More Than 50% Of Legal Firms Are Making These Mistakes

Legal firms, just like any other business, need clients and people who want to buy from them. But many of them are stuck practicing old business models, making Legal Firms Common Mistakes and doing themselves an injustice.

Legal Firms Common Mistakes Over 50% Still Make

1. Neglecting Invoicing And Billing

A lot of legal firms get into trouble when they start neglecting their invoicing and billing. They simply don’t have protocols in place to follow up with their clients and ensure that the money keeps on flowing in. 

Of course, this problem doesn’t just afflict law firms, but it can be a significant issue. When billing is sorted out though, payments can soar by as much as 10%, which is a big improvement in margins in most firms. 

2. Lack Of Client Communication

A lot of legal firms also struggle with client communication. Again, they don’t have the proper systems set up to manage conversations effectively and everything becomes atomized over time. 

The fix is usually to establish some sort of client portal. These are handy because they organize communications and can be managed via the cloud. 

3. Poor eDiscovery

You also see many legal firms running into eDiscovery issues. As part of Legal Firms Common Mistakes, most are spending a lot of time simply waiting for information requests, a process that should really be automated in most situations. 

Fortunately, eDiscovery tools are a quick and easy solution. These deal with most of the manual work for you, so you can move forward. 

If you don’t hand some of this work over to software, you can wind up in a situation where you’re having to do a lot of this by hand. And that takes you away from serving your customers. 

4. Failing To Use Automation

Failing to use sufficient automation is another common mistake more than half of law firms are making. Today’s tools are very advanced, and yet a lot of lawyers simply aren’t using them, preferring to fall back on conventional techniques and approaches. 

Again, the fix involves simply hopping on software subscriptions that solve problems that are pertinent in your business. 

If you need to delegate some administrative responsibilities to paralegals, then do. Usually, it is a better use of your time. 

5. Mismanaging Trusts

While it might sound strange, a lot of legal firms also mismanage trusts, despite their legendary security status. What’s more, the rules around them are challenging, and it isn’t always clear what actions you should take to protect them. 

If you can use IOLTA software, that usually helps. These solutions help with reconciliations with multiple stakeholders and reduce the risk of errors. 

6. Poor Cybersecurity

Finally, a lot of law firms make the mistake of neglecting their cybersecurity. As part of Legal Firms Common Mistakes, this often happens because they believe they don’t have any important data to defend. But, again though, that’s not the case. Many parties, including criminals, want this information. Therefore, implement all the relevant security measures, including requiring all staff to adopt multi-factor authentication.