Mobile is no longer a viable option, but it has already emerged victorious!!! Yes, it has been demonstrated over the last few years, with a tremendous increase in the use and implementation of mobile technology-based solutions across many industrial segments all over the world. As a result, in today’s world, mobile-based solutions are a must.
We’ve come a long way; in fact, new items are released every day to make our lives and jobs easier. Without a doubt, mobile applications have been a fantastic development since they, along with your mobile device, are capable of a great deal, including things you never imagined were conceivable.
The nearly limitless possibilities of mobile app development have demonstrated that almost any mobile software notion can be implemented in practice, no matter how sophisticated in theory. With so many apps available in both official and unauthorized app stores, it’s practically impossible to imagine an app that doesn’t exist yet.
Despite this, businesses do to the point what they do, although without making a conscious effort to stand out. Large and small organizations in various industries continue to organically come up with novel mobile app concepts while addressing their daily difficulties and business needs. The legal profession is the most recent to join the workplace mobility bandwagon.
Things aren’t much different in the legal industry. Experts in the legal business have noticed a tremendous increase in the use of mobile applications among worldwide law firms in recent years. Even though the legal business is frequently chastised for being sluggish to adopt new technologies, it chose to stand out when it came to cashing in on the mobile app mania. Even though law apps are still in their infancy, many diverse varieties have already emerged. Each reflects the demands of lawyers and their clients, small and large law firms, and law firms from various states and nations in the United States.
There are no two practice management systems that are alike. As a general rule, the one-size-fits-all approach does not apply to the best law firm app. It is imperative that you select the most appropriate solution for your practice. Ideally, the best lawyers’ app would assist them in accomplishing their personal goals and overcoming workplace challenges while ensuring seamless, timely, and smooth implementation of essential tasks.
Lawyers should list out what functions they require in an app to operate smoothly and efficiently. Many app development companies indeed offer a host of attractive features at first. Still, they may not be effective enough to speed up operations in your niche. Suppose you’re looking for specific features that meet your requirements and are helpful for your niche. In that case, a customized app is a great option.
A lawyer or manager of a law firm should also consider whether they need an all-in-one app solution or prefer apps that can assist them in crucial ways such as billing or time tracking. There is no need to build an app from scratch if you already have one for certain functionality.
Here are a few of the most important and must-have features of the best law firm mobile app compiled by Legal Soft.
#1. Time & Expense Tracking
Time tracking can be a tedious task for lawyers, but automating it with an app simplifies capturing billable hours effectively. This approach not only increases the firm’s revenue but also significantly reduces the time spent on manual tracking processes.
The Law Practice Management App streamlines the process of entering expenses, assigning them accurately to clients or matters. Today’s market offers numerous law firm applications featuring time tracking, stop timers, and multi-timer capabilities. Lawyers can utilize these apps to allocate specific time amounts to each case, enhancing efficiency. Consequently, this leads to the creation of accurate and convenient invoices with just a few clicks, simplifying billing processes.
#2. Case Management On The Go For Lawyers
In today’s digital era, there’s no reason why attorneys can’t efficiently manage their cases using their phones, even when on the move. Attorneys should have the capability to access their case records at any time through a mobile app. This app would enable lawyers to advance cases, accurately track time, and collect vital case information while in various locations like courts, police stations, or jails. An ideal app would support all these functionalities, even offline, and sync with the main system once the device reconnects to the internet.
Furthermore, lawyers should be able to view documents associated with cases in the main system through the app, enhancing accessibility while they are out and about.
#3. Diary
A mobile app offers many benefits to lawyers, including access to their own system diary and those of their colleagues, even when away from the office. The Diary function in the app provides a comprehensive view of the lawyer’s calendar. This feature allows attorneys to easily switch between colleagues’ calendars to schedule appointments remotely, saving time and preventing scheduling conflicts.
Additionally, this feature enables lawyers to keep track of important case dates while on the move, ensuring they stay organized and informed.
#4. Documentation
Documents are part and parcel of a lawyer’s job. This feature is helpful in gathering evidence at a crime scene or quickly recording photographs of your trip receipts and disbursements. This feature includes;
Automation & Document Assembly
The time saved by this function is extremely valuable when creating recurring documents like intake forms, petitions, and contracts. A single click lets you fill out the required information, review it, and move on using an automated document template available on the app.
Storage of Documents
Document storage should be reliable and secure for lawyers when they are transitioning to a paperless practice. Cloud-based law practice management solutions are available in some apps (but not all).
Management of Documents
Similarly, lawyers must be able to access and locate the files they have stored quickly. Text search, tagging, and other advanced document management features are a must for an ideal law practice management app.
#5. Safety & Security
Since lawyers deal with a lot of data and information, safety is the prime concern for them. With the rising use of the internet, its issues are also rising drastically, which means everyone using a swipe app on their phone can be prone to these risks. Most of the applications we use on our smartphones store the personal and sensitive information of the user; this could also include the debit/credit card information, bank details, passwords, and others, and hackers can misuse it through;
- Installing malware on apps
- Intercepting sensitive data
- Identifying fraud
- Misuse private and firm assets
#6. Calendaring
Lawyers should be able to use the in-app calendar to arrange partner activities, meetings, and hearings and establish handy reminders if needed.
Lawyers need to deal with many dates. The ideal calendar tool can help them keep up with all the meetings, court appearances, and client consultations well-coordinated. So lawyers will not need to worry anymore about missed deadlines and meetings. Some law practice management apps allow lawyers to share their calendars with others, make changes to the calendar while out of office, and directly add billable hours to events.
Furthermore, a calendar like that can be synced with the local court’s planning system could be helpful. This would allow lawyers to calculate dates and keep track of them on the go.
#7. Image and Document Scanner
Mobile apps aid in the reduction of paperwork. This also aids in the conversion of an image document into a PDF document, allowing lawyers to store the documents in the appropriate case folders. One of the best examples of this technology is CamScanner. To come up with the ideal law firm app, try out all of the on-demand options.
- Aids in the scanning of any document, whether it be text or graphics.
- Cropping the scanned photo automatically.
- Aids with the scanning of multi-page documents.
- It even allows you to customize the pdf page size.
- It aids in the auto-cropping of scanned images.
- Emailing the scans to each other
- Assists in the batching of scan documents
#8. Financial Management And Accounting Feature
Some lawyers work on multiple cases at the same time. In this case, billing and invoice become a little more complicated. There are a few options for dealing with this issue. A mobile app that helps to deal with finance could give great relief to lawyers. This feature allows lawyers to upload the records associated with the bills and invoices and enable clients to pay the lawyers using debit or credit cards.
This is one of the payment gateway’s builds. This feature must include;
- Invoicing/Billing
- Processing of credit cards
- The ability to view the financial transactions
- Automated email alerts
- Allows lawyers to access the report of billable hours
#9. Comparing the Laws
An app for smartphones enables users to access & compare a U.S. statute to legislation from another country (which can be helpful in some professional situations) is based on complex algorithms. Still, the functionality offered to the user is straightforward. When a U.S. law and a country of interest are entered, a search is initiated. Two legal papers from the same legislation appear side-by-side on a mobile device’s screen, helping lawyers to understand the case and better prepare for it.
#10. Day At a Glance
With the help of an app, get real-time notifications on crucial meetings, document uploads, and other critical case and law firm activities so you don’t miss a beat. When you start using the lawyer app, you’ll be able to see upcoming events, projects, and new client messages right away, allowing you to remain on top of your day.
#11. E-signatures
The legal smartphone app has the feature of electronic signatures. This allows lawyers to confirm information and instructions from clients, witnesses, or interpreters and enter them directly into the cases with the app’s help and approve it with their signature.
Conclusion
A lawyer’s attention span is often short, so lawyers will soon be displeased if an app is challenging to use. If lawyers cannot easily access their information, they will likely look for another option, such as using a competitor’s app. A visually pleasing app display with clear, uncluttered navigation and no ambiguity enhances the user experience. It encourages lawyers to make it part and parcel of their life.
