It’s critical to choose legal case management software that is right for your law firm. It can prove to be very costly if you make a mistake in terms of the software’s efficiency as well as possible security risks.
If you do get it right, your firm will gain more time, dispatch bills far more efficiently, and your firm will run more smoothly than it’s ever done previously.
How do you pick the best legal case management software? Here are some things to consider.
- Server-based or cloud-based?
Typically in the past, most law firms used premise-located server-based software solutions to fulfill the needs of their practice. In recent times, cloud-based solutions have emerged to become far more popular. Cloud-based software offers a variety of benefits. Among them:
- Ability to gain access to information in a secure fashion from anywhere.
- Software upgrades on auto which eliminates cost, time, and the sheer hassle of manual upgrades.
- More secure.
- Ease of use
Obviously, before you invest, you’ll want to assess the case management software’s ease of use. Consider the daily tasks to be completed when managing cases. Then run through these tasks using the software. For example:
- Add research information to cases.
- Find specific information.
- Add a new contact to the system or open a new case.
- Bill clients.
Good case management software will be designed in such a way that it is intuitive and user-friendly. Remaining organised and undertaking administrative tasks should be easy.
- Security
Ensuring that firm and client information is secure and confidential is critical for your firm. In terms of case management software solutions, some are secure others less so.
Cloud-based software is considered as being more secure than premise-located server-based software. This is because vendors have gone to great lengths and invested a lot of money in security infrastructure.
- Mobile access
On average, people in the U.K. check their mobile phones approximately 28 times daily. It’s likely that as a lawyer you’re no different. You should be able to use your phone to utilise your firm’s legal case management software so the software must come with an app.
- Integrations
When you choose the best legal case management software you should still be able to use the services and apps that you prefer. A good cloud-based solution will work with other programs that are popular in a seamless fashion. This way your information can be kept organised within a centralised hub so you don’t have to enter information over and over again when using multiple apps.
- Reviews
Most vendors will claim to be the best and to offer the best software. But that doesn’t mean you should believe what they say. Check reviews by lawyers that are using the same software that you’re interested in. You can look at reviews on the vendor’s website, or better still, read through reviews left on dedicated review websites.
- Cost
Without question, any legal case management software solution’s cost is going to be a key consideration. You should be sure that you understand the associated costs.
Typically, you’ll pay per user on a monthly basis and that cost will be fixed. If you were to pay annually you may get a discount. With some software solutions, there could be additional costs involved like for the installation, for the setup, for data migrations, for training, and for maintenance. Find out about all costs before making an investment.
- Transition experience
If you’re just starting out in business the transition experience is not something you’ll be concerned about. Otherwise, transferring information over to a new platform is not generally an easy process.
There are a couple of questions to ask so that you’ll know what’s involved:
- Does the subscription cost cover data migration or is there an extra cost?
- Will there be available support?
Ideally, you’ll not be asked to pay any extra for data migration and plenty of ongoing support should be available.
- Support
Finally, find out about the support that is available. It’s always worth knowing that when you need help, and you will need help, it will be available.
What you need to know:
- When is support available – what hours?
- Is there a department dedicated to support?
- What channels are available for support (phone, chat, email, etc.)?
- Is support free of charge?
- When calling how long do you typically have to wait to talk to a real person?
Some vendors of case management software have excellent support and this can make a huge difference to your overall experience.