With economic uncertainty, remote working now a reality and a drive for productivity gains and ultimately profitability, many law firms are focused on automation and workflow optimisation to drive practice efficiency. This often manifests itself in the adoption of document automation as a first step because of the obvious benefits, two of which are risk reduction and standardisation of document generation. However, document automation is just one part of a much broader process optimisation potential.
If law firms take a step back, there is vast opportunity to drive further efficiencies. Planning to deliver an end-to-end process to include not just the document generation elements is the future. Creating a solution that compliments a lawyer’s work and that has been designed to react to a variety of scenarios and outputs from the inception to the end is vastly more valuable than just the document in the middle.
Importantly you can’t talk about improving processes without talking about data. Here at Autologyx we think that structured data and process go hand in hand.
So what are the main reasons to adopt overall process improvement which includes both workflow optimisation and automation with more ambition instead of a single area of benefit, like document automation?
They are:
Compliance and risk management
The combination of workflow and automation allows you to design compliant and risk reducing playbooks for your work types. Automating processes ensures that the same steps are taken every time, the combination of checklists, tasks, documents, collaboration is key. Increased standardisation and the reduction in errors and inconsistencies will result in higher accuracy and fewer quality control issues.
Reduced waste
Automated processes can complete tasks faster than manual processes, but also can run non-linear workflows at the same time, reducing the time required to complete a project or a task. This allows employees to take on more valuable work or spend more time on other critical tasks. It also allows time to focus on new business generation.
Improved collaboration
Automating processes can improve collaboration between team members by providing a centralised platform for information sharing and task management. This leads to increased transparency and better communication, resulting in more efficient workflows. It also provides an invaluable view of the work types for your junior lawyers and paralegals.
Scalability
A carefully designed process with the right amount of automation can deliver increased workload without investing in additional human resources. This allows departments to scale their operations without increasing costs or headcount, making them more efficient and cost-effective in the long run.
Improved customer experience
Incorporating workflow automation can be a game changer in improving communication with clients and their overall experience. That, in combination with providing a collaborative workspace to your clients, can increase transparency and ultimately create a stickier relationship. It allows you to provide the service and any automated reporting on matters and progress whilst allowing the client to access their matters 24/7 if they so wish.
Here at Autologyx we focus on delivering the best workflow and automation technology, allowing our customers to build and design their playbooks for practice specific work, firmwide activities or customer facing solutions. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss use cases.
