Group Calendars

Audit Trails

Contacts

Conflict Checking

Relationships

Tasks/To-Dos

Linked Events

Reminders

Communication

Phone Calls

Phone Messages

Emails

Documents

Billing

Email & Phone Calls

Appointments

Tasks

Accounting Integration

Other

Remote Access

Document Assembly

Research

Reports

Outlook Integration

SOME FEATURES YOU MAY DESIRE Features are often divided into functional categories: (1) client management; (2) secure communication and email functionality; (3) document storage, management and assembly (automation);(4) research and knowledge management; (5) tasks and workflows; (6) integration, and (7) time and financial management.

• INTUITIVE & CUSTOMIZED DASHBOARD

• ONBOARDING. MIGRATION ASSISTANCE

• APP or RESPONSIVE DESIGN

• KNOWLEDGE BASE AND SUPPORT

• CONFLICTS CHECK & SEARCH

• CRM Features• Intake Forms

• Campaign Tracker

• WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT

• EMAIL• AUTOMATED TRANSFER TO MATTER

• EMAIL CLIENT

• TEXTING

• NOTES

• CLIENT PORTAL

• NATIVE DOCUMENT STORAGE

• DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

• DOCUMENT AUTOMATION

• WORKFLOW

• INTEGRATION OPTIONS

• RESEARCH TOOL

• OPERATIONAL ACCOUNTING

• ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS

• ROBUST TRUST ACCOUNTING

• REPORTS

• MATTER BUDGET

• TIME & BILLING

• INVOICE CUSTOMIZATION

• VOICE TIME TRACKING (TALI)

• LEDES (LEGAL ELECTRONIC DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS) & UTBMS (UNIFORM TASK BASED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM)

Get Ready for the Race

Focus on Gains with Functionality

• Automated Workflow

• Client Portal Integration

• Document Assembly

• Online Payment

• System Reporting

• Data Analytics

Deciding What Works for Your Firm

No One “Best” Practice Management Application for Every Situation!

• Consider:• Goals

• Workflows

• Client Needs

• Budget

• Future ?

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash

Don't Expect a Perfect Fit

Matching Goals with Practice Management Application

• Failure to do so will result in dissatisfaction• 2019 ABA Legal Tech Survey Report

Don't Be Afraid to Put on Shoes!

Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash

YOU play the most important part in keeping TECHSHOW exciting.

Please complete the Speaker evaluation before you leave.

See You Next Year! TECHSHOW 2021: March 10-13, 2021