California Lawyers Association
Get Time Back in 2022 By Automating Your Law Firm’s Tasks
Law firms excel at building and implementing processes at every stage of the client journey–from intake to resolution. However, most of these administrative tasks can take up a substantial part of an attorney’s day.
According to a recent Statista survey, 75% of respondents reported spending more than 20 hours per week on non-client-facing billable work such as legal research, court filings, and administrative work.
If this sounds like your practice, it may be time to consider streamlining your business operations. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is by automating redundant tasks in your law practice. In fact, McKinsey Global estimates that nearly 25% of a lawyer’s job can be automated with existing technology.
The good news is that automating your law firm’s day-to-day processes is easier than you think, especially for MyCase customers. MyCase has several built-in features that can help you finish important projects quickly or simply scale the way you work.
Here are some surprisingly simple MyCase features you may not be using that can save time for you and your employees.
Workflows
If your firm handles several cases at a time, you’ll definitely want to take advantage of Workflows.
This feature allows you to create a workflow for each type of law you practice and apply the workflow to each case you set up. For example, if you follow the same client intake procedure for every case, you can create a Workflow of the tasks you usually complete to onboard a client.
You can also create templates for important dates that relate to specific types of cases or trials. By customizing tasks and deadlines at the start of each matter, you ensure that you never lose track of tasks and important deadlines. So with your next case, just apply that Workflow and watch MyCase generate all your tasks for you!
See how workflows will help you juggle your busy week. Learn more here.
Batch Billing
Batch Billing will be a lifesaver for attorneys who dread the end of the month.
With Batch Billing, you can bundle all your time entries into invoices in just one click. If you have several open balances, Batch Billing will help you quickly understand all the payments still hanging in the balance. No more working through them one by one.
Plus, we’ve made several improvements to Batch Billing over the years, allowing you to roll over open balances. Learn more here.
Document Automation
With Document Automation, it has never been easier to create document templates. These templates can then be used to create new documents, such as intake forms, retainer agreements, pleadings, etc.
When you use robust Document Automation software that is already integrated with MyCase, relevant data, such as case numbers, client information, party names, and important dates, can be automatically added to the document, saving you time and increasing your firm’s productivity.
Want to see Document Automation in action? Learn more here.
Default Folders
Do some of your cases have the same document folder structure?
If you find yourself creating similar document folders over and over again, try setting up a Default Folder structure in your next case. It will help you generate several document folders with ease.
Ready to set up Default Folders? Learn more here.
User Permissions
When you’re ready to add a colleague, make sure you take a moment to review their user permissions. User Permissions allow you to change the access and abilities of staff and other attorneys.
Time to explore User Permissions? Learn more here.
The Bottom Line of Law Firm Automation
Remember–law firm automation doesn’t mean eliminating human-led efforts in law practices. Instead, it’s meant to help prevent or at least minimize human error, giving lawyers the freedom to spend more of their time on activities that require their expertise rather than tedious, time-consuming tasks that can otherwise be automated.
No matter how you plan to scale your firm in 2022, these tips will streamline your law practice – so you can spend the time you’ve saved doing whatever matters most to you.
So if your firm isn’t already taking advantage of these must-have features, what are you waiting for? Get started today!