Help Your Law Firm Clients Benefit From Cloud Computing
By Rick Delgado, contributing writer
If it seems like every industry is taking to the cloud these days, it’s probably because that’s exactly what’s happening. While we may associate the use of cloud computing with certain businesses, it’s important that we don’t overlook certain areas that could gain a lot from fully adopting the cloud and all it offers. Law firms in particular could benefit greatly from choosing to move some of their operations to the cloud — in fact many are already doing just that. The cloud holds a lot of promise, and your IT clients of all types in this area would be wise to consider making the move.
Among the benefits are decreased operational costs, increased productivity, improved flexibility, instant access, and greater mobility. In fact, attorneys who forgo using the cloud could be hurting their chances to secure certain clients that may want to know what technologies their prospective lawyers are using. All of these appealing capabilities provided by cloud computing also help smaller law firms compete with their much larger rivals. The cloud basically levels the playing field for all those involved.
There’s no single right way to use cloud computing for a law firm. Much of it depends on what each practice does, who they work with, which cases they take, and more. That’s why you need to assess your clients’ needs before choosing solutions.
Luckily, there are plenty of cloud-based services and tools out there. One startup attorney described several that he uses, such as Asana for task management and Google Apps for contact lists and calendar events. As any law firm can attest, keeping tasks and events straight is crucial for success. No practice wants to miss out on a corporate filing just because things got disorganized in the office. Other cloud tools can be equally useful. Customer relationship management (CRM) programs are normally associated with sales teams, but they are equally useful for law firms. CRM services can organize client lists and keep track of every communication practices have with their clientele. This not only improves a law firm’s handling of cases, but it can increase the communication practices have with the very people that keep them in business.
Other tools range from the common, like Dropbox used for collaboration, to those that aren’t as well known, like Chrometa, which keeps track of the time spent with clients and streamlines billing and invoicing. All of these tools would normally have required lots of man-hours to manage, but with the cloud, those hours spent running numbers and organizing files are considerably reduced.
While all of these services may seem incredibly convenient (and they are), law firms must also contend with a number of issues that may damper their effectiveness. These issues usually revolve around security and ethics. Before using a service or tool provided by the cloud, law firms will need to ensure security is a priority. Nobody wants sensitive information to be leaked to the public or stolen by a cybercriminal, and few things are more sensitive than legal proceedings. At the same time, practices need to make sure they’re following ethical and legal standards before deploying a cloud-based solution. Since those rules may change based on the jurisdiction where they are located, it’s an issue that must be given careful consideration before fully implementing. As long as law firms can follow ethical and security guidelines while still using the cloud, they should be able to take advantage of cloud computing without worry.
Law firms have a lot to gain from adopting cloud computing.The number of services and tools based in the cloud almost guarantees you will find something that will work well for your clients.