The internet has become an integral part of our work, entertainment, and interactions with others. But last time you typed in a web address to access your email or social media of choice, did you think about how it all works? The web browser and applications you rely on daily impacts your speed, security, and overall experience—perhaps more than you know.
There are many benefits to becoming your own boss. Obviously, the potential for a higher income and not answering to higher ups are top of the list. You can decide what clients you take on, choose to specify in a certain area of the law, set your prices how you want, and you can build something from the ground up based on your values.
All that said, there are some changes you can expect when starting your own law firm. Once you take the leap, you’re no longer just a lawyer. You’re a business owner first and foremost. Which means your job now comes with all the business operations and tasks that keep your doors open (yes, that means business plans, cash flow forecasts, accounting and more!). You won’t be able to “just practice the law” anymore, and the growth of your law firm lies at your feet.
Woodpecker is thrilled to announce its new direct integration with MyCase, the leading legal case management software. MyCase was built specifically to support the workflows of law firms, and its user-friendly design is driven by the insights and feedback from the people who use MyCase daily. This new integration gives Woodpecker customers, who are also using MyCase, the ability to create client documents right in MyCase using Woodpecker templates and MyCase client data.
Legal document automation is a system or workflow that helps create electronic documents using data already collected. It is used to speed up the drafting process, so you can focus on activities that move the needle, reduce margin for human error, and maintain/increase profit margins.
In this essential guide, we’re going to walk you through what document automation is, the benefits for law firms like yours, how to choose the right software for you, and how to ensure the implementation is a success.
Many lawyers liken client interviews to a first date. Using the same analogy, in today's digital first world, you could compare a client interview form to an online dating profile. The interview form gives you information about a potential client before you meet them, and forms part of your intake process. It allows you to screen leads to see if they’re a good fit for your services, and ensure there are no conflicts.
In this article, we discuss the importance of high-quality interview form templates, how you can use them to streamline your client intake process, and what questions you should ask to enhance the customer experience.
I’m incredibly excited to share that Woodpecker has been acquired by MyCase, a leading provider of cloud-based practice management software for the legal industry. (You can read the full press release here.). I’d like to share my perspective on what this means for Woodpecker, MyCase, and the future of the legal industry.
As a lawyer, you may have people who work for you and who work with you. In the legal industry, these team members are often thought of as “cost centers” or “production centers”—not as people.
But this view actually undersells the value your employees and coworkers can bring to your firm.
The unseen value of your staff is a large reserve waiting to be tapped. Leaving that resource untouched makes your employees check out, lose confidence and interest in their job, and ultimately make your clients suffer.
Woodpecker founder and CEO, Alex Melehy, recently met with Bob Ambrogi as a guest on Bob’s How It Works series.
How It Works is a series of short, sponsored videos in which Bob, a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster, participates in hands-on product demos.
During the demos, Bob asks the questions he thinks his readers (lawyers) would ask, differentiating these demos from one might you watch on a website, or during a sales consultation, as they include a lawyer’s perspective.
Watch the video as Bob learns about Woodpecker’s document automation and how easy it is to set up an end-to-end workflow, using online intake forms that automatically create client documents.
If you bring in diverse perspectives and heuristics, you’ll be a more holistic counselor as a lawyer. It will not only make your job easier, it will produce better results for your clients. Being able to understand a client’s diversity of needs and serve them with a diverse team can turn a seemingly difficult client into a successful case.
Although many attorneys using modern technology might not realize it, the recent shift to SaaS solutions, a major model of cloud-based computing in legal tech, is a massive innovation. SaaS solutions work to deliver software and platforms in a more seamless, affordable, and reliable way using an iterative development process based on Agile methodologies.
Legal practitioners who understand the principles of Agile methodologies will be able to get more out of their legal tech tools. Knowing how these new tools differ from older technologies, and how to give constructive feedback to product teams not only makes improves functionality for users, it also inspires ideas for new product features which drive the evolution of the product. In other words, lawyers can help design the tools of the future by collaborating with their legal tech vendors.
Successfully automating a few simple processes can provide motivation for attorneys and their staff, encouraging them to expand their automation efforts. People get excited when they see the effects of small wins, which builds enthusiasm about using even more technology. Quick wins create momentum for an increased shift from manual processes to automation.
Attorneys generally think of themselves as selling a service, not a product. But in the era of digitization and automation, it now makes more sense for some lawyers to “productize” their services, i.e., convert their services into products. What does that mean?
For lawyers, document drafting is a demanding and time-intensive part of the job. The constant pressure for high-quality legal documents in short time frames, especially for a high-volume practice, can be overwhelming. Fortunately, modern attorneys have access to a new way of dealing with this pressure that past generations did not: Word add-ins that assist lawyers with document drafting.
Josh Landsman is an attorney in South Florida with a focus on estate planning, tax, and probate & trust administration matters. Josh talked to Woodpecker’s Director of Customer Success about how using document automation to draft client documents enhances his working relationship with his paralegal, ultimately improving his final work product.
Every field has its own specialized language. And with dozens of acronyms and complex terms, learning to use software and understand new technical concepts is more difficult when you aren’t familiar with the common terminology. Here are some terms that are helpful for lawyers to know when building an automated workflow for client intake and legal document generation.
