Even just a decade ago, cloud-based ways of working were fairly uncommon in the legal sector. Today, the cloud is becoming more and more essential in enabling firms to generate efficiencies and prepare for the future – providing the foundation for all new ways of working.
At The Missing Link, we specialise in helping law firms adopt cloud-based technology and services in order to realise efficiencies, drive better customer relationships, save costs, and secure and retain quality staff. Following are four key benefits that we see the cloud bringing to the legal sector:
Greater scalability and insight
When your licensing is in the cloud, your firm can be more agile and responsive to changes in the sector. So, as your workforce grows or shrinks, you can simply update your licensing accordingly. If you win a new client and need to build your workforce quickly, for instance, new licenses can be acquired almost instantly. Similarly, if a team member leaves, their access can be immediately terminated – ensuring a high degree of data security. Importantly, cloud-based technology can also lead to automated processes and greater insights – such as enabled by Office 365, Microsoft SharePoint, or even Power BI. By bringing all of your client data in a secure, central repository, you can very quickly identify trends or opportunities, as well as mitigate the impact of certain issues.
Improved ability to attract and retain staff
In recent years, the demands of the legal profession, and the inflexible working conditions, means that large, commercial firms aren’t necessarily as appealing to employees as they once were. According to Inside Enterprise, it means more and more solicitors are moving away from private practice, and into the in-house teams of large businesses.1
To make the workplace appealing, firms need to provide employees with the level of technical sophistication and flexibility they expect.
Superior communication and collaboration
With cloud-based systems in place, your people can work from anywhere and can continue to share information far more effectively – regardless of where they are located. Even when they’re working from home, or at a client’s site, your people can access the files, resources and notes they need regarding current matters. Teams can also connect with senior professionals, in real-time. This means they can work in the most efficient and productive way possible, and get the best results for your clients.
Enhanced competitiveness
In the past, particularly in corporate law, a business would have a fairly lasting and long-term relationship with a specific law firm. Today, an increase in competition, and the increasing digitisation of the legal sector, means that customers are now able to “shop around” for their legal advice. In addition, corporate law firms are finding that clients now scrutinise external legal advice more closely than ever before, and they are demanding that their matters be dealt with more transparently and efficiently.
With cloud-based infrastructure in place, your firm can respond to increasing customer demands through improved communication and collaboration, and by using cloud-based data insights to deliver upon your clients’ needs in real-time.
Find out more
To learn more about law firms in the cloud, contact The Missing Link on 1300 865 865 or contactus@themissinglink.com.au.
1 Inside Enterprise, Commercial Law in the Australian Legal Market, 2016, accessed 5 June 2017, B <http://www.insideenterprise.org/commercial-law-in-the-australian-legal-market/>
