We live in a world where efficiency is the key to success, particularly for businesses. We have access to some of the most incredible technologies out there, and with claims that lawyers are falling behind with tech, it might be time to bring your legal firm up to speed with some of the amazing tech tools out there.
Clio
“Clio offers all you need to run a law practice from intake to invoice, with powerful tools to manage cases, clients, documents, bills, calendars, time tracking, reporting, and accounting.”
From managing your documents to billing your clients, Clio is an all-singing, all-dancing legal practice management tool that has everything in one place. It’s also easily integrated with your other favourite apps too, including Dropbox, Xero and more.
Evernote
“Capture, organize, and share notes from anywhere. Your best ideas are always with you and always in sync.”
Keep all of your team’s work in one place. From taking client notes to collecting research, Evernote helps keep your notes, attachments, audio recordings and more in one clutter-free place that you can access from any device. Evernote also helps you keep on top of things, with checklists and task management features.
IFTTT
“IFTTT is the free way to get all your apps and devices talking to each other. Not everything on the internet plays nice, so we’re on a mission to build a more connected world.”
In short, IFTTT (‘If This Then That’) allows your apps to talk to each other. You can create pairings between your apps to get them to trigger one another. For example, if a client sends you an email with an attachment, have IFTTT automatically save the file to your Dropbox. When you add a note on Evernote, have IFTTT automatically email it to your colleague working on the case. When there’s new lawyer jobs in the area, have IFTTT text you the details. The possibilities are endless.
DropBox
“The secure file sharing and storage solution that employees and IT admins trust.”
Dropbox is the perfect storage solution to anyone looking for a cloud-based software to back up their all-important case files. It has space for sharing and collaborating on documents, it offers advanced security for sensitive information and also offers live support if you need it.
Tiny Scanner
“Tiny Scanner turns your iPhone/iPad into a portable scanner. Scans are saved to your phone as images or PDFs.”
When you’re pushed for time, there’s nothing worse than having to scan a whole bunch of case files and documents. Tiny Scanner gives you quick and easy scanning at your fingertips. This handy little app uses your smartphone’s camera as a scanner, turning your paper documents into either pictures or PDFs, which you can then email to a colleague or save to your Dropbox, Evernote and more.
CaseText
“It’s time to upgrade your legal research experience. The power of a world-class legal search engine, combined with a new artificial intelligence driven technology, CARA A.I.”
Casetext allows you to search millions of legal authorities using their world-class search engine. The search engine uses a new AI technology, which allows for a high precision return of search results and helps find the most relevant cases, statutes, and regulations in an instant.
HelloSign
“Sign documents yourself or request signatures from up to 20 different people in any order, or all at once. When the document is fully executed, everyone gets a copy delivered to their inbox.
See your documents progress with status notifications that keep you in the loop throughout.”
Create legally binding contracts – online! No more travelling to meet clients to get them to sign all-important papers, you can now receive eSignatures from your client(s) in an instant. HelloSign can also be integrated with a range of apps, including Gmail, Dropbox, Google Docs and more.
Setmore
“Reach customers and book appointments with them online in a simple, easy-to-manage calendar that saves you time and helps your business grow.”
As well as managing your schedule, Setmore offers an online appointment booking system to make it easy for your clients to book a meeting with you. You can add your colleagues to your account, add service costs to appointments, check statistics and you and your clients will even receive text and email notifications.
Join.me
“Simple, instant meetings. The fastest online meeting app, with powerful collaboration features and a simple interface that requires no training.”
Join.me is an effortless collaboration tool that makes hosting an online meeting a walk in the park – even for a tech novice. Easily host conference calls, video chat and even share your screen with clients and colleagues – the perfect solution for when you can’t meet face-to-face.
QuickBooks
“The world’s #1 online accounting software.”
Perfect for smaller law firms and solo-practice, QuickBooks offers a quick and simple solution for all your accounting needs. Create invoices at your fingertips, as well as track mileage for client meetings, manage VAT, control your cash flow, run payroll and even auto-categorise your expenses.
LastPass
“The best way to manage passwords. Just remember your master password and LastPass remembers the rest.”
Do you and your colleagues get frustrated with having different passwords for everything online? LastPass looks to make it simple, by giving you just one master password for all your online account passwords. Passwords are securely stored with a high security encryption in a ‘vault’ that is kept secret, even from LastPass themselves.
Coggle
“Coggle is an online tool for creating and sharing mindmaps. It works online in your browser: there’s nothing to download or install.”
Quite simply, Coggle allows you to create a visual mindmap that you can share with as many colleagues as you like in real-time, wherever they may be. Working on a case can be quite a headache, but Coggle can help you visualise your case in an easy-to-read, simplified diagram.