Introduction to Legal Collaboration Software
Legal collaboration software is a type of computer program designed to streamline teamwork in law firms by simplifying communication with clients and enhancing document sharing across all devices. When you hear the term "legal collaboration software," this may bring to mind cloud computing, which helps document sharing between users on several personal computers, tablets and smartphones. So while legal collaboration software may be viewed as a cloud-based tool for sharing and storing files, it does much more than that.
Legal collaboration software offers a variety of features to help you execute important tasks such as:
It sets and strengthens your firm’s branding by providing consistent graphics, colors, fonts, and logos for any internal or external communication that you design using the software.
Once you’ve made templates for new documents, legal collaboration software helps standardize and secure your firm’s important documents by allowing you to select your clients and services on an easy-to-use dashboard. The software then sends the relevant documents to the correct people .
Legal collaboration software also enhances client communication by providing secure, branded language to ensure professionalism and confidentiality when reaching out to clients. Used as a messaging system similar to email, it secures your messages with a password and other authentication requirements. This ensures that important business information and communications never fall into the wrong hands.
Some programs offer cloud storage for real-time backup and sometimes legal collaboration software can integrate with firm shared drives and other existing storage systems. Legal collaboration software can also help you manage client requirements to guarantee a productive and timely service.
One of the most important features of legal collaboration software is the analytics function. This tool breaks down how many clients you have, how many hours your associates are working, who is charging what, how well your firm meets its growth targets and many other details. The best legal collaboration software can also generate reports and dashboards to help you visualize results and focus improvements in the areas where you need them.
Benefits of Legal Collaboration Software
Legal collaboration software can be a game changer for both law firms and their clients, by providing a platform for improved communication and efficiency on legal matters. This type of software also helps to manage conflicts or other challenges that typically arise in the process of handling complex legal transactions. Key benefits include: Streamlined Workflows: Legal collaboration software allows you to set up a workflow for any matter, and all parties can follow that workflow in real-time, accessing key information and recordkeeping related to specific steps or events. Attorneys can also set alerts for things such as deadlines, required signatures, or other tasks that need to be completed. Automated signatures and approvals are also a feature of many programs, improving the efficiency of document reviews and approvals. Some programs also allow you to save workflows as templates for easier reuse, improving your efficiency in the future as well.
Document Management: Legal transactions often involve many different revisions or iterations of documents, schemas, and other items, and many people try and "get their hands" into document storage. Legal collaboration software creates an organized central repository for tracking versions, storing documentation, and retrieving and reviewing it. When all stakeholders can see and participate in the same system, it is easier to resolve conflicts between versions or mandates, or between management and the development teams. Many legal collaboration software programs also provide visibility into the status of a project, and they can integrate with other tools that are already in your law firm’s arsenal. Good document management software also tracks changes to documents, so you have an automatic record of all modifications made along the way.
Easy Communication: Communication is the backbone of any transaction, and it becomes even more important when organizing a collaboration among multiple parties. Legal collaboration software provides a convenient way to share documents. The program’s visibility also allows you to review all of the communications related to a project, including e-mails, public comments, and social media updates. In some programs, parties can track management issues, conflicts with management, and the resolution of employer-employee conflicts. You can also save communication templates for later use on future matters.
Collaboration Across Stakeholders: When working on a complex legal transaction, it is common for many different stakeholders to be involved. Legal collaboration software allows you to collaborate with everyone involved, both internal and external, through one unified system. The software provides a centralized platform for all activities, making it easier to organize communications and to manage documents amongst everyone involved. Legal collaboration software can create an expanded circle of trust and can help you collaborate across boundaries in a way that is both secure and efficient.
The Leading Models in Legal Collaboration Software
There are a number of industry-leading collaboration tools that help firms stay productive and responsive. Here are some of the top options available on the market, their unique features, pricing, and standout benefits.
Clio
Clio is one of the most well-respected practice management tools in the legal industry. Their tool is designed to serve as a one-stop shop for managing all aspects of a firm’s practice, from case management to invoicing, to calendaring. Clio offers a number of features to enhance collaboration within firms, such as the ability to comment on documents, setting tasks using Clio’s calendar, and allowing users to log into the platform.
The cost for Clio varies depending on what features are being used and whether or not there is a need for additional users. The most common packages offered are the Starter at $39 per month, and the Business at $59 per month.
Dropbox Business
Dropbox is a file-sharing service that allows businesses and firms to save and share files both in-house and with outside parties. The Business option creates dedicated folders for each user, who can decide what permissions to assign to who, and which folders the user will have access to. Not only can firms share files in a secure environment, a dedicated Business account also integrates third-party tools so firms can take full advantage of Dropbox’s capabilities.
Dropbox Business gives users 30 TB of space, and costs $12.50 per user, per month.
Evernote
Similar to Dropbox, Evernote is a cloud-based storage and file-sharing system. This solution is designed specifically for those in the legal industry to help them work as efficiently as possible. Evernote can be accessed from your phone or tablet, and syncing between devices occurs automatically.
Some of the primary selling points of Evernote are its ease of use and the ability to set notifications. Evernote also allows for notes to be tagged for follow-up, file sharing, and the addition of voice recordings. Evernote’s pricing starts at $9.99 per month.
Trello
Another collaboration tool that has gained traction over the last few years is Trello, which allows users to track and manage projects. Many firms have started to find project planning tools a necessity, as they streamline and increase productivity at all levels.
Trello features boards — or folders — to organize a team’s tasks, tasks lists for organizing resources and tasks, and task cards for tracking and managing individual tasks. There are also options to add on different features to suit specific needs.
The basic level of Trello is free. Trello Gold is $5 monthly, and Trello Business Class starts at $9.99 per user, per month.
How Your Firm Can Utilize Legal Collaboration Software
Successfully integrating legal collaboration software into your firm’s technology stack involves several key steps. Each of these steps helps ensure that your new tool becomes a true knowledge platform, rather than a surface-level improvement that quickly diminishes in value. First, conduct a technology audit to identify opportunities for collaboration software implementation in your existing tech ecosystem. Are there tools and processes in place that could be enhanced with new collaborative features? If so, how? Next, engage your team in the selection process. The input of employees across the firm increases the chances that the update will be embraced by everyone. Be transparent about the reasoning behind the decision—to become truly integrated into existing processes, the benefits of the switch should be clearly outlined. This will reduce the chances of seeing a loss of productivity or morale. Then, to facilitate system integration, meet with all providers of your current systems and check whether your new tools are able to integrate with them. Once you have complete clarity on all the integrations available, you can implement them one by one, ensuring that people have the time and resources to adapt to the new technology without overwhelming them.
Training your teams on the new software is also essential. Through live demonstrations, best practices from experts, and one-on-one sessions, everyone across the firm should have ample support to begin using the solution. A negative perception of a change in technology can rid a company of a valuable resource before it’s even had the chance to prove its worth. Changing your firm’s internal workflow and information exchange processes isn’t easy, but it’s crucially important in order to reap the benefits of an investment in effective legal collaboration software. So, once you’ve integrated a new tool into your firm, thoroughly rethink the way that your team interacts with one another.
Harnessing Legal Collaboration Software for Greater Productivity
Legal collaboration software is more than a convenience; it’s a necessity for modern productivity. By harnessing the full potential of these tools, legal teams can significantly bolster their efficiency. Here are key strategies and best practices to consider:
Centralize Knowledge and Documents: Legal collaboration software facilitates a single source of truth, a centralized repository where all documents, contracts, and case files are stored and easily accessible to all relevant parties. Keep all your legal information in one place for easy searching and sorting.
Encourage Transparency and Boost Communication: Transparency is essential in the legal world. Through legal collaboration software, all team members can have visibility into open cases, ongoing projects, and past agreements, which fosters clearer communication. You can message your colleagues or comment on a document or a corporate contract, so everyone can stay in sync easily.
Share Updates Across Departments Using Apps: Some software solutions off the shelf may not be tailored for your exact needs. Customize these with apps so that you may meet everyone’s needs . For instance, consider integrating collaboration platforms with virtual law offices to foster communication between departments or inviting clients to join your legal collaboration software network, allowing them access to everything from templates to completed contracts.
Establish Guidelines for Using Legal Collaboration Solutions: The best way to maximize the use of legal collaboration software is establishing protocols for everyone involved. Every lawyer can access this knowledge base of the whole firm or company. For example, clarify the precise manner of sharing updates or documents via the software.
Stay Organized: With several people working on the same document, things can get chaotic quickly. Create a directory of everyone’s emails, phone numbers, job descriptions, titles, and other key information so that everyone can send messages or alerts as needed.
Designate the Owners of Projects: Assign responsibility for project management to one or two individuals so team members know who to approach with certain queries or concerns.
By implementing these strategies, legal teams can not only fully utilize these powerful software tools but also enhance their overall collaboration, leading to improved efficiency and productivity across the board.
Barriers to Legal Software Collaboration Solutions
Legal collaboration software comes with its own set of unique challenges. For one, legal professionals may not be as tech savvy as other departments in the firm, and their reluctance to embrace legal technology can slow down the onboarding and transition process if the training is not executed thoroughly. Another challenge involves the disparate systems and legacy technology that might result in needless and frustrating workarounds for team members due to limitations on integrations. Lastly, many firms now have attorneys working remotely, making the availability of important documents and data pivotal to their productivity.
For all of these common issues, there are proven solutions available to ease the transition and implementation processes. With regards to the technological gap frequently seen with lawyers, working with a provider that understands the challenges of the legal industry and is willing to take your firm hand-in-hand through the onboarding process is a must. A skilled provider will listen to your concerns, and if the provider has an efficient implementation process, the law firm will have the opportunity to create an internal champion for the new legal collaboration software, establishing someone who will encourage buy-in from the rest of the team. In addition, make sure the onboarding process for the system allows time for adequate training, and ensure that firm members are following through on the required training in order to ensure full adoption of the solution and its features. Rewarding small milestones in the implementation process with a celebration can also keep up team morale.
Integrating the legal collaboration software with existing legacy technologies or other systems can be difficult for many law firms. One way to address this is to conduct a thorough analysis of team members’ needs prior to implementation, so that you can better identify which integrations would be beneficial to them, ask about any "pain points" they may face, and address them ahead of time. Another option involves working with a provider that includes third-party integrations as part of the offering. In doing so, the provider will take responsibility for analysis and can provide the firm with a simplified process. Some providers will also assist with testing the integration to ensure it meets firm needs before going live.
For those attorneys who frequently travel or work remotely, being able to access the information and documents they need to do their job well is an important component of productivity. So is having the ability to collaborate effortlessly with other attorneys and members of their team without dealing with a cumbersome system or hunting down the document they’re looking for. One simple solution to overcome this is to make sure that the legal collaboration software can be used on a mobile device, and that it has a mobile-friendly design with features that make it easy to search for documents, view team members working on documents or projects, and add comments to items in process from anywhere at any time. Having clear tagging, smart search options, and the ability to view the document’s history makes it easier to stay up-to-date on all documents and revisions, while automated alerts and notifications for deadlines and project updates help keep productivity intact. In addition, someone else should take the lead on monitoring the program’s performance and compliance issues on behalf of the firm to ensure concerns are addressed and the system continues to meet needs.
With a little forethought and analysis, the right process, and an excellent provider, the challenges of implementing a new legal collaboration software system can be met – ultimately enhancing the efficiency of the firm.
Trends in Future Legal Collaboration Software
As law firms continue to grapple with the pressure of increased competition, falling realization rates and rising client demands for efficiency, there is an obvious need for more effective collaboration and communication. Collaboration tools can help facilitate better knowledge transfer between project teams and make internal and external communication and coordination easier and more efficient. As use of social collaboration technologies grows, we expect to see a continued focus on the need to both capture past work and best practices and to also promote a culture of sharing work internally and with clients and other trusted parties. We also expect this will drive increased investment in document assembly, workflow and legal automation tools aimed at firm standardization and at driving cost efficiencies throughout the firm . We also see the emerging need to support estate planning, wills and family law practice areas with technical solutions. Just as the software and legal industries have invested to automate the estate administration process, we anticipate that practitioners will be more heavily focused on investing in and employing technology aimed at automating the estate planning process. We predict this will happen organically, as large and mid-sized law firms are looking for ways to deliver quality legal services at a lower cost and in ways that are vertically integrated with the model of financial and estate planning. Although prophecies of major change based on new technologies are not new, the proliferation of tech, ease of use and rapid adoption supported by steady price decreases are all coming together to provide previously unavailable efficiencies that leave no law firm untouched.