Top ten disadvantages of not using workflow in your practice
In today's fast-paced and competitive legal environment, you’re reliant upon technology to streamline operations and maximise efficiency. It’s what keeps your law firm afloat while others submerge.
One central element of legal technology is the use of workflow systems which automate routine actions to progress your matters in a more organised and effective manner with less human input.
Workflow software explained
To backtrack slightly, workflow functionality is a key part of case and practice management software. It’s a way of automating how sequences of tasks in standard matters get done – using technology.
Prime components of workflow span collecting client or case information at the point of new matter intake, to generating invoices from logged billable hours at a case’s resolution, and everything in between.
The common workflow applications in law firms comprise:
Document automation: Auto-creation of case-related letters, contracts and other paperwork via assistance of templates and precedents at the appropriate pre-defined workflow stage.
Task automation: Auto-actioning of ordinary administrative duties from data entry when opening a new matter to billing at its completion, with auto-facilitation of tasks like document filing and time recording throughout.
Case management automation: Auto-progression of matters including preparing for court, liaising with third parties, communicating with clients and tracking financials to keep cases moving.
Compliance automation: Auto-documenting of tasks, auto-reminding of deadlines and auto-triggering of risk mitigation features, not least anti-money laundering checks, gives an accountability and compliance boost.
It thus follows that adopting workflow technology significantly supercharges your law firm’s overall output. On the flip side, failing to implement such systems causes a range of issues that negatively impact the performance of your practice and satisfaction of your clients.
Disadvantages outlined
To explore the disadvantages fully, here we set out the main drawbacks of not integrating workflow solutions into your law firm to showcase how embracing technology is no longer optional but a critical factor in surviving and thriving in the modern legal landscape:
Increased risk of human error. Without automated workflows doing a lot of the heavy lifting in place of your people, there’s a higher chance of mistakes due to manual handling of tasks and duplicated data entry. Instead, rule-based logic launches a series of steps with a single point of data entry and limited human intervention.
Inefficiency and wasted time. Following on from #1, the absence of workflow means the presence of time-consuming manual processes, such as producing documents from scratch or repeatedly entering the same data, can reduce chargeable hours, restrict profitability and lower productivity. In contrast, automation assistance allows your lawyers to focus on client-facing and strategic activity, saving vast amounts of time along the way.
Missed deadlines and important dates. No automated reminders and tracking systems lead to your vital milestones being overlooked and deadlines forgotten, potentially causing delays in cases and damaging client relationships. Legal matters are extremely time sensitive and setbacks have serious consequences on their success (or otherwise!).
Unpredictable client service. Without a clear workflow, your clients experience irregular updates, matter hold ups (as per #3) and inconsistent levels of service, as tasks and communications are handled on an ad hoc basis, often late, with differing approaches. Each interaction with your practice should feel similar but this is far from assured when workflow’s unavailable.
Reduced visibility into case progress. Similarly, without a structured workflow, it becomes difficult to monitor the status of your matters so there are problems regarding transparency, accountability and audit trailing. Conversely, real-time tracking and centralised information permits your internal teams to run optimally.
Poor collaboration among team members. Being devoid of workflow hinders communication and coordination between your employees and managers alike, so there’s confusion, duplicated effort, missed tasks and fallen-behind cases. Whether your teams are on-site, remote or hybrid, they’re empowered to collaborate seamlessly with workflow, particularly beneficial with cases involving multiple contributors.
Inability to scale. As your practice grows, managing a rising volume of cases manually becomes unsustainable, restraining your ability to take on more clients. When workflow’s utilised, more cases can be accepted and managed with the same headcount, so your earnings go up but your overheads don’t.
Heavier operational costs. Manual procedures require more clerical and secretarial staff who necessitate greater operational expenditure in terms of time, resources and salaries which impacts your revenue. Rather, workflow performs administrative tasks on your behalf, so staff concentrate on business-critical duties and you don’t need new recruits.
Hampered performance, measurement and decision making. Without the help of workflows, you struggle to collect meaningful performance-related data, making it harder to pinpoint current performance, identify areas for improvement and plan ahead for future success. Workflow, however, enables smarter decisions to drive your business continually forward.
Elevated compliance and other risks. Non-workflow governance of cases, documents, clients and data impedes conformity with regulations, for example accounting rules, practising and standards requirements, data protection laws and wider enforcements, thereby resulting in investigation, sanctions or reputational harm. With compliance support tools provided by workflow, stay ahead of regulations and keep your business out of regulatory hot water.
Workflow options made clear
It's good to know that workflow functionality is readily available in your marketplace. Browse our network of technology partners at www.jayvaglobal.com/about-us/our-partners to discover some of the best workflow platforms out there.
You may even find your existing software contains workflow features you weren’t previously aware of and aren’t yet using.
At Jayva, our services include optimising the technology you already own or subscribe to, as well as choosing and implementing new software packed with sophisticated workflow capabilities. Read about what we do at www.jayvaglobal.com/toolkit/technology and learn how to master workflow technology. Choose from workflow design and software training, to business process improvement and change management consultancy, with Jayva right by your side.