How many documents does your firm produce in a year? Is your firm increasing that number or maintaining? What if you could grow your law firm by using a system that has helped lawyers produce over one million documents in the last fifteen years?
To produce more documents you need more time. You could work longer hours and weekends. Who wants to do that though?
Instead, estate planning lawyers can improve their workflow. This strategy helps create more time by optimizing the current processes.
Curious how you can improve your workflow? Keep reading!
Scheduling Your Work
If your day isn't properly scheduled, then you will spend a lot of wasted time on unnecessary tasks. For example, one major dilemma is answering phone calls.
Every prospective client call you miss is a loss of potential new revenue for your firm. This is also a loss of opportunity for you personally. You miss out on a chance to network, increase your experience and knowledge, and improve upon your word of mouth reputation.
The problem is if you spend all of your time fielding phone calls and scheduling meetings you won't have to time get any actual work done. This isn't the most productive use of your time.
Decide to focus too much in one direction or the other and you'll have someone unhappy with your lack of communication.
Instead, consider an online scheduling system. This will reduce the need for you and your staff to answer the phone. Potential clients will also appreciate the ease of making a consultation at their convenience.
To make online scheduling a success look for a system that will integrate into your current calendar. This means searching for software that is compatible with either Google calendar or Microsoft Office 365.
Client Intake Questionnaires
Of course, it is important to take notes when meeting with your clients. However, this hinders the communication process as you stop to write down information. You want your clients to feel as if you are focused on them.
Another hindrance is the sheer amount of time it takes to get every detail. The information gathering process is time-consuming, which pulls you away from other productive tasks.
You could have an admin staff member take down the information, but this may make your client feel unimportant. It is also taking up your staff member's time.
Instead, automate the process for your firm. Use software that lets you create a complete intake questionnaire.
Then your clients can either fill out the questionnaire online or print it and fill out a paper version. This lets your client fill out the information at their leisure.
Letting your clients fill out their estate information at their pace will reduce the risk of forgotten items and mistakes. It also frees up your time to work on other tasks.
Once your client fills out their information, it will automatically carry over to your drafting system. This reduces the data entry time required for each client's file. The rate of error will also decrease since the information is only entered once.
Document Drafting
When it comes to estate documents, you probably have a set of templates that you start with, then tweak for each client's specific needs. What if you could automate this process?
A significant amount of your time is spent filling out the same documents over and over or filling in the same information on different documents. A document automation software can do all of this for you.
Accuracy
By automating the document preparation process, you can maintain a high level of accuracy while producing legible and appropriate documents.
Scenario Builder
You can create sample scenarios that involve all the required documents. Now you won't forget to create all of the necessary documents.
Client Friendly
Let your clients engage with and understand your documents. This will help them feel confident that you accomplished their goals.
The easier it is for your clients to understand the documents, the less time you have to spend explaining them. Trust will build, and your client will feel it less necessary to spend as much time consulting in the future.
Relationships
Give your documents the personal touch that your clients will appreciate and notice. You can program relationships that the system will then automatically apply to your document creation.
Now you don't have to spend time looking up these individuals that are important to your client. You also don't have to sort through your notes trying to remember names and relationships.
Execution of Completed Documents
As you know, estate documents need to be executed by your client. Some of them have specific requirements in how they are executed for them to be valid and enforceable in court.
It should be a reasonably straightforward process. You call the client, arrange a time, the client comes in and signs their documents.
You can make this process easier by automating it. Your client could make their appointment online through your new scheduling system.
For some documents, you could even have your client e-sign them. Then the client can sign their documents wherever they are and whenever they want.
Improving Workflow for Estate Planning Lawyers
You don't have to embrace the latest technology to modernize the workflow process in your law firm. Automating many of the tasks can help estate planning lawyers streamline their workday.
This lets you and your team focus on critical tasks. It also creates more time to take on new clients.
Contact us today and schedule a demo of the software that will modernize the workflow of your law firm.
