From the practise of law to the business of law

As you’d expect, law firms are experts on the law, after all, it’s what they live & breathe every day. But when it comes down to it, law firms are businesses & have to deal with the same back office tasks, from Accounting to HR to records management, just like any other business. And just like any other business, law firms need to drive profit. 

Ninety-four percent of respondents in the 2017 Altman Weil Flash Survey titled “Law Firms in Transition” said that a focus on improved practice efficiency will be a permanent trend going forward. But only 49% of law firms said that they have significantly changed their approach to the efficiency of legal service delivery. 

You’ve built a practice on accuracy, efficiency & effectiveness. But far too often, law firms & corporate legal departments get bogged down with:

  • Manual, outdated processes
  • Antiquated technology
  • Poor use (or misuse) of key resources
  • Lack of support for personnel

Operations are vital to your success. A successful practice is streamlined & optimized, from start to finish. That means improving your workflows to alleviate bottlenecks or inefficiencies & using the most current technology to support your mobile & connected workforce. When all of your systems, processes & people are working as one, you can experience true information mobility. Your team will have access to the information they need, in the time, place & format they need it. When they do, you’ll not only work better internally, but you can more effectively help your clients. 

Process automation is one of the most impactful tools that enable a law firm to focus on the practice of law while also running a healthy business, providing them with considerable productivity & profitability gains. Process automation also enables firms to differentiate themselves from their competitors: they can move through the legal process at a faster pace; provide superior service; & potentially offer some services at a lower cost to enable a more predictable budget for their clients.

In fact, clients are increasingly growing accustomed to such structures and, in many cases, even demanding them. Clients are becoming much more cautious with their legal outsourcing spend; they want things on time & within an exact, detailed budget. Firms resistant to adopting modern tools such as process automation will simply get left behind as they will be unable to compete with the efficiency gains these types of tools provide.

To get there, you need to transform your law firm or legal department into a business – to go beyond practising law to embrace the changing workstyles, information management & process improvements that are so critical to your success.

Ricoh knows the business of law & we are using our experience & expertise to help over 800 law firms across the country save time & money to increase their efficiency & help them drive growth in their practices.

See how Ricoh is helping other Canadian organizations make smart business changes at www.RicohChangeMakers.ca.