Run Your Firm Better with Legal Project Management Software

Behind every successful law office are the processes and systems that help it execute everyday tasks and responsibilities quickly and efficiently. Without legal project management software, it would be extremely difficult for a firm to sustainably deliver high customer experience and service quality. The ongoing challenge to implementing and maintaining these systemic processes is the constant need to find new ways to further improve their effectiveness and benefits.

Streamlining your current practice management approach is about more than just faster work methods; it involves utilizing legal technology and best practices. Legal project/practice management (LPM) software can have a myriad of benefits on your law firm’s revenue growth and long-term success.

What is legal project management?

Whether you’re an established law firm or a new startup, the concept of legal project management is nothing new. At its most basic understanding, this process involves better workflow and implementation of projects by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable steps.

Project management as a broader practice includes every industry imaginable. LPM software uses these principles to help attorneys address legal matters more efficiently and effectively through automated tasks, time management, and simplified workflow.

For example, you can now take a more organized approach when onboarding new cases instead of addressing them ad hoc as they arrive. With LPM, you streamline the processes for operational management that keep your legal services accessible and your clients satisfied.

LPM software makes processes more efficient and effective

Creating a successful LPM project management process takes more than state-of-the-art legal tech; it requires real planning. Therefore, software that not only automates a single task, but also considers the crucial elements of your firm’s operations to reach your financial and customer goals is vital.

This means automating menial tasks best served through technological means, such as billing, invoicing, or documentation requests. Having this work performed without necessitating team productivity allows you the freedom to focus on other – perhaps more profitable – areas of your practice that you’ve meant to address.

By taking the time to analyze the ways your current methodologies work and how streamlining these workflows with LPM software can benefit your firm, you will be able to save on lost productivity hours, and expand access to your services.

LPM software makes fixed-fee billing a breeze

Many clients prefer law firms that offer fixed-fee billing, but for attorneys, getting around case uncertainties to price their services adequately is a significant hurdle.

With a bit of planning and LPM software, you can more easily expand your billing capabilities and confidently price your fixed-fee services. This is possible because such technology has built-in tools to help you evaluate the relevant legal matter and quote it accurately to reflect your investment in the case.

Improved client experiences

Your clients are the lifeblood of your practice, and effective LPM software can boost their interactions with your firm. You need to consider client needs and match your service capabilities to meet them to help you foster an attorney-client relationship for a lifetime.

The features that LPM software provides that benefit your practice include:

• Task timelines that keep cases on track and assure progress
• Streamlined overall processes so that your clients will appreciate your services and eagerly refer leads to your practice
• An ability to offer fixed-fee billing to create an inclusive budget that doesn’t come with unwelcome financial surprises for you or your clients
• More accessible and centralized communication, so client expectations and timelines are clear

Boost your revenue with efficiency

Of course, you know that efficiency is often the best way to increase revenue. With effective LPM software handling your business management and  day-to-day, you can focus efforts to boost your profits in several ways:

• Conduct project reviews regularly to determine how they are impacting your profit margins
• Discover potential bottlenecks in your workflow and find solutions before they cause delays in your matters
• Proactively determine case fees, with LPM software calculating the tasks involved and person-hours needed to resolve the matter
• Stay ahead of changes to the case so that you can ensure the work performed doesn’t exceed the agreed-upon budget

Legal project management software creates streamlined methodologies

Legal project management planning demands a practice management software system that makes execution efficient across projects and individual tasks. Therefore, it’s crucial to choose a legal technology solution that is deeply established within the legal industry.

AbacusNext provides several solutions that have become standard within law firms throughout the United States. With AbacusNext LPM capabilities, you can:

• Apply learned knowledge from your matters to create efficient plans that replicate the same results with greater efficiency
• Conveniently take the most complex of matters and break them down into specific tasks
• Assign team members as timekeepers for particular duties and tasks
• Identify and address potential trouble spots in workflow or caseload in real time
• Gain valuable KPIs through automated reporting so you can increase your profitability for similar cases in the future
• Help timekeepers keep on task and within budget
• Determine which projects are critical
• Track the time it takes to complete specific tasks and adjust pricing or project management accordingly
• Provide essential oversight tools to firm managers so that project progress is accurately monitored
• Put billing and/or time limits in place for specific clients or case types
• And so much more!

Discover the practice management solutions AbacusNext has to offer

Learn how you can gain more control and improve the efficiency of your law office.  Download the free, LegalTech Practice Management Buyer’s Guide  to see how LPM software helps manage your time effortlessly, keeps your data organized and centralized, and improves profitability.