Modern life – and business - is full of distractions for professionals, and lawyers are no different. Legal professionals are often overwhelmed by all the numerous tasks that must be completed each day, and this impedes effective task management, hinders the completion of real work, and reduces firm productivity. There are numerous obstacles to overcoming this problem: a lack of planning, the ineffective management of both tasks and time, distractions from phones and emails which, whilst crucial for client communication, also hamper productivity, and, to put it succinctly, the poor prioritization of projects. A haphazard approach spells failure for the intensive focus that is required to successfully complete client work and, importantly, reduces overwhelm and improves productivity – and profits.
Legal entity management software offers law firms a powerful solution and the benefits of using a third-party platform stem from its user-friendly features and wide range of customization possibilities. Here at Athennian, we are familiar with the difficulties that law firms have encountered in the past with their use of legal entity software, and our purpose has always been to analyze and implement how we can enable lawyers to use IT software as effectively as possible in the working environment.
Athennian has long studied how the minor distractions that take up so much of a legal professional’s day – the invoicing, searching for documentation, document signing, and so on, can be integrated to provide one single, one-stop solution that will save time and effort, leaving space free for the rea, focused legal work to be done. Athennian’s entity-management suite provides a valuable, cloud-based solution that enables lawyers, paralegals, corporate secretaries, and indeed any firm that requires a scalable solution to securely address the routine tasks that require constant ongoing attention, and instead increase billable hours.
The scalable, cloud-based integration of key firm functions that Athennian provides, including features such as the facility for eSignatures, document automation and custom templates, means that using this technology as a base, legal departments can work together more smoothly, in the knowledge that key business procedures are already covered. Not only this: in full awareness of the complexity of practice law, as well as the actual business aspect, Athennian has developed a powerful solution that enables total integration. It isn’t simply a database; rather, our legal entity software focuses on enabling ways in which colleagues can easily and efficiently communicate and collaborate with one another in a workspace that ensures the speedy signing of documentation, the ability to quickly search for, find and download folders and files, the auto-population of templates, and the ability to work together with colleagues in real time.
By using this technology as the core base for operations, law firms can function more efficiently and better execute client work. Essentially, the use of legal entity software means that firms have the ability to keep a significantly tighter rein on operations, and this results in reduced spend across the business. It also means that legal departments are both internally aligned, as well as working better across the firm with other departments, so that there is the elimination of any confusion or delays when different departments, such as corporate and property, are working on the same transaction.
This increased streamlining of documentation, records, and the facilitation of improved communication all means that firms have a tailored tool at their disposal that has the ability to improve almost every aspect of their business. A centralized, technological solution means lower costs. Security concerns are also eliminated; Athennian uses rigorous monitoring tools and security controls to ensure that every single aspect of its operations, from document storage to reporting, to third-party integrations and auditing, are watertight.
With all of the advantages that legal entity management software offers, the cost-effectiveness of an investment in an integrated solution is evident. Key to this is the allocation of a budget to technology and software; the cost-savings leveraged are achieved by the improvement of work processes, the expansion of team capabilities, and the fundamental standardization of business operations. One of the key solutions that Athennian provides is the means by which routine matters and templates can be standardized. Given that a high percentage of firm work is routine, standardization offers the potential for huge savings. These tasks and the related savings translate to almost every aspect of a firm and its business. Just one example is provided by e-billing - the software will automatically check invoices and eliminates the mistakes and omissions that often occur with human reviewers, and allows for the review of non-compliant invoices that may have been approved for payment. Whereas in the past, different departments in the same firm may once have adhered to different guidelines with regard to invoicing procedures, these will now be standardised and integrated. This solution improves not only cost-transparency, but also means that firms now have the ability to better estimate their costs and profits.
The tighter control of firm variables, the standardization of documentation, and the implementation of a collaborative, cloud-based solution means that professionals are left free to carry out the critical legal work that brings in the true revenue and raises the firm’s reputation. By reducing time and spend on tasks that can be standardized and accessed by all workers from a single, cloud-based point of access, legal departments are able to focus on work and achieve improved hourly rates and work volume.
This enhanced digital proficiency transforms firms into smoother operations, where colleagues have immediate access to crucial documentation and can work together in real-time. This elimination of the time wasted on the manual compilation of routine documentation and financials, with, instead, lawyers freed to work on their key areas of expertise, results in huge benefits. The improved spend, timekeeping, better-organized workload, and automation of routine documentation results in improved management, reducing the need to spend any more vital time on tedious tasks, faster work processes, reduced costs, and, ultimately, a focus on the completion of actual legal work.