When it comes to the legal professional, working remotely has not always been his best suit. But with the unfortunate crisis of Covid-19, even law firms, notaries, real estate agents and legal service providers are being forced to operate remotely.
Technology and software is a wise choice here, but how can you do it without being overwhelmed by all those remote-friendly tools you are using?
While the legal industry has been slower than others to embrace the remote work trend due to cultural resistance.
However, the steady increase in new technologies and the gradual understanding of their benefits caused that, as of 2019, under 2/3rds of legal professionals worked from home at least once a month, and it is increasing dramatically in 2020 due to the COVID19 crisis.
However, working remotely isn’t just about downloading software and installing different tools, In fact, that itself might get overwhelming.
In this article, we are going to show you how you can tackle the primary functionalities with only Bigle Legal as your main software.
Bigle Legal Document Automation Software can help you to take the first steps in taking your own business remotely. Bigle’s cloud-based software not only makes accessing and completing documents easy from wherever you choose to work, but it also allows for seamless integration with other remote-friendly legal technologies.
Below, we will explore some of the ways that you can increase location flexibility in your practice by using Bigle Legal and complimenting it with another remote-friendly tool.
Bigle Legal’s document automation software allows legal professionals to access frequently used documents and contracts from anywhere using a cloud-based system.
Bigle Legal offers a very easy-to-use dynamic form functionality that allows users to create custom documents in under 5 minutes. The system is based on a question and answer form in order to introduce the information needed to populate the document you need to create.
Remote workers can upload any type of document to Bigle Legal and setup all the information that is necessary to create the document, and it can be as complex as you want. Legal professionals love to contemplate all alternative when it comes to building a document, so that the next time they only have to choose one click there and one click there, and boom!, a 200 pages document in two languages in double column, and all clauses that favor one party inserted, in less than 5 minutes.
Something that would have taken a legal professional more than 5 hours of hard work!
Plus, remote workers don’t need a specific set of softwares at home, Bigle Legal works from any device and location, and doesn’t require a specific document editor license.
Bigle Legal also offers digital signatures in the platform. This means that legal professionals can onboard new clients and service existing clients remotely, with many of the in-person meetings that were previously necessary no longer required.
Not only does this enable professionals to work outside of the office; it also means that more billable hours are freed up, allowing for additional revenue through increased capacity for money-making activities.
Document automation serves as a continuous repository of firm knowledge, making it accessible to users through the platform at any time.
One problem companies have is that creating documents from scratch or by replicating templates is not nurturing the knowledge base of the company. Most of the time legal professionals would ask a colleague for a template or two from a similar operation they have to base the document they need to draft and they would start adapting here and there into a new draft.
Once the operation is finished the new draft is parked in a document management system and that’s it. All the knowledge the person puts into the new draft is lost. If lucky this new draft will be one template to be merged with another into a new draft, but that’s it.
With a knowledge management tool like Bigle Legal, companies make sure that all the new clauses and new ramifications of a type of document are introduced to the platform, so that the knowledge base is improved day after day, operation after operation.
Next time the users need a new document, it will automatically display the newest options so that it doesn’t have to do the annoying task of searching for a specific clause in hundreds of previous documents and start copy-pasting.
This makes it simple for remote workers to stay on top of changes in policy and document requirements without having to rely only on memory.
With Bigle Legal sharing a document is as simple as clicking on the option share draft. This automatically generates an email (that even can be loaded with pre-existing email templates) and it attaches the document automatically with the last version.
Plus the platform has a number of automatisms to help the user sharing successfully. It understands that if the form is under 100% completion because some info is missing it automatically inserts a watermark as DRAFT. It also has the ability to render the document in PDF automatically when shared, or based on permissions of the users. For example junior users being only allowed to download in PDF and senior users in WORD format.
No more: searching, opening document, insert watermark, save as PDF, opening email service, drafting email, attaching file and sending. With Bigle Legal it’s all in one!
Another really annoying step from a document cycle is requesting information that would ultimately be inside the document. Like information about a company or a person that you don’t have or that you want to make sure is up to date.
The process now is very inefficient, since the average users send an email with a list of information for the other person to fill or validate. This takes time of drafting and on waiting for emails up and down, so it slows the whole operation. Plus you later have to copy paste the information from the email into the new word, which is time consuming and allows for human error.
With Bigle Legal if you need information to be provided or confirmed is as simple as sharing the form with that person. One click and the platforms creates a sharable link for the third to complete or validate.
All information is automatically linked to the document you want to create so that there is nothing more you need to do later. No more copy pasting and tracking communications. It’s all being handled in the Bigle Legal platform.
Remote workers have experienced a dramatic acceleration of the document cycle since the document doesn’t get stuck in this step. It flows easily to the next phase. Plus remote professionals have more confidence that no mistakes are made in the final document.
Management could take an extra precaution and work with the document validation feature. The documents will be handled by the client or the user, but it only finalises once the administrator approves it, this way, it is ensured that all the data is relevant and can proceed to be downloaded or signed.
This feature could also allow in-house lawyers to keep track of the documents and the contracts that are being sent out of the corporation by having the in-house lawyer validate the document and approve it before the user could sign or download it.
Client and case management can be difficult when working remotely, especially when cases involve multiple attorneys. Integrating a good CRM (Client Relationship Management) software into your practice is a great way for attorney teams to stay on top of what is happening with a case without having to hold in-person meetings. CRM platforms are also excellent resources for new professionals taking on existing clients that have dealt with other colleagues within the company.
Rather than pulling files and having discussions with the previous council on how to best serve these clients, users can pull all necessary information from the online CRM database into Bigle Legal platform.
Bigle Legal is easily integrated with these CRM softwares, meaning that you can have all documentation related to a client’s history on file and available at any time.
Online presence is increasingly important for legal professionals in general, and even more so if they are independent contractors or running their own firms. CMS (Content Management Software) platforms allow individuals with very little or no computer coding skills to build, run and manage a basic website.
CMS software is accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, so it is a fantastic tool for remote workers looking to build awareness and increase branding for their businesses. CMS also allows for frequent content updating, which will help your site to rank highly in search engines.
The higher you rank in search engines, the more you will increase inbound clientele leads, removing some of the pressure of building a database.
CMS systems are also useful for document and content storage. Document automation platforms like Bigle can be integrated for quick access to any additional content and raw data needed by either one or multiple parties.
Billing software can help legal professionals collect payment for their time and effort with ease with features such as time-tracking and client invoicing. Many of these software tools integrate with practice management platforms, so all of the data related to case completion is accessible at any time, from any location.
And Bigle Legal is compatible with the majority of billing and practice management platforms, meaning that you can send and receive any documents necessary to process the payment while working digitally.
Online payment processing tools are also easily integrated, so once your clients receive their bills they can settle them without any additional time required on your end. As an added bonus, clients are more likely to pay on time when given the opportunity to pay online, so you can expect a quick turnover on invoices without having to track anyone down!
The future of work is changing. Investing in software systems such as Bigle Legal now means that you can mitigate future risks and continue to operate your practice in the face of change. It is important to stay ahead of the curve and familiarize yourself with these products to ensure that you can stay in business should difficult circumstances arise. And with easy to use cloud-based technologies like Bigle, there is no reason to put off making these changes to your practice.