Cloud-based legal tech has its day

As the world reels from the challenges of slowing the transmission of Covid-19, law firms across the globe need to both connect virtually and continue to meet client needs – all while addressing a new set of legal issues tied to the virus.

Every law firm is likely to feel the strain to one degree or another, but some are unquestionably better equipped for the current reality. The day-to-day aspects of matter management and financial workflows have become a challenge for firms unprepared for a workforce separated by distance and distraction. In the spectre of a pandemic, remote collaboration tools are having their day.

Now more than ever, firms must manage their legal processes and business performance
With so much time apart, it’s important to capture and share the vitals of the workplace, ensuring that important tasks and responsibilities don’t fall through the cracks.

Take, for example, a single legal matter. Law firms without a standardised workflow and cloud-based project management system may suddenly find themselves unable to answer even the ‘five Ws’:

1. What matters are being worked?
2. Who is working on them?
3. When was the last task executed?
4. Where are the documents relevant to the matter?
5. Why were certain actions taken?

The need to access the facts of your firm’s work and business easily, in real time and from anywhere, has always been deemed critical. This is truer today than ever before as law firms across the globe need to balance the ongoing needs of their clients with the immediate financial health of their business.

When your workforce is dispersed, find connections. Enable collaboration
Now probably isn’t the perfect time to swap out everyone’s technology or processes. But if your firm has an unusually dispersed workforce, look to cloud-based legal technology to help – 3E Cloud from Thomson Reuters provides firms with the technology they need in this fast-moving atmosphere through a streamlined implementation, and its remote capabilities for fee earners make it a double-win.

For the lawyers
Matter maps, included within Thomson Reuters Panoramic, combine the know-how of Practical Law with an orderly, customisable workflow. Not only are lawyers able to see the preferred processes their firm follows, users can copy existing matters as a basis for their work. Think of it as a kickstart – in precisely the right direction.

For the ledger
For law firms navigating uncertain waters during volatile times, up-to-date financial data is key. Firm leadership needs detailed, accurate and immediate information to measure daily business metrics and to effectively model and make changes quickly. Advanced financial reporting solutions from Thomson Reuters support firms with budgeting, forecasting, reporting, accounting, and more.

Your team can adjust to the new normal. Thomson Reuters can help. Contact us today.