Celebrating the 5th anniversary of Practus is an opportunity to reflect on where we came from while looking forward towards the future. After all, our launch 5 years ago built the foundation that set us up to become the law firm we are today. This reflection period is why part 2 of our anniversary blog series covers another ingredient in our Practus Recipe for Success – Practice Support.
Our co-Founders came from BigLaw with the goal of bringing the best parts of it with them and leaving the worst parts behind. One of the best aspects of BigLaw is the infrastructure and support that comes with it. Support is one of five ingredients in our Recipe for Success because it allows our attorneys to focus on what they like most about the legal profession: practicing law.
Support comes in many forms at a law firm, so here are four sub-sects of support that we consider the most helpful for attorneys at Practus:
1. Firm Administration
The administrative side of running a law firm is a particularly big leap if you’re an attorney coming from BigLaw where most of these aspects are taken care of behind the scenes. It is also burdensome for solo practitioners and small firms that run lean, as this burden may fall on them! Firm administration has been a top priority of ours since the initial launch of Practus for this exact reason; we want to ensure attorneys are set up for success from day one.
Our VP of Firm Administration, Sandra Haislet, and her team work with attorneys to provide software and systems training, so that they can hit the ground running. Having someone to work with when it comes to firm admin streamlines invoicing and collections so attorneys can focus on providing legal services instead of the painstaking task of setting up client files or chasing down accounts receivable.
Let’s be honest, building the right support team for handling financial management of the firm is the only way to ensure success long term. Without it, law firms are lucky to make it past year three. Our admin team members come from various backgrounds with the expertise they need to provide the level of support necessary for long-term success.
What makes the Administrative Team at Practus even more innovative is that they’re constantly looking for more efficient ways to run back-office support, always with the strategic use of technology. This drive to be on the cutting edge is how Practus has stayed ahead of the curve over the last 5 years.
2. Technology
Firm administrators aren’t the only people involved in the technology of Practus. Best-of-breed software is infused into every part of our firm, because without it, Practus simply would not exist. We have been a modern virtual law firm since day 1, so having the necessary technology available at the click of a mouse has always been a priority.
Technology is so important to us that our first hire wasn’t another attorney. It wasn’t even additional legal staff. It was our Chief Technology Officer. Practus needed top-of-the-line technology systems in place before even starting to think about expanding. We brought on someone that had more expertise in technology systems than anyone in our legal team so that we could provide support to our team while giving clients top-tier legal services.
While innovation and technology have always been a core value, we made a conscious decision to invest even more into our legal tech over the last year by incorporating:
- Streamlined onboarding designed to make new attorneys’ transitions as seamless as possible;
- An intranet hub with online tutorials and best practices when refresher on best practices is needed
- Interactive website and bio pages that make it easier to reach and connect with potential clients
- Cloud-based system integrations that make communication with each other and clients easier than ever;
- Proactive training sessions to keep our entire team up to date when upgrades take place;
- Intake forms that make it easier to open client files and organize your practice;
- IT support so there’s always someone to contact when you need it.
We’re excited to continue to improve, research new opportunities, and implement technology systems that make communication, collaboration, and daily work even easier for our attorneys over the next year.
3. Marketing
How attorneys grow their book of business has transformed significantly over the last several years. That’s why our marketing team works behind the scenes, leveraging digital strategies to support firm outreach while helping potential clients easily find and communicate with our attorneys.
Some of the ways our marketing team supports Practus are:
- Optimizing the website for search engines with improved content and user experience;
- Providing branded materials to share during networking events;
- Creating interactive bio pages for each team member that includes contact information, relevant legal experience, press, and fun facts to get to know our people on a deeper level;
- Publishing external newsletters that share firm updates and legal insights to keep Practus top of mind for potential clients;
- Social media management for the firm where we share legal news, new hire announcements, and attorney content;
- Developing practice area, industry, and location pages that boost SEO while helping establish attorneys as thought leaders in their field of law.
Our marketing team understands the importance of establishing an online presence that reflects the level of talent we have at the firm, which is why they take the time to get to know each partner and new hire from the moment they join Practus.
4. Tools to run your practice
In addition to our dynamic support teams, we provide the suite of tools needed to run a successful virtual law practice. This includes time tracking software, virtual tutorials, relevant CLEs, Snack & Learns with tips from industry leaders, and more. These tools support collaboration and efficient daily work. Most importantly, we regularly check in with our team to evaluate what is or isn’t working, and what they may need to improve their workflow and the quality of legal services we provide to our clients.
Listening to and learning from our attorneys sets our support apart from other modern law firms. We care about our team and want to arm them with firm administration, tech, and marketing support they need to continue offering top tier legal services without getting bogged down by the behind-the-scenes work.
The comprehensive approach Practus takes to providing support is why new attorneys are able to hit the ground running. It’s also why attorneys of all backgrounds – BigLaw, solo practitioners, and everything in between — join Practus. The last 5 years set the foundation for our Recipe for Success, and we’re excited to see how much we’ll fine tune the support we offer over the next 5 years.
Continue reading part 3 of our anniversary series about Independence here.
