If you are an ActionStep customer or are considering ActionStep as an option to replace your legacy practice management system, you will likely be very interested in a number of new options that are available for ActionStep customers to create the type of complex legal documents that law firms are going to need to be able to create in an era when anyone will be able to access some form of AI to create documents. Differentiation in this area will be increasingly valuable.

The ability to create more complex legal documents has been a key gap in most practice management systems we have looked at. While most practice management system providers market their solutions as having document automation, it falls far short of what we know is possible with specialist tools. Being able to merge names, addresses, and dates is not advanced document automation!

We can see that ActionStep now has at least three good new options, which should be a strong differentiating factor for firms considering a switch. Even if you’ve looked at ActionStep before and it wasn’t the right fit at that time, it may be time for a fresh look.

The best conversations I have with law firms tend to have little to do with technology, as there are more fundamental things that need discussion first.

Technology can be a great enabler, but only if it aligns with the law firm's business model, and how the firm creates and captures value.

That’s why I'm always keen to understand what a firm does and how it charges for its services. If they are still charging by the hour, it will make little sense for them to invest in the type of solutions we specialise in delivering, which aim to remove as many hours of time from the job as possible.

If the firm's costs (mainly premises and staff) are largely fixed and they don't have a marketing strategy to get more clients for their distinctive solutions, there's a high chance with an hourly rate billing model that they could end up doing the same amount of work, for the same clients, faster and for less money! Why would the firm want or pay for automation?

In my last post, I discussed the importance of value pricing in a firm's decision to use legal technology and reap its benefits.

However, how does a firm move quickly from time billing to value pricing while avoiding the pitfalls and mistakes others have already made and which are easily avoidable?

Don't just make it up through trial and error – get external help from experts.

Resources that can help firms move to value pricing

There are a lot of pricing consultants in the market, and I've also noticed that many are also starting to position themselves as value pricing experts despite largely having built their reputations on helping firms refine hourly billing models.

If you're interested in these ideas, I recommend looking first at people who have been living and breathing value pricing since well before it was cool. Some particular people that I recommend are:

The problem

We often come across people who have some form of existing automation solution in place, but it isn’t meeting their needs and they aren’t sure what to do about it.

They have potentially invested a lot of money already in the existing solution, so there’s a large sunk cost that is in their mind.

Of course, the best thing to do is to ignore sunk costs – what's done is done - and to focus on what is the best decision from here on. Easier said than done, but still necessary!

Reasons

There could be a number of reasons why the existing solution isn’t meeting needs. These could include:

I found a few sections in Deloitte's In-house Insights Report, “Trusted navigators in complex and challenging environments”, prepared in response to the September 2022 survey of New Zealand's in-house legal community, fascinating.

They were questions about the skills of the in-house legal profession, and in particular:

• What legal skills do you consider will be most important for you to be able to perform your role in the next 2 years and
• What non-legal skills do you consider will be most important for you to be able to perform your role in the next 2 years.

If they are skills that a lawyer needs to perform their role, then aren't they ALL legal skills?

Estate planning, particularly the creation of wills and enduring powers of attorney (EPAs), is an underappreciated field requiring a lot of expertise.

Lawyers and legal executives often invest extensive hours researching, verifying, and customising clauses for wills, all while managing the heavy administrative load of gathering and inputting data into multiple documents for various individuals.

It doesn't have to be this hard, though.

Embracing technological advancements has transformed the process of will and EPA creation for modern firms wanting to adopt the most efficient processes and provide the best outcomes for their clients.

In this post, we delve into why leading industry players are now turning to software solutions for the streamlined creation of even the most intricate documents, specifically focusing on wills and EPA documents.

This article focuses on specific document automation software, not the basic functionality you get in practice management systems, which is often marketed as if it has the same capabilities.

When I’m asked for the best resources to improve overall contracting processes and outcomes, there are two that I can recommend knowing they will provide excellent insights and return on investment.

While particularly relevant for in-house legal teams and contract managers (who can get immediate benefits), they offer significant value to commercial lawyers in law firms who want to understand how they can really add the most value to their clients’ businesses.

Looking ahead to the coming year, I think (maybe with a bit of hope thrown in) several themes will be key. This is what we will be focussing on helping our customers with, and in our own business.

When selling a house, an owner has a choice about whether to sell the house "as is, where is" or to do it up before putting it on the market.

It might seem like an unnecessary amount of cost and effort to replace the kitchen, bathroom, and 20-year-old carpet when you won't be the one who is around to enjoy using it. Why not just let the new owner put things in how they want them?

But not everybody in the market to buy a house wants to go through the whole effort of a significant renovation. Those that do are probably DIY renovators looking for a bargain. The number of people willing to take on a significant renovation while paying full value is much lower.

Given the choice, many people think it's easier and better to build their own home exactly as they want rather than try and retrofit it into someone else's home and clean up someone else's mess.

Similar issues apply when selling a law firm.

Introduction: 

As legal automation experts, we understand the immense potential of improving and automating common legal processes to save time and streamline operations. We have a great track record of delivering successful automation projects for in-house legal teams with very strong returns on investment.  

However, law firms have been different.   

We have realised that merely automating tasks may not always yield the expected benefits for law firms. The true value – and requirement - lies in a holistic transformation, where automation plays a crucial role but is just one piece of the puzzle.  

In this blog, we delve into the importance of a comprehensive transformation strategy and how collaboration with experts is necessary to propel law firms towards success.