How to Run an Efficient Virtual Law Firm 

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, a larger number of law firms have made the move to offer remote and virtual services. Some are even operating entirely as a virtual law firm, rarely meeting clients in person. This structure eliminates a number of overhead costs and can help firms help more people with more affordable fees and better results. Yet running a virtual law firm creates some unique considerations to ensure you reach your clients well and provide a positive experience. Using a legal CRM to streamline and automate your work processes will help you provide a good experience to your clients even when you don’t meet face-to-face. 

Yet simply having a legal CRM may not be sufficient. You need to know how to use that tool best to meet the needs of your clients and run an efficient and profitable virtual law firm. Here are some strategies that can help. 

Plan and Automate Client Communication 

Whether it’s marketing emails you’re sending to your prospects or documents you need your clients to sign, the key to a successful virtual law firm is effective client communication. Plan the communication funnel you will guide prospects through from initial contact to signing as a client. Then, plan the workflow communication you will send as clients move through their cases. 

Once you have these planned, set up automated emails, texts, and phone calls to ensure the client continues through their path. Use your legal CRM to automate the sending of these so each step happens automatically. 

In addition, consider whether you want to set up video meetings and online chats in addition to automated emails and texts. This will help you build that personal connection with your clients while operating virtually. Work these into your workflow, using your CRM to trigger reminders to have these meetings. 

Law Ruler offers a robust list of email, text message, and phone templates you can customize for your process. It also offers automated workflows that you can simply plug your clients into and ensure they get the communication they need to move forward with you. 

Build and Customize Intake Forms 

For your system to run efficiently, you will need screening and intake forms. These need to include all of the data you need to meet your clients’ needs. Building these forms from scratch is tedious and leaves room for error. To ensure you have forms that fit your needs well, look for a legal CRM that offers customizable templates specific to your area of law. You can tweak these to match your firm’s needs, then send them to leads for pre-screening and new clients for onboarding. Because each client gets the same form, and that form ties directly to your legal CRM, you will eliminate human errors and improve client satisfaction. 

By automating your intake and screening forms and connecting them directly to your legal CRM, you can more efficiently screen leads so you stop wasting time chasing leads you cannot help. Build an intelligent, customized form tailored to your practice, then send it to leads. The form itself will eliminate clients you are not a good fit for and only move forward those you can help. 

For leads that pass this initial screening, you can send an intake form to quickly move them into your practice. Once they are on board, your team can start investing time in helping them. Because you’ve streamlined these upfront processes, you can give your vetted clients your full attention. 

Law Ruler offers a custom form builder that lets you create the ideal form for your practice. Tweak and tailor it to the services you offer and then set up automated workflows to get the form in front of the people you will serve. 

Collect Signatures Digitally 

One of the factors that prevented the rise of the virtual law firm for so long was the need to collect signatures and get forms notarized on physical paper. New, more secure technology has made electronic signatures a safe and legally binding option. By collecting signatures electronically, you can eliminate the need to meet up with clients in person to have them sign their forms. 

With Law Ruler’s eSignature technology, you never have to track down a client to get a signature. Set up the reminder email or text, and they can sign the document with one click. If they forget, the system will send automated reminders until they sign, and their case can move forward. 

Automate Document Sending and Collecting 

Collecting digital signatures helps streamline your efforts as a virtual law firm, but you still must get those documents to your clients. An integrated legal CRM can help. Once a client signs the contract to work with your firm, you place them into a workflow that will send documents and collect signatures at the right times. You don’t have to rely on remembering to send an email, as the CRM will do it for you. 

This level of automation eliminates human error, protects against missed deadlines, and ensures all documents are received on time. Again, this improves the success of your firm by boosting client satisfaction. It also eliminates paperwork, which can easily be lost or misfiled, and allows for storing documentation securely in the cloud. 

Remove Redundancies 

Redundancies in legal practice, such as inputting client contact information on multiple forms, drive up costs and waste time for your practice. You can eliminate redundancies with the right legal CRM and automation tools. Once you collect a piece of information, your system can automatically populate that information into future forms and communication. 

By removing redundancies, you also limit the risk of human errors. As long as the original information was inputted properly, it will be accurate in future documents. 

Increased Personalization to Limit the Virtual Feel 

Some law firms hesitate to make the move to a virtual law firm platform because they fear losing the personalization they get when meeting with clients in person. New CRM tools allow you to keep the process as personal as possible, all while improving efficiency and focusing on virtual work. From using the client name in automated emails to limiting the number of hoops they have to jump through to get service, personalization makes your law firm stand out in a crowded market, and you can be personal even in a virtual environment.

Make the Switch to Virtual and Stay Efficient with Law Ruler 

As you consider ways to run an efficient virtual law firm, make sure you have the right legal CRM on board. Law Ruler’s robust list of features, including multiple options for automation and streamlining workflows, makes it a wise choice. With Law Ruler, you can collect digital signatures, set up automated client communication, personalize your workflows, and improve accuracy by reducing redundant data entry tasks, all on one platform. The comprehensive features of Law Ruler help your law firm stay organized, keep your clients in contact with you, and automate your vital workflows for more success. See the difference Law Ruler can make for you by scheduling a demo of our platform today.