FOR YOUR PRACTICE
| TECH DEVELOPMENTS
Law Firm Automation Reducing Human Error and Increasing Efficiency
BY ERIC S. STEINER, ESQ.
UNTIL RECENTLY, law firm automation was only available to
firms with dedicated teams of software developers who would write custom software to accomplish specific automation tasks. New advances in automation technology, widespread availability of highspeed internet and the proliferation of cloud-based solutions for law firms are now making automation possible for any law firm to implement with a few clicks and without the expense of a software engineer. What is Cloud-Based Software? To understand how automation can be utilized by any law firm, it is first necessary to have a basic understanding of what it means for software to be cloud-based. Prior to widespread broadband internet such as Verizon FIOS1 or Comcast High-Speed Internet,2 software needed by law firms such as Microsoft Office 3653 and law firm practice management software would be installed locally on one or several computers at each law firm’s physical location, or on a local server physically located at the firm. Broadband internet shattered this model because with its advent, software could be hosted online by the developer, and be accessed quickly by millions of users with high-speed internet. This change led to the development of cloud-based practice management 1
https://www.verizon.com/home/fios/
https://business.comcast.com/
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https://www.office.com/
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https://www.clio.com/
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https://www.mycase.com/
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https://www.cosmolex.com/
https://zapier.com/
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https://www.google.com/gmail/
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https://www.google.com/ https://www.google.com/docs/about/
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https://www.google.com/sheets/about/ https://zapier.com/apps
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software specifically geared towards law firms, such as Clio Manage and Grow,4 MyCase,5 and CosmoLex.6 How Automation Relates to Cloud-Based Software Clio Manage and Clio Grow are two examples of cloud-based practice management software. One of the most important features for law firm automation, which is built into Clio Manage, is integration with other cloud-based software via a connector called Zapier.7 Think of Zapier as a translator between various cloud-based software: Zapier allows different cloud-based software to talk to each other and communicate “Triggers,” “Actions,” and “Searches” through “Zaps.” Gmail,8 which is the email platform developed by Google,9 and the rest of Google’s cloud-based systems such as Google Docs10 and Google Sheets,11 also integrate with Zapier, as well as Microsoft Office 365. A full list of integrations can be found on Zapier’s website.12
The combination of cloud-based practice management software and other cloud-based services allows a law firm to create automations that both reduce human error and increase efficiency by automating routine tasks and freeing up time for both attorneys and staff.
