Organization and well-defined roles are key in a legal department
Legal departments are always bustling with activity. Requests for legal services stream in every day, requiring attorneys and paralegals to perform research and produce work product. The cycle is never-ending, which is great for job security. However, it can also be overwhelming, especially if you don’t have clearly defined roles within your legal department. Matter management from Legal Files Software can help your department run more smoothly. Not only does the software offer effective organizational tools for legal matter and office management, it also can help you define roles for your workflow.
Map out the process in advance with Legal Files Software
Effective legal departments have set procedures for handling requests for legal services. To ensure that each request is handled in an appropriate and timely fashion, the employees in a legal department need to determine how to get started. When a request for legal services comes into a legal department, each relevant legal professional should know his or her role in helping to complete it. Maybe the paralegal will handle the research for the request, while the attorney uses his or her knowledge to identify and analyze relevant legal issues.
The best way to ensure that team members in the legal department knows their role and stays on task is to map out the process and workflow in advance. According to Matt Ryan, Legal Files Software Senior Consultant, “Mapping out processes for a legal department dramatically simplifies workflow, keeping the department more efficient and organized. There’s no more wondering if the work got done or who did it.”
You don’t have to map your processes alone, though. You can use matter management software to help you define roles and processes. “The workflow features of Legal Files Software can take defined processes and assign them to employees to move the work along. You simply define who does what and the workflow assigns the work. The process is completely customizable. It can be five steps or 50, depending on what your legal department needs,” says Matt.
Legal Files Software easily fits into existing environments
Some types of matter management software require your legal department to adapt to the system. However, Legal Files Software is different. “Our team realizes that legal departments can be busy and chaotic, and they often have a lot of unwritten processes that have been working for them. We don’t want our clients to change their processes and procedures to fit Legal Files Software, so our legal matter management software adapts to a legal department’s current system to help keep it organized and efficient. Legal Files Legal Department Software is designed to enhance a legal department, rather than change it,” says Matt.
Legal Files’ workflow tools not only helps existing legal professionals, they also helps new employees learn their roles during the training and onboarding process. According to Matt, “Onboarding can be a cumbersome process, but our matter management software teaches employees the basic workflow, so they can hit the ground running and adhere to the legal department’s specific procedures.”
From helping new employees come up to speed, to assisting existing employees in their day-to-day tasks, Legal Files Software serves as an effective legal workflow software.