As the world continues to evolve, especially as it pertains to technology, so have professional responsibilities and obligations for lawyers. Many law societies have accounted for this shift by adding requirements for technological competence within their Model Codes of Professional Conduct. For instance, rule 4A from the Model Code of the Federation of Law Societies of Canada states that in order to “maintain the required level of competence, a lawyer should develop an understanding of, and ability to use, technology relevant to the nature and area of the lawyer’s practice and responsibilities. A lawyer should understand the benefits and risks associated with relevant technology, recognizing the lawyer’s duty to protect confidential information” - in other words, introducing client portal software to your legal practice can help uphold the growing duty to become technologically competent in the digital age.
Aside from helping you comply with legal ethics and the professional responsibility to be technologically competent, client portal software offer so much more. In a nutshell, legal client portals allow clients to input information themselves into your database by using their own computer/device and login credentials, which saves on back-and-forth communication allowing the information to be input directly by the client. This helps improve communication and transparency, increase secure collaboration, accessibility, as well as marketability for your legal practice and services.
Two Types of Client Portals
There are two types of client portals on the market currently. The first type is a software that is built with a client portal as its core feature and selling point. In this type of client portal, the provider has built the client portal at the forefront of its product with the objective of facilitating client intake. The second type is a software product whose main purpose is not to facilitate client intake but to facilitate something else, like case management or contract review. For example, the point of contract review is to provide features helping you with version control of documents at different stages of review, tools to help with redlining, e-signing, automated highlighting of clauses based on liability and risk tolerance, and a bank of your firm’s go-to clauses to drag and drop when drafting. You would adopt this type of software to streamline your contract review and the client portal feature would be a bonus, but it might not automatically create a matter for each client that logs in, or might not be integrated with a case management system so you could not replace your matter creation with it.
Some Client Portal Software on the Market Today
Here is a list of software providers that offer client portals
Compare more client portals side by side on our free legal-software marketplace.
Communication
One of the most obvious benefits of incorporating a client portal in your legal practice is the effect it can have on your lawyer-client relationship. By allowing clients to sign into the portal and view the progress of their case, attorney-client communication is made easy, secure, quick and more convenient for the client to reach you. Client portals centralize files and communication within the portal rather than storing your documents in a drive or on your computer, and communicating via email. By adding communication to the same digital space as documents, case management, and intake questionnaires, it allows for communication without needing to write an email. For example a button to ‘request document’ within a client’s matter, rather than actually having to email the client and ask for the document.
Collaboration
One of the effects that technology has had on today’s individuals is that they are more accustomed to being in the know of everything that is going on around them or having access to information in an instant. This is why there is, arguably, a growing need for a collaborative and dynamic client experience in the legal profession. Clients want to know how their case is progressing and be up-to-date on their legal endeavors. This offers them a sense of control over their case and allows them to feel more involved in the inner workings of the legal process and allows them to have a hand in it, and a sense of control (who doesn’t like to feel in control!?). In so many words, introducing client portals to your legal practice offers a greater client-central experience for your clients and saves you time when it comes to inputting client information given their increased access to their case.
Access
In today’s world, time is hard to come by and scheduling conflicts are more prominent than desired. Luckily, most client portals, if not all, offer 24/7 access to allow clients, lawyers and paralegals to work or collaborate on the file whenever is more convenient, which significantly reduces scheduling conflicts. In most cases, clients can be accessed from anywhere, which means that this increases access to legal services for clients that cannot be physically present at your firm but seek your services regardless. Not only does this increase accessibility of legal services for your clients but it also ensures that you are not confined to a given geographical location in being able to market your legal services. Many client portals offer billing and e-signature features that simplify the client experience helping avoid unnecessary commutes or in-person appointments. It is also worth noting that by giving the client access to the portal, this provides a visual of their case and the legal process, allowing them to feel involved and knowledgeable on what seem like very complex issues that can be very intimidating and overwhelming.
Marketability
It is well known that Millennials are increasingly becoming the larger consumer base. When it comes to branding and marketing, you must consider the target audience. Growing up in a world where technology became increasingly prevalent, millennials are typically more accustomed to accessing their daily tasks and undertakings electronically. As a result, law firms that offer accessible client portals may be more attractive to this growing consumer base than traditional style legal practices. By doing so, not only are you upholding your duty to become more technologically competent but you’re also catering to the new generation of individuals that will need to come to you for future legal questions, concerns and problems.
To do more research on how to pick the right client portal software, please feel free to visit our marketplace to search more listings of legal software by practice area or by use. On our website you can filter providers by category and practice area. We list software and suppliers with price points suitable for solo lawyers and small firms.
