How workflows can save your conveyancing practice time and money

In yesterday’s Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the extension of the stamp duty holiday until the end of September 2021, and while the six-month extension of the tax relief has been welcomed in some quarters, conveyancing firms – already struggling to deal with a huge spike in new instructions – should lean on workflows and workflow technology now more than ever, says Craig Matthews, CEO of Osprey Approach.

Whilst the recent surge in conveyancing activity can largely be attributed to the stamp duty holiday – recent data shows that transactions increased by almost a third in one month alone – the current backlog of transactions only serves to highlight the need for firms to ensure their staff have the tools to be able to work efficiently, safely and securely.

The stamp duty holiday has given the legal profession a much-needed boost in recent months, although some conveyancing firms have had to turn work away, with the surge in new transactions proving operationally difficult for those who have staff on furlough and others working remotely.

There’s little doubt that the conveyancing sector should lean more heavily on technology to meet the new demands of clients, who are expecting a quicker and more transparent experience than ever. With several digital touchpoints and processes, law firms spend a considerable amount of resource completing admin tasks. This is where workflows can help to adopt a more streamlined process that boosts client satisfaction.

But what are workflows? What are their benefits? And what makes a good workflow?

What is a legal workflow?

Workflows are best described as a digital “to do” list that helps to order tasks, automate administration processes, remove the duplication of data entry and reduce the risk of missing crucial compliance actions.

Put simply, workflows exist to replace mundane, costly administration tasks. They are created in your legal software so that related tasks are seamlessly connected and dealt with in just a few clicks.

Workflows can help to manage an entire legal case or can simply be used to assist with certain tasks. For example, a workflow task may be used to prepare a ‘standard’ conveyancing client care letter. Within the client care letter task is a series of actions where the workflow automatically populates key information from the client’s file, before sending a predefined email and automatically adding a key date to the matter.

Eight key benefits of workflows for law firms

A growing number of conveyancing firms are turning to workflows to save valuable time but that isn’t the only benefit your practice can realise from successfully implementing workflows into your processes.

1. Ease the pressures of your workload

Workflows provide fee earners with the tools needed to complete tasks quicker and easier, eliminating the need to spend more time manually writing reminders, building documents, and chasing clients. Workflows provide an easy way to check on the process of your case and helps to automate those repetitive and time-consuming email chases or key date reminders.

James Newnham, Practice & Accounts Manager, Newnham & Jordan Solicitors, says:

“Time savings are important for us and our clients. We use a host of workflows, especially around conveyancing work, which would otherwise be very time-consuming. There’s a workflow in place for everything which means matters can be set up in at least half the time it normally takes.”

2. Save your firm money

From the reduction in both administration time and duplication of work, your firm can focus on building client relationships which increases recommendation rates and securing new clients by nurturing enquires.

Conveyancing practices have reaped the benefits of using workflows by creating automated communication with referrers. It’s no secret that a good deal of fee earner time is spent updating all parties involved in a transaction via telephone, which are sometimes misinterpreted. By automating this aspect of the transaction, considerable time savings can be realised.

3. Improve accuracy, reduce risk and stay compliant

Workflows enable you to build compliant and risk-free processes to improve the accuracy of the documents created and the communications sent to clients.

You can ensure key actions are listed, documents and communications are templated and standard compliance tasks are automated, which helps to ensure vital information is set out and not forgotten. By building these solid foundations to your processes you not only have the confidence that everyone at your firm is following the right procedures, but it prevents data protection breaches and reduces risk.

Workflows can also be incredibly helpful to junior solicitors as the pre-defined tasks set within a workflow ensures they follow they correct procedures and compliance processes.

4. Stay in control of your firm

Workflows create confidence in the processes your staff are following; templates can be agreed and approved beforehand, meaning everyone is working from the same documents. This provides senior partners and management with improved control over processes and increased matter visibility, which helps to manage firm reputation management and client satisfaction.

5. Keep track of your cases, digitally

Missing key dates has serious repercussions, but a workflow will ensure that matters and dates are dealt with on time. Fee earners can easily see the status of a client matter as the workflow highlights the completed and outstanding tasks. This can become a digital to-do list and actions within a task can automatically set reminders into Outlook, helping to ease the pressure of remembering key dates or manually setting reminders – particularly beneficial for fee earners who are overseeing a colleague’s client files.

Kelly Cirillo, Managing Partner, Preuveneers LLP, says:

“We were doing the work of ten people during lockdown, so workflows and document production were an absolute lifesaver – making our tasks three times faster every day. With the workload we have experienced recently, I don’t know where I’d start without them.”

6. Go paperless

Your fee earners can work anytime, anywhere, without the need for physical files. Workflows, within a case management software solution, help to digitally manage matters, which removes the need for paper waste and printing costs. Removing your reliance on physical files and focusing on an agile, adaptable, and flexible approach means that your firm is well placed to meet future challenges. Accessing a sole source of reliable data from any location will ensure your firm can continue to operate whenever or wherever you choose.

7. Win and secure new clients

With the business efficiencies created by workflows, you will benefit from an increased confidence in your ability to win clients. Workflows help to elevate the challenges of keeping on top of several moving parts within a case, helping fee earners focus more energy on client enquiries, as well as increasing their capacity to take on more new clients.

8. Enhance the client service you offer

Having greater visibility of your cases in-house means you can better communicate that to clients which ensures a quicker and more reliable service. Clients will benefit from being up to date on their matters, since they are aware of what deadlines need to be met, while fee earners meet the required regulations and don’t have to spend time following up with clients.

Where law firms offer a client-facing web portal, the enhancements to service increase further. Clients can enter their own information and run validation checks in the portal and then your workflows take that information to build documents and upload to the portal when necessary. This helps the client to be self-sufficient and enables them to check on progress and access documents without the need to call and enquire.

A final word on workflows

Workflows are created to replace the everyday – often mundane – and expensive administration that comes with running a law firm. This means time and efficiency savings for your business but also a reduced workload for property fee earners.

Utilising technology to automate conveyancing processes gives your firm a competitive advantage, while enabling law firms to be flexible and adaptable, helping you to take on future challenges with ease.

Craig Matthews is CEO of Osprey Approach, which provides cloud-based case management software to high-street, corporate and multi-branch law firms. With over 30 years’ experience in the legal software sector, Osprey’s system, implementation, and support services are designed to help make running a law firm easier www.ospreyapproach.com.

Kindly shared by Osprey Approach

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay