Within the authorized world, time is a finite and ever-dwindling useful resource. Juggling a number of circumstances, staying on high of paperwork, dealing with numerous administrative duties, and managing shopper relations all eat into your time. Thankfully, the perfect productiveness instruments for legal professionals are on the market, and so they could make an enormous distinction in how a lot time you spend on all the pieces from activity administration to analysis.
That can assist you choose the proper productiveness instruments, whether or not you’re a person or working a authorized workplace, we’ve recognized 10 instruments that may lower down your busy work, provide help to draw insights, and handle massive caseloads with ease.
Curious how one can streamline common activity administration? With Clio Handle, you may make the most of intuitive to-do lists, case insights, and extra.
The right way to determine productiveness gaps in your agency
Like most tech instruments for legal professionals, productiveness instruments for legal professionals sometimes carry a price ticket. And even these which might be free can include a studying curve and require you to rethink your workflows. In both case, it’s essential you understand the place your largest productiveness gaps are, as this may present a place to begin to your hunt.
There are just a few steps you may take to determine productiveness gaps in your agency:
1. Map out your workflows
Map out your workflows from begin to end utilizing a flowchart. Be happy to get as granular as doable, itemizing out even probably the most miniscule of duties (in spite of everything, you by no means know the place a ache level may reside.)
How will we collect potential shopper data?
How will we enter shoppers into our observe administration software program?
Can we even have observe administration software program?
How are duties assigned out?
How will we invoice our shoppers?
2. Assess every workflow
Along with your workflows mapped out, assign an estimated time to every one, if doable. If you happen to’re undecided of the particular time a activity sometimes takes, give it your greatest guess. You can too have your group use a time-tracking device and seize an correct evaluation of every workflow, which will provide you with probably the most concrete information.
3. Spotlight downside areas
When you’ve listed out the time every activity takes, spotlight areas the place your agency is missing effectivity. Take into account, some duties inherently take longer than others, so it’s not at all times duties that take probably the most time which might be probably the most problematic.
What duties trigger probably the most friction day-to-day?
The place do you spend most of your non-billable time?
What holds you again from resolving circumstances sooner (or getting paid sooner)?
Pay particular consideration to duties that lead to delays. Are there sure areas the place paperwork are sometimes returned or rejected due to errors? Are communications with shoppers or different workplaces inflicting bottlenecks?
4. Make a device wishlist
Lastly, make a wishlist of perfect productiveness instruments that can assist you all through your analysis of various productiveness instruments for legal professionals. Prioritize the sort of device that will provide you with the most important positive aspects primarily based in your downside areas. For some practices, this is likely to be common activity administration. For others, it’d come all the way down to using higher scheduling instruments (trace: Clio does each!).
Prime 10 productiveness instruments for legal professionals
We’ve recognized the ten classes for the perfect productiveness instruments for legal professionals. As you method every class, take into consideration your agency’s wants (as recognized within the earlier part), and notice which instruments are probably to assist your productiveness probably the most at this second.
1. Cloud-based case administration software program
Cloud-based case administration software program makes it doable for legal professionals and their groups to extra simply handle circumstances, shopper engagements, and billing from anyplace, anytime.
Clio Handle is a complete cloud-based case administration device that makes it simpler than ever to run your agency on the go. With it, you may:
Handle circumstances, shoppers, and your agency in a single interface
Keep on high of appointments, and deadlines
Automate mundane duties
Routinely generate docs utilizing case information
Securely retailer and entry case information from anyplace
Centralize shopper communications
Past these capabilities, Clio Handle empowers you to streamline quite a few workflows with a single, highly effective device—making it an excellent place to begin for optimizing your observe.
2. Job administration software program
There’s no scarcity of duties in a regulation workplace—however the proper authorized activity administration software program can lighten the load and is among the most significant productiveness instruments for legal professionals—a vital place to begin.
Clio Handle is an intuitive authorized activity administration software program that’s able to serving people and groups alike. With it, you may profit from:
Visibility into authorized duties
Straightforward collaboration, with the power to auto-assign duties and generate paperwork
Customized activity classes for granular management
Succinct to-do lists pulled straight out of your calendar objects
Productiveness and progress experiences in your agency
With a lot to handle, it’s simple to get misplaced in routine duties. Clio Handle helps you keep organized and in management.
3. Authorized AI instruments
There are a variety of AI instruments for legal professionals, every with completely different capabilities. Whereas they differ in performance, every of them might help you streamline efforts.
Clio Duo
Clio Duo is a sophisticated authorized AI that’s constructed into Clio Handle. With Clio Duo, you will get fast insights, delegate activity creation and time entries, and even extract information from current paperwork.
Harvey.AI
Harvey is an AI constructed for Fortune 500, service suppliers, and regulation companies. Harvey can speed up analysis efforts, securely home paperwork, run threat assessments, and assist with drafts.
Smith.AI
Smith.ai is the equal of a digital receptionist or name answering service. With Smith.ai you may automate lead qualification, name and ticket escalation, and transfers. Smith.ai’s digital reception and dwell net chat each combine with Clio to routinely sync name summaries, contact data (identify, e mail, cellphone quantity), and name length/size (if relevant), and extra!
Logikcull
Logikcull is an automatic discovery and authorized holds platform. Logikcull makes it doable to streamline authorized holds and make spreadsheets and handbook e mail monitoring a factor of the previous. Logikcull can even deal with your entire discovery course of and information categorization. By leveraging Clio’s Logikcull integration, you may even streamline discovery inside current Clio tasks.
As AI continues to advance, adopting AI-powered productiveness instruments for legal professionals can considerably improve your agency’s effectivity by chopping down on time spent on non-billable duties.
4. Authorized calendaring and scheduling instruments
Authorized calendaring and scheduling instruments make it simpler to remain on high of your schedule, no matter your caseload and variety of companies.
Clio Handle has a strong calendaring software program that may observe occasions, billable hours, and even permit affirmation through texts. Clio Handle additionally automates schedule deadlines primarily based on court docket guidelines, decreasing careless scheduling errors.
Clio Develop pairs with Handle, automating your shopper consumption course of. Clio Develop captures shopper data with on-line consumption varieties, manages appointment scheduling, sends textual content reminders for appointments, sends docs for e-signatures, and retains all the pieces neatly organized on the cloud for straightforward entry.
5. Authorized billing, invoicing and cost instruments
There are a variety of billing, invoicing, and cost instruments for legal professionals, all of which scale back late or incorrect funds, streamline bills, and reduce your monetary complications general.
Clio Funds contains authorized billing software program that’s centered on streamlining the cost course of. With Clio’s Fee’s billing software program, you may automate curiosity on late funds, settle for funds from anyplace, provide flex funds to shoppers, and even automate cost plans.
Clio Funds additionally helps customized billing, quite a few cost choices (comparable to break up billing and bulk billing), and the power to sync together with your accounting platform.
Clio additionally gives timekeeping and expense monitoring inside Clio Handle. Utilizing this monitoring, you may add time entries immediately out of your calendar, use a working clock to trace project-specific time, and even add entries immediately out of your cellphone or inbox. Not solely will this provide help to observe time spent on actions, it would additionally prevent the time misplaced on handbook monitoring.
6. Doc drafting and e-signature instruments
Doc drafting and e-signature instruments can each guarantee the proper signatures are secured for every step, and in addition preserve issues on observe.
Clio Draft
So much goes into the authorized doc drafting course of. Clio Draft automates most of it off your plate, and streamlines the remaining, with:
Automated authorized doc era
A library of fillable PDF court docket varieties
Dynamic shopper questionnaires that map to doc templates
Assist for on-line signatures from anyplace, anytime
Not solely can Clio Draft provide help to save time through the drafting course of, it additionally means that you can handle your observe on the go. That is particularly useful when you journey regularly, are out and in of court docket, or have a couple of agency to handle.
Docusign
DocuSign is virtually a family identify within the e-signature world. It gives a safe platform for gathering e-signatures, providing you with peace of thoughts that shopper information is in the proper arms. And, with a Clio integration, you may profit from DocuSign’s safety throughout the Clio platform.
7. Consumer consumption and relationship administration (CRM) instruments
A easy shopper consumption course of can set the stage to your agency’s complete relationship with a shopper. With the proper shopper consumption and relationship administration (CRM) instruments, you can begin on the proper foot and preserve issues that means.
Clio Develop is a shopper consumption suite that provides all the pieces from knowledgeable web site, on-line consumption varieties, Google Native Companies Advert help, and straightforward appointment scheduling for shoppers.
When you’ve made your presence recognized utilizing Develop, you may take issues a step additional with Clio’s CRM software program. Working inside Develop, Clio’s authorized CRM platform offers you a complete view of shopper statuses, contact data, and an intuitive scheduling course of. You possibly can even use Clio’s CRM to automate e mail sends and interact present and incoming shoppers.
See how Clio might help your regulation agency processes
Learn the way companies stage up their enterprise with Clio.
See Clio in Motion
8. Consumer portal and communication instruments
A user-friendly shopper portal and streamlined communication instruments could make the oft-stressful authorized course of simpler for shoppers and companions alike.
Clio for Shoppers is a streamlined shopper portal that permits your shoppers to succeed in you from anyplace. Clio for Shoppers gives safety and ease of entry, with simple cell entry and cell doc scanning.
In case your shoppers have questions, preserve your proverbial door open with Zoom. Utilizing the Clio integration, you may provide Zoom calls with a single click on, syncing them throughout your Clio calendars.
9. Authorized analysis instruments
Authorized analysis instruments might help newer legal professionals analysis sooner, and seasoned ones do much more with their time.
Westlaw
Westlaw is part of the Thomson Reuters suite. Westlaw supplies fast entry to an unlimited assortment of major and secondary regulation sources, a quotation checker, and the power to automate background historical past analysis.
Lexis
LexisNexis is a set of regulation instruments, together with Protégé™, an AI assistant. Lexis incorporates a library of authorized texts, draft templates, quotation help, and a newsdesk that gives the newest headlines and analytics.
Fastcase
Fastcase is a set of authorized software program, together with highly effective analysis instruments that rapidly pull the newest on any given topic. Fastcase additionally gives a Clio integration, making it doable to drag from their analysis database whereas working inside your Clio tasks.
10. Regulation agency analytics instruments
Analytics instruments can allow you to realize deeper insights out of your agency’s efforts, make extra knowledgeable and strategic choices, and finally do extra with the sources at your disposal.
Clio Accounting
Clio Accounting gives a wealthy monetary reporting system that gives regulation companies a take a look at their money movement, excellent balances, and shopper funds. Clio Accounting additionally helps preserve you compliant with three-way belief reconciliation, and the power to trace each cost. And, with computerized syncing between your financials and ledgers, it can save you time and make sure you’re working with up-to-date data.
Clio’s regulation agency insights sprint
The regulation agency insights dashboard inside Clio Handle offers you a high-level view of your agency’s efficiency. Simply keep on high of billable hours, alternatives for productiveness positive aspects, and income throughout your agency. With this data, you may simply determine areas for enchancment, flagging workflows appropriate for streamlining with different instruments from this checklist.
myFirmData
myFirmData is a customized reporting device constructed for Clio information. Utilizing myFirmData you may rapidly create customized experiences with choose fields, run experiences primarily based on greater than 50 templates, and even schedule automated era of experiences.
LawKPIs
LawKPIs supplies a reporting resolution that may sync up together with your Clio information for customized evaluation. With LawKPIs, you should use information to gasoline experiences and visualizations. If you happen to want one thing extra tailored, you may create experiences with customized fields and tweak current templates. And, with the LawKPI Clio integration, it’s fast and straightforward to stand up and working.
Bonus:
11. Doc administration and automation software program
Doc administration and automation software program for legal professionals can guarantee protected storage and entry for all case paperwork, and faster supply of paperwork for shoppers.
Clio Handle gives authorized doc administration software program with limitless storage, doc search performance, and e-signature help. With conditional fields, you may autofill paperwork with shopper data straight from Clio. Paired with Clio’s AI, Clio Duo, you may expedite overview and automate the extraction of key particulars from paperwork and circumstances.
Streamline the doc creation course of itself with Clio Draft’s authorized doc automation. Utilizing these instruments, you may flip Microsoft Phrase paperwork into templates for repeat use. A number of paperwork for a case? Populate them abruptly with Clio’s conditional logic. As soon as they’re able to go, package deal paperwork up for shopper overview and digital signature, saving additional time within the overview and supply course of.
Doing extra with much less
Regardless of the productiveness points you’re going through in your observe, there’s probably a device to unravel it. However, solely when you have the proper legal-specific device for the job.
Take your time through the workflow evaluation course of. Don’t be afraid to decelerate and observe your time for extra correct outcomes, and seek the advice of together with your group when unsure.
Take into account you’re by no means caught with a device, both. If you happen to’re not proud of the outcomes, attempt one other. What works for one observe might not work for yours, in spite of everything. Over time, you’ll discover a authorized tech stack that works for you, and be able to doing extra with much less.
We printed this weblog publish in March 2025. Final up to date: March 31, 2025.
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