By Legal Futures’ Associates Select Legal
Following the return to school on the 8th of March, this week marks another step forward in the lifting of UK Covid restrictions with ‘outside socialising’ now allowed again for 6 people or 2 households. None of us know exactly what is around the corner for the economy, but as this morning’s headlines report that almost 60% of UK adults have now had their first dose vaccinations, many businesses will be feeling more positive, and recognising the important contribution technology has made to their businesses during these challenging times so far.
Just how important technology has been in the survival of many law firms during the past 12 months, is underlined by the SRA’s move in the last few days to survey the sector on its use of technology. The SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) has commissioned the University of Oxford to survey 10,200 SRA-regulated law firms across England and Wales .
Without a shadow of a doubt, along with grit and determination, the legal profession’s use of technology has probably been the main contributory factor that has seen the sector through the last 12 months. The demand for legal services hasn’t gone away, but it is clear those firms that have been able to adapt to working from home have fared best. This seems set to continue, as those firms set up with reliable technology infrastructures continue to show the rest how they are surviving and thriving, despite having to find new ways of working.
Via this important survey, the Solicitors Regulation Authority wants to explore what is happening in the sector in terms of tech use during the pandemic, and the likely tech trends of the future. The project will also conduct wider research in terms of interviews with experts within and beyond the legal profession to ascertain what impact Covid-19 has had on the development and use of technology in law firms. The regulatory body, which is keen to support the adoption of technology and encourage innovation, has said it will use the survey’s findings to help tailor regulations for the legal profession and potentially to remove certain regulatory barriers.
Steve Dixon, co-owner and Director of Select Legal Systems Limited said, “It is interesting to see opinion leaders in the sector recognising the contribution technology is playing. We surveyed our own client base 3 months ago, as we had set an edict early on in lockdown, to deliver a ‘business-as-usual’ service, despite the huge shift to homeworking for the majority of our clients. We wanted to make sure our clients received the same level of excellent client care they were used to no matter where they were working. As part of our survey we asked users to score their ‘optimism for bouncing back from the challenges of the pandemic’, and were encouraged to receive 95% positive scores in terms of their belief they would fare well as restrictions are eased, in their specific areas of legal work. We believe the robust infrastructure LAWFUSION users enjoy has helped many firms through.”
Select Legal Systems Limited, the authors of LAWFUSION – the popular legal practice management software for law firms – also measured the following service areas in their recent client survey and received the following scores:
– How easy it was to set up from home with LAWFUSION – 93% positive scores
– Software Support – 92% positive scores
– Account Management – 94% positive scores
– The flow of new software releases – 95% positive scores
– Communication from Team LAWFUSION throughout the pandemic – 92% positive scores
For firms wishing to improve their IT infrastructure with new, fully-integrated, flexible and feature-rich legal practice management software– please call LAWFUSION SALES today on 01482 567601. Alternatively, there is a LAWFUSION ‘request-a-demo’ form available here on the website for enquiries outside normal office hours.
