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Understanding Local Services Ads for Lawyers with Postali

Google launched Local Services Ads (LSA) in 2015, starting with home services-type businesses. Google made LSAs available to attorneys in 2021. Jim Christy, President of Postali, spoke with Zack Glaser, Legal Tech Advisor, about how law firms can use LSAs and their potential rewards and risks. 

LSA Primer 

LSAs differ from Google’s primary advertising tool, pay-per-click (PPC), in two ways. First, instead of displaying in line with organic search results, LSAs display above the traditional results list. LSAs are prominently set apart. Second, Google prices LSAs on a “pay-per-lead” model. 

Under a PPC model, which Google still offers and should have a place in firm advertising budgets, clicking the ad costs money, irrespective of what the user does afterward. Clicking the ad and closing the browser tab costs the same as a user clicking the link, spending an hour on the attorney’s landing page, and completing a contact form. 

The LSA model is different. Google does not charge the advertising attorney merely because a user clicked on the LSA. The user must contact the law firm. Only a successful connection costs money. 

Making LSAs Successful for Your Firm 

The LSA algorithm also differs from PPC in how Google chooses which LSA to display for a search. With PPC advertising, prominence flows from spending. Paying more puts the firm’s ad higher. In contrast, Google selects LSAs based on many factors, including user (i.e., star) ratings. A firm must have a particular number of Google reviews to be eligible for LSA inclusion (Google requires up to 5 reviews depending on profession & practice area). Beyond that, location, business hours, responsiveness, profile quality, and, of course, marketing budget, play a roll in an individual firm’s LSA ranking.

Pay Only for Leads, Not Clicks 

Google charges firms for contacts, not clicks. When configuring its LSA profile, the firm sets practice areas and geographies. If a user reaches out through the LSA but doesn’t match your practice area and geography, the firm can dispute the charge with Google and seek a refund. 

Unlike PPC ads, Google offers limited specificity concerning practice areas and keyword matching. Jim gave the example of a personal injury firm that only represents wrongful death matters. While PPC ads could tightly target this niche, LSAs could run too broadly (e.g., all personal injury searches). 

With LSAs, a firm may get calls that aren’t disputable but not a great fit, so they might pay the higher LSA cost. With PPC, Google charges the firm for every click, but the ad may get more desired exposure because of the additional specificity and targeting tools PPC has. 

Costs of LSAs 

When LSAs initially launched for attorneys, ad prices were relatively inexpensive and predictable. Both benefits are fading. For example, some specific personal injury locations, LSA prices have climbed 300% since 2021. In some categories, the return-on-investment of PPC ads may now exceed that of LSAs, even though LSAs promise higher quality leads. 

Using LSAs as a DIYer 

While Jim encourages firms to engage professional assistance when running PPC ad campaigns, LSAs are something a solo or small firm can experiment with on their own. For the inspired DIYers, Google’s LSA profile provides three tools. 

  • Category: The firm tells Google its areas of practice. Family law is a category, for example. The firm must have at least one category and can have more than one. Google also permits excluding categories, mediation, for example. That’s about the extent of LSA granularity. An attorney could seek auto accident injuries, but if the firm specialized in auto accident head injuries, LSAs could not be that specific. 
  • Budget: The firm must set its LSA budget weekly; that’s the only option. Google presents two options: Maximize Leads and Manually Set a Max Bid. Setting the budget to Maximize means the campaign uses the current market rate for that LSA placement to serve the LSA to the most viable users at the most viable time to optimize for getting leads. Setting the budget to Manual means that the firm controls the amount they are willing to spend per week, the price is still as variable as with Maximize, but fewer or no users may see it due to the price cap. 
  • Geography: This option controls who sees the ad based on a user’s state, county, city, or ZIP code. Users see LSAs based on their location when searching, so it’s possible firms may receive “out of area” contacts (e.g., if someone searches while at work versus home). 

Getting Started 

Jim advises that LSAs involve some strategy, and he’s happy to discuss strategy with you. Once the firm decides on a direction, “pulling the levers” is much simpler than Google’s PPC tools. The LSA area of Google search results is prime real estate. If you have not set up Local Services Ads yet, Jim encourages you to do so, even if you don’t intend to run ads immediately. 

To learn more about Postali and why you should use LSAs, visit their blog. 

Automate Beyond Algorithms with PatternBuilder MAX

While ChatGPT and other “consumer grade” generative AI tools fail to meet the needs of legal users, AI still plays a powerful time-saving role in law firm workflows. AI represents a tremendous opportunity for legal professionals to scale up their work. 

Scott Kelly, senior manager at NetDocuments, spoke with Zack about PatternBuilder MAX, NetDocuments’ first product in its ndMAX suite of generative AI tools. According to Scott, the purpose of PatternBuilder MAX is to take generative AI and build a “fit to purpose tool for legal.” 

Secure AI for Law Firms 

Hosted on Microsoft’s Azure platform, PatternBuilder MAX respects data privacy and meets compliance requirements like data sovereignty and GDPR. PatternBuilder MAX then builds upon this “standard issue” NetDocuments security with AI-specific protections. 

  • No company uses data entered into PatternBuilder MAX to train an AI model; 
  • Microsoft employees do not monitor and cannot access PatternBuilder MAX data; and 
  • PatternBuilder MAX enforces a zero-day retention policy on any information entered into it. 

For these AI actions, no data enters the public sphere. The team designed PatternBuilder MAX to put the needs of legal professionals first. 

Time-Saving AI for Law Firms 

Having established PatternBuilder MAX’s security bona fides, Scott walked Zack through a real-world scenario where PatternBuilder MAX saves a legal user an impressive amount of time. Even simple use cases bring tremendous value when pairing generative AI with your documents. 

AI summarizes a deposition. 

Scott played the role of a firm associate who called to prepare a deposition summary memo. Traditionally, this task required reading hundreds of pages and manually extracting key data points and facts. The process could take weeks. 

PatternBuilder MAX’s Deposition Summarizer Studio App cuts weeks to minutes. The app replaces hours of slogging with three simple steps: 

  1. Upload the deposition from your computer or select it from within NetDocuments. 
  1. Pick how long you’d like the summary to be from a list of options. 
  1. The Deposition Summarizer app produces a summary for your review. It notes facts like the deponent and deposition date. Most importantly, and more impressively, it summarizes the deponent’s actual statements, complete with citations to the source text (e.g., page 72, lines 1-4). 

Scott demoed one deposition document, but he said you could upload an entire folder of files from your computer or point the app at a folder in NetDocuments. The Deposition Summarizer would do each deposition in the folder. 

PatternBuilder MAX is more than a solution for a fixed set of problems.

The software market, even narrowed to legal software, overflows with vendors proclaiming new AI products and solutions. That’s part of the problem. As Scott stated, so much AI technology in legal is “just a solution.” A company creates it to meet a single identified need or a set of needs, and any customization or enhancement happens at the developer’s whim. 

PatternBuilder MAX provides pre-built apps to address common use cases, but also makes the full set of tools available to firms and departments to customize those apps to meet their specific needs and even create powerful applications of their own, all in a no-code environment.

Scott built the Deposition Summarizer app in 30 minutes. The build process is simple, much of it point-and-click. The “magic” lies in the prompt one gives the AI. Think of the prompt, in Scott’s words, “as like a set of instructions to a smart intern.” 

The tools Scott used to create his app are available to all PatternBuilder MAX customers. PatternBuilder MAX provides templates and templated apps, like the Deposition Summarizer, that you can use and modify out of the box. 

Approachable AI for Law Firms 

One of the key benefits of PatternBuilder MAX is that it enables you to securely and responsibly leverage documents your firm or department already stores in NetDocuments. If you have templates, samples, or model documents, PatternBuilder MAX can use those as guidelines for what a new document it creates should look like. This is critical to driving accuracy and ensuring outputs from AI are valuable.

Scott’s example starts with a new commercial lease agreement and asks PatternBuilder MAX to create a lease summary that follows the firm’s model lease summary. One can state the prompt PatternBuilder MAX relies upon as “do this to that.” Take the summary sample and summarize this new commercial lease, filling in the data requested in the summary with data from the new lease received. 

Much of what you’d like to automate with traditional document automation is fact-intensive, making predetermined logic extremely difficult. But you can predetermine the instructions you would give a smart human: “Here are examples from the past. Here are the new facts.” 

PatternBuilder MAX, the first of NetDocuments’ suite of ndMAX tools, lets you do “this” to “that” in every area of law. 

Getting Started with AI for Law Firms 

Visit www.netdocuments.com to learn more about ndMAX and PatternBuilder MAX – plus see nine studio apps (pre-built apps included with PatternBuilder MAX) by requesting a demo. Some of the world’s largest law firms are utilizing PatternBuilder MAX and seeing incredible results. PatternBuilder MAX is now available globally.

Omnizant Makes Quality Websites Affordable with OneFirst Legal

Legal websites run the gamut from simple “electronic business cards” to richly interactive sites. However, building the site is not enough. A website is not a Field of Dreams; it’s not enough to build it and they will come. Success means site visitors ultimately become clients.

A Website to Meet Your Goals

Building and promoting a website often seems complex, expensive, and unnecessary to firms that earn most of their business from referrals. Understandably, if the firm derives over 90% of its business from referrals, leadership hesitates to spend $1,500 per month, or more, on a website, digital marketing, or search engine optimization (SEO).

Victoria Silecchia, chief marketing officer at Omnizant, sat down with Zack to explain why all firms need a professional website and how to create one affordably. OneFirst Legal, a new division launched by Omnizant on September 1, is the key to an affordable, modern website.

Fundamentally, a firm without a website or one that puts no effort into SEO finds itself at the mercy of chance and competitors. Attorneys running referral-based practices still need a professional web presence. It need not be elaborate, but it must exist. Nor does the site and its essential marketing need to cost thousands to create or maintain.

Prospects Do Research

Even referral-based practices must consider what information prospects find online when searching for a firm or attorney. Having a website means the firm controls its image, its first touchpoint with would-be clients.

Referrals will research the firm. The question is who controls the information they see. The firm may not care about its Google Business profile or reviews, but others will.

Affordable SEO Marketing Achieves Defined Goals

In addition to the website, OneFirst Legal collaborates with the firm on what Victoria termed “branded visibility,” a targeted form of SEO.

In this context, “good SEO” is not optimizing for better Google rankings for highly desirable and expensive keyword combinations like “car accident” and “New York City.” Instead, OneFirst Legal’s branded visibility concentrates on simpler and more meaningful goals, like ensuring the firm’s site is the top hit when someone searches specifically for the firm or attorney’s name.

Without a website and absent branded visibility, the top hit for a firm or attorney is often an aggregated attorney directory showing both the firm and its competitors side-by-side. In some cases, unscrupulous law firms may bid for their competitors’ names, paying web search engines to show the result “Smith Law Firm” higher in the list than “Jones Law Firm,” even when would-be clients expressly search for “Jones Law Firm.”

While Omnizant has helped law firms with full-service digital marketing capabilities since 2006, OneFirst Legal delivers the essential website tools a firm needs at a budget-friendly price.

OneFirst Legal creates and hosts solutions for solos and small firms wanting a modern, secure, and accessibility-friendly web presence. For firms of five attorneys or fewer, OneFirst Legal charges a one-time $199 setup fee and $199 per month after that.

OneFirst Legal designs its WordPress-based templates with flexibility and modularity in mind. Victoria likens their templates to prefabricated home blueprints. The design is tested, perfected, and quickly deployable. Website “floorplans” may be similar, but customization remains key. Continuing the analogy, each firm’s site has unique paint colors, siding, landscape, and furnishings.

OneFirst Legal understands that attorneys desire speedy results with minimal meetings. A firm can go from zero to launch in under three weeks, in five simple steps:

  1. Use the self-scheduling tool on OneFirst Legal’s website to grab 15 minutes. Learn if the OneFirst Legal approach suits your firm.
  2. Complete a single enrollment form to sign up.
  3. At the kickoff call and design meeting, 3-to-5 business days after enrollment, you select the site blueprint, practice areas, colors, and images.
  4. OneFirst Legal professionals customize your chosen blueprint with layered colors, retina image-grade photos, moving elements, and text.
  5. You review the website’s first draft 3-5 business days after the kickoff meeting, make any changes, and launch.

Creating Visibility for Your Modern Site

Once launched, OneFirst Legal handles monthly updates. They continually refine Google Business Profile optimization and branded visibility SEO. They work with the firm on review generation, ongoing postings, and site maintenance. OneFirst Legal does not limit support or update time.

Getting Started

Visit http://onefirstlegal.com/getstarted to see how affordable, vibrant layouts bring legal websites to life and how versatile templates work for different practice areas.

Keep Clients Plugged-in with the Case Status App

Clients have many options for contacting their attorney: phone, email, text, client portal, and more. This situation creates more places to check, eating time and delaying responses for the firm. 

Case Status solves this problem with tools to channel client communication through a focused mobile app. How does this differ from a practice management client portal? Immensely successful client adoption. While most portals go unvisited by clients (30% usage), Cases Status firms see 80% adoption of their mobile app. 

Six Benefits of an App-Based Client Communication Tool 

Paul Bamert and Jose Figueroa outlined six challenges facing law firms and how Case Status addresses them. 

Client Portals 

Most web-based practice management systems offer a client portal, but most are web-based. In contrast, Case Status provides a native mobile app for iOS and Android, which earned a 4.9 out of 5 rating from thousands of user reviews. With a mobile app, firms meet clients where they are; 93% of the five hours a day the average person spends on a smartphone, they spend in apps. 

Offering a client portal that clients use reduces scattershot client interaction and prevents time-consuming “case update” phone calls. Additionally, Case Status integrates with many practice management vendors, providing a single source of truth for information. 

Time 

With Case Status, a firm can automate repetitive tasks and communications. Jose demonstrated how a customizable in-app experience walks clients through their matter stages. With automated triggers, the firm provides client updates in-app. This includes scheduled “no-update updates” telling the client that the matter is in process, but nothing changed recently. Background updates boost firm efficiency, with one mid-size firm saving 366 hours in nine months and decreasing related inbound phone calls by 51%. 

Client Communication 

Clients choose their preferred approach—phone, email, text, or portal—causing craziness. The average firm takes 48 to 72 hours to respond to a client’s outreach. With Cases Status, the delay drops to 6.5 hours. How? Case Status firms channel all client communication to the mobile app. Funneling allows the firm to respond faster to client requests, improve its client communications, and exceed client expectations. 

All employees can read and respond to in-app client messages and send the client files and do this in a way that syncs with the firm’s existing practice management system while providing better security than email or SMS offers. 

Language Barriers 

8-9% of people needing legal services don’t speak English. In some client communities, the number exceeds 40%. Case Status uses Google’s Neural Machine Translation (GNMT) system to translate in-app messages in 138 languages. This works in both 1-to-1 messages, between a client and a firm employee, and 1-to-many, such as a templated message sent to many clients. GNMT allows an English-only attorney to read foreign language messages translated in real-time. GNMT translates both inbound and outbound messages. 

Client Satisfaction 

Law firms often guess what the client thinks. One-half of legal services providers fail to measure client satisfaction at all—the other half measure only at a matter’s conclusion. Systematizing client feedback, especially early in the representation, brings big wins in client referrals and reviews. 

With Case Status’ tools, the firm can ask the client to rate the representation on a scale of 1 to 10. Think of a bad rating as a “check engine light” for the matter. Learning of an unhappy client early gives the firm time to fix the problem. By analyzing client surveys, the firm discovers where its processes or communications failed and revises procedures to create a response playbook. For clients who rate the firm a nine or ten, that list tells the firm whom to solicit for online endorsements. 

Sustainable Growth 

A great reputation flows from providing great service. Case Status helps firms build sustainable growth by identifying happy clients, being front-of-mind with clients, and asking satisfied clients to write reviews or refer friends. Efficient communication leads to good client surveys that the firm can ask for reviews on Avvo and Google. The app also contains a referral button to send the lawyer’s electronic business card to friends and family. 

Getting Started 

If your firm wants to transform client engagement and meet clients where they are, visit www.casestatus.com to schedule a demo. 

Create Space in Your Day with CARET Legal Practice Management

Amy Reynolds, senior training specialist, walked Zack through CARET Legal’s new and improved features. Aimed squarely at helping smaller and mid-sized firms be productive, these features include an enhanced user interface, robust tools, and the latest in client communications.

Designed for Quick Access to Critical Information

Dashboard Views

The homepage shows user-customizable views of the day’s most important information alongside quick-access tools for frequently used commands. By default, users see their calendar, tasks, and email “above the fold.”

Global Searching

Click the magnifying glass in the header to begin a program-wide search. Type search terms and the program combs through everything, even Word and OCRed PDF documents.

Quick Add

The plus button in the header quickly creates new contacts, events, file notes, time entries, and more. With a pop-up-style window, you don’t have to leave what you’re doing when memory strikes. Instead, just click the plus, capture the information, and return to work.

Ubiquitous Time Capture

Attorneys know the importance of good timekeeping. All firms benefit from measuring how long it takes to complete a matter. CARET Legal helps by:

  • Letting users run up to ten timers for easy task switching;
  • Being able to start and stop timers from any device; and
  • Permitting the firm to set standard, user-selectable billing narratives for consistency.

Watch this portion of our conversation with Amy to learn about CARET Legal’s powerful user interface.

An End-to-End Solution

A robust user interface must be backed by capable, approachable features. The product delivers an end-to-end solution providing valuable calendar and email, task, and matter management tools.

Calendar and Email

All calendar and email functionality throughout the program integrates bi-directionally with Google Workspace and Microsoft 365.

CARET Legal’s calendar lets users:

  • Categorize and color-code appointments based on customizable event types;
  • Calculate dates, like statutes of limitation, forward and backward with simple math, accounting for weekends and holidays; and
  • Create suggested meeting attendees based on matter contacts.

With email, the integration is no mere “save to file” add-in for Gmail or Outlook. Instead, users directly connect their Google or Microsoft email, allowing full access to their inboxes and folders. Users can forward, reply to, and file emails, and attach and save documents. No flipping back and forth between an email app and CARET Legal required.

Tasks

Task creation requires only a name. Everything else is optional, and the program auto-fills where possible. For example, if a user creates a new “quick task” with only a name, CARET Legal automatically assigns the task to that user and sets a deadline of 5 PM the same day.

Other helpful task-centric features include:

  • Task description fields permitting formatted text, hyperlinks, and multiple attachments;
  • The ability to customize statuses between “start” and “finish”;
  • Configurable alerts to the task assignee and others about overdue and completed tasks; and
  • Sub-tasks and task templates.

Matters

Matters are “home base” in CARET Legal. Each matter contains every CARET Legal feature in miniature, pre-filtered to the selected matter.

Within a matter, users can:

  • View financial information, including time entries;
  • View and edit contacts, custom fields, emails, events, and tasks;
  • Save and edit file notes, with support for formatting features like lists, pictures, tables, and hyperlinks;
  • Create, review, and edit documents with a web-based editor, zDrive, or the Microsoft Word plugin; and
  • Share those documents with clients via a client portal secured with multi-factor authentication.

Watch this portion of our conversation with Amy to learn about CARET Legal’s end-to-end toolkit.

Built for Modern Communication

CARET Legal furnishes two popular, client-facing, time-saving features: text messaging and intake forms.

Text Messaging

CARET Legal establishes a single virtual phone number for the firm. That one phone number applies to all matters in the system. To open a matter for texting, a firm user sends an outgoing message to the client and links that message to a matter. The system automatically ties the client’s texts to that initiating matter. Once begun, the text conversation is bidirectional, like regular texting.

Intake Forms

Intake forms are customizable questionnaires. For example, internally, call screeners might use them for leads. Externally, clients could supply matter-related information securely. Creating and completing forms feels familiar and approachable, like a web-based survey. When used externally, the client and firm can add information to the same intake. They could even walk through it together on the phone.

Watch this portion of our conversation with Amy to learn about CARET Legal’s communication tools.

Get Started

Learn more about CARET Legal and start a free trial at https://caretlegal.com. 

Data Tables Make PatternBuilder Even More Versatile 

Scott Kelly, product manager at NetDocuments, sat down with Zack to discuss how PatternBuilder integrates with NetDocuments and to demonstrate a new customizable database feature called data tables. 

Scott emphasized that PatternBuilder is a toolkit for building and automating your firm’s needs. Traditionally, automation meant creating documents. Of course, PatternBuilder can do that. But it can do much more, such as collecting, storing, and manipulating data via data tables. It’s a toolkit your firm can leverage to create solutions that might otherwise require a separate product and fee. 

Watch the video below to see how PatternBuilder helps organize the data at the heart of your law firm. 

Workflow and Document Automation with PatternBuilder 

Scott gave the example of hiring an employee. When a company wants to hire a new employee, the law firm creates three documents: an employment offer, an I-9 immigration form, and a proprietary inventions agreement. Instead of doing each document manually, with a PatternBuilder app, a user walks through a custom workflow (a series of questions) and the app produces those three finished documents. 

PatternBuilder leverages its integration with NetDocuments to go beyond just offering to download final documents to your desktop. As part of the app’s workflow, PatternBuilder both creates the documents and files them within the appropriate client and matter in NetDocuments. As a result, you save time and all firm users can quickly access documents. 

Building a PatternBuilder App 

You can build workflow apps with PatternBuilder’s “no code” editor, create the questions you want, and place those fields in document templates. Question types include: 

Short textMoney
Long textDate
Number (Decimals)Time
Number (Whole)Upload image/file
Radio ButtonsRange
DropdownEmail Password
Yes/No (Boolean)Combobox
CheckboxesList Selector
Row Selector

PatternBuilder permits dynamic logic in its workflows too. This means workflow questions and the resulting final document include only relevant information. Scott’s example was the employment agreement. If a prospect were offered stock options, you would select that option in the guided interview. Only then does the app prompt the user to enter stock options information. Similarly, if the company doesn’t offer the prospect stock options, those provisions are absent from the final employment agreement. 

Use Loops to Collect Repeating Data 

Another powerful feature is loops. Think about collecting information from your clients. Sometimes you know the “maximum” amount of data there will be. For example, a person will have only one social security number. Other times, you have no idea of the maximum. How many children does a client have? How many properties does a business own? Loops exist for situations where the maximum is unknown. Scott’s example is the proprietary inventions agreement. The prospective hire may have no prior inventions, a few, or dozens. You can set up the PatternBuilder app to collect unlimited inventions. All inventions entered appear in the document. If there are no inventions, the app removes that entire section from the document. 

Additionally, all NetDocuments’ management, permissions, and version tools integrate seamlessly with PatternBuilder. Upon creating and filing the documents, the app applies the proper NetDocuments metadata and security to each. These new documents appear in relevant searches and filters without manual data entry. 

Screenshot of NetDocuments Data Tables

Sample Data Collection with Data Tables in PatternBuilder 

While documents are at the heart of PatternBuilder, the program isn’t limited to them. Data tables make collecting, storing, and using data effortless. 

Scott’s example is completing a “new real estate client” form via a PatternBuilder app. The app asks questions like in his document example above. The difference is that rather than producing documents, finishing the workflow creates both a new client and new matter in NetDocuments. 

Furthermore, collected data, like company name and address, and loops, like the client’s real properties, are stored in data tables. That information is then available for automating documents. You can create as many data tables as you like. You can edit them directly instead of through a form or interview. They hold the same question types as workflow apps described above. Finally, data tables are accessible via an open API to receive data from your law practice management system, Salesforce, and elsewhere. 

Get Started with Workflows and Apps 

Find out how PatternBuilder can replicate and automate your firm’s unique templates and processes, resulting in faster, higher-value client service by seeing a personalized demo. Book here: https://www.netdocuments.com/products/patternbuilder.  

CosmoLex Extends its All-in-one with CosmoLex Websites 

Every business needs a website. Unfortunately, many law firms lack one, or if they have one, it serves no purpose beyond being a digital business card. Most firms want more, but time and other commitments preclude it. Fortunately, CosmoLex Websites makes creating and updating a powerful business website simple. 

It’s “Done for You” 

CosmoLex Websites operates on the “done for you” model. Your firm works with experts at CosmoLex to design and implement a modern, feature-rich website. There’s no need to hire or be a web developer, marketing strategist, or WordPress administrator. 

As Erica Birstler, VP of Product Communications & Support at CosmoLex, puts it, CosmoLex Websites, “take[s website development] off your plate and [you] have a great end result that can impact the growth of your business.” 

Watch the video below to see Erica walk Zack through a beautiful sample site demonstrating valuable website features and tight integration between the CosmoLex LPMS and a CosmoLex-created website. 

The Three Cs of a CosmoLex Website 

The value proposition of having an LPMS vendor build and maintain your website becomes apparent when you remember that the LPMS is a core source of contact information. Good customer relationship management is integral to effective legal marketing. Good marketing naturally involves the web. Having a website that feeds prospects into your LPMS is advantageous. 

CosmoLex Websites rests on the fundamental principles of clean design, credible content, and convenient features. 

Clean Design 

Say goodbye to bland, cookie-cutter law firm websites featuring people in suits and icons of courthouses and gavels. CosmoLex Websites ditches those stereotypes in favor of a clean, modern design that the firm selects to fit its image. 

CosmoLex employees work with your firm to distill your desires into a fresh business website with top-notch features like: 

  1. Mobile-responsive webpage layouts; 
  2. Easily found and click-friendly links for phone numbers and emails; and 
  3. Inclusive, accessibility-focused widgets for text size and spacing, tooltips, color, saturation, and on-the-fly language translation. 

Credible Content 

Your firm’s website is where potential clients learn about you without ever speaking to you. As prospects peruse your site, they form judgments about whether your firm fits their needs. CosmoLex Websites offers a library of website content, like blogs, articles, and explanatory pages, for you to choose from. 

You work with CosmoLex to select and customize content relevant to your target audience. CosmoLex makes available easily modifiable templates and sources of information. They have fine-tuned their curated content for heightened visibility through keyword and search engine optimization, improving your site’s placement in search results. 

Finally, no matter how perfect a firm’s website is on launch, all firms face the challenge of keeping their website current and relevant. CosmoLex addresses this issue with quarterly content update meetings to address site changes. 

Convenient Features 

A firm’s website is not only a marketing tool.  It can also help you serve existing clients. Because your website links directly to your CosmoLex LPMS, you can offer client convenience features: 

  1. Contacts: Create a web form that feeds information directly into CosmoLex. 
  2. Consultation: Set up a consultation button on your site so clients or prospects can schedule appointments via integrations with Calendly and Microsoft Bookings. 
  3. Pay Now: Offer clients the ability to pay via credit cards. Payments feed directly into CosmoLex.  You can classify the payment type (e.g., retainer or invoice) and link them to the appropriate client and matter. 
  4. Client Portal: Make available matter information you choose to clients, who can log in and review it when convenient. Sharable information includes invoices, documents, and calendar information. 

A Better Law Firm Website with Less Burden 

CosmoLex Websites alleviates the burden of designing, building, and maintaining a website. Its streamlined integration with a top LPMS vendor keeps vital information handy. Erica said her biggest passion is “to help lawyers run a better business.” As attorneys, you want to practice law and serve clients, not bury yourself in HTML, APIs, or SEO. 

Visit cosmolex.com for a demo and free trial to see how a CosmoLex-based website helps your firm reach prospects, boost profitability, and focus on being a competitive player in the legal field. 

Thoughtful Attorney Marketing with Omnizant 

The phrase “digital marketing” encompasses many things and has changed over the last decade. 

Digital Marketing for Attorneys Evolves 

Marketing for legal services has a short history compared to other products and services. Before the 1970s, rules prohibited attorney advertising. And once permitted, many people saw things like TV ads and billboards as crass, even desperate. But public opinion changes, as do the methods for attracting its attention. While an ever-diminishing number of attorneys buy ads in the Yellow Pages, digital marketing spending grows by leaps and bounds. Every new or growing law firm needs a website to attract and inform potential clients. 

Fred Cohen, Founder and CEO of Omnizant, recalls that, a decade ago, when attorneys thought of their website, they imagined an online business card. More recently, they noticed that their firm website could be a powerful tool for client generation. But, in some ways, firms have now over-corrected, seeing all marketing as digital and neglecting traditional tools. 

Omnizant’s approach balances the traditional and digital functions of a marketing agency. Omnizant helps with positioning, messaging, and differentiation—traditional marketing functions, while blending in powerful digital capabilities for maximum visibility. As Fred puts it, “[Attorneys] have gotten past the idea that lawyers shouldn’t market or have an active web presence seeking clients.” 

Goals of a Law Firm Website 

When working with a firm on its website, Fred and his team aim to build a site that answers three foundational questions: 

  1. What unique value proposition and experience does the firm offer prospective clients? 
  1. How does the firm view its relationship with the client? 
  1. What is the firm’s approach to a matter? 

In answering each of these questions, the firm, with Omnizant’s help, tells a compelling story. The goal is to create a website that serves as a learning experience. Potential clients can then determine whether the firm is a good fit. 

In addition to a robust and purposeful website, Omnizant works with the firm to determine its target client and how to identify those prospects. As Fred says, a marketing agency should help drive relevant traffic to your website, not sheer numbers. Success is more than a high search engine optimization (SEO) rank. Law firms need a holistic approach to get your message in front of the right people to let them know you can help them. 

People shopping for legal services today are sophisticated consumers and know they have many options. When they select an attorney, it’s both an overt assessment (e.g., does the firm meet my stated needs) and subliminal, a practical and emotional decision. Communicate a cohesive branding message with words, imagery, and color to reach both sides. 

Automation is coming for marketing. This alarms some, given the rudimentary state of firms’ marketing efforts. While artificial intelligence (AI) grabs the headlines, many firms don’t have sound marketing fundamentals. Too few firms use customer relations management (CRM) software, pipeline tracking, or lead attribution software. These long-standing technologies are nascent, even in mid-sized firms. 

Once your firm has the basics in place, Fred says, then it’s time to think about marketing automation. The purpose of automated marketing efforts, such as “drip” campaigns specialized for a persona or client profile, is to keep the law firm “top of mind.”  

It’s hard enough to be a good lawyer without worrying about the minutia of what good marketing entails. Omnizant is a great partner for growth-minded firms, which it defines not as simply “more clients,” but rather “better clients” or “specific clients.” Their approach harkens back to tailoring the firm’s website and overall branding to attract clients that match its value proposition. 

Where to Start 

Holistic firm marketing may seem overwhelming, but Fred offered advice to get started even before you engage Omnizant or another agency. 

  1. Know what you are good at and passionate about. 
  1. Figure out what information you have available to share with prospects. 
  1. Don’t become obsessed with search engine ranking scores. Ranking improvements come with high-quality content. Long-form content, in the range of 4,000 to 6,000 words, generates more traffic. This is especially true with the advent of AI, which can flood search engines with short content. 
  1. Although long-form writing is advantageous, one should give finite responses to finite questions where possible. Be concise where appropriate. 
  1. Attribute website content to a specific author whenever possible. Search engines value authorship, proof that a human wrote the piece because it adds credibility and defends against a flood of AI-written dreck. Bylines add to the “authority of authorship” and improve the firm’s visibility in search results. 

Learn more from Zack’s chat with Fred by watching our video and visiting Omnizant’s website to grab their guide on search engine optimization for lawyers, or go ahead and get an SEO Audit.

PracticePanther Promotes Process Productivity with New Features 

PracticePanther, the comprehensive law practice management solution focused on small to medium-sized law firms, spends a lot of time listening to its users. This ongoing conversation helps it refine and expand its features to serve its growing customer base better. Recently, Jonathan Prosperi, product manager at PracticePanther, sat down with Lawyerist’s Zack Glaser to talk about their approach to product development and some of the changes rolling out to customers in the latest updates.

PracticePanther’s Approach 

PracticePanther works with clients and partners to ensure it’s building the best, newest, and most thoughtful features to empower law firms and help customers have a better, more complete experience. All the changes Jonathan highlighted emerged from his team’s conversations with end users. 

Product managers meet with users to know on-the-ground needs—no guesswork or ivory tower theorizing. Any PracticePanther client can request a meeting with Jonathan directly within the application. These meetings help people feel connected to the platform, be heard by the company, and know their ideas are going somewhere. 

The result? PracticePanther frequently updates their platform to enhance their user experience. In this instance, they implemented ways to make current workflows faster and increase control of matters and financials. Here, the team made simple but effective user enhancements that illuminate existing powerful tools. 

User Input Drives Feature Enhancements

PracticePanther’s workflow and interface improvements focus on activities, intake, matters, billing, and system performance.

Increased Visibility of Firm Activities 

With a new firm Activities screen, leadership can keep a watchful eye on their processes and efficiency with ease. PracticePanther’s Activities screen shows all tasks and events within the system. Previously users could set task due dates and mark them completed. Activities now show the completed date alongside the due date, making it easier to see firm productivity. Users can separate these two data points in the Activities window and view them side-by-side in columns.

Default Intake Form 

PracticePanther provides a new default intake form with “most requested” questions, so it’s immediately usable by new firms. Rather than leaving it up to the attorney to make a form, the platform lets users hit the ground running. When prospects complete the intake questionnaire, that information flows directly into PracticePanther. 

Flexibility is essential too. PracticePanther makes it simple to add and remove questions to fully customize the form to meet each firm’s needs.

Enhanced Matter Visibility 

PracticePanther has also added the ability to see the corresponding rate in the matters list. Each matter could, and still can, have its rate set by matter type or user. Customers can now see the rate in the matter list and the report tables. They can also quickly sort or filter by rate. 

Additionally, users can now archive matters. If a potential new client doesn’t convert or a matter is paid out the firm doesn’t completely lose the data. Previously, the only option was to delete matters. Now, users can easily look back at previous case information without cluttering their working dashboard. Archiving matters removes them from the active list without eliminating them from the system. It speeds up searches, removes unnecessary information from reports and filters, and declutters the user’s view.

Greater Billing Flexibility 

Daily or monthly billing rituals have been made easier with the updates to financial tracking and contact-level invoices in PracticePanther. 

For any matter, the unapplied dollar amount is money the firm holds in its operating account. This is cash it has received from a client for a matter, but not yet applied against that matter’s balance. With a recent change to the matter list, users can now see the unapplied amounts in the default view. Additionally, users can quickly determine which matters have earned and paid money that merely needs to be applied against an invoice. 

A second change to billing concerns contact-level invoices. When one client has multiple matters with the firm, is it preferable for the invoice to list matters by name or by matter number? PracticePanther employees and users hotly debated the topic, with about 50% on each side. So, developers did the sensible thing and allowed users to organize matters either way on invoices. 

Small changes like these permit users to work quicker in ways they want to work. 

Accelerated System Performance 

The final focus area for recent revisions is general system performance. PracticePanther sped up lots of little things. Each second saved may seem inconsequential in isolation. But you’ll notice the benefit with bulk operations like generating invoices—particularly during “rush hour” at the beginning of the month. Similarly, PracticePanther improved global search speed and the display and refreshing of data tables. For example, the data just snaps in when generating a report housing dozens or hundreds of clients. Snappy and seamless performance is one of those things that never makes the “cool feature” checklist, but users appreciate it every day. 

As Jonathan said, the folks at PracticePanther want to “make sure people feel good about using our software.” 

Check Out PracticePanther 

Our video conversation and the five items above highlight only a few of PracticePanther’s ongoing enhancements. If you’re a current user, visit their release notes section to learn what’s new and upcoming.

If you’re not already a user, learn more by visiting www.practicepanther.com or contacting Jonathan at jonathan@practicepanther.com, who’d be delighted to hear from you. The ethos of PracticePanther comes through in listening to customers, continually improving the product in big and small ways that make a daily difference, and the words Jonathan closed with: “I take a lot of pride in connecting with people who care about our product. I want to know what they’re thinking about, what they want to see in the future, so I make myself available.”

Manage Client Travel Expenses with Uber for Attorneys in CloudLex 

CloudLex targets personal injury firms with handy features necessary for that practice area. Its focused tools set it apart in a generalist practice management market. 

Unique Tools for Unique Attorneys 

Specialty tools attract people who appreciate their focused nature, solving a finite set of problems exquisitely well. CloudLex’s distinctive approach shows in a testimonial highlighting one of its client firms. Rather than a traditional case study, Chad Sands, vice president of marketing, worked with customer Dan Schneiderman on something different. They prepared a video highlighting Dan’s personality, love of woodworking, and how he busied himself during COVID. 

Chad’s video showcases Dan in a non-traditional way, revealing two interests of his: woodworking and 3D printing. Similarly, CloudLex isn’t playing “follow the leader,” adding “kitchen sink” features, trying to be all things to all people. Instead, as Chad put it, they’ve “doubled down and are going deep in personal injury,” squarely “focused on plaintiff PI” enhancements. 

Needs of Personal Injury Firms 

Ease of use and quick access to information form the foundation of good PI firms. 

Ease-of-Use 

No one wants to spend weeks transitioning from one software product to another, building out matter-specific fields, and training staff on the new system. Thankfully, CloudLex fits the PI niche like a glove: 

  • It focuses on out-of-the-box usability. No firm employee needs weeks of training to be productive or spends hours customizing the software. 
  • CloudLex handles the firm’s onboarding and data migration. There’s no handoff to third-party consultants or burdening the customer with additional obligations. 
  • There’s no complex billing or accounting component to learn because those features are unnecessary in PI work. 
  • A timeline appears across the top of each matter page, mapping the case’s lifecycle. For example, users see essential information like the total number of days since case opening, incident date, intake date, the statute of limitations date, and other dates the firm deems valuable. 
  • The Expense Manager helps track internal costs and track client expenditures. 
  • The Settlement Calculator manages demands and offers in one place, showing attorney and plaintiff recovery for each offer and counteroffer. 
  • Quick Links allow users to move swiftly between events, tasks, contacts, notes, and photos. 
  • The global sidebar offers speedy access to searching, text messaging-like connections to clients and staff, notes, and emails. It also houses CloudLex’s newest tool, Uber for Attorneys. 

Uber for Attorneys: Adding a New Tool to the Repertoire 

Being “100% dedicated to plaintiff PI” means solving problems that don’t arise in firms focused on other practice areas. 

Sudden and unexpected mobility impairments are a client experience uniquely tied to personal injury. For example, an automobile accident might eliminate a person’s mode of transportation. An injury could prevent one from safely operating a motor vehicle or comfortably navigating public transit, if available. Clients still have appointments with doctors, attorneys, courts, and others. 

CloudLex built a tight integration with Uber into its practice management product for that reason, to help personal injury attorneys serve a need particular to their clients. 

The Firm-side Experience 

Without leaving CloudLex, an attorney can order an Uber ride for a client, with all the options one expects from Uber. Opening Uber for Attorneys reveals three tabs: 

  • Address Book: The address book holds Uber pickup and drop-off locations, including user-saved, frequently used addresses. 
  • My Trips: This tab tracks past, ongoing, and upcoming Uber rides. 
  • Book a Trip: This tab contains the heart of the new functionality. Here a user can: 
    • Tie a ride to a matter or an intake; 
    • Enter a party or contact for pickup; 
    • Enter the reason for the ride, which later appears on invoices and trip history; 
    • Enter a pickup address manually (which can be saved to the address book), select one from the address book, or from frequently used prior locations; 
    • Select a ride type; and 
    • Request a ride either immediately or scheduled for later. 

Once the ride is requested and accepted, the firm receives a notification in CloudLex and can follow the ride’s progress under My Trips, including complete driver information as in native Uber apps. 

The Client-side Experience 

After the firm requests a ride, the client receives a web link via text message. Clicking that link opens the native Uber app on the client’s smartphone, allowing the client to track the ride as if they’d ordered it themselves. When completed, the ride is saved in the history section of the client’s Uber app with a $0.00 charge. 

A Complete Integration for a Complete Experience 

When Chad says, “Everything we do is catered to [personal injury-]specific areas of practice,” he means delivering these robust experiences to solve problems that PI attorneys face. With Uber for Attorneys, the firm maintains one place to request and track rides, view receipts, and record expenses against matters. Clients get seamless access to needed transportation in the familiar Uber app, with their costs covered. Uber for Attorneys brings technology and automation to serve attorney and client needs simultaneously. 

Watch Chad and Zack discuss CloudLex’s PI-focused tools, and Uber for Attorneys in particular, in the video below. 

A Unique View of PI Attorneys 

Additionally, CloudLex is creating a new publication highlighting personal injury attorneys. This periodical, The Trial Lawyer’s Journal, is dedicated to the “idea of celebrating justice.” It focuses on the lives and day-to-day business of attorneys working on personal injury cases. TLJ will examine work-life balance and give readers a glimpse into the community of PI attorneys. 

CloudLex plans to release the first volume this summer, with over 130 pages, featuring incredible artists, photographers, and in-depth interviews. Grab a preview edition today on their website at https://www.cloudlex.com/tlj. 

Track and Bill Time with New LawPay Pro

It’s easy to assume that a company we’ve known for years does only that thing we first knew them for. Attorneys know LawPay as the preeminent payment processor for law firms. LawPay is expanding its offerings to include invoicing, trust accounting, time tracking, and expense tracking.

These new LawPay Pro features will “round out your billing management,” according to Leiasa Horanic, senior product manager at AffiniPay. LawPay continues to offer the features you know and love. The added tools of LawPay Pro put more relevant information and actions in one place.

Invoicing

LawPay Pro expands on the existing “Quick Bill” feature with the ability to create invoices with individual line items in five easy steps:

  1. Select a contact to receive the bill or create a new contact directly from the invoicing screen.
  2. Optionally, select a case to attach to the invoice. You can invoice without adding cases.
  3. Select the bank account you want the funds deposited into.
  4. Set the payment terms and due date.
  5. Add line items to the invoice. Each line item has seven fields:
    • a) type of entry, which can be a time entry, expense, or flat fee amount;
    • b) the date for that item;
    • c) activity type, chosen from a customizable list;
    • d) note or description;
    • e) the hourly or flat rate;
    • f) the quantity, such as the number of hours; and
    • g) whether the item is non-billable.

Saving the invoice creates a draft for the user to preview and then send to the contact. The invoice includes payment options the firm makes available in LawPay. The firm can set the default text for the message accompanying the invoice, which users can edit on a per-message basis.

The contact receives the invoice via email, with a PDF version attached, and can click a “pay now” button or pay by scanning a QR code. Clicking the email link or scanning the QR code takes the contact to the payment page for that specific invoice rather than the firm’s “generic” LawPay page, saving the firm additional tracking and reconciliation work.

Finally, LawPay Pro allows firms to record payments on behalf of contacts, like when a client calls with a credit card to pay an invoice. LawPay notes how each invoice is paid, so the firm can look back and see which clients pay by which method. And, of course, invoices can be paid from a trust account.

Trust Requests

With LawPay Pro, the firm can issue new trust requests and trust replenishment requests. When making a trust request, the user answers six questions:

  1. Select a contact to receive the trust request.
  2. Enter the amount requested.
  3. Enter a due date.
  4. Select a trust account to receive the deposited funds.
  5. Optionally, allocate the received funds to a particular case.
  6. Enter the email text to accompany the request. The firm can set default text.

From the client’s perspective, the experience upon receiving the trust request is similar to receiving an invoice.

The Billing tab is the central place to track the statuses of invoices and trust requests. Users can see whether the recipient has viewed the invoice or trust request email. Each invoice and trust request has a complete history of when it was created, sent to the client, paid, and by what method.

Time and Expense Tracking

Entering the Time and Expenses

LawPay Pro includes time and expense tracking, so users can enter events and record expenses as they occur. At month’s end, the firm can generate an itemized invoice for the contact.

Expense entry is handled similarly to time entry, except users can attach receipts to expenses. At any point, one can go to the Billing tab and select Time Entries or Expenses to see all open and invoiced time entries or expenses.

Invoicing from Recorded Time and Expense Entries

At billing time, go to the Billing tab, then Invoices, and click Create Invoice. LawPay Pro prompts the user to select a contact and then a case. Once the user selects a case, all non-invoiced entries, both for time and expenses, associated with that case appear as “pre-filled” line items. The user can change any line item or add items not previously entered. Finally, the user can include a discount, either by dollars or percent, off the invoice.

More “It’d Be Great If” Features

For current LawPay firms, Pro is a superset of the existing product. In addition to the new billing tools, LawPay Pro enhanced the payments, contacts, and reporting features.

Payments

LawPay Pro’s Payments tab contains a running list of all transactions. Users can filter by bank account, both operating and trust accounts, see open invoices and trust requests on a per-client basis, and collect payments from clients who phone in credit cards or who use offline payments.

Contacts

The Contacts tab benefits from the added invoicing features of LawPay Pro. Contacts can link to cases for basic tracking cases associated with a given contact. Time tracking also benefits from this linkage since most lawyers think of entering time for a case rather than a contact, especially for any having two or more cases. The contact’s billing tab is the gem. It displays a contact’s entire trust history, trust requests, invoices, trust allocations, and scheduled automatic payments in one place.

Reports

LawPay Pro builds on LawPay’s current reporting infrastructure. New or improved reports for Pro include:

  • an aging invoice report showing overdue invoices;
  • an accounts receivable report;
  • a monthly transactions summary;
  • a trust account summary;
  • a trust account activity report; and
  • a user time entry report.

See It All on the Dashboard

LawPay Pro’s dashboard, available on the Home tab, pulls everything together and gives users an overview of the firm. This one-stop-show shows key firm metrics regarding invoices, transactions, and time entries. To learn more about LawPay Pro, visit lawpay.com/introducing-lawpay-pro.

LawPay Pro Demo

TimeSolv Enhances Profitability with Advanced Features in the Cloud

TimeSolv is a web-based legal billing solution, backed by 20 years of experience, focused on doing it right. As CEO Raza Hasan explains, TimeSolv is “selling a solution for a law firm to get paid more, to get paid faster, and make it easy for them to get this done.”

TimeSolv approaches invoicing with three specific goals, and the technology and automation to make them happen. TimeSolv defines success as maximizing the “three pillars of profitability”:

  1. Increased revenue to the firm;
  2. The firm getting paid faster; and
  3. Easy-to-use software, making 1 and 2 possible.

Increased Revenue

Increasing revenue need not mean working more hours. TimeSolv equips firm leaders with tools to motivate employees under five principles:

Awareness

Managers can set goals and targets for each employee and track those targets daily, weekly, and monthly. Targets include measures like total hours worked, billable hours worked, and average hourly rate.

Controls are highly granular. For example, a team member could see the number of hours he’s entered, but not the total billable value of the hours, because he has permission to see hours but not the billing rate.

TimeSolv Dashboard Screenshot

Incentives

TimeSolv possesses robust incentive management, a godsend feature for firms with complex origination and crediting structures. Its fee allocation and commission calculation are second-to-none. One can credit an originating attorney, responsible attorney, supervisors, and working attorneys.

Such capable incentive management, like split origination, is rare. It’s a hefty feature for a web-based program to offer. “You don’t have to do anything extra in Excel.,” Hasan promises.

Accountability

Accountability is built into TimeSolv and is driven by something lawyers generally hate to contemplate: time entry. But, as Hasan reiterates, it’s best for firms to have a time-tracking policy and to use technology to enforce it.

Every business has an expense tracking policy. Unless it’s a solo practice, a firm member can’t spend company money without accountability. Hasan says in a law firm, time is more valuable than money “because you can never get it back.”

Have a firm-wide time entry policy and enforce it. For example, all time must be entered before leaving for the day. Or all time for the prior week must be in by 9:00 a.m. the following Monday. The firm administrator can enforce the policy and report on compliance via TimeSolv’s Missing Time report, one of many reports and dashboards available.

Happy Clients

Hasan says, “You can’t exceed expectations if you don’t set expectations.” The best way to properly set client expectations is to tell them what will happen, in what order, when, and for how much.

TimeSolv provides a powerful planning tool called Legal Project Management to set out the actions or events in a matter, their order, the responsible individual, and a budget for each action. It’s connected to the matter billing and, if desired, to TimeSolv’s client portal, so the client can view case progress in real-time.

Permitted users see what tasks or stages are complete and whether, down to individual tasks, things are on budget.

Knowing Your Strengths (or Flat Fee Billing)

After a few months of using TimeSolv’s features and reporting, the firm can see results. Robust reporting presents a unified picture of what work the firm completes most profitably. Knowing those strengths can inform marketing strategies. Firms gain abundant clarity through project management and tracking over time.

Get Paid Faster

TimeSolv’s Zero AR eliminates the tedium and aggravation of invoicing with three simple steps.

Automatic Payment Authorization

When signing a client to a new engagement, TimeSolv sends the client a letter (or email) offering to set the client up on automatic payments via a credit card or bank account.

Automatic Emails

Then, when the firm creates an invoice for a client who authorized automatic payments, the client is emailed the invoice. That email also says that the “on-file” payment method will be billed automatically within five days unless the client objects. The client receives another email when the automatic payment is charged.

Review

The system above quickly tells the firm which matters or clients have a dispute or something to discuss.

With many other invoicing systems, there’s often a three-month delay between attorney work and receiving payment.

TimeSolv’s Zero AR reduces the process to five weeks. The attorney records work in month one. That work is invoiced in the early days of month two and paid within five days of invoicing. Zero AR removes a minimum of a month from the invoicing cycle, eliminates payment receipt and recordation headaches. It makes it easy for clients to pay, and alerts firms early to possible “problem” clients.

Efficient Software

Collecting good data to make informed decisions requires the firm to have systems and software that make things like time entry compliance, budgeting, and reporting easy and efficient. TimeSolv lives at this nexus. And, while TimeSolv began life in 1999 as a desktop-based time tracking and invoicing program, it was rebuilt as a web-based app seven years ago, adding many practice management features to its arsenal, such as:

  • Microsoft 365 connectivity;
  • Document storage, both natively and via integrations;
  • eSignature capabilities;
  • CRM features via a partner company in the ProfitSolv family;
  • Document automation;
  • Conflict checking; and
  • Task management.

Experience and Nimbleness

TimeSolv is a fast and feature-rich web application well-served by a 20-year heritage in the legal market. It addresses complex feature needs like split-billing and split-origination that many programs lack. In addition, TimeSolv is the only online product that automatically converts data from TimeSlips, PCLaw, and Tab3, giving users complete access to historical billing information.TimeSolv remains focused on helping lawyers make themselves more profitable. Start a free trial today at timesolv.com/start-now.

TimeSolv Product Demo

Check out Zack’s demo with TimeSolv’s CEO Raza Hasan to learn more about how TimeSolv can increase profitability.

Supercharge Intake with Setmore, LEX Reception, and LawPay

Many lawyers begin their firm automation processes at client intake. This is generally a good idea. Yet, fully streamlining the myriad interactions can seem impossible. Firms need to account for preferred timing, methods, and comfort levels of communication on the part of the clients. They also need to allow for adjustments and even errors.

Setmore is a robust calendaring and appointment scheduling system for lawyers. It can give clients access to self-scheduling—or not. Further, it allows attorneys to maintain complete control over their calendars through their preferences, settings, and integrations. LEX Reception users get access to Setmore Pro as part of their account, but anyone can set up a free account at Setmore.com.

Setmore Features for Law Firms

Setmore is a legal-specific calendaring platform from the AnywhereWorks team. AnywhereWorks makes LEX Reception, Teleport, and other apps that give lawyers the freedom to run their firms free from geographical constraints. It offers appointment scheduling, client management, payment processing, and integrations with leading legal technology providers.

Appointment Scheduling

Managing a law firm’s multiple calendars is tough enough without input from clients and potential new clients. Yet, clients and other third parties are beginning to expect a certain level of interactivity with the appointment scheduling process. Setmore accounts for this freedom while still allowing a firm to maintain control of its time and attention.

As one can see on their website or in the demo video below, the main feature of Setmore is the public-facing scheduling app. Users—usually clients—can browse scheduling options and availability on their own time using their computer or mobile device. They can then select and schedule appointments without interacting with someone at the firm.

This app exists on the firm’s Setmore page and can be sent to clients via email, text message, or any other method of sending a URL. Equally important, firms can embed the page on their website or even add a QR code to business cards. 

Calendar Management

This much client access to a law firm’s calendar can be uncomfortable. Accordingly, Setmore gives users ample control over their availability with different types of appointments, hour and day restrictions, and buffer periods based on appointment type. The platform also builds reminders into the system and has a two-way sync with Google and Microsoft calendars. This means firms can set it and forget it rather than constantly stressing over appointments.

In addition to the high level of control over individual calendars, the app can be set up for every team member. These members can set individual restrictions and the firm can manage multiple calendars at the same time. Clients can even select specific users to meet with or change team members based on their availability.

Client Management

In addition to appointment scheduling, Setmore helps users track information about their clients. It can track information like name, email address, and phone number with ease. Additionally, users can include custom fields to track like case type, matter description, or even incident date. Setmore’s integrations with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, and Zapier make it easy to sync this information with already adopted CRMs. 

Payment processing

Setmore also has multiple payment processing options. Although they integrate with many non-legal platforms, their LawPay connection is the most useful for attorneys. This allows firms to accept payments for consultations, integrate initial trust account payments into the onboarding process, and more.

Integrations

As part of the AnywhereWorks family of products, Setmore integrates with products like LEX Reception, and Teleport. In addition to this, it also integrates with a host of CRMs, marketing products, website providers, and social media platforms. 

Law Firm Client Intake Tech Stack

Although Setmore can be used on its own as a law firm appointment scheduler, its best use comes as part of a tech stack. When combined with LEX Reception and LawPay, firms can integrate the management of incoming calls, appointment scheduling, and online payments. 

This means the firm’s receptionists have more capabilities. They can set appointments using the firm’s preferred method—the Setmore platform. Further, they can easily see team member availability and even take payments over the phone.

The firm’s appointment scheduler has more functionality as well. Through the integration, much of LawPay’s capabilities are embedded directly into the platform. So the office can take payments as appointments are selected. These payments are then integrated directly into the LawPay application and tracked as any other payment.

Setmore Demo with LEX Reception and LawPay

Recently, Zack sat down with Jillian, Bre, and Abby, of Setmore, LEX Reception, and LawPay to discuss how this tech stack can supercharge a law firm’s intake and client communication systems. Take a look and see how these three platforms seamlessly interact.

How to Get It

Law firms can learn more about Setmore, LEX, and LawPay, where they can get a demo, set up a free account, or dive right in with their Pro tier subscription. 

Additionally, LEX Reception users already get access to the Setmore Pro tier through their accounts. Learn more about LEX at our full review page and see what discounts Lawyerist subscribers get.

Rocket Matter Incorporates Kanban Project Management into LPMS

Rocket Matter brings an innovative tool from other industries into matter organization: the Kanban board. Kanban is a visual approach to project management that originated with Toyota engineer Taiichi Ohno in the late 1940s. Now, attorneys can use it to improve matter organization with Rocket Matter.

How Kanban Works for Matter Organization 

Kanban helps attorneys quickly see matters in stages versus a staid list of dates or tasks. A Kanban board consists of several columns, each one representing a matter stage. Matters progress from left to right across the columns, moving from initial filing (or matter opening) through matter closing.

One doesn’t need a computer to use the Kanban board method. A web search for images produces tons of whiteboards with sticky notes. But Rocket Matter took the Kanban concept, and made it their own, building it into the core of matter management.

The heart of Kanban is visualizing workflow. Think about the common stages of your matters. Maybe your work consists of one or two practice areas (e.g., personal bankruptcies in one or two jurisdictions). Then, perhaps a single board for bankruptcy is appropriate. However, if your practice is family in both a litigation and mediation context, then perhaps two boards is correct. In this case, one for litigation matters and one for mediation matters. 

In the example above, the firm created boards based on matter type. The graphic shows the stages of family law matters, but clicking on the “Boards” button reveals boards for each of their matter types.

Designing a Kanban Board for a Law Firm

In designing boards, be careful to balance segmentation and overview. You want to see as many matters as reasonable while still seeing useful data. Freely experiment and revise your board structure. You’re unlikely to get it perfect the first time. And that’s ok. Just be comfortable revisiting core assumptions. One contract drafting firm originally created Kanban boards for each type of contract, resulting in an overwhelming number of boards to review. Trying to visualize their work that way produced a cluttered picture. After consulting with Rocket Matter, the firm created a single board based on common statuses of all contract types. Their revised board included columns like: 

  • New

  • Review/Draft

  • Waiting on Client

  • Waiting on Attorney

  • Approval – Client

  • Approval – Party

  • Complete

As a result, in a single board, the firm sees the stage of each matter, client’s name, primary attorney, and total number of matters in each stage. And, importantly, they see how long the matter has been in that stage.

Using Kanban to Speed Up Matters 

The Kanban board provides a picture of the “health” of the business. You can configure a time limit for how long a matter resides in a stage. The matter’s header changes color as the matter sits in that stage, aging from green (shorter than the time limit) to yellow (near the time limit) to red (over time). Visualization makes it simple to see which matter stages are bottlenecks within the firm.

Kanban for Unique Matters 

Rocket Matter’s Kanban functionality is also useful for attorneys in general practice who believe each case is truly one of a kind. For example, stages could be simple: new, to do, in progress, on hold, waiting on client, waiting on other, and complete. Or even more basic: to do, doing, and done.

Automating Kanban on Rocket Matter

In addition to a static visualization of matter status, you can link the Kanban boards to Rocket Matter’s “matter template” feature. For example, when you move a matter from mediation to pre-trial discovery, Rocket Matter can automatically prompt you to add or change matter information. Prompts can suggest that  you:

  • Add events/dates to the matter

  • Add tasks to the matter

  • Add and complete relevant custom fields

  • Add tags to the matter

  • Add people/relationships to the matter

Adding automation to Kanban boards in Rocket Matter is entirely optional, but it’s a way the system takes the burden off of the attorney to remember to do certain things when a matter reaches a new stage.

Practice Specific Automation 

Whether you automate a board or not depends on your practice areas and how you’ve organized your boards. With the bankruptcy practice example above, jurisdictions may have local rules that make adding a single set of dates or tasks to a matter inappropriate. Dates or tasks for “jurisdiction A” may be computed differently or be unnecessary in “jurisdiction B.” A single bankruptcy board can’t take those differences into consideration. Those local rule differences make a uniform automated template a poor fit. For the “many jurisdictions” bankruptcy practice, you could create “jurisdiction-unique” matter templates, but the matter template must be added to the matter manually.

However, if your bankruptcy practice covers only two jurisdictions, perhaps having two Kanban boards makes sense, even if the stages are very similar because you could use matter templates customized per board for each jurisdiction. You’ll find a strong interplay between how you organize your boards and the matter template automation appropriate to them. This is where iteration becomes fun!

Integration with Rocket Matter’s Business Intelligence Tool

In an earlier article, we discussed Rocket Matter’s powerful Business Intelligence Tool (BIT). This tool lets you build your own reports for nearly any data field in the system, whether it came with the program or you created it. All Kanban board fields are accessible to the BIT.

As an example of the BIT’s versatility, you could build a report to look at your family law Kanban board. To illustrate, the report below shows the stages of all matters where the client’s gender is female.

Get More Project Management Power with Kanban

Kanban boards give Rocket Matter users a powerful project management tool. Ultimately, project management is about business intelligence. It allows you to know where things stand, where they’re going, and spotting the problem areas and bottlenecks. Combining Kanban boards, intelligent workflow automation, and business intelligence tools offers attorneys an unparalleled view of their practice.

Rocket Matter Kanban Board Demo

Recently, Zack sat down with Rocket Matter’s Sandy Sokolin to discuss exactly what this looks like in their practice management software. Take a look at the video below to see more.

How to Get It

To learn more about Rocket Matter and it’s project management features, schedule a free demo and get a trial account at RocketMatter.com. You can also check out Case Management Tips, a free download from Rocket Matter on how to win back control in your practice.

Want to learn more about Rocket Matter’s other features? Check out our full review, where you can see a features list, other demo videos, and community comments. Remember that Lawyerist readers get a membership benefit through the review page.

Law Ruler Brings Softphones Directly to Your CRM

Lead management is a crucial aspect of any law firm’s operations. It helps to ensure that potential new clients (PNCs) are effectively tracked and followed up with in a timely manner. However, managing these leads can be a challenging task, especially for high volume law firms. Many law firms have turned to softphone applications for assistance. Increasingly, though, firms are finding integrated softphones to be their best bet. 

Softphones for Law Firms

Softphones, also known as “virtual phones” or “IP phones” are an alternative to traditional telephone hardware. A softphone system allows users to make and receive phone calls using their computer or mobile device. They allow lawyers to use their firm’s business number while away from their office or on the go.

Additionally, softphones can be used to integrate the functionality of a phone system directly into an application. Client relationship managers (CRM) with a built-in softphone can track and record calls, automate tasks, provide analytics, and increase productivity.This is done all within the same piece of software. Call information (duration, disposition, and participants) is stored in the same place as a PNC’s information (name, marketing sources, and case type). This makes tracking, automation, and reporting easier.

Automated Call Tracking and Management

One of the most important features of Law Ruler’s softphones is the ability to automatically track and manage all incoming and outgoing calls. Firms can assign calls to particular users and set up round-robin call distribution.  Firms can also create automations that make sure no PNC goes unnoticed. Managers see what users are doing in real time so they can more effectively distribute resources. Law Ruler’s softphones provide a complete record of all calls made to and from potential clients. This information can be used to track the progress of the lead and help identify improvements to the lead management process.

Automated Lead Management Tasks

Another key feature of Law Ruler’s softphones is the ability to automate lead management tasks. The software can automatically schedule follow-up calls and send email reminders to potential clients who have not yet responded to an initial call. This helps to ensure that leads are followed up with in a timely manner, and significantly increases the chances of converting them into clients. Law Ruler’s softphones also allow law firms to set up automated follow-up tasks. These can be customized to meet the specific needs of the firm, helping to ensure that no lead goes unresponded to.

Analytics and Reporting

Law Ruler’s softphones also offer a wide range of analytics and reporting tools that help law firms to better understand their leads. The software stores detailed information on the number and length of calls made and received, and the number of leads that have been converted into clients. This information can help identify areas where the firm can improve its lead management process. Firms can then focus on leads that have a higher likelihood of converting into clients. With Law Ruler’s softphones, law firms can access real-time data and analytics on their leads to make better-informed decisions and improve their lead conversion rate.

Direct Integration into the CRM

Law Ruler’s softphones fully integrate with a firm’s legal client relationship management software. Lawyers can manage all aspects of a case—leads, calls, tasks, and appointments— all in one place. This helps streamline the lead management process and make it more efficient.  This can save law firm’s time and resources.

Easy to Use

Law Ruler’s softphones are simple to use, and can be quickly adopted by law firms of all sizes. Accessible from any device, the software can be easily integrated with a firm’s other tools and software. With Law Ruler’s softphones, law firms can improve their lead management process without having to invest in expensive new hardware or software.

Law Ruler Softphone Demo

Recently, Zack sat down with Matthew Defrain to talk about the specifics of the Law Ruler softphones. They dig further into the automations, workflows, and general use of the Law Ruler softphones in the video below.

How to Get It

To see first-hand how Law Ruler can automate your marketing and get you more clients, schedule a free demo today! Law Ruler is much more than integrated softphones. As part of the ProfitSolv family, they can be used on their own or as part of a larger cohesive legal tech stack.

Dreyer’s Niching Up Makes a Strong Case for Specialization

Details

Law firm marketing specialist, Chris Dreyer, recently penned Niching Up: The Narrower the Market, the Bigger the Prize. It tells of how a focused practice can lead to a larger client pool, higher value cases, better margins, and clearer marketing spend. Chris, himself, has seen the advantages of specializing and wants to share the pros and cons in his new book.

About Chris Dreyer

Chris has been running Rankings.io since 2013. His marketing firm first specialized in legal marketing. In 2020, he took his own advice and niched up. Now he focuses exclusively on SEO for personal injury attorneys. And has made the Inc. 5000 list for fastest-growing privately held companies four years in a row.

Advantages of Niching Up

In his book, Niching Up, Chris discusses the pros and cons of narrowing a law firm’s market focus. He likes to say, “the riches are in the niches.” He notes that lawyers find more than efficiencies in specialization. They can also focus their marketing dollars more easily on their ideal client. Additionally, as a law firm becomes known as an expert, they can find higher dollar cases and more reciprocity in referrals.

“The riches are in the niches.”

Chris dreyer

Contrary to some popular advice, Chris suggests that a lawyer shouldn’t simply dive headlong into a niche. Niching Up suggests that lawyers need experience before they can effectively specialize. Chris notes that a lawyer should select a niche only after they gain awareness of a particular opportunity. Many times, a law office can look at its own numbers to determine what area of law brings them the most benefit.

Finding a Law Firm’s Niche

Niching, when appropriately applied, can help law firms save money and make more money at the same time. Specialization helps firms focus their marketing efforts. It also can make lawyers stand out in a crowd.

When a law firm specializes, it is easier to define its ideal clients. A lawyer who is trying to be everything to everyone often feels that everyone is a potential client. By defining a niche, lawyers can focus on what makes their potential clients special. A law firm focused on high-value estate planning has an easier time defining its clients than one that does probate, business law, and DUIs.

Additionally, a focused practice wastes less money marketing to the masses. Often in the legal marketing space, lawyers feel the need to saturate the market in order to get clients. This is because it’s the only way to stand out. With specialization, lawyers can meet their ideal clients where they are—be it TikTok, Facebook, or even industry publications.

Interview with Chris Dreyer

Recently, Lawyerist Lab Coach and CEO Stephanie Everett sat down with Chris to discuss how a lawyer can benefit from niching. Watch their interview below to learn more.

How to Get It

For lawyers who want to see how specialization can affect their practice, Niching Up is already out on Amazon.com. Better yet, those who want to jump in right away can go to Rankings.io and download the first chapter for free.

Lawmatics Announces Long-Awaited MyCase Integration

Lawmatics is a client relationship manager (CRM) specifically built for law firms. Most lawyers know it for its easy-to-use automation tools and its ability to track marketing efforts on top of client intake. In the current market, however, it is also gaining interest for its ability to remain independent. 

While many CRMs have become entwined with specific Law Practice Management Software, Lawmatics is focusing on broadening its reach. Recently, they have launched integrations with Clio, Filevine, PracticePanther, Rocket Matter, and Smokeball. These integrations, as users are finding out, are not just in-name-only. And now, they are adding MyCase to their growing list.

Sarah Bottorff, SVP of Growth at Lawmatics, says they are building these integrations because they are, “looking to meet the needs of their customers.” Adding that they, “love being agnostic,” to which LPMS their users favor. This allows Lawmatics users to determine which LPMS works best for their practice rather than being pigeonholed into a less-than-ideal platform.

This focus on the customer can be seen in the Facebook groups that have popped up around specific integrations. The Lawmatics team is often engaged in discussions with their customers in forums like the unofficial Smokeball + Lawmatics group. Lawmatics CEO Matt Spiegel even held a live Q&A recently in the Lawmatics Member Group.

Lawmatics Features

From a user perspective, it’s easy to see why lawyers would want Lawmatics to remain as LPMS agnostic as possible. It has very reliable features that one would expect from a CRM. It also offers some hard-to-find features that put it ahead of most of its competitors.

From a standard CRM perspective, Lawmatics sets itself apart with its project management, document creation, and eSignature features. It has a kanban board that is easily automated with a multitude of triggers and actions. And it allows users to easily track what lifecycle stage a particular matter is in at a glance. Additionally, it has a no-code document automation solution built directly into the system. Meaning, users can quickly take advantage of the integrated eSignature functionality to quickly send and receive engagement letters.

Lawmatics, however, is not just a standard CRM solution. They are listening to their customers and consistently adding features that help foster a great relationship between lawyers and clients. They recognized some work and billing is done prior to engaging a lead as a client. So, they recently added a billing and ePayment feature to their system. Similarly, document sharing and correspondence often happen prior to moving a case fully into the firm’s matter management system. So a client portal was woven into the platform earlier this year.

Instead of wandering into matter management, Lawmatics is sticking to what they do best: customer relationship management. They recognize Lawyers manage their cases in extremely diverse ways. So, they continue to launch integrations with some of the more popular LPMS platforms on the market.

Lawmatics Integration with MyCase

For those who know the history of Lawmatics, a MyCase integration has been a long time coming. The CEO of Lawmatics, also started (and sold) MyCase. One would think that their platforms would work and play well together. But neither company throws itself into integrations without plenty of forethought.

Still, this integration makes sense.  MyCase, at its core, is a Law Practice Management System. And Lawmatics, even with its time and billing capabilities, is focused on managing client relationships. Users are increasingly asking for these portions of their practices to mesh. And Lawmatics, for its part, wants to give its users as much choice as possible.

Additionally, and importantly, their ideal clients overlap considerably. If we go back to Lawmatics’ focus on its clients, users have likely been asking for this integration specifically. And these users didn’t want just a one-way integration that limited what was shared. No, they wanted depth.

Recently, Zack Glaser, Legal Tech Advisor, sat down with Matt Spiegel, the CEO of Lawmatics to discuss just how deep this integration goes. He says that, among other things, they will even be able to share custom fields from each platform. Take a look at the video below to learn more.

Interview with Lawmatics

How to Get It

If you’d like to learn more about the Lawmatics + MyCase integration, head to Lawmatics.com. Where, if you’re already a Lawmatics + MyCase user they can help you turn on the integration. If you’re not already a Lawmatics user, you can read more and even get a demo of the platform.

CosmoLex Brings Intake and Marketing to its Platform with Internal CRM

Are you thinking about what happens before a lead becomes a client? If you aren’t, you are missing out on a key step of your client’s journey. 

Client Relationship Management software (CRMs) is not something most law firms think too much about or even feel they need. But for firms to scale, and manage and maintain healthy client relationships, attorneys need a solution that can streamline efficiencies. CRMs are an important tool for driving your firm’s growth and relationships. 

CRMs are more than just intake and a fancy Rolodex. They can help boost client satisfaction, strengthen referrals and relationships by keeping client info from being siloed. They also add rich insights into your business development efforts. When used correctly, CRMs can even help make your firm’s marketing (think automation, scheduling, drip campaigns, etc) more effective. 

What if you could take care of your clients from intake to closing, all from a single platform? With the CosmoLex Internal CRM combining with its already powerful Law Practice Management Software (LMPS), you can. 

Details

Start by checking out the modules section to go from the CosmoLex LMPS to the CosmoLex CRM. From there, you can check the inbox for new leads. 

Inbox, Forms, and Fields

The CosmoLex CRM inbox will collect leads from a variety of different sources that you’ve connected to it. This means forms on your website, through email, text, (with phone capabilities coming soon!) or via Zapier integrations. You can also input leads manually. 

Cosmolex CRM lead dashboard screenshot
Screenshot provided by Partner

If you want to collect certain information about potential clients, you can create and design intake form templates based on case-type. You’ll be able to create detailed forms that are completely customizable. Each form can have its unique questions, conditional logic, layout, color, tabs, fields, and more. This means if your firm has different practice areas, you can create an intake form for each one. This is not only impressive from a client perspective. It also helps you focus on getting the information you need to move forward on a particular matter. 

The CosmoLex CRM also utilizes custom fields, allowing your forms to be as straightforward or powerful as you need. With custom fields, you can easily store and track data. You can then use that data entered in custom fields in workflows, automations, and document creation. 

Workflows, Tasks, and Remote Work

But the customization for each practice area doesn’t just stop with intake forms. Based on the case type, you can automate workflows and automatically assign tasks as your potential client moves through the intake process. You can create tasks in workflow templates, and create those tasks on conditional logic. That way, you’ll be able to pivot based on a status change. Was that car accident actually a three-car accident? Click-click. New tasks are updated to that workflow.

In addition to adding tasks to workflows and leads, you can also add relations, related parties, and more to a lead’s data file. This is especially helpful when it comes time for conflict checks or referrals. Creating a custom workflow for types of matters, and specific matters themselves, allows you to set triggers for certain activities. You won’t miss a beat. You can get as detailed as you need. 

For example, after a client completes an intake form for an auto accident, you can set automations so that:

  • Send an automated text message to the client to prompt them to set up a consultation. 
  • Direct the client to schedule a consultation. If a client doesn’t schedule one, you can have a follow-up email sent after a few days.
  • Assign the consultation to an attorney. Is that attorney OOO? Have that consultation sent to someone else!
  • Send any follow-up information to the client before and after the consultation.
  • Assign intake or billing tasks to specific staff at your firm.
  • Email an engagement letter to your new client.
  • Have your new client sign that engagement letter from CosmoLex, and 
  • Set up a meeting with you.

All of the above tasks can be triggered just by the client submitting an intake form. This helps you and your colleagues stay on top of things, eliminate meetings, and reduce inefficiencies. Oh, and by the way, yes, CosmoLex CRM has e-signature capabilities and also integrates with Google and Office365. This means that any consultations or events created will automatically appear on your calendar. 

While automated workflows and tasks are helpful in any setting, for firms that are moving towards remote work, this sort of automation is especially useful. Automatic task assignments and calendar invites help to improve accountability and remote team management. Anyone will be able to check on a lead or matter and see what the status is whether they’re at the office, in court, or working from home.

Demo Video 

Erica from CosmoLex recently gave us a demo of the CosmoLex CRM and how it works. Take a look at the video below to see a walkthrough she provided our Legal Tech Advisor, Zack Glaser.

How to Get It

To learn more about CosmoLex, its CRM features, and how it can help you take your firm to the next level, check out cosmolex.com. Once there you can schedule a demo, or dive into their other educational resources.

Want to learn even more about CosmoLex? Check out our full review, where you can see a features list, other demo videos, and community comments. Remember that Lawyerist readers get an affinity benefit through the review page.

LAWCLERK Launches Mobile App for Legal Outsourcing

What’s better than LAWCLERK on your computer? LAWCLERK on the go! You can now do everything from the LAWCLERK website on their mobile app, available for both Android and iPhone.

What is LAWCLERK?

Are you a freelance attorney or an attorney looking to hire another lawyer only for specific projects? Then LAWCLERK needs to be on your radar. 

LAWCLERK is a nationwide legal services marketplace created by lawyers, for lawyers. LAWCLERK offers a platform for attorneys looking or hiring for freelance work to find what they need. Developed in response to the changing legal landscape, LAWCLERK helps solo practitioners and small firms produce a better product for their client. All while reducing client costs and increasing attorney profits. 

Additionally, LAWCLERK connects attorneys to help foster a better and more reliable legal freelance network. LAWCLERK vets all attorneys who join, and continues to vet those who have worked on their platform. You can be sure you’re hiring someone in good standing. LAWCLERK is free to join for both freelancers and those looking to hire. Freelancers just get paid and hiring attorneys only pay when they have a project.

Previously, you could only use LAWCLERK from your web browser. But with the recent launch of their mobile app, you can now use it anytime, anywhere.

LAWCLERK Mobile App 

The LAWCLERK mobile app mirrors the functionality of their web platform. Now, you can do just as much on the go as you can from your office. 

LAWCLERK has developed two apps: one for freelance attorneys and one for hiring attorneys. Both apps will prompt you to create a pin for easier mobile access after login. From there, just use it as you would from your computer. 

For Freelance Attorneys

Freelance lawyers can use the app to get immediate notifications for new projects and apply for work. You can also view the opportunities you’ve applied for, communicate within your pending projects, and enter your time—all without your laptop.

Mobile app view of LAWCLERK app showing "Review Notifications," "Enter Your Time," and "Search for Work."

For Hiring Attorneys

Hiring attorneys can post work or a new project directly within LAWCLERK’s new app. You’ll receive push notifications on the app when freelancers apply to the project or ask questions. You can review applicants on the app and if you find an applicant you like, start working with them then and there. You’ll be able to review projects, documents, and communicate with your freelancer while in court or while waiting for your coffee.

LAWCLERK mobile app image showing "Post," "Review Notifications," and "Project Applicants."

Posting a project to LAWCLERK on the app is similar, and as easy, as posting on the desktop site. Simply enter the details, upload the project, and go!

LAWCLERK mobile app image showing screen with fields for project details, including project name, application period, project deadline, initial draft deadline, project price, rebate code, and areas of law.

Once you’ve posted, you can see what you have in the works, manage your projects, review applicants, communicate with applicants, and hire. Easy peasy. 

LAWCLERK mobile app image showing two examples of job postings listed on the app screen, with project names and due dates.

Demo Video 

But don’t just take our word for it. Kristin from LAWCLERK recently gave us a walkthrough of LAWCLERK and its mobile apps. Take a look at the video below to see a walkthrough she provided our Legal Tech Advisor, Zack Glaser.

How to Get It

If you’d like to learn more about LAWCLERK, reach out to support@lawclerk.legal or visit lawclerk.legal to sign up for a free account or to schedule a demo, or download the app from the Apple or Google Play store. Signing up for a LAWCLERK account is always free, whether you’re posting or searching. Want to learn even more about LAWCLERK? Check out our overview or blog post covering their highlights. Interested in learning more about freelancing as a lawyer? Check out our podcast episode featuring LAWCLERK, where we talk everything about freelance attorneys.

NetDocuments Breaks Into Document Assembly with PatternBuilder

As an attorney, you probably have a template library. It’s filled with contracts, wills, complaints, NDAs, business formation forms, or even employee onboarding forms. Those templates probably have blanks or highlighted texts to remind yourself where to plug in that new client information. While a “mail-merge” style approach to generating new forms and documents works, it’s slow and inefficient. Automating documents helps high-performing and fast-paced practices become even more efficient.

What is Document Automation, and Why Do You Need it?

Generally, document automation is software that uses predefined templates to generate completed documents with previously input data. It allows you to auto-fill data into designated places on the form, then save completed templates to your client files. 

Automation allows you to complete dozens of files in just a few minutes. Not even Barbara Blackburn, the world’s fastest typist (212 wpm), could complete that many documents that quickly. Even if you have a fillable Word, PDF, or Excel file, document automation can save you hundreds of hours annually. 

In addition to saving time, document automation also saves you money and helps you scale. Less time spent on document generation means more time spent on billable hours. Document automation also enables practices to streamline new employee training, allowing them to ramp up to higher-value work quicker. Plus, document automation is a key practice to running a paperless firm. 

So How Do I Automate My Documents?

Unless you have familiarity with coding or Excel formulas, it’s best to use automation software. But even with some of those, having a basic understanding of coding or logic helps. Especially if you’re uploading your own templates to the platform. 

It can get complicated quickly. But, document automation can be a powerful tool in your arsenal when integrated with other document management platforms. 

Introducing PatternBuilder, by NetDocuments

PatternBuilder is a no-code document and workflow automation tool, allowing you to automate your legal processes and effortlessly generate custom documents. And because PatternBuilder is natively integrated into the NetDocuments platform, you’ll be able to use it with all NetDocuments’ features, including all of the security and compliance tools. You’ll be able to build and run automations while retaining all the benefits of NetDocuments’ existing document management capabilities. A powerful combination!

With PatternBuilder, you can translate your expertise into workflows by automating document templates and apps to better support your day-to-day work. For example, you can create apps to intake requests, deliver NDAs, draft sales contracts, and more. You can even streamline business operations like engagement letters.

Next Level Automation

Level up from “find and replace” or looking for highlighted texts in Word documents. In seconds,  PatternBuilder lets you populate user inputs or even enter them into Word or PDF documents. You can even automate completion of third-party PDFs for commonly used government and corporate forms. This means you can scan any government form and PatternBuilder will turn it into a template to be populated automatically (this is particularly useful for those in immigration law). Creating document sets in a single workflow generates document packages in just a few clicks.

Conditional Logic

PatternBuilder uses conditional logic, giving you options to include specific text in your assembled document if certain conditions are met. This allows you to incorporate your rules and logic into auto-populating documents, saving even more time. Instead of using separate templates for specific scenarios, you can just create a decision tree for templates. PatternBuilder will then create repeatable and error-free drafts for any situation.

Demo Video 

Jake from NetDocuments recently gave us a demo of PatternBuilder by NetDocuments and how it works. Take a look at the video below to see a walkthrough he provided our Legal Tech Advisor, Zack Glaser.

How to Get It

NetDocuments is a cloud-based content management platform with over 20 years of experience in helping secure, organize, and collaborate on your documents and matters. NetDocuments offers an end-to-end platform for document organization, management, and so much more. If you’d like to learn more about NetDocuments and how PatternBuilder can help you automate your documents, visit their website to read more or to schedule a free demo. If you’d like to learn even more about PatternBuilder, check out their press release.

Curious about what else NetDocuments can do for you? Check out our full review, where you can see a features list, other demo videos, and community comments. Remember that Lawyerist readers get an affinity benefit through the review page.

PracticePanther Maximizes its Practice Management Software with Built-in CRM

PracticePanther enhances law firm intake capabilities with its built-in client relationship manager (CRM). Taking advantage of this functionality is easy. Using it to its fullest, however, requires some forethought, but will pay off in droves.

Boost Client Intake with PracticePanther

Law firms often overlook communication with current and potential clients. It can seem tedious and complex. With a few select features and some organization, though, law firms can find easy success.

PracticePanther suggests creating automated workflows to handle most of the mundane tasks. Effective CRMs allow and encourage automation to relieve administrative burdens. Offices will have to take the time to create their workflows, but the future savings will be almost always worth it.

Once a firm is using a CRM to manage their intake, PracticePanther also suggests analyzing the data the firm is collecting. This helps determine ROI and allows for more intelligent marketing in the future.

And, since no product can possibly handle all of a law firm’s needs, offices should be aware of any integrations their CRM offers. PracticePanther suggests firms customize their solutions to fit their particular needs, rather than adjust their own skills to meet the platform. 

Take a look at the demo below where our legal tech advisor walks through some of the special features of PracticePanther’s CRM.

PracticePanther Demo Video

How to Get It

Want to learn more? Visit our full review of PracticePanther. There, you can compare features, read community comments, and watch additional demo videos.Or, if you’d like to jump right in, get a demo or a free trial at PracticePanther.com.