Nine Categories of Tech Tools to Supercharge Your Law Practice in 2024
| Publication year | 2024 |
| Citation | Vol. 29 No. 4 Pg. 0042 |
| Pages | 0042 |
Law Practice Management
Learn how to launch and scale a modern law practice with less stress.
BY NKOYO-ENE R. EFFIONG
Did you start a law practice in 2024?
Looking for ways to leverage technology and be more efficient in your law practice? You have come to the right place. Here are nine categories of tech tools to launch and scale a modern law practice with less stress.
A Practice Management Tip Before We Start
Before we jump heavily into the types of technology tools you need to run a modern law practice with less stress, it is necessary to sequence your steps appropriately. Taking the right action at the wrong time can cause chaos. To avoid some self-inflicted chaos, keep this mantra in mind: "Process, Tech, Team"—Kimberly Bennett, attorney and co-founder, Fidu Legal.
Process
All great things start with a process; your law practice needs one ASAP. What does that mean? As a business owner, you should know how total strangers become raving fans of your firm. There should be at least one way that potential clients find you, become clients of your firm, and then become former clients who leave 5-star reviews and refer their networks. You should have a process for opening and closing a file and handling everything in between. Not sure where to start? A general consultation with LPM can help.
Tech
Once you have version 1 of your process, we can start looking at technology. Technology is a powerful tool that can only amplify a process. It cannot create the process for you ... or can it? Hello, generative AI. Notwithstanding, you must still think about how you want your firm to run. Whether that means you write the process yourself or develop the proper prompts to get the AIs to do it is up to you.
With a process in hand, the next best place to invest time and money is technology. I am sure you are thinking—why not just hire someone to do it? Well, it is cheaper to ditch technology or scrap a process that does not work as well as you hoped than to retrain or transition an employee from your firm. So, lean into the technology until you cannot lean any further.
People
Unless you are starting your law firm with a book of business and the bandwidth to manage a team, you should wait to hire. Controversial advice, I know. By no means am I suggesting that you be a true solo. Been there. Done that. Do not recommend. Rather, I strongly suggest you have your systems and technology in place before you hire so that 1) You have time and energy to onboard, train and manage your team and 2) Should it not work out, you can fire fast and hire slow. There is a fine line, and every practice is different. As an attorney myself, I will leave you with this—every case is different and you should consult with a trusted advisor regarding your particular circumstances.
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