In this current digital age, taking “reasonable efforts” ensure the safety of client information has become an essential aspect of law firm management. The American Bar Associations Standing committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility’s 2017 Formal Opinion 477R provides that it is a “lawyer’s ethical responsibility to use reasonable efforts when communicating client confidential information using […]
As the professional world moves more and more into the digital space, the days of physical records are rapidly coming to a close. The benefits of electronic documents, such as worldwide accessibility, ease of archiving and searching old records, cost savings on paper storage space, and decreased environmental footprint, go hand in hand with the […]
Technology is constantly evolving. Tools like fax machines and typewriters that were indispensable in their day have become utterly obsolete today. The speed with which technology changes and evolves can make it easy to fall behind the curve. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights In the professional world, using out of date technology (even when […]
The financial crisis made many people gun-shy about excessive expenditures. One of the many industries hit by this heightened interest in cost control measures was the legal field. Clients began taking a closer look at their legal invoices. This mindset has prevailed even past the economic improvements of the subsequent years. FREE TRIAL View Products […]
Small and mid-sized law firms have their work cut out for them. Over the last several years, most large law firms have created internal R&D departments to increase efficiency and improve the delivery of their services. However, small and mid-sized firms most often simply do not have the budget for these kinds of efforts. FREE […]
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, blockchain distributed ledgers could “ensure that compliance and transparency are hard-wired into the very fabric of the market.” In the legal sphere, many articles have addressed the ways in which blockchain systems can be used for “smart contracts”, financial transactions like with BitCoin or Facebook’s Libra, or […]
Digital billing and practice management systems are now common in law firms. With the many options for online billing available, especially with billing platforms that allow third party applications to build on their basic functionality, leaps and bounds in technology have made billing simpler and more accurate. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights Improvements in […]
Many specialized industries are undergoing significant change as a result of automation and the largely unfettered access to information. The legal field has also started to feel the effects of this disruption, particularly with regard to billing. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights According to an article in Inside Legal, the billing practices of legal firms face more […]
The entertainment industry has a storied history of amplifying the dramatic aspects of life and downplaying the more mundane. This is most evident in the portrayal of the legal field. If movies and TV shows are to be believed, being a lawyer is filled with constant life or death drama and intrigue. Unfortunately, this is […]
Many articles and news reports showcase how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being increasingly utilized by many different professions and industries year after year. For example, online tech magazine ZDNet recounts that venture capital funding for AI startups more than tripled from 2016 to 2018, that the use of AI by customer service organizations is estimated to exceed […]
Improving efficiency is an ever-important but never-ending aspect of maintaining and growing any business, including law firms. Having a finger on the pulse of technological advancement keeps a firm “in the know” of applications that can make their jobs easier, reduce overhead, and make their clients happier. Because only around 30 percent of law firms […]
Recent years have seen an explosion in crowdfunding activities, with sites like Kickstarter and GoFundMe being used to raise funds for everything from funeral costs for fallen heroes to potato salad (yes, potato salad). However, a concept that hasn’t received as much attention is the idea of crowdfunding attorney’s fees. This isn’t an entirely untapped […]
Increased client scrutiny of legal fees has taken a significant toll on law firm profitability. Previously, law firm realization and collection rates would often range from 90 to 95%. However, since the economic downturn of 2008, realization rates have fallen to as low as 81.1% for the largest law firms, and 83.9% for mid-sized firms, according to […]
A recent article in the Illinois Bar Journal asks: “When it comes to optimizing your practice, do you trust your gut? Don’t. If you aren’t using data to measure what works and what doesn’t, you can’t be sure you’re winning the game. The good news: your practice generates the data you need to gauge success and […]
DocumentConnex was created with your needs in mind. Take advantage of the application’s groundbreaking technology, so you can sign, verify, and import files in a simple and secure way. As technology continues to grow, signing documents electronically is becoming more commonplace. With that comes the risk of hackers trying to steal your information, and the […]
Crowdfunding has become an established and viable fundraising tool for the better part of the last ten years. Initially, entrepreneurs found great success funding business ventures and projects for which they otherwise wouldn’t have had the capital. Later, people facing financial hardships or sudden emergencies utilized the method to elicit donations from an audience outside […]
A plethora of recent news reports show how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being integrated into more and more facets of the professional world each year. In fact, market research company Statista projects that revenues from AI will grow from $1.62B in 2019 to over $31B by 2025. The legal field is no exception. AI and […]
The vast majority of law firms use some sort of digital billing or practice management system. However, not all such systems are created equal. New technological advances have made for easier and more accurate billing. Even more recently, developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence allow law firm billing and practice management systems to intuit […]
News about “data-driven” solutions in various business verticals is frequent. The good news for lawyers is that the advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning that make the data-driven solutions possible are also available to law firms and corporate legal departments. Attorneys can harness these valuable technologies to bring significant improvements to various internal […]
Automation is often seen as a potential industry-wide paradigm shift for lawyers. New York Law Journal’s deputy editor-in-chief Susan DeSantis indicates that some have seen the rapid increase in the pace of legal practice as a cause for concern. Even though the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Responsibility Rule 1.1 “duty of technology competence” hash […]
Keeping up with technological advancements can be challenging, but the alternative could hurt the profitability of your firm, and in extreme cases could even threaten its viability. It’s natural for people to get used to certain tools and procedures to the point where new things seem unnecessary. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights However, a recent […]
Attorneys need to know as much about a prospective client’s legal issues – and the client – as possible in order to determine whether or not to accept the client. Ethical rules prohibit representations where potential conflicts arise, and firms should also be aware of the financial and past legal background of new clients to […]
Crowdfunding is a go-to fundraising resource for modern entrepreneurs. However, the idea of crowdfunding to finance legal action continues to largely escape popular consciousness. According to a report by the National Association of Housing Cooperatives (NAHC), between 2009 and 2014, the crowdfunding industry grew by 1,000% delivering more than $10 billion in funding for startup companies. FREE […]
Implementing data-driven and online billing solutions is often easy to do, and is also often the most effective way to drive profits per partner and other law firm metrics. This article highlights some of the most prevalent and easy ways to optimize law firm metrics by using the latest in artificial intelligence and machine learning […]
There are ways to cope with the stress and pressure while maintaining the pursuit of the ever-elusive work/life balance. The entertainment industry has done an extraordinary job making the legal profession look like the height of personal and professional drama. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights From John Grisham books to The Good Fight, the […]
The move toward automation is becoming pervasive in various industries. As with any massive change, apprehension is bound to follow. In the case of automation, much of the angst is about the possibility of robots taking jobs that humans used to perform. The rise of automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the world of law […]
The concept of crowdfunding is based on the idea that it’s easier to get a lot of people to give a little than it is to get a few people to give a lot. Crowdfunding is not a new concept, but it wasn’t until relatively recently that it entered the cultural zeitgeist in so profound […]
Most lawyers are familiar with their ethical obligation to limit their fees to reasonable amounts. Rule 1.5 of the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct reads: “[a] lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses.” The Model Rule also provides eight non-exclusive factors designed […]
Business decision making processes are changing with the rise of analytics, cloud-computing tools, and big data. Similarly, the legal sector is also evolving to implement new technologies to improve efficiencies and increase profitability. In particular, various applications now enable accurate data standardization and related analysis with respect to internal employee and management performance metrics, as […]
Despite the disruptions often involved in implementing new technology, many law firms have discovered that the temporary inconveniences prove valuable in the long-term. For example, in its recent “State of Legal Technology” report, Thomson Reuters noted how several proactive law firms are finding a successful path to significant increases in profits by investing in new […]
No longer is there any need for the legal industry to fall behind in the implementation of AI and machine learning to propel operational efficiencies. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights Cutting-edge solutions now allow law firms to optimize: Bill review and processing; Realization and collection rates; and Local and outside counsel management Adopting these […]
What is a “reasonable fee”? Articulating a concise yet all-encompassing definition is much more difficult than relying on Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s infamous quote, “I know it when I see it.” When it comes to attorney’s fees, this definition is clearly lacking. The fact is, law firm realization and collection rates have been in […]
When engaging the services of a lawyer or a law firm, one of the first questions that often arises is whether you can afford the attorney’s fees. Paying for a lawyer can be expensive, but there are several options available that can help you pay for your legal fees. When you are in a legal […]
EffortlessLegal LLC, a Chicago-based tech company bringing advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation, and machine-learning technologies to the legal space, announced today that many of its revolutionary applications now work with Clio, Rocket Matter, Timeslips, PracticePanther, and several other law practice management and billing systems. EffortlessLegal’s new integrations with the other systems allow law firms to […]
The internet age pulled back the curtain and encouraged disruption in many specialized industries, and the legal field is no longer an exception. Lawyers used to be allowed more latitudinal discretion, but greater transparency in legal billing has become the letter of the day. In fact, a recent article in Inside Legal documented that law firm billing […]
Innovative solutions for smarter legal billing have arrived to drive revenue increases for law firms while also controlling costs for clients. Although seemingly at odds, data-driven legal billing applications can achieve both higher profits for law firms and greater cost savings for clients through drastic improvements in efficiency. A recent Georgetown Law report highlighted the […]
CHICAGO: EffortlessLegal LLC, a Chicago-based tech company bringing advanced automation and machine-learning products to the legal space, announced today the launch of GroupFund Legal, a crowdfunding platform that revolutionizes the way law firms, businesses, individuals, and trade groups pay for legal fees and raise funds. Unlike other popular fundraising platforms, GroupFund Legal is completely private […]
Many articles have addressed the fact that recent advances in legal technology allow law firms to enhance the delivery of their legal services by automating manual processes using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. These advances provide significant reductions in overhead expenses, execution timelines, and productivity. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights As the legal tech […]
New advances in software automation and its application to legal work are providing opportunities for law firms to significantly reduce overhead expenses and execution timelines, while maximizing productivity. The high cost per hour of attorney work, combined with increasing cost-control pressures, makes the automation of legal work desirable for clients and counsel alike. FREE TRIAL […]
We know that the film and television industry portrays the legal profession as non-stop excitement and drama, such as in Chicago Justice and Law and Order, but the reality is that being a lawyer is not that at all. Quite the contrary, being a lawyer often involves long hours filled with tremendous demands and stress, […]
Innovative solutions for smarter billing have arrived to drive revenue increases for your law firm. Lawyers are all too familiar with the rush to get bills out every month. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights According to The Un-Billable Hour, a law practice and advisory podcast finds attorneys are losing money with problems due to non-billable […]
Managing local counsel and assembling their billing is a time-consuming challenge. Manual entry and non-compliant billing cause delays in the legal billing process, with both lead and local counsel losing time, productivity, and ultimately profit. Without accurate and organized systems in place to manage the local counsel billing process, attorneys can expect to continue to […]
Artificial intelligence and machine learning may feel mystical and hard to understand. However, as Arthur C. Clark said, “[a]ny sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Machine learning may look like magic, but under the hood, it’s easy to understand. Let’s start by understanding traditional programming. In my first computer class, the instructor did an […]
What metrics does your firm use to determine efficiency and profit? Two commonly used metrics are “realization rate” and “collection rate”. According to the 2018 Legal Trends Report, “realization rates” are the number of billable hours actually invoiced in relation to hours logged, and “collection rates” are the number of hours invoiced in relation to […]
The 2019 ABA Techshow EXPO is a three-day event for lawyers, legal professionals, and attendees to discuss and learn the latest in legal industry technology with over 100 technology vendors to explore. Witness the technology and trends that will lead the future of legal industry innovation! FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights Startup Alley Competition […]
Cost control has been a hot topic in the legal sector at least since the financial crisis of 2008. The economic downturn led many clients to look more closely at their expenditures for legal services. Even after economic conditions improved, many law firms have still seen their realization and collection rates steadily decline. FREE TRIAL […]
With the myriad responsibilities of a company’s legal department, in-house counsel are well served to find the best ways to increase efficiency and productivity. One of the most prominent ways to do so is to use data-driven solutions to improve transparency with regard to outside counsel billing and expenditures. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights […]
Entrepreneurs routinely use crowdfunding platforms to help fund their big ideas. When it comes to crowdfunding for lawyers and legal cases, however, the practice hasn’t quite caught on. Concerns about potential ethical and privacy issues have appropriately led to caution and skepticism among legal professional. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights But there is real […]
As the digital age has given rise to newer, more efficient technologies, legal professionals have begun to integrate them into standard legal processes. From video conferencing software to voice controlled digital assistants, these new technologies are the future of law. Blockchain ledger systems are a standout amongst these new technologies. FREE TRIAL Learn More Sign […]
As the ways to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) grow, so do the amount of people implementing this cutting-edge technology to their work. According to Statista, the rate of adoption is quite high — global revenues from AI for enterprise applications is projected to grow from $1.62B in 2018 to $31.2B in 2025. Its popularity reaches […]
Are these obsolete technology items still in use? The Rolodex, the rotary telephone, and the typewriter used to be ubiquitous in every office across America. But today, unless you are in a museum, you would be hard-pressed to find those items – obsolete technology by any standards – in any professional environment. FREE TRIAL View Products […]
Modern law firms and legal departments continually look for new ways to increase their efficiency and drive productivity. Nevertheless, less than 30% of law firms have an employee tasked to drive law firm automation, innovation technology, and the same is likely true of corporate legal departments. FREE TRIAL View Products More Insights Those firms and companies that […]