In order to operate a successful personal injury practice, you need to make money. If that comes as a surprise to you, then this (or any) business may not be for you; but if you’re still with us, that sage advice isn’t always enough. Running a successful personal injury practice is tough work and often requires more than just legal acumen and some elbow grease…but that’s not to say it’s pointless. Here are a few ways you can increase your law firm’s profitability, so you can stop wading in mediocrity and start swimming towards success.
Find the right clients for your firm
The best place to start is often the beginning; but when it comes to increasing profits, the best place to start is actually before the beginning. Clients are the lifeblood of your firm, but not every client that walks through the door is the right fit for you; that’s why it’s important to pre-screen clients before jumping right into the courtroom.
Make sure prospective clients jive with your firm’s strengths and don’t exploit its weaknesses-after all, a bad fit could wind up costing you time, resources, and your bottom line.
Improve your client intake process
Once you decide to work with a client, it’s important to preserve momentum and get things going right away; unfortunately, from lengthy forms to tedious data entry, client intake can be one of the most arduous tasks you have to deal with as a personal injury lawyer.
To save your firm time and money, it’s imperative to streamline this process as much as possible; whether it’s through internal procedures, online intake forms, or CloudLex’s Intake Manager app, the goal is to do away with duplicating data entry and focus on duplicating your profits.
Be on the Ball, when you’re on the go
The days of lugging around Bankers Boxes and burning the midnight oil at the office are long gone. Modern personal injury attorneys are always moving; embracing mobile technology will help you collaborate with colleagues and clients at your convenience (saving you time and money).
While you’re probably aware of general productivity apps like Dropbox, Evernote, and Skype, there are also a bevy of lawyer-specific apps that can help you advocate well after you vacate the office-most notably, CloudLex, which is designed to help PI attorneys be productive from the comfort of anywhere.
Work smarter, not longer
There are so many routine and tedious tasks essential to running a personal injury firm (maintaining the calendar, filling out forms, updating colleagues, etc.) that it’s tough to find time to be a lawyer; which, since that’s your business, is a problem.
Using a case management software that can handle your most mundane tasks while you handle your work (e.g. CloudLex’s Workflows) allows you to manage your time and resources efficiently…so you can take on more work (and profits) without taking on more staff.
Always be evaluating
No matter how good you get at predicting legal success, you can’t predict the future with absolute certainty—not every case, client, or employee is going to work out. That’s why it’s important to consistently monitor how your resources are being used…and where they might work better.
With apps like CloudLex’s Matter Manager, you can stay updated on your firm’s progress; so you know where to allocate or scale-back resources…making your firm more efficient and your books more balanced.
Market to your market
The attorney-client relationship is exactly that, a relationship; meaning you shouldn’t just wait around for clients to approach you. Marketing yourself to more prospective clients will help you choose the right clients—allowing you to achieve better results and avoid expensive mistakes.
Be proactive: put together a website, pay for advertising, join CloudLex’s referral network, encourage clients to share their experiences on social media, etc…quantity leads to quality—which, in turn, leads to more money for your firm.
Save your cash
Relationships can be expensive (dates, vacations, anniversaries) and attorney-client relationships are no different; but because a majority of personal injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, it’s vital to have sufficient cash flow around for financing new cases. Unlike outdated case management software that requires pricey equipment and manpower, CloudLex is an infrastructure-free cloud platform—meaning it doesn’t require a large investment in servers, space, staff training, software licensing/upgrades, around-the-clock IT support or draining your bank account…all you need is a laptop and internet—allowing you to reinvest your savings (and attention) into new clients.
And if you’d like to be money for your firm, sign up for a demo now…our next-gen cloud platform is an investment in your future that you’re sure to profit from.
