As an attorney, there are a few things you need to do in order to succeed. You need to establish a good reputation for yourself, so you’ll get a good number of clients with important cases in your niche. You need good business management skills, taking on the right number of clients, hiring the right staff, and investing in the right technologies. You’ll also need to find ways to speed up your processes; in other words, you need to be as efficient as possible. Efficiency is key, because it allows you to dedicate the right amount of resources to a given case without spending too much, or too little time on it. The best way to create efficiency in your law firm is to use a variety of technologies that streamline processes.

One of the key technologies for law firms is accounting software. Accounting software does more than just crunch numbers; it keeps track of when payments were made for services rendered, when to expect upcoming payments, what payments are in default, and invoicing and billing. Good accounting software will also sort documents for you, giving you easy access at tax time. There’s no doubt that a good law firm will get an accounting firm to work with them; talk to your accountant about what accounting softwares might make your firm more efficient.

For small law firms, virtual offices can create efficiency when you don’t have the space or staff to answer calls and chats yourself. A virtual office is the point of contact for prospective clients; they’ll schedule meetings for you, take calls, and respond to web chats and email inquiries. Essentially, a virtual office can act as receptionist and customer service in one - of course, when it comes to the legal work, you’ll need to meet your clients face to face, but for prospective clients, a virtual office can save you substantial time and money.

Another invaluable digital tool to increase the efficiency of your law firm is online research tools. Gone are the days of literally reading case law from old books and physical documents; online research tools can help you find relevant precedents in your case, fast. These research tools have become industry standard, and there are a variety to choose from, at a variety of price points. Lawyerist has an overview of online research tools; check out their article for a description of the many features and functions different tools have.

We’ll leave you with a final way of increasing your firm’s efficiency; one that, you can imagine, we’re very fond of. You can use our services to find an experienced court appearance attorney for almost any need you might have; when a family emergency comes up, when you’re overbooked, or when you need a local attorney who knows the ropes in a particular courthouse. Attorneys on Demand creates efficiency for your firm, because you don’t have to worry that you bit off more than you can handle; when you need help, we’re always here for you.