Better monitoring firm productivity

In the new normal, monitoring productivity and efficiency to ensure optimal client satisfaction is more critical than ever. Tracking time with LEAP is a surefire way to guarantee this.

The reality of time recording

The reality of time recording, LEAP Legal Software executive chairman Richard Hugo-Hamman says, is that “lawyers hate doing it, and they don’t do it well”.

Moreover, he continues, lawyers exercise judgment in the wrong ways when recording time. Junior practitioners, he noted by way of example, will lack confidence and thus discount their services or won’t record at all if they decide that they like the client. This, he adds, is something that more senior lawyer are also guilty of.

“What is happening is that junior lawyers in particular are being criticised not because they are not doing good law and not because they are not helping clients, they are being criticised because they are not recording seven hours a day when, in fact, they actually are, many of them are working long hours, but the firms just don’t have decent systems in order to help them capture that time. I’m sure many of them would say they’re so run off their feet, they don’t have time to record their time,” he muses.

In response to these and other concerns around time recording, Mr Hugo-Hamman says, LEAP’s background time recording functionality aims to ensure that lawyers do not have to worry about doing the recording. Technology, he posits, is “much better” at recording than any lawyer is.

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Richard Hugo-Hamman

““It doesn’t have emotions, it doesn’t get tired, it doesn’t need to get home to eat dinner or make dinner. It just records the time,” he submits.

— Richard Hugo-Hamman

Marketplace shifts and client service delivery

With most law firms still largely working remotely, Taurus Legal Management practice manager Jodie Engerer outlines, it is important – more so than ever – for managers to monitor productivity and efficiency to ensure the same level of client satisfaction.

“The legal industry, as a whole, has been a bit behind the times when it came to working remotely.  COVID-19 and continuous lockdowns have thrust the legal industry into a time where managers must, more than ever, properly manage their staff.  It’s not just employees who have to be accountable to their managers, but managers must also ensure their employees are supported,” she says.

“Time recording and reports relating to these are key to showing where work needs to be delegated.  Online platforms such as Teams and Zoom provide not only a modern-day approach to meeting with clients, but also a great way to keep the team connected.”

While workforces are set to be more scattered, Mr Hugo-Hamman reflects the problems they face with client service delivery and time recording will remain largely the same. That is, he says, tracking productivity and efficiency is just as essential as it has ever been.

“If you think about the features LEAP offers, like background time recording, that applies when the people are in office and when they are not in the office. It just applies and in fact, everything that LEAP is doing is agnostic as to location. Except for one big thing, and that is the solution we offer is all paperless and cloud-based,” he outlines.

“LEAP is a cloud solution. It doesn’t matter where you are, it’s all synchronising instantly. So, from a managing productivity point of view, because everything is working in real time, it doesn’t matter where you are, whether you’re in the office next door or the other side of the world, you can manage the productivity because it’s visible. You can see it. It’s on every device.”

This visibility, Mr Hugo-Hamman goes on, is pertinent in light of evolving client expectations for legal services delivery.

“For example, junior lawyers are saying they’re working 16 hours of a day and only recording three hours. They used to complain about that when they were all in the office and they complaining about it now. Many of the traditional challenges of managing a law firm, of maintaining productivity and profitability are exactly the same challenges that existed before the pandemic,” he explains.

“Lawyers’ clients want value communicated to them and they want bills within the expectations set before the matter started. That’s what people want. You send a bill that is within the parameters of expectation, it will be paid.”

So, what do the clients want, Mr Hugo-Hamman asks? “They want a bill that communicates value and then want an amount that is within their expectation and they want to be able to pay conveniently. LEAP enables this to happen,” he answers.

Jodie Engerer

““COVID-19 and continuous lockdowns have thrust the legal industry into a time where it is more important than ever for managers to properly manage their staff.” she says.

— Jodie Engerer

Case study

“Ms Engerer of Taurus Legal Management relies heavily on LEAP timesheets and time recording and management reports to ensure that its high level of client satisfaction is still being met, and to manage workflow between team members.

“We also use Teams and Zoom for team connectivity and meeting with clients. We don’t need to stop doing our job just because we’re in lockdown. Everyone has access to a mobile phone or laptop so we can still progress files and meet with clients,” she says.

“Technology has allowed us to continue to work and do our jobs and deliver great client outcomes. With the online Court system too, this has ensured most cases are still being heard and not unnecessarily being adjourned due to lockdowns.”

The firm is in favour of “old-fashioned personalised service and regular in-person meetings”, Taurus director Alex Martin says, but adds that firms that rely just on computers and telephones will be “left behind” in the post-pandemic world.

“Lockdowns have accelerated the move towards efficient, flexible and integrated ways of working. Knowledge based industries such as law have a lot to gain from embracing these technologies to be more responsive, client focused and better places to work,” he says.

“Cloud-based computing and video technology allows our team to share ideas and documents in ways that are simply not possible by phone or email. Our lawyers can be on screen with a client in moments collaborating on the same shared document.”

Or, Mr Martin continues, his team can coordinate work among themselves with a quick Teams chat message or link to a document in the cloud.

This, he says, is a “stark contrast to the endless meetings and hundreds of emails that are the norm at some firms”. “Even better, the team can do this all from the comfort of their home, from our city office or from anywhere in the world,” he proclaims.

Alex Martin

““Lockdowns have accelerated the move towards efficient, flexible and integrated ways of working. Knowledge based industries such as law have a lot to gain from embracing these technologies to be more responsive, client focused and better places to work,” he says. 

— Alex Martin

Striving for success

When asked what most excites him about the future of his firm, in the wake of its embrace of LEAP capabilities to better track productivity and financial performance, Mr Martin said that he is thrilled by the prospect of being able to choose to live and practice in ways that are not dictated by the job.

“Our use of cloud tech platforms means we can hire the best lawyers and professionals not just from near our office, but from all around Australia and the world. In fact, one of our lawyers recently spent four months working from her vineyard in Tasmania.  She was undertaking a major expansion and between Court appearances was out in the paddock planting new vines. We are only limited by the internet reception and imagination as to how and where we work,” he details.

LEAP’s offerings, Mr Martin says, allows the firm to deliver work more efficiently than ever before. “Our team have more time to focus on quality legal analyses and building genuine partnerships with our clients rather than searching for old emails or reformatting amended documents.”

“Our platform also allows us to respond in real time to team members who have too much work to do or are in need of extra support and training. The net result is our team are happier and creating more value for our clients,” he concludes.

Click here to learn more about how you can manage your firm’s productivity - whether you’re working at home or in the office.