5 Best Legal Workflow Tools and How to Incorporate Them

What are Legal Workflow Tools?

Legal workflow tools are specialized software applications designed to optimize and automate various tasks and processes within legal practices. These tools aim to improve efficiency, accuracy, and consistency by managing and simplifying routine tasks, including but not limited to:

• Document creation
• Case management
• Billing
• Scheduling
• Communication

In other words, legal workflow management software streamlines processes wherever automation is possible. For the legal industry and corporate legal departments, most of the focus is on incorporating automated workflows to let legal professionals focus on value-adding tasks that tech cannot do.

What are the Types of Legal Workflow Tech Solutions?

Legal workflow automation software can be classified into many distinct types based on their function. In this article, we’ll focus on some of the most important, which include:

Document Automation

Document automation is a type of legal workflow automation software that creates or drafts legal documents, including discovery responses and requests. Without this type of tech, legal professionals would have to spend hours, if not days, drafting documents manually.

Besides speeding up the process of creating legal documents, document automation helps ensure consistency and accuracy across the board.

Task Management

In most law firms, a significant chunk of time is usually spent on organizing legal teams and delegating tasks for maximum efficiency. This might be easier for smaller law firms, but not for big ones that have dozens of legal teams.

Task management involves the utilization of software solutions to organize, assign, and monitor tasks within a team. These solutions allow for the setting of deadlines, assignment of responsibilities, and real-time tracking of progress on tasks. 

Acting as a digital project manager, task management tools ensure efficient workflow coordination, preventing tasks from being overlooked or deadlines missed.

Database Management

In law firms, database management refers to the systematization of case files, client information, and legal references into a digital repository. This type of legal workflow management software allows legal professionals to efficiently store, organize, and retrieve vast amounts of data without the need for physical filing systems.

Billing Management

Law firms generate profit through billable hours, making an efficient billing management system an absolute must.

Billing management tools automate administrative tasks such as invoicing and payment tracking processes within legal practices. These tools optimize the generation of invoices, monitor outstanding payments, and maintain transparent financial records. 

Unlike some traditional billing systems, these tech tools help ensure timely payments and minimal errors.

Legal Reporting

Another useful type of legal workflow automation software is legal reporting tools, which help law firms gauge their profitability and overall health. An ideal reporting tool should be capable of data analysis, productivity monitoring, key performance indicator (KPI) tracking, as well as tracking and analysis of important metrics like cash flow, profit and loss, cost-per-client, etc.

Law firms need this kind of legal workflow software to ensure they’re always in the black and anticipate potential financial issues down the road.

What are the Benefits of Using Legal Workflow Software?

Legal workflow software simplifies complicated tasks, automates the most tedious ones, and adds solutions in areas lacking optimization. Here are the key benefits of adopting such technology:

• Upgrades Efficiency: Legal workflow software automates routine tasks, such as document drafting and case management, which, in turn, allows legal professionals to concentrate on high-value activities.
• Enhances Accuracy: Workflow automation tools help reduce human error in critical processes, including document creation and billing.
• Improves Client Satisfaction: Faster turnaround times on cases and more consistent service delivery directly contribute to improved client satisfaction.
• Facilitates Collaboration: Regardless of their physical location, team members can work together effectively, thanks to centralized platforms that allow for seamless collaboration on tasks.
• Data-Driven Decisions: With built-in analytics and reporting tools, legal workflow software aids in making informed decisions based on data analysis. It enables practices to evaluate performance, forecast trends, and make strategic plans based on accurate, data-driven insights.

How Can You Incorporate Legal Workflow Automation in Your Law Firm?

Implementing legal workflow automation in a law firm or legal department involves a series of strategic steps designed to ensure a smooth transition and maximize the benefits of automation technologies. Here’s a comprehensive guide to navigating the process:

1. Assessment and Planning

• Identify pain points: Start by identifying the tasks and processes that are time-consuming, prone to errors, or could benefit from workflow automation.
• Set clear objectives: Determine what you want to achieve with automation (e.g., reducing turnaround time, enhancing accuracy, or improving client satisfaction).
• Evaluate legal workflow needs: Assess the specific needs of your legal practice (e.g., case management, document automation, billing, and client communication).

2. Research and Selection of Tools

• Explore options: Research the legal workflow automation tools available in the market, focusing on those that address your identified needs and objectives.
• Consider integration capabilities: Choose tools that can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems (e.g., email, calendaring, and document storage).
• Trial and evaluation: Take advantage of free trials or demos offered by vendors to evaluate how well a tool fits your workflow and meets your needs.

3. Implementation Strategy

• Develop an implementation plan: Create a detailed plan outlining the rollout of the automation tools, including timelines, responsibilities, and training schedules.
• Ensure data migration is secure: If transitioning from manual to digital processes, ensure the secure migration of existing data into the new system.
• Customize and configure: Customize your legal workflow software to fit your firm’s specific workflow requirements and configure settings to optimize performance and usability.

4. Training and Support

• Train staff: Provide comprehensive training for all users, ensuring they understand how to use the new tools effectively.
• Establish support channels: Set up internal support channels or liaise with the software provider for external support to assist with any issues or questions that arise.
• Encourage feedback: Ask team members to provide feedback on their experiences with the automation tools, which can be used to make adjustments or improvements.

5. Evaluation and Optimization

• Monitor performance: Regularly assess the performance of the legal workflow software against your set objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Solicit user feedback: Gather ongoing feedback from users on the usability and effectiveness of the tools.
• Iterate and improve: Use insights gathered from monitoring and feedback to make continuous improvements to your legal workflow automation strategy.

6. Compliance and Security

• Ensure legal compliance: Verify that the tools comply with legal standards and regulations relevant to your practice area.
• Prioritize data security: Choose tools that offer reliable security features to protect sensitive client and case information.

Top 5 Legal Workflow Automation and Management Software

Optimizing your workflows may require a combination of different tools. Choosing the right legal practice management software can be complicated, given the dozens of potential options out there, so we’ve narrowed it down to a top-five list:

1. Briefpoint: Best Legal Workflow Automation Tool for Discovery Document Drafting

Briefpoint automates the creation of discovery request and response documents, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to extract important information from documents and generate potential responses or objections users can choose from.

Using Briefpoint saves law firms hours of work that they would otherwise spend on manual document preparation of various legal documents, including:

• Requests for Admission
• Requests for Production 
• Interrogatories

2. Clio: Best Case Management System

Clio stands out in the legal tech landscape as a comprehensive solution to manage almost every aspect of a legal practice. It provides an extensive suite of tools that cover case and document management, billing, time tracking, and client interactions, making it a versatile platform for law firms of any size.

Plus, Clio’s cloud-based nature provides accessibility from anywhere, adding to its appeal by supporting remote work environments and allowing easier client intake process and collaboration among team members.

3. Smokeball: Best Legal Workflow Software for Smaller Firms

Smokeball is designed to meet the needs of small to mid-sized law firms, offering a reliable solution for automating daily operations. 

It helps optimize case management and document automation, providing a variety of tools that generate legal documents, track case progress, and manage client information seamlessly.

4. PatentPal: Best Legal Workflow Software for IP Law

PatentPal is a niche software solution developed with the unique needs of intellectual property professionals in mind. It automates and simplifies the most complicated parts of drafting and managing patents.

PatentPal decreases the time and effort typically required in the patent application process, making it an invaluable asset for those specializing in IP law. The software’s focus on efficiency and accuracy in handling patent documentation and management tasks ensures that IP professionals can maintain a high standard of work while managing a larger volume of cases.

5. FileStage: Best Legal Workflow Software for Document Reviews

FileStage offers a unique proposition for law firms and legal departments that want to streamline their review and approval processes for documents and multimedia content. This platform enables seamless collaboration among legal teams, clients, and external stakeholders, making it easier to gather feedback and approvals on various documents.

With FileStage, users can easily upload documents to a secure online space, where reviewers can leave precise feedback and annotations directly on the file. Aside from speeding up the review cycle, FileStage also decreases the risk of misunderstandings and errors that can occur with traditional email exchanges or hard-copy reviews.

Legal Workflow Software is the Future of Efficient Legal Practice

We are way past the days of manual legal work and outdated processes that reduce your efficiency and bring down your bottom line. In 2024, join the other legal professionals taking advantage of legal workflow software to improve their efficiency, quality of work, profitability, and client satisfaction all at the same time.

Ready to leverage workflow automation? Start with one of the most tedious parts of litigation: discovery. With Briefpoint, you can automate the preparation of discovery response and request documents, saving you time and money in the process.

Supplement Your Law Firm Tool Stack with Briefpoint

Discovery responses cost firms $23,240, per year, per attorney. $23,240 estimate assumes an associate attorney salary of $150,000 (including benefits – or $83 an hour), 20 cases per year/per associate, 4 discovery sets per case, 30 questions per set, 3.5 hours spent responding to each set, and 1800 hours of billable hours per year.

Under these assumptions, you save $20,477 using Briefpoint, per year, per attorney.

Test Briefpoint yourself by scheduling a demo here.