The Link App

ARTICLE

The Link App

For me, the most obvious win for legal is embracing customer service; making it the highest priority. I have been promoting this idea since before I started my legal tech business, The Link App. That was six years ago and it is very encouraging to see so many firms now getting onboard with this message.

Early on in my career as a solicitor, I noticed my colleagues were stressed and overwhelmed on a daily basis. The cause – chasing their solicitor for an update on their case. This led to high levels of dissatisfaction and frustration for both the solicitor and client.

Emotions were high on both sides, and neither the client or solicitor were responsible for this problem. This was a much bigger issue.

This was a case of law firms accepting that poor customer service was normal.

During the pandemic all of these issues are of course heightened. We are dealing with unprecedented and difficult times generally.

I knew my idea was very ambitious to change such a traditional and potentially resistant sector but that it would enable law firms to evolve and help legal professionals and clients work together like never before.

From my experience working in law firms and as a trusted supplier to them, I have a deep understanding of the day-to-day problems professional firms and clients face and I have used this to develop The Link App to redefine the client-lawyer relationship. I am passionate about solving common communication and collaboration pain points through the innovative use of technology.

The Link App team is out to fix customer service in the legal profession, and lead the new era of client experience. Law firms use of technology to seamlessly digitally onboard clients and deliver transparent and secure communication throughout their matter. Our existing platform helps achieve this aim and we are adding exciting new features thick and fast. Technology has changed your client’s expectations. They demand convenience, speed, and constant communication. If you don’t adapt to these needs you risk being left behind.

There is a huge opportunity for law firms across the world to improve their client experience through smart technology. Small improvements could mark a huge shift in the perception of firms in the eyes of their clients.

I know that not all firms will prioritise the client experience purely for the benefit of happier clients. I am on a mission to highlight in the minds of Managing Partners and decision makers in law firms that happier clients mean greater profits. One example of this is the link between profit and control. People like to have control over situations, it gives us peace of mind. Now more than ever, that is important. How this relates to law firms and client communication is not immediately obvious. However at The Link App we realise that if it is important to people in general, it is important to your clients, and firms therefore need to ensure that they select client communication software with this in mind. Think about it: email and telephone do not offer any degree of control to lawyers or their clients. One rings or emails the other, and has no idea when that the other party receives or will respond to that email or call. This only breeds frustration and an inability to effectively plan for the response. For example, if a party is waiting for another to return a call which may take up to 30 minutes, this may take an unexpected 30 minutes out of one’s day which was planned to be used otherwise. Not to mention the concept of ‘switch tasking’ jumping between drafting documents and answering calls, losing productive hours in the day every time you switch. If parties had an instant means of communication when relevant or a better way of managing them in general, this could be solved. The ability to see when messages have been read by your clients, for example, is one benefit transparent communication can add.

The Link App has traditionally been used in UK law firms but recently, due to the pandemic in part and the need to very quickly work remotely maintaining service levels, global firms have adopted our technology. We are seeing this trend too with other technology that can help with remote working. The speed to adoption, particularly in smaller firms, has increased too. This is one example of how disruptions to traditional ways of working means law firms are seriously considering improving the way they deliver services to clients and investing in technology to help their teams. ■

Lauren Riley

Lauren Riley

Founder and CEO of The Link App