The pace of litigation is dizzying. The path of every single lawsuit is filled with multiple inflection points, moments where attorneys have to make decisions about how the future is likely to unfold. In the past, attorneys navigated these twists and turns by relying on intuition, experience and anecdotal evidence. But things are starting to change. Judicial analytics remains one of the last frontiers of Big Data, a field poised to fundamentally transform the way attorneys practice the law by quantifying the unquantifiable to unimaginable ends. Starting From Scratch AI-powered judicial analytics emerged from the frustrations of day-to-day life as an attorney. Every attorney knows that the details of a past case can provide invaluable insights into how they should position similar cases in the future. The problem, however, was that these insights were impossible to access, especially for attorneys at the state trial court level. There was no effective way to perform practical legal research on state trial court records. The data was dispersed across thousands of separate courthouses throughout the country, with each county in each state authoring its own protocols for collecting, cataloging, and publishing court documents. The result? State trial court was too scattered, too clunky and too inconsistent to prove useful. Composed of dockets, petitions and rulings, state trial court data was designed for human (rather than mechanical) consumption. To be integrated into a series of interrelated data sets, this information needed to be cleaned, wrangled into standardized formats that a computer could read. This has been a difficult and expensive process. Consider, for a moment, names. The names of judges, attorneys and law firms are subject to change, a fact that makes it hard — if not impossible — to track legal entities across any given data set. Fortunately, much of this tedious work

A large part of practicing law is persuading someone to believe, act or agree with your client’s position, whether in a courtroom or boardroom or at a negotiation or dinner table. We seek to persuade juries, judges, colleagues, friends, family or the media that we are right, and others are not. Following these six principles will help you be a more persuasive lawyer. The Art of Being a More Persuasive Lawyer There is an art and science to persuasion. Unfortunately, this art is not on the curriculum of many law schools. Several fundamental principles of persuasion are commonly suggested by psychologists and marketing experts. In the years I’ve spent researching how to persuade people and coaching lawyers to hone their skills, here are the six principles I’ve found most effective. 1. Acknowledge their efforts We are often trying to persuade someone who has a bias against our position because they don’t understand, are confused, or simply tried and failed in their life. Failure has a way of closing minds, digging in heels and causing rigidity in thinking. When you encourage people to rise above their failures, they look to you for guidance. As lawyers, we are not in the business of making people take responsibility for their lives — we are trying to persuade them. When you acknowledge the struggle of others and tell them you understand, they are much more open to your position. If you can demonstrate that you do not judge people for their struggles, they will be more likely to view you as a friend rather than a foe. 2. Calm their fears Everyone has fears and biases. It is human nature to recoil from threats and prefer safety. When you can comfort the fears and uncertainties of the people you are trying to persuade, not only

Case Status software’s new SMS for Legal app helps law firms easily and securely text with clients as part of their case workflow. Case Status is a client connection platform for law firms. In other words, it’s a one-stop-shop for all client communications needs. Functionally, Case Status is a law firm-branded portal, designed to be mobile-first, through which law firm users can push — and law firm clients can access — up-to-date case information and notifications. Case Status integrates with lots of case management/law practice management software and with Zapier, making it a fairly extensible tool. In its fullest flowering, Case Status can replace email for client communications, in much the same way that Slack has replaced email for internal office communications. Textual Analysis Many law firms have taken an alternate path over the course of history, by trying to avoid client contact whenever possible. That has (not) worked to the tune of virulent complaints from dissatisfied clients. In fact, the No. 1 complaint against law firms is lack of communication. So, if your law firm can add software with a focus on communications with clients, well, said software should shoot up to No. 1 on your purchase list. SMS for Legal Introduces Texting to the Communications Platform My mom knows that if she wants to reach me and get a quick response, she should text me. And, for sure, one line of demarcation for considering the addition of a technology component to your law practice is whether elderly people get it and use it. Texting has become ubiquitous in that way. Starting out, texting was largely used as a personal communication method. Over the course of time, customers began to text businesses, and businesses had to be responsive. Of course, this has been a boon for businesses, too. Texting

A million scary things at work can send you diving under the covers — even before the remote work and hybrid goblins came to play. Here’s advice you can use to confront three of those workplace fears and send the demons packing. Once past the age of trick-or-treating, we like to think we’ve kissed our last bogeyman goodbye. After all, we now know that zombies are merely figments, and it’s only dust bunnies populating the space beneath the bed. Regrettably, a white-knuckle grip on adult reality often brings a more complex set of fears — and these bogeymen are worthy opponents, indeed! It takes more than a warm hug or a bag of fun-size treats to get past the monster fears we encounter every day. So what will help you wrestle these ghouls to the ground? Adult things: determination, a measure of common sense and some perspective. Let’s take a look at three workplace fears professionals commonly find terrifying — and some useful tips for mastering them. Workplace Fear 1: Calling Someone You Don’t Know You know it’s true. Even the most competent extrovert can experience a little telephone twinge. Even when you are the one in the so-called power position, just picking up the phone can feel like pulling your own teeth. Overcoming those telephone goblins can take determination. Here are some things to try. Determination: Just hold your breath and do it. It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid.Practice makes perfect. If you do most of your communicating via email, naturally you may feel awkward on the phone!Write down your key points beforehand. That way, you won’t get lost and forget them.Rehearse. Really. Memorize your “Hi, I’m …” lines. Then you won’t have to think about it.Change how you talk to yourself. With a little work and practice, your pre-call “Ack! I have

Repeat clients are the most accessible and cost-effective prospects to target.  We all have our favorite “things” we choose to purchase again and again. Whether it’s the brand of coffee you most enjoy or a specific type of running shoes that allows you to perform well, most of us are repeat buyers of certain products. As consumers, we understand we have a choice. But purchasing our favorite products gives us a sense of security and helps us be more efficient when we shop. In other words, we don’t have to stare at the variety of choices when we’re buying peanut butter. We simply need to find the Peter Pan creamy and put the jar in the cart. So, If You Were a Product, Would You Be Your Client’s Favorite? While referrals from colleagues, friends and family top the list of reasons clients choose a particular lawyer or firm, studies show that buyers are also influenced by several factors. These include: Positive reviews build trust. Client testimonials, case studies, and other recognition in outward-facing marketing materials have proven impactful for law firms and individual lawyers. A study in 2021 found that 70% of buyers read a review before making a purchase. Written individual attorney reviews combined with testimonial statements and case studies about the overall competencies can influence prospective buyers, lateral and associate candidates, and future staff hires. Keep the reviews and testimonials fresh, descriptive and compliant with ethics standards. Professionally produced video reviews are also compelling and relatable.Peer Recommendations. Are the attorneys in your firm aware of the firm’s overall capabilities, or is work inadvertently sent outside the firm due to lack of knowledge? If your lawyers don’t know their peer’s expertise and experience, you could be missing out on client opportunities. On the other hand, if peers trust each

How can an attorney increase their overall collection rate, decrease outstanding accounts receivable and substantially reduce time spent on billing? By offering clients a “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) option. BNPL can be a game-changer for your firm, and adding it as one of your accepted payment methods is about to get even easier with ClientCredit, a new offering from LawPay. What Is ClientCredit? ClientCredit is the first BNPL solution for legal clients on the market and is exclusively available through LawPay. With ClientCredit, your clients have the ability to pay for legal services in installments while your firm still receives 100% of the invoiced amount upfront. ClientCredit is the next generation of payment solutions for the legal industry and was developed in response to the growing demand for BNPL options. The Rising Popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later Statistics show that, when given a choice, consumers are increasingly opting for BNPL plans. Between July 2020 and March 2021, the use of online payment plans grew by nearly 50 percent. Cardify, a market research firm, found younger adults, in particular, are frequently choosing online payment plans even when they have the funds to cover the total cost of a purchase. This is likely influenced by the demographic’s growing aversion to credit cards—in fact, about one in four Millennials don’t have a credit card. ClientCredit enables you to easily accommodate these evolving payment preferences and provide a flexible, client-focused payment experience. How Your Firm Benefits from ClientCredit In addition to expanding your available payment options and making your law firm more attractive to prospective clients, ClientCredit improves the consistency and reliability of your cash flow. One of the most common reasons lawyers hesitate to let clients pay overtime is that traditional payment plans can have a higher incidence of late and

The U.S. government provides many different benefits to military veterans and their families. But navigating the maze of benefits to determine which ones are available to you and your family can often seem complicated if you don’t have some outside help. By requesting information about your veteran benefits directly from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, you’ll be able to get a detailed guide to help you determine whether you’re entitled to benefits, what benefits you can receive, and how you can begin receiving them. Below, learn more about how you can request this important information. Got a legal question? Get legal advice in minutes. Real Lawyers. Real Answers. Right Now. Get your answer What benefits may be available to veterans? The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers dozens of programs to assist veterans and their families with everything from housing to medical care to entrepreneurship. Just a few of these benefits can include: Short- and long-term disability compensation.A pension through a veteran’s pension program.Access to free or inexpensive medical care and treatment at VA-sponsored hospitals and facilities.Higher education programs and student loan assistance.Mortgage guarantees and housing assistance.Job training and certification.Death, pension, or accrued benefits (called the DIC) to a surviving spouse and/or minor child if the veteran passes away.Small business loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).Funeral and burial assistance and services, including a headstone at no cost and burial in a national cemetery. Because these benefits span such a broad range of needs, knowing which ones you qualify for (and which ones you’d like to take advantage of) can require some further investigation. Who qualifies for veterans benefits? The length of service for each type of benefit can vary, but most veterans will qualify for benefits if they are discharged from active military services and their

Download the Client Intake Checklist! Ah, the client intake process — unquestionably one of the most time-consuming and laborious parts of being a lawyer. Yet, like it or not, it is one of the most critical elements of ensuring your law firm’s success. So don’t screw it up! First impressions are everything in life, and onboarding your new clients is no exception. Why would a client be compelled to hire you if you never get back to their initial phone call or take too long? Exactly. First impressions count. That’s why you need to make sure you have an effective, streamlined intake system in place. Don’t have one in place yet? Don’t panic! The good news is that it’s never too late to take the reins and turn things around. We’ve created this comprehensive Client Intake Checklist to get you started, including tips on how to automate several pieces of the onboarding process. Here’s a quick look at what’s inside (you can download the complete checklist here): 1. Think Like a CEO The first step is adopting the mindset that your law firm is a business. 2. Develop a Process In the absence of a systematic intake process, a law firm quickly becomes chaotic. Leads are never followed up, opportunities are squandered, revenue is lost. 3. Follow Up Right Away For years, studies have continued to show that long response times affect closing deals. A recent survey showed that 42% of the time, law firms take an average of three or more days to get back to a message from a new client. 4. Pre-screen Your Clients Before the initial consultation, it’s important to pre-screen. Not every lead that comes to your firm is going to be the right fit for you, and that’s just the way it is. 5.

In a culture where assignments often come in the form of a late-night email with the subject line “Over to you,” or a partner’s frantic wave to an associate who just happens by, terms like “resource management” and “work allocation” might sound foreign — at minimum, something best left to the accountants. But, as viGlobal’s CEO explains, large firms are looking at more systematic ways to distribute the work for a host of good reasons, including keeping their associates happy. A law firm can be made up of many moving parts: separate offices, numerous practice groups, the partners, the associates, legal support staff, business professionals. Navigating this puzzle to ensure everything runs smoothly can be demanding. As the legal industry continues to identify issues with traditional methods of work allocation, more law firms are turning to new methods of resource allocation, including resource allocation technology. Some firms are motivated to modernize how they schedule associates and allocate matters to promote more equitable work distribution and reduce associate attrition. Additionally, larger firms are looking to better manage early career programs and improve how tasks are delegated to legal and non-legal support staff. Making Sure Every Employee Gets the Right Workload Here are seven best practices for making resource management and work allocation effective for everyone at your firm. 1. Forecast individual availability and workloads To start, firms need a standardized process in place to track associate availability and utilization. Making resource allocation decisions requires real-time visibility into how busy lawyers are and which ones are free to take on work. Depending on the nature of a firm’s work, for example, associates can be reminded to update their availability either weekly or daily, so partners and managers can more easily monitor resource allocation. 2. Track each associate’s skills and development needs Employee

According to the 2021 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, the COVID-19 pandemic prompted one-third of senior lawyers to change retirement plans — but that doesn’t mean they decided to retire. Instead, 53% of those lawyers decided to push the pause button. Disrupted income may be one reason — but as Camille Stell points out, there are other reasons lawyers avoid retirement. Have you noticed how reluctant lawyers are to discuss retirement? The mere mention of the change causes discomfort. You might recognize these five obstacles to discussing your retirement: Loss of identityReluctance to leaveFears about transitioningInertiaFailure to succession plan Obstacles and Actions for Planning Retirement Being aware of the obstacles is the first step. 1. Loss of Identity (“Who am I if I’m not a lawyer?”)  Our local bar has an annual 50-year lawyer celebration lunch. Many of the lawyers who attend are still practicing. Loss of identity is a big factor in why they continue to do so. It is hard to imagine stepping away from the firm you built, the professional identity you have become. Everyday activities such as introductions likely include the fact that you are a lawyer. Learning to find an identity for yourself outside of law will be a challenge, but you can do it. Action: Begin with an inventory of all the things you are: spouse, partner, parent, grandparent, parishioner, community member, mentor. Then start a list of all the things you can be: volunteer, teacher, mentor, athlete, gardener, hobbyist, author, photographer. The list is endless. 2. Reluctance to Leave the Law Firm It is impossible to imagine not coming into the office. The same is true of leaving behind longtime staff members, as well as clients who need you. You worry about the impact your leaving will have on lawyers remaining in