With 133,837 practising solicitors in 2016 and the study of law as the fifth most popular degree choice, it is easy to see why the legal sector is particularly thriving.
The demand and necessity of services such as compensation claims and divorce settlements signify that the popularity of this service will only grow further.
As a business that works intimately with legal professionals, we are aware that it’s this same popularity that makes the sector extremely competitive.
Whether it be through the top rates, the best advice or leading customer service, many legal firms are forever improving and adapting to stay relevant.
But how can law firms ensure that they are keeping up with, if not exceeding their competition?
Well, that is exactly what we’re here for! Scroll down to find out how can law firms stay competitive.
Know Your Clients
Let’s start with the basics. As the saying goes ‘people buy from people’ and your clients are exactly that – People!
Your clients are the same as you and me, so getting to know them is easy. Rather than taking a stab in the dark at what you think your clients want, why not ask them?
A simple email or phone call asking one of the following questions goes a long way…
- How are we doing?
- What can we do better?
- Which part of our service is most important to you?
- What do you want from us?
Most often, people are happy to provide constructive criticism – Especially if it means that they get a better service!
Getting the answers to questions like these provide an insight into weaknesses, as well as things that are important to your clients i.e. a quicker response time to emails.
This gives you the perfect place to start improving your service and thus the experience of your business overall; Ultimately, putting you above your competition.
Practical and Professional Documentation
The ground of your work may be based on ancient laws, but that doesn’t mean your documentation has to be medieval too!
The legal sector is obliged to follow many protocols and involves a lot of files, and sensitive and personal data.
If you can make the process of signing a contract or completing a form as easy as possible then do it! No one likes going out of their way to do a simple job.
Create professional documents and save your clients time and effort with software such as Kofax Power PDF.
Tiny Scanner solves a big inconvenience
Another important aspect of the role of a lawyer is scanning. Whether it’s case files, important documents or contracts, a task that seems simple can often take up a lot of time.
That is why a simple tool such as Tiny Scanner can be helpful.
The app turns your smartphone into a mini-scanner, allowing you to scan documents with your camera and convert them into a PDF or JPEG file.
Once scanned, the document is on your phone ready to be sent to the relevant persons.
Save time faffing around with the pre-historic scanning machine, and be more efficient with this handy app.
Tiny Scanner is free in the Apple app store and Google Play, however, there is a professional upgrade available for only £4.99.
se Your VoicePower
Of course, we had to save the best until last.
Managing your workflow has to be up there with one of, if not the most important jobs within any business. The failure to do so can have a knock-on effect on various areas of the business including:
- Customer service
- Billable jobs
- Profit turnover
- Business Reputation
- Employee satisfaction/team morale
Therefore, keeping on top of and creating workflow should be paramount to all businesses – Especially within the legal sector where the creation of reports, contracts, and other documents is so important.
Dragon speech recognition is a tool that allows users to speak to their computer in order to create documentation, reply to emails or do other tasks that require typing; Furthermore, there is now a version specifically created for legal firms called Dragon Legal Anywhere.
Talking is our sole method of communication, which is why we can speak 3x faster than typing.
This alteration in how you input data can save an hour a day, which is extremely valuable in a legal business where fee-earners bring in a large proportion of profit.
What would you do with that now spare time?
Maybe you would complete two more billable jobs and double your profit? Or spend the time training your team so that they stand out from the crowd? You could even finally go home on time – The decision is yours.
One voice recognition user reduced their client waiting times by 50%, another saved £15,000.
I guess what we’re trying to say is: that transformations like these are guaranteed to put your firm ahead of competitors.
VoicePower is proud to supply this product, created by Nuance Communications.
We also offer specialist training and technical support to ensure that you get the most out of the technology and should you come to any bumps in the road, we are there to help.
Although some of these tips seem minimal, they are fruitful. If you can take many little steps in improving aspects of the business, they will contribute to the larger picture.
