The importance of analysing data in a law firm

Three ways to avoid being left behind

A law firm isn’t necessarily the type of organisation you would expect needs to focus so much on data and analytics. They take on cases for individuals and businesses, try to reach the best conclusion possible for their clients, and then move on to the next case.

But the underlying statistics create a clear picture of how the entire operation is running, and a thorough analysis can enable firms to improve efficiencies and performance. Taking the time to look at the data, including information on cases, fee earners and accounts, is well worthwhile.

This is what the best law firms are doing today. If you’re not – then you’re being left behind.

Analysing case data

If you want to maximise your output, in terms of completed cases, then it’s important to ensure you’re working near to full capacity as much as possible. Keep your fee earners busy and as soon as a space opens up in their workload, ensure it gets filled with more billable hours.

To do this, you should constantly be reviewing data on how many cases are currently open, which cases have recently closed, and what capacity your fee earners are currently working at. This way you always know where there are gaps that can be filled with new business.

Analysing employee performance

The type of data mentioned above is also incredibly useful when looking at the performance of your fee earners. For example, if they have targets for the number of cases they need to complete in any given time frame, this information will show who is on track, and who isn’t.

Good analytics software will also enable users to breakdown not just the number of cases each fee earner is currently working on, but the value of those cases, so you can easily see which individuals are generating the most revenue for your firm – and which could be doing better.

Analysing financial data

Speaking of revenue, the ability to really drill down into financial analytics is incredibly important from a business perspective. The ability to see the value of each case can provide amazing insights into what sort of clients you should be looking to take on, in order to maximise revenues.

Of course, looking into financial data is already done by law firms – accounting staff need to know what money is coming in and where money is going out. But to specifically attribute those figures to particular clients allows you to see which clients are especially profitable for the firm, and seeing which fee earners are bringing in the most money is useful information to have.

Proclaim BI

With Proclaim BI law firms can easily analyse business efficiency and avoid being left behind by the competition.

Proclaim BI is the new dashboard designed to help law firms know their data and enable them to make more informed business decisions, allowing users to clearly visualise their key business information and access data insight and graphical analysis in real time.

Legal Protection Group selects Proclaim Case Management solution from Eclipse

Bristol-based Legal Protection Group is implementing the Proclaim Case Management solution from Eclipse, the market-leading legal software provider.

The group, led by several industry experts, specialises in legal protection insurance for various areas of law.

Following an in-depth search for a case management solution that could be easily configured to meet specific requirements, Legal Protection Group determined a claims specific version of Proclaim was the standout choice of software. Proclaim will enable employees firm-wide to deliver a consistent approach at each stage of the claims process.

In addition, Legal Protection Group will be implementing TouchPoint+, the client self-service portal from Eclipse. Accessible via smartphones, iPads, tablets or laptops, TouchPoint+ includes Secure online document delivery and signing along with online case tracking and live updates. This will allow the business to process claims more efficiently whilst continuing to provide great client care.

Clare Wright, Operations Manager at Legal Protection Group, comments:

“Proclaim is undoubtedly going to improve efficiencies across our organisation, enabling us to deliver a faster and consistent higher level of service to clients, creating a great platform for the business to grow.

“The addition of TouchPoint+ is a milestone moment in our journey to continually enhance the level of service we offer to our clients – increasing our edge over competitors even further. Overall, we’re delighted to be embracing the power of Proclaim and the benefits it will bring to us and our clients.”

Start-up selects Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse

Start-up law firm Exclusive Law is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

Founded in early 2020, the Manchester-based practice specialises in personal injury cases and boasts fee earners with a wealth of previous experience in delivering an exceptional service to clients in this specialist field.

The firm looked to hit the ground running upon beginning its operations, and sought to implement a fully integrated practice management solution that would ensure maximum efficiencies across the firm whilst enabling the provision of a high-quality of service to clients from day one.

After an in-depth review Exclusive Law selected Proclaim, the inbuilt personal injury workflows and inherent scalability will prove to be a key asset to the business for years to come. The accounting toolset integrated within Proclaim will enable streamlined processes throughout the entire practice.

In addition, Exclusive Law decided to implement TouchPoint+, the device independent self-service portal from Eclipse that allows firms to better connect with their clients. TouchPoint+ displays live information on a particular case in an interactive format, enabling clients to be updated at their own convenience.

Andrew Doyle, Director at Exclusive Law, comments:

“Proclaim is just what we need to help us get up and running. Implementing a solution quickly which will create efficiencies from the start, rather than waiting and transferring to suitable software at a later date, will prove to be a massive time-saver.

“We’re looking forward to the benefits that having a single system firm-wide brings such as a consistent approach to services and a central store of client documentation. With TouchPoint+, it will be even easier for our clients to receive an excellent service – viewing and signing key documents electronically can all be done from the convenience of home without the need to visit our office.”

Enhanced flexibility with Proclaim Go – work anywhere

Jane is a solicitor who works at a law firm in Birmingham. Today, she’s out of the office visiting a client in the centre of London. This used to mean that Jane would have to print key case information in advance or take along a laptop to access Proclaim – not ideal when traveling on several trains.

Thankfully Jane can utilise Proclaim Go – a mobile and tablet friendly application powered by Proclaim, designed especially for fee earners like her, who are often travelling or in client meetings with a need to access accurate live information on their cases and the ability to record events and update information on their cases, on the go.

On the way to the client, Jane gets up to speed with her client’s details through her smartphone – she simply presses the Proclaim Go shortcut icon and uses the favourite cases function to easily find her client’s case history – which includes documents and previous correspondence.

Mid-way through the meeting, which is going well, Jane and her client decide to take a break. Jane steps outside and receives a call on her phone from a different client, asking for some information on his case.

Normally, Jane would have to make a note of her client’s request and get back to them the following day when back in the office with access to Proclaim – if she remembered and the note wasn’t lost.

However, with Proclaim Go, Jane can provide excellent client care instantly all through her smartphone. Jane searches for her client’s case by name and retrieves the requested information for her client all whilst he’s on the phone. Once the call has ended, Jane records the time she spent on the call and the details discussed directly into the case history using Proclaim Go. If in a suitable location, Jane could even use her smartphone’s existing digital dictation functionality to record case notes with Proclaim Go.

Jane returns to her meeting knowing that everything is up to date. After the meeting, on the train journey home, Jane records her time and enters a memo updating the case history with the outcomes of the meeting. After updating the case, Jane sets herself follow up tasks to ensure nothing is missed for her client in the future and views her scheduled tasks for the next day – all on Proclaim Go using her smartphone.

Eclipse launches Proclaim BI – a new dashboard to visualise business intelligence in real time

Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, has announced the launch of Proclaim BI – a business intelligence dashboard integrated within Proclaim case and practice management.

Proclaim BI has been designed to help law firms know their data and enable them to make more informed business decisions, allowing users to clearly visualise their key business information and access data insight and graphical analysis in real time.

Proclaim BI includes dashboards to cater for both case-related information and financial and accounting metrics with the information displayed being unique to the user’s profile.

Data can be aggregated with that from non-Proclaim sources if users wish, and can exported for further analysis if required into 3rd party formats.  Exports can be scheduled to run and distributed automatically at pre-set times.

Mick Thompson, Technical Director at Eclipse, Comments:

“Law firms are under increasing pressure to operate efficient, profitable business models alongside delivering excellent legal services and client care. Our latest innovation – Proclaim BI – gives firms accurate, live business information which is essential when making informed decisions.”

“Proclaim BI boasts a crisp and accessible interface that clearly displays configurable information, through the use of charts, graphs and tables. It’s never been easier to see where your practice is thriving, and where there are areas for improvement.”

Improve fee earner efficiency – make it easier to work from anywhere

Law firms throughout the UK are figuring out how they can become more efficient. Whether that’s through focusing on new markets, implementing new technologies, or other solutions they might have.

The most important thing for them is to get their fee earners working more efficiently. But fee earners are restricted to what they can do by the legal practice they work for – it’s up to the employer to provide their employees with a working environment that enables greater efficiency.

Here at Eclipse, we believe the solution lies within your case management system. A good solution will provide fee earners with the freedom to be more productive than they ever have been – but only if used right. So here’s what to do.

Maximise accessibility

One of the key ways in which you can help fee earners achieve their goals of greater efficiency is by increasing accessibility to their tools. And the most important tool they have is their Case Management solution.

Having it installed on the computers in the office, or in the cloud, is one thing. But fee earners often have to be out of the office visiting clients. So they need to be able to access the details of all their case files remotely and conveniently, be that in the back of a taxi, in a lift, or while dashing between meetings. Time that would have otherwise been lost can be spent productively.

Ensure security

One concern individuals may have about a remote version of a case management system – whether they’re a fee earner, client, or partner at the firm – is that its availability outside of the office makes it less safe, and more susceptible to malicious attacks.

These are fair concerns, and so it’s imperative that any solution that increases accessibility also takes into account security. The fact is, smartphones are just as, if not more secure than any other method – as they usually require a fingerprint scan to access the device itself.

Paper documents can get lost easily, and it’s not uncommon for a laptop to get left behind in a client’s office, or on the back seat of a taxi. This can happen to smartphones too, but their more secure nature – the aforementioned fingerprint or facial scan – makes this less dangerous.

No new product or feature that can access sensitive data should be launched before passing stringent data security tests. Protecting the data contained within case management systems should be of the utmost importance to legal software suppliers – and it is to us.

Proclaim Go

Which brings us to Proclaim Go – a new secure environment which increases the accessibility of the Proclaim case management solution.

Proclaim Go is a mobile and tablet friendly application powered by Proclaim.

It allows fee earners to access case history details (including documents and previous correspondence) while away from their PC or laptop. All they need is an internet connection, and login details to their own personal Proclaim Go portal.

With Proclaim Go, users can record meetings and update information on their cases, such as logging phone calls, creating case notes (using their smartphone’s existing digital dictation functionality), recording time and viewing future tasks – all on the go.

It gives fee earners the extra flexibility they need to help them provide an exceptional service to their clients.

Eclipse launches Proclaim Go – a new application allowing fee earners to work anywhere

Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, has announced the launch of Proclaim Go – a mobile and tablet friendly application powered by Proclaim.

Proclaim Go is designed especially for fee earners who are often travelling or in client meetings, with a need to access accurate live information on their cases. With Proclaim Go, users can record meetings and update information, such as logging phone calls, creating memos, recording time and viewing future tasks – all on the go.

The new secure environment with optional two-factor authentication increases the accessibility of the Proclaim case management solution. As well as access via traditional desktop or cloud channels, fee earners can now access case history details (including documents and previous correspondence) while away from their PC or laptop. All they need is an internet connection, and login details to their own personal Proclaim Go application.

Darren Gower, Sales & Marketing Director at Eclipse, Comments:

“Our latest innovation gives users of the Proclaim case management solution the extra flexibility they need to continue providing an exceptional service away from a traditional desktop or cloud environment. Fee earners can stay up to speed with the latest live information whenever and wherever they take their smartphone, making it even easier to adopt more flexible ways of working.

“Fee earners can provide excellent client care instantly through a smartphone by searching for a client’s case by name and retrieving the requested information all whilst on the phone. Once the call has ended, users can record the time spent on the call and the details discussed directly into the case history using Proclaim Go. Notes can even be added using a smartphone’s existing digital dictation functionality.”