Legal Ease Blog

Recent ABA Opinion Discusses Use of AI

AI (artificial intelligence) is inescapable these days, including in the legal profession. Like it or not, lawyers need to learn about AI and its various uses and advantages (and drawbacks), both for their own practices and to be informed for clients.

The ABA recently (July 29, 2024) released an ethics opinion, Formal Opinion 512, which discusses lawyers' use of generative AI tools. Generative AI tools create new content, including text, images, audio, and video, based on a "prompt" given by the user and generated through data the AI has been trained on.

By now, most of us are familiar with the cases where lawyers got in hot water for citing non-existent cases in court papers that were drafted using AI tools. The opinion addresses the obligation to refrain from making false statements or misrepresentations to the court (noting that some courts now require lawyers to disclose their use of gen AI tools), but also looks at lawyers' use of  generative AI tools in the context of several other ethical obligations, including:

• competence (ABA Model Rule 1.1)
• confidentiality (ABA Model Rule 1.6)
• communication (Model Rule 1.4)
• reasonableness of fees (Model Rule 1.5).

Lawyers Have a Duty to Understand Capabilities and Limitations of Gen AI

As to competence, the opinion notes,

"To competently use a GAI tool in a client representation, lawyers need not become GAI experts. Rather, lawyers must have a reasonable understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the specific GAI technology that the lawyer might use. This means that lawyers should either acquire a reasonable understanding of the benefits and risks of the GAI tools that they employ in their practices or draw on the expertise of others who can provide guidance about the relevant GAI tool’s capabilities and limitations."

Recognizing that changes in technology, and particularly AI, will continue, the opinion also makes it a point to say that lawyers' obligations with respect to competency and having a reasonable understanding of the technology is an ongoing one.

Part of competence is also recognizing the risks of using generative AI technology, including the risk of "hallucinations" or of poor outputs based on inaccurate, incomplete, or otherwise substandard data sets that the AI tool has been trained on. As a result of these risks, lawyers are required to independently review and verify any output generated by these tools, but the level of verification may depend on the tool, the lawyer’s experience with that tool, and the specific task being performed:

“…a lawyer’s use of a GAI tool designed specifically for the practice of law or to perform a discrete legal task, such as generating ideas, may require less independent verification or review, particularly where a lawyer’s prior experience with the GAI tool provides a reasonable basis for relying on its results.”

Lawyers Must Safeguard Client Confidentiality When Using Gen AI

The duty of confidentiality is one of the main cornerstones of legal representation. In addition to Model Rule 1.6, covering the duty owed to current clients, Model Rules 1.9(c) and 1.18(b) require lawyers to protect the confidential information received from former and prospective clients as well.

When using generative AI tools, lawyers must consider whether the information they provide to that AI tool may be disclosed or accessed by third parties or by anyone who may not properly safeguard that information. This can occur when the client information that is input into the tool is used to “train” the AI and is later used to generate an output by the tool in another matter.

According to the opinion, not only is this a danger when using a generative AI tool that is also used by others outside of the firm, but it is also a danger within firms where some individuals within the firm may be prohibited from accessing specific client information, or where confidential information from one client may be used to provide an output for a client in another case, inadvertently revealing client information.

Lawyers May Have a Duty to Disclose Use of Gen AI to Clients

As a result of the potential risks outlined above, according to the opinion, lawyers using such a generative AI tool are required to obtain the client’s informed consent before using the AI tool on that client’s behalf, and that informed consent must provide information to the client about the potential risks, the kinds of information that might be disclosed, as well as the potential benefits of using the AI tool.

Lawyers are generally not obligated to disclose the use of gen AI tools where the lawyer will not be inputting client information into the AI tool, although there are circumstances under which disclosure may still be required. For example, if the client asks or expressly requires to be informed whether these tools are being used, or if the gen AI tool is being used to influence a major decision in the representation, the lawyer is required to disclose their use.

Billing for Tasks Using Gen AI

Model Rule 1.5 mandates that a lawyer’s fees must be “reasonable,” and sets forth a number of criteria for determining reasonableness. When lawyers bill by the hour, they are required to bill only for the time actually spent on the client’s matter.

Gen AI tools can analyze large amounts of information much more quickly than human beings can. As a result, these tools can save lawyers a lot of time. If lawyers using gen AI tools are billing by the hour, they may only bill for the time it took to complete the task, even if the same task would have generated more billing if a human being performed it. Of course, by using the gen AI tool and completing the work faster, the lawyer has an opportunity to use that additional time to work on other matters for different clients or perform other tasks for the same client, so any “loss” of billable time should be made up.

According to the opinion, even where a lawyer is not billing by the hour, the lawyer may be required to bill less for tasks completed using gen AI tools. “For example, if using a GAI tool enables a lawyer to complete tasks much more quickly than without the tool, it may be unreasonable under Rule 1.5 for the lawyer to charge the same flat fee when using the GAI tool as when not using it. “A fee charged for which little or no work was performed is an unreasonable fee.” (citing Att’y Grievance Comm’n v. Monfried, 794 A.2d 92, 103, a 2002 case from Maryland where a lawyer was found to have violated Rule 1.5 by charging a $1,000 flat fee when the lawyer “did little or no work”).

The opinion goes on to caution lawyers that they may not charge clients for their time spent learning about gen AI tools or how to use them, if that service is one they will use regularly for their clients, but if the client requests the use of a specific gen AI tool, “it may be appropriate for the lawyer to bill the client to gain the knowledge to use the tool effectively.” But in that case, the lawyer should come to an agreement with the client about how the client will be charged for gaining that knowledge, and to memorialize that agreement in writing.

Finally, the opinion also addresses the ethical duties lawyers have to supervise those who work for them, whether those individuals work within the firm or outside of it, and this ethical obligation also includes the use of gen AI tools by those individuals.

You can read the full opinion here.

Preparing for Equity Partnership

My latest column in Law Practice Magazine (July/August Big Ideas Issue) is all about preparing for partnership. If you aspire to law firm equity partnership, the article includes some things to think about in several different areas.

Here are some highlights:

Mindset

As an associate, your focus is on yourself - your work and your own clients. But as an equity partner, you become responsible for the whole firm and everyone in it. You are no longer responsible just to your clients, but to all of the firm's clients.

You have to take a broader view of the business and your day-to-day work than you would as an associate. 

Business Development

As an equity partner, your role within the firm is very different than your role as an associate, or even as a non-equity partner.

When you are an equity partner, as an owner of the firm, your main responsibility is to ensure that the firm continues to generate enough revenue to continue operating. As a result, one of the expectations of law firm partners is that they drive business to the firm—and you’ll have to generate enough business not only to keep you busy but to provide work for others.

Management Responsibilities

Part of your responsibility as an equity partner is the management of the firm. That means your workload is likely to grow to include things like  administrative and nonbillable tasks, such as supervising associates, conducting performance reviews, hiring and firing, reviewing client bills and strategic planning. You will have to learn to be an excellent delegator.

 As a leader of the firm, it is your job to help uplift, inspire and foster the growth of the firm’s employees. 

Financial Considerations

Perhaps the biggest change when moving from associate or non-equity partner to equity partnership is in the area of finances. As an equity partner, you will be directly responsible for the firm’s financial health. You will need to understand how the firm works and understand its financial picture so that you can make informed business and financial decisions.

In addition, your compensation structure will change dramatically. Instead of reaceiving a guaranteed salary, your compensation will be tied to the success of the firm. In some years, that may even mean that you make less money than you were making as a senior associate or a nonequity partner. 

In addition to a less predictable income, as an equity partner, but you may have to wait longer to get paid. You may not receive distributions frequently, which may mean waiting for a large portion of your compensation until the end of the quarter or even the end of the year. 

Are you ready for the changes equity partnership may bring?

ABA members (and those who haven't reached their article limit) can read the column here.

Inspiring Business Podcast with Mark Bullock

It's been quite some time since I posted here since most of my content is being posed on the Lawyer Meltdown website, but I wanted to share this Inspiring Business podcast episode where I was interviewed by Mark Bullock, one of the founders of Videosocials. 

We had a great conversation talking about productivity, marketing, technology, whether we consider ourselves "starters" or "finishers" and more.

We also chatted about Mark's business, Videosocials. I've been a Videosocials member for several years now, and I think it's one of the best things I've done for my business. I encourage everyone to check it out - and let them know I sent you! You can learn about Videosocials here.

We also talked about the brand-new second edition of How to Do More in Less Time, The Complete Guide to Improving Your Productivity and Increasing Your Bottom Line, co-authored with Daniel J. Siegel.

Subscribe to the Inspiring Business Podcast:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-introduction-to-inspiring-business-video/id1614686586?i=1000554235472

Subscribe to Inspiring Business Video Series:

https://www.youtube.com/c/MarkBullockpB

Time Management Tip #5: Create a "Don't Do" List

If you’re one of those people with a never-ending to-do list, this tip is for you.

No matter how hard you try to list what you need to accomplish, instead of getting shorter, your list gets longer – new things crop up, unanticipated client problems arise, or a last minute emergency that “must” be handled today gets in the way. It’s frustrating, exhausting and ultimately, completely unproductive.

The answer may be a ‘don’t do’ list.

What’s a ‘don’t do’ list? It’s a list of the things you shouldn't be doing, tasks that could be delegated to someone else or outsourced, and all of the items that can be eliminated entirely (or eliminated for a specified time period).

Law school education trains lawyers to spot issues, but this issue spotting behavior isn’t the most efficient way to run a law practice. Issue spotting can lead to “analysis paralysis” by creating the feeling that every issue must be at least considered, if not addressed. This creates additional distractions.

Narrow Your Options

The ‘don’t do’ list counteracts this by narrowing your options so that you’re not overwhelmed by so many choices every time something new arises.

Having a ‘don’t do’ list lets you identify tasks you don’t want to do or that you shouldn’t be doing because they distract you and prevent you from accomplishing more important tasks; if it’s already on the ‘don’t do’ list, it’s easy to immediately recognize it and move on to more productive endeavors.

Make Your Own Don't Do List

How do you decide what goes on the ‘don’t do’ list? Anything that distracts you from the main goals that you want to accomplish belongs on the list. The ‘don’t do’ list can include day to day activities, specific types of clients or matters or behaviors that don’t serve you.

Think about your strengths and weaknesses when making your ‘don’t do’ list. Are you a great speaker but a poor writer? Maybe writing articles, motions, briefs, etc. should go on your ‘don’t do’ list. You can use a ghostwriter, hire a contract lawyer to do the writing for you, or give the task to someone else in the firm with excellent writing skills. Then you can focus your energies on trying cases, giving seminars or presentations, or other activities where you can showcase your speaking skills.

Which marketing activities belong on your ‘don’t do’ list? Marketing and practice building are very high value activities, but they’re only valuable if they are strategic - if they’re putting you in front of potential clients or leads, or if the groups or events are ones which you’re passionate about.

Prioritize: evaluate which groups or activities will be the most beneficial to you (or to the people or causes you’re supporting). Limit your participation to the most valuable events or organizations. You can get more value for less time, energy and stress. If the things already on the ‘to do’ list are more important or more valuable, these ‘invitations’ belong on the ‘don’t do’ list.

Although you need to be responsive and accessible to your clients and colleagues, a good ‘don’t do’ list might include particular days or times when you’re ‘off limits.’ Allowing constant interruptions of family or leisure time not only robs you of much-needed recharging and rest, but is a disservice to clients who are only getting part of your attention. The same goes for interruptions of important business or client-related activities. It’s rare that clients have a real emergency that can’t wait an hour or two for you to finish preparing your motion in limine or complete a meal with your family (and don’t try to do both at once – remember Tip #3: Give Up Multi-Tasking).

Practice areas can also be items to add to your ‘don’t do’ list; sometimes turning down work is the best decision you can make. If you aren’t well-versed in the particular area of the law, don’t have the time or resources to learn or don’t have someone to help you, you may be asking for more trouble than the case is worth.

Identifying the ‘don’t dos’ can be an effective tool for managing your time and reducing your stress. Knowing in advance what things you won’t do lets you move on quickly, without wasting additional time analyzing everything that comes to your attention.

The ‘don’t do’ list also reminds you to ask for help in the areas that aren’t your strengths, so you can focus our efforts on what you do best and what brings the most value to your clients and to your life. It allows you to let go of the idea that you can do everything and be everything to everyone. It’s a shorthand way of cutting through all of the clutter of what needs to be done so you can get back to providing great service to your clients.

Check out my other time management tips: 

Time Management Tip #1: Don't Try to Manage Time; Manage Your Activities

Time Management Tip #2: Get Everything Out of Your Head

Time Management Tip #3: Give Up Multi-Tasking

Time Management Tip #4: Prioritize

Time Management Tip #6: Use the Power of Three

Time Management Tip #7: Next Actions

Time Management Tip #8: Cure "I Need to See It" Syndrome

Time Management Tip #9: Do the Worst First

Time Management Tip #11: Create External Deadlines

Time Management Tip #12: The Two-Minute Rule

Time Management Tip #13: Schedule Time to Complete Work

Time Management Tip #14: Create a Daily Plan and Weekly Review

Time Management Tip #15: Eliminate Bad Clients

(This post was originally published on August 23, 2012 and was updated in January 2022. Versions of this post previously appeared on this blog, in Sue magazine, and in Law Practice Today).

How Are Lawyers Using Technology? ABA TechReport 2021

Every year, the ABA and the Legal Technology Resource Center conduct a legal technology survey seeking information from law firms of all sizes about how they use technology for everything from cybersecurity to cloud computing services to marketing and more.

Members of the Legal Technology Resource Center Board and other ABA members then analyze some of the information gleaned from the survey and the resulting ABA Legal Technology Survey Report and write articles covering their findings. These articles are known as TechReports.

The 2021 Technology Survey Report Covered the following areas:

1. Online Research
2. Technology Basics and Security
3. Law Office Technology
4. Marketing and Communication Technology
5. Litigation Technology and E-discovery

All of the 2021 TechReports have now been released and are available to the public. They can be found as listed below:

1. Cloud Computing, by Dennis Kennedy
2. Practice Management, by Alexander Paykin
3. Budgeting and Planning, by Julie Bays
4. Websites and Marketing, by Allison C. Johs (yours truly)
5. Technology Training, by Sofia Lingos
6. Solo and Small Firm, by Reid F. Trautz
7. Cybersecurity, by David G. Reis
8. Life and Practice, by Alan Klevan

Use of Technology to Market Your Practice and Communicate with Clients

As noted above, I took on the task of reviewing the survey report related to websites and marketing once again this year, but my focus this year was on client communication - using technology to communicate with potential clients (marketing) and to keep current clients informed.

With respect to current clients, only 31% of survey respondents say they communicate with clients through their website or another online service (other than email). As I discuss in the article, I think this is a missed opportunity, especially since client portals make communicating with clients efficient and keeps client communications in one place (not to mention, often more secure than the way lawyers and clients are currently using email).

Similarly, lawyers miss an opportunity to streamline their billing and collections process by not taking advantage of current technology: "Most clients are used to paying for everything from groceries to medical services online, yet only 31% of respondents’ firms offer the ability for clients to pay online or through their website for their legal services."

In terms of marketing, lawyers seem to have recognized that having a website for their law firm is important - 94% of respondents in 2021 said their firm has a website. But, as my article indicates, "law firm websites still largely appear to be used as tools for one-way communication, rather than offering the firm’s audience easy ways to communicate with the firm through the site."

Video is another under-utilized communication tool among lawyers. " Only 28% of respondents’ firms use video for marketing overall, including only 19% of lawyers from firms of 2-9 lawyers, 18% of lawyers from firms of 10-49 lawyers, and only 10% of solos."

For more information and insights into how lawyers are using technology as a communication tool both on and off of their websites, with both potentail and existing clients, read the full TechReport here.

TechReport 2021 Highlights

Click on the links for any of the reports listed above to see the full report and analysis of the data and compare the results and the recommendations in each of these articles against what your firm is currently doing. Here are a few interesting notes from this year's other TechReports:

• Laptops have passed desktops for the first time this year as the primary device of choice for attorneys to accomplish their work (Practice Management).
• Although attorneys overall seem satisfied with the software tools they're using, the number of lawyers using these programs is low as compared to the number who have access to them (Practice Management).
•  Only 43% of solo and 50% of small firms responding indicated that they budget for technology (Budgeting and Planning). 
• Only 35% of solo respondents and 56% of firms of 2-9 attorneys report having technology training available at their firms (Solo & Small Firm)
• 74% of respondents said that they were involved in the selection process for the technologies employed at their firm (down from 81% in 2020). (Technology Training)
• When identifying technology solutions for their firms, 88% of respondents reported that they sought information from their colleagues, and 35% of those found peer input to be “very influential. (Technology Training)
• Only 59% of respondents stated that they felt “very comfortable” using the firms existing technology (Technology Training).
• Current cloud users cited “confidentiality/security concerns” (61%), lack of control over data (43%), losing control over updates (27%) and vendor longevity (23%) as concerns about use of the cloud. (Cloud Computing)
• Only 35% of survey respondents employed secure socket layers (SSL) as a security measure (Cloud Computing).
• 36%  of survey respondents report having an incident response plan for a security breach (Cybersecurity). 
• Solo and small firms plan to spend only 10-11% of their technology budget on security compared to 20-36% of the larger firms with 100+ attorneys (Budgeting and Planning).
• Almost 50% of the respondents who worked in a traditional office space leased/owned exclusively by the law firm did not return to that setting, but 64% of respondents said they did not telecommute (Life and Practice).
• Overall, 64% of respondents report that they telecommute compared with 55% in 2019, but this response is skewed toward larger firms. In firms with 2-9 lawyers, only 50% reported they telecommuted, and 53% of solos telecommute regularly (Solo & Small Firm).
• Of the 64% who telecommute, 39% did so full-time in 2021 compared to only 6% in 2019 (Solo and Small Firm).
• 14% of respondents would stick with changes to the way they practice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 74% would implement a combination of their “old ways” and “new changes (Life and Practice).

 

Tools to Create Infographics Easily

In 2013, I wrote a post on Slaw.ca on Infographics for Lawyers. In that post, I said,

 Infographics are visually appealing, highly shareable and, when done right, can convey a lot of information quickly and easily, or make a mountain of data easy to understand. By combining text and visuals into one, infographics make the most of both to reinforce a message.

I also noted in that post that lawyers can use infographics in a number of ways, including:

• to help train employees
• to enhance firm newsletters
• as a recruitment tool,
• as an alternate or additional lawyer biography
• to provide statistical firm information on the law firm website
• showcase the results the firm has attained for clients

Infographics can be used for other purposes, too, including to help explain complicated processes or court procedures to clients, or to illustrate information for a jury during a trial. You can probably think of even more ways to use infographics in your practice.

If you want to try your hand at creating some infographics for your law firm, there are some excellent (and inexpensive) tools that you can use to make them quickly and easily. Here are a few to try:

Venngage Chart Maker This is a free platform that offers several different templates that you can use to create charts and infographics easily. You choose your template, import your data and add icons or illustrations from their library, and brand it with your logo and colors using their Brand Kit tool. Venngage also has paid subscription plans that provide more options, such as additional designs, more uploads, and other premium services.

Canva is another popular tool for creating infographics. Like Venngage, Canva has templates for you to work from, with images, icons, and illustrations to add visual interest. You can also purchase premium images for a few dollars each, and you can brand your designs. Canva also has Pro and Enterprise plans that offer the ability to brand your images includes premium photos, videos, and illustrations, create your own templates, and more.

You can see an example of an infographic I made using Canva below (click on the image for the full-sized version):

If you don't want to learn how to use a new tool and you're already familiar with PowerPoint, you can try creating an infographic in PowerPoint. Here are two resources for doing so:

How to Make Infographics with PowerPoint: A Beginner's Guide, from Graphic Mama

How to Make Infographics with PowerPoint, from Copypress

 

 

Network and Learn for Charity with Rocket Aid 2020

I'll be participating in this week's two-day virtual conference, Rocket Aid. Rocket Aid is a charitable virtual conference being held later this week - Thursday, April 16 and Friday, April 17, 2020. The conference takes place over two days, and you can attend all or part of the conference for only $25, the proceeds of which will go to three charities helping those affected by COVID-19.

The two-day agenda includes not only educational sessions on topics including technology tools you need to work effectively from home, online billing and collections, cybersecurity, legal PR, ethics of a mobile practice, productivity, and wellness aspects, including live virtual networking, yoga, and more.

Dennis Kennedy, my co-author on Make LinkedIn Work for You, A Practical Handbook for Lawyers and Other Legal Professionals, and I will be doing a 30-minute session on what to do with LinkedIn now and answering some of the most common questions we've been receiving since the beginning of this pandemic.

I hope you will join us for this fun and educational event! You can register here.

Lessons for Law Firm Leaders from Undercover Boss

In the television show, Undercover Boss, executives disguise themselves and go undercover within their companies or organizations. The “boss” poses as a trainee in different positions and at different locations within the company, speaks with employees who are on the front lines performing the daily work of the company, and gets to experience what they experience on a daily basis.

At the end of each episode, the executive reveals him or herself to the employees, often providing bonuses or other perks to outstanding workers or those who have been involved in personal struggles, and also revealing changes made or planned in the company as a result of the experience.

In each of the episodes, the executive learns valuable lessons about the daily obstacles encountered by employees and the ways the company could better support them. Many of the employees the executive encounters during this journey have valuable ideas and suggestions to make things better at the company, whether it is improving infrastructure, procedures, equipment, working conditions, etc. Other times, the boss encounters unhelpful or difficult employees who make the work harder for those around them, compromise the company’s culture or reputation, or cause other problems. Either way, the boss gains valuable insights from their experience and found that getting to know their employees better reaped rewards for the company.

While it might not be possible or practical for law firm leaders to undertake an undercover mission within their firms, there are ways law firms can use the concept and lessons of Undercover Boss to improve their law firms.

Your Front-Line Employees are Your Firm’s Brand Ambassadors

Getting to know front-line employees and putting themselves in the shoes of their employees on the show fostered a greater understanding of their employees’ lives and their experience working for the company. As one undercover boss put it, “This experience taught me to slow down a little and spend more time getting to know my employees. Everyone has a story to tell, if you take the time to hear it…”

Some bosses learn that the “lowest” employee can make the biggest impact on their customers and clients. One said, “I left Undercover Boss with a greater appreciation for the people on the front lines of our business. The overwhelming majority of them do a fantastic job.”

Another commented, “Something I have always known, but [the show] reaffirmed for me how important our front-line associate is to the success of our brand, and how much our training program plays a role in delivering that club level experience we aim to achieve.”

In law firms, front-line employees like receptionists, clerks, and assistants often have the first contact with the client, whether greeting clients when they enter the office, answering the phone when clients call, or contacting clients to confirm an appointment or court date. These employees are your brand ambassadors, and they can make a huge difference on the client’s experience with your firm. Treat them well and they will treat your clients well. Treat them poorly and you risk them taking it out on your clients or other valued employees.

See my related post, Why Your Receptionist Might Be The Most Important Person in Your Office

The Importance of Staying Connected

It’s nearly impossible to discover what improvements could be made or what challenges are faced by law firm employees if firm leaders remain disconnected. This is a theme repeated over and over on Undercover Boss. As one of the show’s participants explained, “…this experience has opened my eyes to see how very important it is to stay connected. We're putting a program in place to conduct roundtable discussions with our frontline employees, so it will be great to hear from them and any changes they would like to see going forward. Being too busy to stay connected with your team is no excuse.”

Another noted, “To become a really good leader you have to understand the importance of a team. It's not a one man show, you need a really solid team in order to be successful.”

Yet another says, “I believe it’s a CEO’s obligation to truly understand the interworking of their company and regularly communicate with associates. The value of ongoing, open communication cannot be overstated. As a CEO, we each make a commitment to guide the company towards the best possible future, which we can only do if we take the time to ask questions, listen and learn from those who support our company at every turn.”

Offering Opportunities and Identifying Leaders

Getting to know the employees and their personal stories also revealed ways that the company could help their teams to improve and grow. The experience showed these company leaders ways to provide perks or rewards that were much more meaningful to the employee (and often, to the company as well) than a raise. Offering opportunities to mentor or supervise others, to share their knowledge, to participate in focus groups or roundtable discussion not only engaged employees and provided an opportunity to contribute to the company, but these perks fostered loyalty to the company, increasing the chances that valued employees will stay, while also allowing others to learn from their experience, perceptions and observations.

Law firms can offer opportunities for improvement, whether is training, CLE programs, or in-house seminars. Look for the employees who take advantage of these opportunities, or who are seeking their own continuous improvement. Many an undercover boss has identified future leaders in the company just by working alongside them and identifying those with a good attitude who are looking for ways to learn and grow.

Improving Performance

Learning about their employees’ daily tasks and struggles also revealed ways the company could improve productivity. One boss said, “I learned that when it comes to employees, the details matter most. The smallest upgrades in equipment or installation hardware can shave off significant amounts of time and stress for employees.”

Law firm leaders sometimes don’t take the time to ask their front-line employees – the ones who are scheduling the appointments, doing the paperwork, filing court documents, typing reports, maintaining the firm’s website and social media accounts about the obstacles they encounter in accomplishing their daily tasks, and how the firm might help them to overcome those obstacles. What improvements could the lawyers make in the manner or method of their communication that would help their front-line employees and make their jobs easier? What technology could be implemented to improve productivity? What training could be provided that might help their employees improve their performance?

Bosses who went undercover on the show got ideas from employees at all levels of the company by putting themselves in their shoes and seeing what those employees see on a daily basis. They were willing to go outside of their comfort zone to learn and to help their companies grow and change.

Law firm leaders can do more to get to know their employees on a personal level by speaking to them one on one and taking the time to listen. For example, hold regular meetings with employees at all levels, and provide a mechanism for employees to give suggestions (and then take them seriously).

Invite staff members to attend occasional partnership or leadership meetings, or to contribute in practice group discussions. Take a legal assistant, secretary, or even a receptionist to court, to a deposition or to a closing so that they have a better perspective on what the attorneys do every day. And perhaps even get outside of your comfort zone and step into the shoes of your employees by shadowing them or trying to do their jobs for a day. You might be surprised at what you learn.

You can see comments from some of the bosses who have participated in the show here.

How to Run a More Efficient & Profitable Small or Solo Law Practice with Virtual Receptionists

Guest post by Maddy Martin of Smith.ai.

 

When you’re running a law firm on your own or with just a couple partners, you’re shouldering more than just lawyering work. Responsibilities for administrative, marketing, and operational tasks fall on your shoulders, and there’s only so much time in a day. Finding ways to take work off your plate that don’t require your unique skill set as a lawyer means more time for profitable (read: billable) work.

Virtual receptionists have been a popular choice for small-firm and solo lawyers for over a decade, to help them minimize distractions and gain efficiency. But many attorneys are still reluctant to take the leap and hand-off tasks that take up precious time. The most common reasons related to a lack of comfort, trust, attention to detail, comprehensiveness of services, and personal touch.

To be sure, not every virtual receptionist service delivers enough value to warrant their payment, setup, and coordination. An answering service that only answers calls and takes messages will provide limited value. But, having a remote receptionist service that does that, plus schedule appointments, qualify leads, intake new clients, return calls, and other significant and valuable tasks is wholly worthwhile.

If you’re not yet using a virtual receptionist service, here are 5 major ways it can help you streamline your law firm’s operations to maximize efficiency and profit.

 1. Lead Capture & Qualification (Plus, Monetize “Bad” Leads)

 New leads come from referrals, Facebook, Google, Avvo, and many other sources. You might even be paying for ads or premium placements on these sites. When a potential client sees your law practice and calls with a need for services, if you don’t pick up, they’re off to call the next firm. Chances are, it doesn’t matter whether or not they left a voicemail; they’re not waiting for a call back. If they completed a form on your website, then it’s just a matter of how quickly you respond. A receptionist service that offers lead qualification can ensure you’re capturing and assessing new leads as soon as they come in, whether they’re reaching you by phone or email.

How do these services qualify your leads? They do it based on your custom criteria. Do their needs align with your practice area? Are they in the right county? Are they willing to pay your fees? These are just a few of the questions your receptionists can use to filter out the great leads from those that won’t convert to real clients. Provide the essential questions you need your receptionists to ask leads, and they’ll capture the “good” ones.

As for the “bad” leads, a receptionist service can also help you monetize those, so the call isn’t a wash. Many attorneys earn referral fees by passing clients to attorneys in other practice areas, in other counties, and with lower fees. Just provide the list of your referrals and any instructions for the correct types of clients to pass to each one, and your receptionists can refer “bad” leads to them. If they end up working with that recommended attorney, you’ll earn your referral fee.

 2. New Client Intake

For the good leads, the process doesn’t stop at qualification. Remote receptionists can also complete new client intake. Just provide your public intake form link that you created in your CRM to your receptionists, and they’ll complete it on the new lead’s behalf during their first call. Contact information, as well as basic details of their need for an attorney, will be captured and passed directly into your CRM, taking away the need for a follow-up call or the work of taking notes from the call and copying and pasting it into your CRM.

3. Appointment Scheduling & Reminders

Once the new client intake is complete, the next step in the process is often to schedule a call-back or in-person new client appointment with you or another attorney at your firm. Your receptionist service can handle this for you, too. All you need to do it is provide access to your calendar so the receptionist can see when you’re available. They won’t be able to change or edit existing events -- they’ll only create new ones -- so there’s no risk of them changing anything on your agenda. (Note: If you use Google Calendar, Outlook, Office 365, or iCloud Calendar, a free service like Calendly makes securely sharing your calendar with a receptionist service easy.)

Before a new lead’s or existing client’s appointment, you can also request that your receptionists call leads and clients to remind them, which prevents no-shows and cancellations that waste precious time.

4. Follow-Up: Case Updates & Payments

 Hunting down clients to provide case updates and capture payment is a royal pain and can be time-consuming. Maybe a court date was changed, another document needs to be signed, or a payment installment is past due. Whatever follow-up is needed, your receptionists can take care of it for you.

You can even go the extra mile and have your receptionists reach out proactively to clients who haven’t heard an update on their case in a while or who have recently completed work with you. For example, a receptionist can call recent clients and capture information on their satisfaction with the work you completed for them. If they express positive sentiments, the receptionist can use the call as an opportunity to request a positive review on one of those sites that generate leads for your business, which builds your online reputation.

 5. Automated Workflows

Tasking your receptionist with the duties mentioned above needn’t require ongoing, hands-on maintenance and oversight. When you first get started with a receptionist service, they can capture all the required FAQs, lead-qualification criteria, new client intake questions, appointment scheduling directions, and payment processes, so calls are handled seamlessly without the need for your receptionists to bother you with “How do I…” questions. Your receptionists follow your unique workflow, so administrative and operational tasks that they’re handling on your behalf become automatic.

You can even set up certain processes to gain even greater efficiency. For example, if you have a lead form on your website that captures information from potential clients looking to hire you, every time someone completes that form, you probably receive an email with the same “New Lead” subject line. In your email settings, you can auto-forward these emails to your receptionist service and they’ll call them back quickly, increasing the chance you reach them before they’ve contacted another attorney.

Whether you’re busy or just looking to reduce interruptions in your day, these automatic call-backs by your receptionists can increase efficiency and result in more leads converting to clients, both of which improve your bottom line.

Choosing the Right Virtual Receptionist Service

It’s important to note that not every live, remote receptionist service offers lead qualification, new client intake, and outbound calls. Make sure you ask about these features when shopping around.

 Maddy Martin is the head of marketing for Smith.ai Virtual Receptionists, which offers all of the above services and more. If you’d like to sign up for Smith.ai or simply test it out with a 30-day/10-call free trial, you may do so online at https://smith.ai, by phone at (650) 727-6484, or by email at [email protected].  

Legal Ease Blog readers get $50 off your first month with code LEGALEASE. This code can be used in combination with your free trial, for a total savings of $110. I may receive a small commission if you use this link, but it's a huge savings for you!

 If you have questions about virtual receptionists and how they can help your firm be more efficient and profitable, Smith.ai support is available Monday through Friday between 6 AM and 6 PM PST at (650) 727-6484 or [email protected].

ABA TECHSHOW 2018 Preview

 

There is lots of great stuff happening at this year's ABA TECHSHOW® outside of the educational sessions and the Expo Hall with the latest tech and gadgets for lawyers, from new TECHSHOW communities to 12 step meetings, social events and more. Here are a few highlights for next week's Conference and Expo:

 

Where to Start

If you're a first-time attendee, you might want to check out the experience guide which will walk you through how to plan your TECHSHOW experience.

 

Conference App

Don't forget to download the conference app, an indispensable tool for the conference. The app not only allows you to keep track of educational sessions you want to attend (and includes all materials for those educational sessions and book suggestions for further reference), but it acts as your daily calendar for the show. If you "favorite" the sessions you want to attend, those sessions will appear on your TECHSHOW schedule view and in your Favorites so you can find them easily and ensure you won't miss the sessions you really want to attend.

 

Expo Hall

 

Plan between-sessions breaks as much as you plan which educational sessions you would like to attend - the Expo Hall is also a learning experience. You may get to test-drive a new software program or product you're thinking about, or take advantage of the opportunity to visit the booths of the products you already use - many of the TECHSHOW vendors will be happy to give you a quick tutorial on programs you already have so you can learn the newest features and the best way to use the product to make your practice as efficient as possible. And make sure you check out all of the goodies TECHSHOW vendors will be giving away if you visit their booths!

 

Networking Opportunities

One of the best things about ABA TECHSHOW is the opportunity to meet so many other people, from vendors to experts, authors, like-minded attorneys, consultants and more. Some of my best TECHSHOW experiences and opportunities have come about because of new people I met at the show - and some of those people have become close friends over the years! Sign up for a TASTE OF TECHSHOW dinner, attend the welcome reception and cocktail party, and introduce yourself to people at the sessions.

New Publications for Your Practice: LP Bookstore

 

Visit the LP booth and the Law Practice Division bookstore in the Expo Hall to see all of the latest publications from the Law Practice Division. As Chair of this year's LP Publishing Board, I can attest to the fact that there are some fantastic quality publications that will make their debut at TECHSHOW this year - technology books are included, but there are also recently released books on management, marketing, and law firm finance. Don't miss the opportunity to take a look at these books and take them home at a discount with your TECHSHOW book bucks!

 

Some of our latest titles include:

 

• Macs in Law: The Definitive Guide for the Mac-Curious, Windows-Using Attorney 
  Microsoft Office 365 for Lawyers, Second Edition 
• The 2018 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide 
• Fastcase: The Definitive Guide 
• The Ultimate Guide to Adobe Acrobat® DC 
• The Lawyer's Guide to Collaboration Tools and Technologies: Smart Ways to Work Together, Second Edition
• The Lean Law Firm: Run Your Firm Like The World's Most Efficient and Profitable Businesses 
• Positive Professionals: Creating High-Performing Profitable Firms Through the Science of Engagement 
• How to Draft Bills Clients Rush to Pay, Third Edition
• The Millennial Lawyer: How Your Firm Can Motivate and Retain Young Associates
• The Full Weight of the Law: How Legal Professionals Can Recognize and Rebound from Depression 
• Lawyers as Managers: How to Be a Champion for Your Firm and Employees 

 

Can't make it to this year's ABA TECHSHOW in person?

 Not to worry! There are still ways to get great information from the Conference and Expo. Watch social media for the @ABATECHSOW twitter feed and the #ABATECHSHOW hashtag. Keep your eyes peeled for the TECHSHOW Today video interviews (I'll be co-hosting a couple with Dennis Kennedy). 

 

Even if you can't attend yourself, you can view the PowerPoint presentations from each of the sessions on the ABA TECHSHOW site some time after the Conference and Expo is over.

 

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