Like many other industries, the legal market is growing in competitiveness as people search for the most inexpensive solutions possible. Not only does the market continue to grow and saturate, but it has also followed trends to spread out timely and tedious work overseas. Why pay a lawyer to spend time doing something a paralegal is qualified to do and at half the rate? An article on Attorneyatwork.com written by Jason Furlong titled Three Ways to Compete in the Coming Legal Market explains the changes in the legal market and how lawyers can adapt to gain a competitive advantage. Furlong states that “The U.S. legal market now includes online legal-form vendors, overseas lawyers and advanced software tools; the Canadian market includes licensed independent paralegals; and the U.K. market includes everything from banks, accounting firms and legal publishers to logistics companies to a law firm traded on the stock market.” Furlong offers suggestions for lawyers to stay competitive by becoming specialized in specific areas of legal work, and testing the waters in new markets.
Increasing Efficiency with the Help of Daylite
Another way for lawyers to stay on top of the competition is through increasing efficiency. Saving time saves money no matter what industry you’re in. With Daylite, lawyers can save time with powerful features that were designed with productivity in mind.
Email Templates
Tedious and time consuming tasks such as sending follow-up emails become simplified with Daylite’s automated emails. Lawyers can set up letter templates in Daylite to pull specific info such the client name, dates, and case name so all they have to do is select a specific template and they can email multiple people at once. Daylite pulls all the necessary info about the client and the case based on specific s set up in the template, so you no longer have to dig through each case file to enter in the appropriate information. Forms can also be attached to gather necessary info without even having to set up a time consuming meeting. In just a few clicks, multiple emails can be sent to clients or prospect clients thanking them for their interest and asking them to fill out necessary paperwork that can be done on the client’s time instead of the lawyer’s.
Routine Task Reminders
Legal work is fairly structured and follows specific steps in order. Activity sets in Daylite can be used for a set of pre-determined tasks with before-end and after-start dates. Lawyers can rely on activity sets to prompt the next step and ensure that everything is done in order and on time.
Sharing and Delegating
For lawyers with legal assistants, work can easily be shared and delegated through Daylite. Case information, emails, and client information can all be shared in a legal office through Daylite. The case (project in Daylite) has all the necessary information and relevant emails from the client can be linked so it’s easy to find and share information. Lawyers can delegate a task to their assistant in Daylite, and the assistant has all the details.
Working on the Go
Lawyers can make use of their time out of the office with the stellar mobile integration that comes with Daylite. With Daylite on the iPad and iPhone lawyers can capture information wherever they meet with clients, review an email related to a case on the way to court and create tasks on the fly to be completed when they get back to the office. Being able to glance at your iPhone and have a full outline of your day is handy as well for time management.
By making effective use out of time spent in and out of the office with productivity tools such as Daylite, lawyers can maximize the amount of work done in each day and therefore maintain a competitive advantage in the legal industry.
