How To Automate Your Law Firm Like A Pro

Do you want to save time, money, and your sanity? Automate your law firm.To automate your law firm means to run or operate your systems and processes by using software or technology instead of a human. This is particularly useful for solos since it limits the time we have to spend on administrative tasks.The solutions suggested in this article are simple to implement and will automate your law firm on a budget.  

Mail Chimp

Email marketing is an easy and inexpensive way to market your practice.  If you have a blog, and you should, you should also build an email list.Mail Chimp makes it possible to create and distribute branded newsletters, product updates, firm announcements and other email marketing campaigns quickly and inexpensively. You can create automatic or triggered emails that, once set up, send out predetermined messages without you lifting a finger.At the end of each month, I set up and schedule my email marketing for the next month and forget about it for the next 30 days. 

Gmail

I am a huge fan of using Google for business and I set up my business email address to run through my Gmail account so that I could have access to all of the excellent integrations.One thing I used often is canned responses. Canned responses allow you to create a template to quickly respond to common inquiries so you don't have to write the same email over and over. I use it for directions to my office, questions about my fees, and responses to sales pitches. Here is a great tutorial on how to do it.  This one is simple, but still needs to be said. Set up automatic bill pay on everything so you are never late on payments and you don't have to waste time writing and mailing checks. It is also helpful to sign up for paperless statements so you can skip scanning and filing.It's still important to set aside time weekly to review your bank account and statements to ensure accuracy.  I am a huge advocate of case management software and getting it set up as early in your practice as possible. They will make it easier to automate your law firm and keep your cases organized.There are many options out there for law firms such as Clio, Rocket Matter and MyCase. I choose MyCase for my practice because it was easy to use, had all the features I wanted and was reasonably priced. They are constantly upgrading and adding new features and my clients love the secure client portal.I save time by quickly creating invoices, accepting payments and keeping my calendar and to-dos all in one place. I can also create custom templates that will automatically fill in client information which makes preparing documents a breeze.Most of the case management providers offer a free trial so try them all and decide what works for you.  

HootSuite, Buffer & CoSchedule

Hootsuite, Buffer and CoSchedule all allow you to schedule social media post. This allows you to automate your law firm social media marketing by posting for you at optimal times while you are busy running your practice. This frees up your time on social media for engagement instead of posting content.HootSuite and Buffer offer free versions while CoSchedule offers a 14 day free trial. Since they each have unique features, it may be useful to use a combination of the three to meet all of your social media needs.  

Assistant.to

This app allows you to easily schedule meetings through email. You set the dates and times you're available and your recipient clicks on the time that works for them. There is no need for them to sign up or sign in and the appointment is automatically added to your calendar.In the past it was such a hassle to coordinate schedules for appointments and this app simplifies the process.Making the decision to automate you law practice will save you precious time that you can use to earn more money. Taking a few minutes to get these processes in place will be worth it in the long run.How do you automate your law practice?