By LEAP Legal Software, AAML NJ Silver Sponsor

The present economic uncertainty means many businesses are finding ways to tighten their resources to minimize and avoid any negative impacts of potential economic downturn. The legal industry is no different. As many New Jersey family law firms do not have the same resources as large corporations, they need to find new ways to be creative in minimizing spend, reducing overhead, and optimizing the resources they have to protect their business from any economic challenges. While it may seem too early to take action in such uncertainty, New Jersey law firm owners and partners can start taking action to prepare for whatever the future has in store.

Automate Workflows to Increase Billing

Manual operations lead to New Jersey family law firms missing out on thousands of dollars in revenue every single week. Alarmingly, a recent study found that 43% of law firm fee earners spend more than 35% of their time working on non-billable tasks. If fee earners continue to focus so much of their time on redundant, manual work, law firms will struggle to maintain profitable and successful operations during economic downturn. Manual workflows that often take up the time of New Jersey matrimonial attorneys include case updates, time tracking, and collaboration.

Legal automation supported by the right legal software can digitize law firm tasks that take up countless hours and allows them to focus on billable work during standard business hours instead of working longer hours to compensate for this lost time. Additionally, as New Jersey attorneys work faster, they can take on more cases in the same amount of time to create additional revenue that supports the law firm’s overall financial health. Workflow automation to look for in a software solution include:

• Matter creation and management
• Email and correspondence
• Document creation and management
• Time tracking
• Billing and invoicing

Establish Hybrid and Remote Work Options

Maintaining an adequate office space with all the resources for staff members and enough room for client meetings is a considerable expense for New Jersey law firms. The cost to rent a space, pay utilities, and provide adequate in-office facilities creates high overhead costs that impact where law firms could invest the revenue they earn. Therefore, hybrid and remote work options present an easy way for New Jersey family law firms to combat this.

When law firms obtain smaller office space, they reduce monthly spending to cushion their operation expenses. Additionally, they can reinvest the money they save into their marketing efforts to establish new business opportunities that ultimately further protect the firm from financial struggles.

There are additional benefits to implementing hybrid and remote work options. Over the past several years, many New Jersey legal professionals already expect to have remote work options and actively seek job opportunities that offer flexibility. This shift means that New Jersey family law firms can reduce their operating costs and help ensure they maintain their current people resources and improve staff retention.

Develop New Revenue Streams

As law firms increase their staff’s flexibility, they also open up new business opportunities in jurisdictions and areas of law they previously could not service. For example, when New Jersey family law firms expand their recruitment efforts, they can bring on the top lawyers across several jurisdictions and practice specialties that instantly create additional revenue streams without worrying about needing a bigger office space and incurring additional expenses for commuter benefits.

This can only be achieved with the right legal software. All staff members need access to real-time case information to view and provide updates, collaborate internally and externally, and track the time spent on the work they’ve done for accurate billing and invoicing, regardless of if that work got done in an office, at court, or on the go. Cloud-based software provides New Jersey matrimonial attorneys the accessibility and security needed to establish additional revenue streams without increasing their current resources.

Create a Culture of Transparency

Ultimately, the best thing New Jersey family law firms can do for their staff members is to have open dialogue and transparency. The prospect of financial uncertainty or any cultural shifts can be daunting for any employee, so senior attorneys and partners in the practice need to provide adequate support for the junior and support staff under them. Regular firm meetings and one-on-one check-ins where staff can discuss concerns, potential changes, develop a career plan, and set individual and group expectations help mitigate staff uncertainty.

Senior practice members can have more time to dedicate to these check-ins when software automates the manual administrative tasks that previously consumed their days. In addition, as they continue to work with all staff members, it showcases the firm’s commitment to developing a transparent and supportive culture without asking senior attorneys to make up this time by working after business hours.

Conclusion

While there is still debate over how far off economic slowdown can be, there is never a bad time to review law firm operations and find ways to improve operational and overhead expenses and efficiency. New Jersey family law firms that attempt to make these shifts while maintaining manual processes will find it more difficult than firms that have moved their cloud operations to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce spending, and establish new revenue streams for enhanced cash flow. The LEAP legal practice productivity solution is the only fully-integrated, cloud-based solution that provides New Jersey matrimonial attorneys with everything they need to run a productive and profitable business from anywhere, at any time. Schedule a demo today to see how LEAP can help optimize your firm’s operations.