Top 7 Law Practice Management Goals for 2023
With the new year just around the corner, many people are setting goals for themselves and making New Year’s resolutions.
The beginning of a new year is also an excellent time for law firms to conduct an in-depth assessment of their daily operations and processes to see what’s working and what changes need to be made for long-term efficiency and profitability.
Each firm has its own specific needs and goals, but there are some that can apply no matter your firm’s size or practice areas. With that in mind, here are our top law practice management goals for 2023.
1. Bill more time
When it comes to law practice management, finding ways to bill more time is crucial to helping your law office grow. Many legal professionals wait until the end of the day—or even the end of the week—to log their billable hours. This can result in unnecessary guesswork rather than concrete numbers, which can lead to losses for your law firm.
By using practice management software to track billable hours in real time, you can ensure that your firm is billing as many hours as possible.
2. Increase collections
Now that you’ve billed more time, make sure to bill on time. Waiting to bill your clients is like throwing away your hard-earned money—you’re essentially offering interest-free financing and providing your services at a discount.
Not sure where to start with increasing your collections? We’ve got a few suggestions:
- Establish—and share—comprehensive billing and payment policies
- Track time thoroughly every day
- Send out invoices on a regular schedule
- Generate detailed invoices
- Keep a close eye on your accounts receivable
- Read your financial reports every month
One valuable tool in increasing your collections is your legal-specific practice management software. Make full use of your practice management tools to accurately bill for time, create invoices quickly, and allow clients to pay for your legal services with credit cards.
3. Reduce your reliance on paper
Making the switch to a paperless law office saves your firm money by cutting costs on supplies, storage, labor, and more. It can also make things easier for your clients, eliminating the need to make in-person visits to your firm to sign or share documents. Plus, it allows the option for you and other members of your team to work remotely.
Legal practice management software that includes document automation, file-sharing, and eSignature can help facilitate your transition to a paperless practice. As you make the shift, though, it’s important to clearly communicate new office practices to both your team and your clients. It may take some time to adjust, but when you share the positive impacts, it will be easier to get everyone on board.
4. Automate administrative processes
Some legal professionals might feel stretched thin with too many administrative tasks piling up around them. And when you’re tied up with paperwork, you’re missing out on valuable billable hours—and ultimately costing your law firm revenue.
Automating tedious workflows is a smart way to clear up time in your schedule. Task automation allows legal professionals to focus more on high-value client work while also improving the client experience and reducing the risk of error that comes with manual tasks.
There are lots of opportunities to automate legal work, but some tasks that make especially good candidates for automation include:
- Client intake tasks
- Client communication
- Document assembly
- Billing and invoicing
- Payment collection
- Project management
And more!
As you identify work to automate, take a close look at what your practice management software allows you to do. Working within your legal practice management software to automate tasks (rather than implementing additional tools) can further streamline your operations.
5. Go remote
Over the last few years, the world has rapidly embraced the concept of remote work—and with good reason. A recent study shows that remote work can increase employee happiness by 20%, with no drops in productivity. And when lawyers can work remotely, so can their clients.
Using a cloud-based practice management software will allow your law firm’s team to operate on the go from anywhere, increasing efficiency and satisfaction among legal professionals and clients alike. What’s more, cloud-based software offers increasingly high levels of security, even surpassing the security of on-premise software.
If your law office is considering remote or hybrid work schedules, make sure that you set clear policies in place and establish protocols for how staff should use software, handle client data, and more.
6. Use data for better decision making
When looking to improve processes at your law office, it’s vital to have relevant data to assist you in setting goals and making plans. Speaking of data—did you know that businesses that use reporting and analytics software are five times more likely to reach a decision faster than those that don’t?
Rocket Matter provides advanced analytic reporting on your billing process to measure progress, keep costs down, and effectively manage operations. Use this feature to see who is bringing in clients, and assess which clients are profitable and which may be a drain on the firm’s revenue.
7. Use legal-specific practice management software
Many legal professionals use a patchwork of different programs to manage day-to-day operations in their law firms. Navigating between programs that weren’t designed to work for law offices can waste valuable time and billable hours, and result in billing mistakes or miscommunication with clients.
Instead of switching back and forth between multiple tools, consider converting to an all-in-one, legal-specific practice management software—particularly one that integrates with the tools you’re already using, like Office 365, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more. Integrations will keep your team connected and productive by reducing bottlenecks in your workflows.
Start the new year right with Rocket Matter
Rocket Matter was created with the legal profession in mind, allowing law firms to work quickly and efficiently and increase profitability. With the robust features in our practice management software, you can spend less time on the small stuff and focus on what really matters.
Rocket Matter’s best-of-breed legal management software covers everything you need to increase your law firm’s revenue, including:
- Time tracking
- Document management and automation
- Client relationship management tools
- Secure file-sharing and eSignature
- Online payments
- Cloud-based accessibility
- Mobile apps
Schedule a free demo or start a free trial with Rocket matter today!
Share post: