In this week’s edition of Things I Wish I Knew, NY divorce lawyer Joleena Louis shares how she is automating her practice, helping her to earn more while working less.
Since I am still a solo, I am always looking for ways to get more done with less input from me. My ultimate goal is for my practice to run smoothly while I am laying on a beach somewhere. My firm isn’t there yet, but I have figured out a few ways to automate certain areas of my practice so I can save time, money, and most importantly, my sanity.
Scheduling
I started using Acuity last year and it has been a total game changer. No more going back and forth to schedule appointments. No more sending emails and waiting to get paid before scheduling a consultation.
Acuity is appointment scheduling software. It that syncs with your calendar or you can manually set your availability. You can also accept payments from prospective clients when they schedule their appointment.
You can send people links to your calendar or you can have a calendar on your website. Since I started using it I’ve noticed a drastic increase in consultations. And if a potential client calls my office, my virtual receptionists just uses the consult link to schedule the appointment.
I also use it for current clients and networking. My clients have a link for scheduling in-person meetings/phone calls and I have a link for networking calls and meetups. It’s very easy to set your availability so you still maintain total control over your schedule. It saves me so much time.
Client Intake
I had heard about Lexicata for a few years before I decided to take the plunge, and I have to say it has been more than worth it.
Lexicata makes it super easy to track and follow up with leads. And I love seeing the potential earnings are in my “pipeline.”
But the best part is the automated forms. I can send retainer agreements and intake forms that clients can view, complete, and sign on their phones without having to print. And you can create email templates to go out from first contact to intake.
I used to have my virtual assistant handle intake but it’s just a couple of clicks now so I can quickly do it myself.
Document Production
I wrote before about how I finally started using MyCase to its full potential. I love the document production tool in MyCase. Documents that used to take a half hour or more now takes minutes to produce. Taking the time to perfect the initial template is worth the hours saved down the line.
Most of the time it’s faster and easier for me to create documents myself since it only requires a few clicks. But even if I must delegate, I know the document will come out exactly the way I want it to since the template is automatically filled with the relevant information.
Making the decision to automate your 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 well worth it in the long run.
How do you automate your law practice? Let me know in the comments below!
on said:
Great example of how to automate necessary tasks. I especially liked your advanced use of two virtual tools, your receptionist and scheduler. Nice workflow! Perhaps the only change I’d suggest is this: delegate the ‘couple of clicks’. The time it takes to focus on marking those clicks is longer than you think because of context switching. A disruption in your workflow seems like 5 minutes but it actually takes your brain 20 mins to move from the original task to the disruption and back. Let the VA do it for you so you can do what you do best- help families