In fact, leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a survey from the American Bar Association, almost half of all law firms operating in the United States did not utilize cloud software in management of their firm. This means that nearly half of all US law firms were ultimately blindsided by the unprecedented shutdown of all in-person businesses at the beginning of last year. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that cloud computing is the way of the future, something that must be capitalized upon sooner, rather than later. Firms that utilized cloud management of their business were exponentially more prepared for the instant shift to remote work than firms that did not- going forward, it may be wise to consider cloud computing and management as necessary insurance to run a business.

Let’s compare the benefit of the cloud to needing a grocery list for shopping. How many times has something unexpected happened- your child or spouse throws away the list on accident, or you lose said grocery list in some other way. If you only keep a physical, one-copy record of your grocery list, it will be lost to the ages. However, if you happened to jot down your grocery list onto your iPhone notes (thus utilizing the cloud), not only would it be impossible to lose the grocery list- you would be able to continue to add or otherwise edit your list at any time, from multiple different platforms- from your phone, tablet, or computer.

This is the benefit that the utilization of cloud computing can provide. Who knows what can happen- maybe you’re forced to stay home from the office on a sick day, or need to access relevant casework from somewhere other than your office. Having the cloud as a practice management resource allows you to be able to access your firm from anywhere in the world. By using the right type of cloud-based software, not only will your work become all the more accessible at any time, but it will also become more secure than ever.

This is where NuLaw becomes all the more relevant. Powered by Salesforce, and as one of the most all-inclusive practice management software providers on the market, NuLaw is able to handle everything- from intake, prospecting, and matter planning, to reporting, billing, and scheduling. Additionally, NuLaw integrates with a laundry list of third party software while keeping everything under wraps with the same top-notch security measures utilized by the United States Department of Defense. As the working world moves to the future, help your practice stay prepared for anything that may come it’s way, and invest in cloud computing sooner, rather than later.

Indeed, consolidation is one of the most important organizational aspects of our day to day lives. When you make a grocery shopping list, do you make a separate list for each aisle, or do you make one single list for everything you need for your trip? When you’re moving to a new home, do you throw everything into random boxes, or do you strategically fit everything into as few categorized boxes as possible, in order to be more efficient (as well as cost-effective) in the process of bringing everything from point A to point B? When you are running your legal practice, do you want to conduct your day-to-day agenda by clicking in and out of different apps and tabs, or do you want to conduct your business efficiently, through the usage of a single, all-inclusive platform?

This is made possible by utilization of a platform that touts the ability to manage software integrations. Essentially, these integrations streamline day-to-day tasks, and make it easier to not only organize your firm from the top-down, while also improving the cost-effective efficiency with which your firm operates. Think about how much frustration and stress in the day that you can mitigate by not constantly sifting through different platforms just to accomplish one task for one case. Again, referring to the previous analogy- how hard would it be to unpack in your new house or apartment if all of your belongings are spread across multiple mixed-item boxes, when you could’ve just put specific belongings for specific rooms into a single box? With the properly organized moving boxes (properly coordinated integrations), you never have to stress out trying to think about whether you have lost or forgotten something again. Integrations are a proactive measure for any legal practice.

For example, think of a communication integration with a Case Management Software, such as chatter. According to a recent blog from ActiveCampaign, “[software integration] adoption increases the quality of communication between [employees] and managers by 56.9% — meaning less time spent on misunderstandings and more time spent selling.”  Additionally, the blog continues on to state “[Practice management] apps can increase sales productivity by up to 34%. The learning curve can be steep — although a strategic implementation process softens it — but the results are more than worth it and can save your sales team tons of time.” Why continue using a system that continually clutters and otherwise complicates your day, when you can bring in a new system that improves upon finance and efficiency for your practice?

NuLaw understands that consolidation is key to running any business more efficiently than ever before. That is why we have so many integrations available with our software. Powered by Salesforce, manage your firm’s day-to-day operations while utilizing software such as SharePoint, Outlook, Office 365, Gmail, Google Calendar, Quickbooks, airSlate, Adobe Sign, Docusign, and NuPay- all from the single NuLaw dashboard! Managing your firm from a single all-inclusive platform has never been easier, or more efficient. With NuLaw, enjoy the time-saving power of software that just works.

We get the fact that cost is always an issue when you are talking software upgrades. We also know that plenty of law firms stick with the status quo because it seems to be working. They do not want to spend on new software when what they are currently using seems to be working just fine.

If your firm is in that position, would you give us an opportunity to explain the financial benefits of NuLaw? We believe we can justify the cost of a new cloud-based case management application in all but a few cases.

Maintaining On-Site Hardware

We are extremely proud of the fact that NuLaw exists in the cloud. We firmly believe that the cloud is not the future of software – it is the here and now. We also believe that most law firms will save money in the long run by moving to the cloud. The savings begin with not having to maintain on-site hardware.

The useful life of your typical server is anywhere from 3 to 5 years. Let’s say five years to be on the high side. Over 30 years of owning a law practice, that means replacing hardware six times. Every replacement means hardware and labor. And yes, the price of both goes up with every upgrade.

When hardware breaks – and it does – you bear the entire cost on your own. If broken hardware results in a software crash and significant data loss, you bear the expense of repairing the damage. Move your case management software to the cloud and all those problems go away. We take the hit on hardware. It is just one of our costs of doing business.

Software Upgrade Costs

One of the reasons we are talking costs is the simple fact that switching to NuLaw does involve some upfront subscription fees. But as you know, upgrading your local software costs money too. We are willing to bet you would spend more to buy new software and licenses than you would on a software subscription.

Even better, you might pay your software developer every time you need an upgrade. That’s not the way cloud software works. Cloud software is presented as a service. You subscribe to the service, not the software. Our job is to maintain and upgrade the software on a regular basis. We do that without any additional charge to you.

Maintaining an IT Staff

If hardware and software costs are not enough, consider maintaining your own IT staff. We all know that labor costs are the highest costs of doing business, and there is no exception for the legal industry. Maintaining your own IT department is a costly venture that requires paying several skilled individuals a good salary plus a generous benefits package.

You do not need a large IT staff with NuLaw. Why? Because we are your IT staff. You only need one or two IT pros to handle maintaining your computers and mobile devices.

It is our firm belief that most law firms will spend less over the long term by switching to NuLaw. We would love the opportunity to sit down and discuss this with you further. If you are interested, give us a shot. Let’s see if we can justify your firm’s transition to cloud-based case management software.

Every internet user owes it to him or herself to protect precious data while traveling. As an attorney however, you have an extra responsibility to your clients. You are obligated, both professionally and legally, to ensure that all the information you have pertaining to client accounts and cases remains private. You have to protect that data at all times.

Below are some suggestions for improving data security while traveling. They are based on the assumption that you will not be using your smartphone to do a lot of work in the airport or at your hotel. It assumes you will be using a laptop computer.

Turn Off File Sharing

Right off the top, go into your computer’s network settings and turn off file sharing. Having file sharing activated makes transferring files to various devices around the office a breeze, but it also leaves your laptop vulnerable outside of the office. Turning file sharing off makes it harder for hackers to steal data from your laptop.

Encrypt Your Home Folder

The next tip is to encrypt the home folder on your computer. The home folder is the folder that pertains to your individual identity. It contains all your documents, pictures, program files, etc. Encrypting it prevents hackers from easily stealing information from it.

Your Mac or Linux home folder should have the same name you use to log on to your computer. If you are running a Windows system, there is no home folder per se. Instead, you will have to encrypt all the appropriate folders individually. That means encrypting your documents folder, any program folders that might contain information about your clients, and any shared folders you use for in-office file sharing.

Use a VPN Service

A virtual private network (VPN) is an excellent tool for fighting hackers. When you access the internet through a VPN, you are connecting your computer directly to a secure server. From there, you are able to access the internet by using the VPN as a launching point.

VPNs protect privacy in two ways. First, they hide your true IP address while broadcasting a fictional address. Second, they encrypt data in both directions. The combination of these two features makes life very difficult for hackers. A good hacker can still break in, but it takes a lot of work. There are easier targets for them to spend their time on.

Run Your Antivirus Software

Before you log on to any public network, you should run your antivirus software. Do a complete scan that looks for everything: viruses, trojans, malware, etc. Repeat the scan before you shut down your computer to end the session. The goal here is to catch any suspicious software before it has time to do any damage. Also note that in order for your antivirus software to be effective, it has to be kept up to date.

These are just a few suggestions for keeping your data secure when traveling. Remember that while NuLaw is a secure legal case management application hosted in the cloud, it cannot do anything to prevent hackers from targeting your system over a public network. You have to take the necessary steps to prevent that yourself. Never forget you have an ethical and legal obligation to do so.

The thing about emergencies is that they often have long-lasting consequences. If your law firm had been a Bahamian firm located on one of the two previously mentioned islands, would you have the capability to continue working? Your clients would hope so. You are the one they would turn to for representation in the months after the storm.

Thankfully, the U.S. has been spared significant hurricane damage this year. But there’s always next year. And if you live in the northern regions of the country, you are now looking at the potential for winter emergencies. There are earthquakes to consider on the West Coast as well as next spring’s tornadoes in the Midwest.

Develop an Emergency Plan

The key to continuity during emergencies is having a comprehensive plan in place. This is a plan that can be easily executed under most emergency scenarios; a plan that can continue in perpetuity until conditions return to normal. A good emergency plan considers the following:

• Data security
• Temporary work locations
• Maintaining communication
• Staff expectations and responsibilities.

Having an emergency plan in place is all about knowing what to do when an emergency strikes. Without a plan, your firm could be crippled – if only because no one knows what to do.

Keeping Data Secure

Electronic data has to be accessible even during emergency situations. Moreover, you have to be able to guarantee its integrity. Data security is one of the many reasons we recommend moving away from locally hosted software in favor of the cloud. By moving legal case management into the cloud, you are protecting your data from future disaster.

When you choose NuLaw as your case management application, you are choosing a cloud-based application that stores your data on remote servers. Note that your data is backed up on multiple servers in different locations in order to maintain redundancy. A disaster in your local area should have no impact on data because we protect it in so many other locations.

Working Remotely

There are times when emergency situations make it impossible to work in the office. You could be looking at something as simple as the power being out. On the other hand, maybe your building was so damaged that it is uninhabitable. Do your attorneys have the ability to work remotely until your office is up and running again?

Communicating with Clients

The most important part of working during an emergency is keeping in contact with clients. They already have enough stress in their lives; they do not need the added stress of not being able to contact you. So again, do you have the means to communicate with your clients in the event of an emergency? NuLaw’s built-in communication capabilities keep you and your clients in contact with one another in a safe and secure environment.

Emergencies are a normal part of life. From minor power outages to destructive acts of nature, it only takes one disaster to determine whether or not a law firm has what it takes to adapt. Is your firm ready and capable of working during an emergency? If not, we can help with the software aspect. Contact us to learn more about NuLaw.

We also built strong data collection and analysis tools into NuLaw, so you can actually measure how case acquisition is going. The only thing remaining is knowing what to measure. Measure the right metrics and you will have a very good idea about how well NuLaw’s case acquisition tools are working for your firm.

New Clients and Cases

The first thing that nearly every firm looks at is the total number of new clients gained and cases opened. Both are very strong indicators of how effective case acquisition strategies are. However, it is important to understand the numbers in context.

It’s a well-known fact in the business world that you spend less money and fewer resources keeping current customers happy as compared to acquiring new ones. Yes, new customers are necessary to foster growth, but long-term success lies in making sure existing customers remain loyal. This simple principle applies to law as well.

As such, law firms do need to keep track of the new clients. But they also need to track how many new cases are opened among existing clients. Clients returning time and again is a good indication that a firm is doing something right.

Acquisition Costs

Case acquisition can be a costly exercise. However, costs need to be contained so that they do not take too big of a bite out of budget. NuLaw’s case acquisition tools are designed to help firms understand all of the costs of landing new clients and opening new cases. Such data can prove invaluable for managing everything from marketing to client retention.

New Client Origination

In the old days, marketing a law firm was nothing more than hanging a placard outside the office. That old way of marketing was fine when there were just one or two law offices in town. We live in a different world today. It’s a smaller world, thanks to the internet and all things technology. As such, case acquisition involves everything from broadcast advertising and social media to billboards and printed materials.

Different marketing channels drive new clients to the law firm at different rates. So it is important to measure the origins of new clients. It’s important to know which marketing avenues are most effective at bringing new clients and cases to the office.

Client Conversion

Last but not least is client conversion. Conversion in the practice of law is very similar to conversion in the SEO field. In both cases, the goal is to convert potential clients into actual paying clients. Measuring conversion rates tells you just how good your marketing efforts really are.

In the SEO world, conversion rates are tracked and measured against those SEO strategies designed to get website visitors to make a decision before leaving the website. In the practice of law, measuring how many potential clients become paying clients helps the marketing department better understand how to get prospects to take that last step of coming on board.

As you can see, measuring the right metrics is a big part of understanding how well case acquisition strategies are working. If your firm’s case acquisition is not as productive as it should be, perhaps it is because you are not measuring the right metrics. Maybe you’re not measuring them at all? In either case, NuLaw can be part of the solution. Contact us to learn more.

Analytics is the science of applying a method of logical analysis to understanding data. In some circles, measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) gives management a good idea on how the business is going. KPIs are not bad, but we think a more comprehensive analytical approach is better for law firms. There are many moving parts in the practice of law, some of which force the business and practice sides to intersect in unpredictable ways.

We say all of that to say this: your law firm’s legal case management software should have analytics capabilities built in. Below are four reasons explaining our position. In the absence of built-in analytics, handling the business side of law is more difficult than it needs to be.

1. Accountability

The business side of law is about generating revenues, managing expenses, drumming up new business, etc. Yet it is not enough to know that all of the business functions are being handled. Management has to know how they are being handled, and those involved have to be held accountable.

Accountability applies to a firm’s attorneys as well. From billable hours to cost controls, management needs to know how every attorney in the office is performing. Simply put, analytics facilitates accountability by providing a ton of pertinent information. When management knows exactly what is happening in every department, everyone becomes accountable.

2. Performance

Hand-in-hand with accountability is understanding both individual and corporate performance. The law firm needs to know who is meeting established goals and who is not. Management needs to know how the marketing department is doing at attracting the most viable clients. They need to know if clients are actually satisfied with the firm.

Anything and everything related to performance can be tracked with built-in analytics. Indeed, that is one of the strengths of the analytics and data reporting tools built into NuLaw

3. Future Performance

One of the most important reasons for understanding past performance is that it can be an indicator of future performance as well. With built-in analytics, law firms can use their case management software to see where they have been, where they currently are, and where they are going. This makes charting a path for the future more productive.

4. Responsiveness

The first three reasons for building analytics into legal case management software all point to the fourth reason: responsiveness. If there’s one area in which the legal industry has historically under-performed, it is responding to the changing culture. Law is a profession of tradition. And unfortunately, tradition is very slow to respond to change.

Those law firms that will succeed in the technology era are the ones that figure out how to be responsive. They are the firms that will use analytics to gauge the state of the industry and their own relationship to it. They are the ones that will respond quickly to any and all measured changes in order to stay at the leading edge.

Analytics is critical to modern business. It is especially critical in the practice of law, as is accounts for the fact that attorneys are not business experts. What about your case management software? If it doesn’t have built-in analytics, maybe it is time for a change.

We did a lot of research prior to building NuLaw. That research continues today as we seek to make NuLaw even better. One of the things we have learned is that poor billing practices are to a law firm what an anchor is to a ship dragging it behind. Poor billing practices drag down a law firm by stealing valuable time, interrupting cash flow, and creating friction between attorneys and clients.

A big part of the solution is upgrading a firm’s billing software. For the record, we have built an ABA-compliant accounting and billing module into NuLaw. Still, we get the fact that software alone will not do it. A change of mindset may be necessary.

3 Poor Billing Practices

There is a lot we could discuss on the topic of poor billing practices. The following three practices can drag a law firm’s entire accounting and billing department down, leading to a billing process that is much lower than it needs to be.

1. Inefficient Timekeeping

Most law firm accounting departments rely on multiple timekeepers to record their data before pre-bills can be turned into invoices. Inefficiencies lead to information not being submitted in a timely manner. One timekeeper lagging behind drags down all of the others waiting to follow.

2. Manual Processes

Any portions of the billing process that require manual operation also slow things down. Those manual processes wait on data entry, review, and error correction before they can move forward. One breakdown in the manual process interrupts everything.

3. Client Demands

The bane of existence for many law firm accounting departments are clients who demand certain formats for their bills. Such demands make it exceedingly difficult to adopt a single format with efficiency built in. Thus, accommodating multiple formats gets in the way of efficient billing.

Overcoming Poor Billing

A captain sailing a yacht dragging the anchor knows there is an easy solution to his problem: he pulls the anchor. Rectifying poor billing practices isn’t as straightforward, yet it can be done. Poor billing practices can be overcome with the right strategies.

The first is to adopt paperless billing. Paper only creates issues where none need exist. Switch everything over to electronic billing and you solve a lot of the problems that come with manual processes, data entry, and so forth.

Next, we recommend using automation wherever feasible. For example, starting the automated review process is as simple as sending a pre-bill to the first reviewer. As soon as that person is done, the software automatically forwards it to the next person, and so on. If any one reviewer takes too long, the system automatically sends a reminder.

Finally, many of the billing problems law firms have with their clients revolve around non-compliant practices. As long as a law firm is making the effort to shore up accounting and billing, it might just as well upgrade software to something that is ABA compliant. A compliant accounting and billing package will alleviate many of the problems that legacy software creates.

Billing doesn’t have to be an anchor dragging behind your law firm. If it is, it’s time to pull anchor and get underway. Hopefully we have given you some good ideas to get started.

Identifying the business challenges law firms face is the first step toward overcoming them. Below are the top five concerns gleaned from our own observations of the legal sector. Note that NuLaw addresses several of them by design. As a Salesforce case management application, NuLaw was built with the business side of law in mind.

1. Inadequate Accounting Software

Choosing a generic accounting package and then adapting it to law firm needs has been standard practice for years. But it is not a smart practice. Generic accounting packages do not account for many of the intricacies of legal accounting. Law firms need accounting packages that are ABA compliant.

For the record, that is just what you get with NuLaw. Our accounting and billing modules are fully compliant. Our software is the perfect tool for tracking billable hours, generating invoices, and processing payments. Best of all, it can be integrated with other popular accounting packages.

2. Data Entry Errors

We created NuLaw to be a one-stop solution capable of replacing the collection of separate software applications many law firms still rely on. All of those separate applications require separate data entry which increases the risk of errors. Such errors are not good for business. A better way to go is to consolidate all of those packages into one so that data entry is minimized.

3. Routine Reconciliations

Financial reconciliation is critical to business success. In the legal sector, reconciliation can be complicated due to the nature of legal accounting. But complicated reconciliations are not a reason to avoid them. The accounting team should be reconciling at least on a monthly basis so that decision-makers understand the firm’s financial position.

4. Account Charting

Law firms typically have multiple accounts for completing different kinds of transactions. Keeping track of those accounts is necessary so as to prevent inappropriate mixing of funds. So how does a law firm do so? By making use of a chart of accounts.

Account charting is an old bookkeeping trick designed to keep funds properly separated. Keep the accounts separate is nonnegotiable for attorneys. They have both legal and ethical obligations to manage their accounts properly.

5. Income Tracking

Finally, the business side of law requires analyzing financials from a strict business perspective. An appropriate example would be tracking income from various streams within the firm. Income tracking provides decision-makers with some of the information they need in order to determine firm specialization.

Perhaps your law firm boasts five different areas of specialization. Perhaps three of those specialties generate substantial revenues while the other two are borderline. In order to make wise decisions for the future, you need to be able to track each specialty’s financials, not the least of which is income. A specialty that is not generating enough revenue needs to either be improved or abandoned.

It is abundantly clear there is more to running a successful law firm than hiring some attorneys and obtaining a few cases. There is a business side to law that should not be ignored. When sound business principles are combined with an equally sound practice of the law, attorneys and their firms flourish. Ignoring one or the other puts a firm’s long-term future in jeopardy.