Should My Law Firm Hire Another Assistant?

Misbah Jalal Siddiqui

Should My Law Firm Hire Another Assistant?

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Hire Legal Assistant

Historically, law firms that want to improve the efficiency of their office operations have hired an additional assistant. Bringing on another person helped the team stay on top of routine tasks and workflows.

But today’s technology has developed to the point where a modern practice management system can pick up the slack for you.

Understand your workflows

Workflows are the series of tasks needed to complete the case or matter you’re working on—and when they get gummed up, they can throw everything off-kilter.

Whether you’re a solo doing multiple cases at once or working with a team of five who hand tasks back and forth, it takes a certain level of organization to keep workflows moving forward.

To streamline for greater efficiency, start by identifying your workflows and writing down the steps involved.[1] If you’re working with a team, check in with them to see if there are ways to improve the current method of doing things.

From there, add the workflow into your practice management system. You can then assign tasks and due dates and determine priorities. This way, the whole team can stay on the same page internally about how far along a case is and what needs to happen next.

Automate

Some parts of law firms’ workflows can be automated.2 Not only does this save time, but it reduces the likelihood of human error.

For instance, instead of individually sending out invoices, a modern practice management system can generate the month’s invoices in a few clicks of the mouse.

If you then send the bills electronically—and accept online payments—your billing system can update as soon as the invoice is paid. Then, with the help of fully integrated billing and accounting, the payment information can be automatically transferred to your accounting system. Suddenly, you’ve done in minutes what used to take hours.

Leverage technology

If your law firm’s seeking to improve office efficiency, consider looking into modern practice management systems.

Cloud-based platforms come with a monthly subscription that sets you up to log in from anywhere, on any device—and costs far less than on-boarding and training an additional staff member.


References

1. Get Organized: Document Your Workflow
2. Top 10 Workflows to Automate for 2021

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