Play in the Sandbox: Test Your Software Before You Use It

Adding new software to a law firm is often a challenge.  But, the reward is great. 

 

The issue is that most law firms stumble out of the starting blocks, and then squander any gains that they may have had.  One way law firms screw this up is to spend too little time vetting software, so that they’re surprised by what they view as limitations during the implementation process -- which may be actual limitations, or just undiscovered existing features, of which the law firm is not aware, because they did not utilize a thorough vetting procedure.  Another way that law firms screw this up is by focusing too much on the implementation procedure, with skewed expectations with respect to speed of adoption -- many lawyer-owners feel that a software should work perfectly within their environment right away; but, that’s the wrong expectation.  It takes time to adapt software for your office.  Don’t even get me started on staff training for software: law firms just don’t do that. 



But, there is one thing law firms can do to better utilize the software implementation period, reduce exasperation over features and better align expectations to the launch process.  Most law firms will just add software and push it out to users and clients right away; and, if there’s an old software that’s being replaced, they unplug it at the same time.  The operating principle here is that the new software will be a perfect replacement for the old software, and that there will be nary an issue in moving ahead.  Yet, according to Murphy’s Law -- there are always issues. 

 

The best way forward, in implementing new software, is to first test it out in a sandbox environment, before launching it, in full.  And, that’s true whether you’re a solo, small firm attorney or large law firm owner.  So, create a ‘sandbox’ with certain restrictions: Use dummy data, or data from a small number of clients or matters, to start with.  Limit the number of users within the law firm.  Then, see what happens.  That will surface the errors and issues you can fix before you start using the product across your entire staff, and with your full clientbase. 

 

. . . 

 

Want to learn how to play in the sandbox?  We can help. 

Through a unique partnership between the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar and Jared Correia’s Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, Maine attorneys have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discounted rate. 

To get started, visit Red Cave’s landing page for Maine attorneys, and start running your law practice like a business.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pay It Forward: How to Incentivize Attorneys and Staff Beyond Salary

Image
Many law firm owners are comfortable just paying out a salary .  And, that can work, for sure .  But, if you want to drive revenue within your law firm, it makes sense to look at bonusing attorneys and staff in ways that will incentivize your employees to generate or close more cases for the firm, which will lead to additional revenue. Obviously, this is a bit easier for attorney staff, since lawyers can share fees with each other, which makes it easier to create a direct incentive plan .  But, for staff , you can bonus them without sharing fees, including for converting clients from leads, for example, by doing things like offering a $50 bonus for each lead closed, potentially in a certain time frame .   This is the same method that lead generation services use to get paid by law firms, without sharing fees.     But, the place that law firm owners can really make money here is by using origination fees to bonus their attorney staff .  Law firms ...
Read more

Perfect Timing: New Calendaring Tools Make It Easy to Connect with Leads and Clients

Image
Lawyers tend to be inefficient, and have difficulty engaging both leads and clients.  These hurdles are apparent when it comes to the scheduling process.  Attorneys and staff onboard leads for meetings, and schedule appointments with existing clients, via strings of emails -- and, delayed response s only extend the conversation, and the time frame.  And, while this is detrimental for client s (who demand speed and convenience), it’s even worse for leads, who may never convert, if they’re not onboarded simply, and easily.   The good news is that modern technology tools allow for scheduling without the intervention of humans, including you and your staff.  That means that you can say goodbye to all those extra emails, and wasted time.  Programs like Calendly and Acuity allow clients to book appointments directly onto a law firm or lawyer’s calendar, and include buffers and controls, so users aren’t overwhelmed.  LawTap offers a similar tool focu...
Read more

Close Sesame: Three Things You Can Do To Improve Your System Security Right Know

Image
It’s 202 4 , and everybody is still kind of bad with passwords.  Many passwords, in fact, still contain the word . . . password .  That can’t be good.     However, there are three simple moves that you can make to ensure that your passwords are more impressive, and difficult to hack .  That will, in turn, better secure the systems that you are using passwords to protect – which, at this juncture , are pretty much all your systems.   Step one, is to generate stronger passwords .  You can try passphrases .  You can use a password management tool, that will generate more secure passwords for you, so you don’t have to .  And, you can ensure that you’re not using the same password across multiple programs, which is dangerous, because if one gets hacked – they all get hacked.     Step two, is to lean into password managers .  Not only can those systems generate strong passwords for you, you can also use these tools to mana...
Read more