Practice Software

What is it and how do I choose it?

By Charity Anastasio Practice Management Advisor American Immigration Association Practice and Professionalism Center 202-507-7624 | [email protected] Updated December 10, 2018

1 AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) Practice Management Software

What is it and how do I choose it? Contents What is practice management software?...... 2 Do I need practice management software? ...... 2 Does my practice management software need to be immigration-specific? ...... 3 What are the benefits of practice management software? ...... 3 How do I pick the right practice management software? ...... 4 Where should I start? ...... 6 Resources ...... 8

What is practice management software? Modern practice management software generally manages matter or client files (becomes a complete record of every action on the case), engages the client through a client portal, does a conflicts check, assigns tasks, maintains a calendar, helps with document management and generation, tracks time and generates client invoices, sends the invoices, and permits everyone in the firm to access the appropriate information quickly and efficiently. A few practice management systems have made inroads into website development and light customer relations management, and just a few have more robust accounting infrastructures. (Most products sync with Quickbooks and/or Xero for the robust accounting features.) The majority of modern products are a “software as a service” (SaaS) solution—or online, cloud-based.

Do I need practice management software? Yes. Less than 50% of lawyers are using practice management software and the percentage is about 30% in solo and small firm practitioners. But I will hold firm that being competitive and effective in the modern legal world requires practice management software. I am a convert, by the way. I can cobble together a system and a workflow without new tech with the best of them, but if I did it again I would get a practice management solution from the very beginning, and I would work hard to learn it and build out the features available to me.

But do not take it from me. Read What are the benefits of practice management software? below and see if any of these things would help; or be better if they happened faster or were more easily accessed in your law practice.

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AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) Does my practice management software need to be immigration-specific? It depends. What are the goals of the firm? What problems are you solving for? Most of the current immigration-specific softwares are case management, without the full suite of features of a practice management program. They usually offer immigration forms and compliance monitoring, but may not have time tracking and invoicing features, for example. (See Where should I start? below.) That said, there is a potential benefit to having immigration workflows predesigned and available to you, instead of having to build them out in a generic practice management program. And of course, not all immigration practices are alike, so you will want to find an immigration-specific software that was built for and tailored towards the firm’s niche. The decision may also depend on what infrastructure you are currently in and how much of that you want to keep.

For example, maybe you have been doing your invoicing with accounting software and you have that workflow mapped. You identify timekeeping and case management as the missing components you want. Then you might look at an immigration specific product that includes a timekeeping feature. Or you might take on a case management program and do the timekeeping a different way in another product. You will want to ask how many products you want to use and whether it makes sense to have these different products together, before you buy. For example, do they sync? If they sync, is it a one-way push of information to another that doesn’t solve all the problems or is it a two-way push that is truly integrated? Ask if they work together, but also how they work together.

Considering these factors, one firm may decide to go with a program that integrates with their G-Suite platform and adds the immigration forms, time tracking, and invoicing. Another may decide to go with a general practice management program and input their forms and workflows into the platform, then sync it with the accounting software they already use. A third may decide to get the general practice management platform and another program for case management that interacts. All three are viable solutions and I have seen successfully implemented in immigration practices.

What are the benefits of practice management software? Most practice management software system include these benefits, but a few are exclusive in certain products. The mix of features available can depend on the level/version of product purchased, whether that feature is built out by the firm, and how the feature functions specifically in that product. And it is an everchanging kaleidoscope of features, especially with an Saas product. For this reason, it can help to start with what the firm wants to do/accomplish and work backwards from there to find the products that check the most boxes. This is an inventory of nearly all the benefits practice management software can offer:

● Ensure information is shared across the entire history of a client’s case with all lawyers and staff that need to know the information, be responsive to the client. ● Promote accessibility and collaboration among employees and clients. ● Decrease friction in day to day actions for employees and clients. ● Streamline processes and automate, for increased efficiency and reduced errors. ● Simplify and automate some aspects of time tracking in a mobile environment.

3 AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) ● Firms that use practice management software report a reduction in non-billable time used by four to eight hours a month on average. This results in greater profits realized. ● Simplify billing and permit division of labor and manager oversight to reduce fraud and error in billing and payment procedures. ● Filter searches of certain events or tasks by matter. ● File management and document assembly. ● Decrease client communication burden when the client checks her status of her case online instead of calling the firm. ● Offer a basic system for Customer Relations Management (CRM) for marketing. ● Increase data security of client confidences by taking confidential information and putting it on a protected client portal and removing it from unprotected email systems. ● Enable the law office to easily pull and analyze data regarding performance, segmented out by lawyer, practice area, client demographics, etc. ● Simplify updating and maintaining accounting records for IOLTA and operating accounts. ● Implement an effective conflict check system with screening capabilities that comports with the rules of professional conduct. ● Streamline the calendaring of a series of events, especially one with rules-based calendaring that permits all deadlines to be inputted (and changed) into the system based on the trial date alone. ● Online payment processing through LawPay integration or internally.

How do I pick the right practice management software? There are many practice management solutions out there. Choosing the right one comes from researching a few products and asking the right questions of the vendor, and internally. Here is a list of questions to get you to the best practice management solution for your firm:

What are the goals of the firm?

● Does the product scale to the current and future goals of firm size? ● Does it work well for the firm’s practice areas? (Some packages are practice area specific design, like immigration, personal injury while others are generalized. Both may be further customizable, but to varying degrees and that customization takes time and/or money.) ● Mobility/accessibility goals for the lawyers. Do they want to work from home and access everything in court or not? ● Can it do what we want it to do, technically? ● Does it solve the problems we have? ● Are firm stakeholders cloud-adverse, or do they want to take advantage of cloud-based hosting? The wave of the future is cloud-based, but there are a couple non-cloud tools remaining for firms with clients with special secrecy concerns or needs, or firms not prepared to transition to a cloud-based system. The general expert view is that cloud-based systems are more secure than unsophisticated,

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AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) unmaintained, or aging systems, so think through the adversity very carefully and make sure it is soundly justified. ● If the firm prefers a license on premises solution (non-cloud), does it have the infrastructure to host and maintain a traditional premises-based package securely and effectively? ● Is it within the firm’s budget? (Price point is a big issue for firms. Budget for the product and the same amount again for training, in an ideal world. Recognize that by subscription will cost more over time but be easier to budget for because it is an incremental cost. Do not choose a software solely based on price. Remember that the cost savings of improved efficiencies will eventually offset the cost of the product, but that this will take time.)

Is it a good fit for the users and the firm as a whole?

● Level of sophistication level of users and does this solution address that? ● Was is easy to learn the basics of navigating in an hour, or completely hard to figure out? (This depends totally on the users. What is instinctual to one will be Greek to another. Whoever is piloting the program and expected to be the most versatile in it should have an opportunity to weigh in on this question. Make sure there is a cross-section of typical users.) ● Is there leverage-able experience with any products in the employee pool? (If certain employees are very familiar with certain products, there is a reduced learning curve and a go-to person for other users. These may be the right product if it is well liked. The inverse is also true: If they disliked that product, why? This is important information to learn from.)

Can this practice management software answer these questions without a paper file?

● Who is involved in the case? (This could include including parties, opposing counsel, witnesses, victims, heirs, assigns, and beneficiaries, board members, shareholders, officers, therapists, expert witnesses, etc.) ● What is the past, present, and future of the action? ● Which documents, or other information do we still need from the client? Which do we have? ● What work product has been generated on the case? What tasks remain to be accomplished? ● How many hours have been spent on the case? ● How much has the client been billed? ● Is the client current or late on payment?

Other products you want to interface/sync with the practice management software?

● What is the current tech ecosystem? Is it relatively stable or also changing? ● Do the considered products work well with bedrock technologies of the firm work? ● When syncing with other tech, is it a one-way push or a two-way talking together sync? (Some programs say they “sync with” another, but it only pushes information into the program and will not

5 AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) track changes in the second program back to the first. That is fine if the pushing program is the parent and the only one things will be modified in, but not so good if there are intentions of working in and modifying both. Others will have two-way synching which means both systems will modify the other.) ● Does the sync type match the needs of the firm? ● Are they frequently redundant functions? (Redundant functions do not automatically eliminate a product, but if there are too many it should be looked at and determined if the solution to the current issues already exists, and which system will be used to accomplish the goals.)

Is the vendor solid?

● Does it appear to have solid infrastructure, support, and staying power? ● Is it responsive and interested in the firm’s success? ● Do you like the training materials and information provided? ● Is the data security proven to be secure and reliable? ● If they have had a data breach, did they deal with it responsibly? (i.e. inform parties promptly, resolve problems quickly, push out software updates regularly, etc.) ● Does the level of third party syncs display any potential risks to data security? If so, have they addressed this with those vendors adequately? ● Finally, at the end of the relationship, how is data transferred to another system? Is this made tedious and difficult or smooth and easy? ● Do other colleagues and firms like the product or vendor? (Ask a listserv or friend if what worked for them or any opinions they have on the ones you identify.)

This is not an exhaustive list of potential questions, but it gets most law firms making practice management software choices on the right track. Email [email protected] or call 202-507-7600 to delve deeper into any of them or look at the resources below.

Where should I start? Start by scheduling a demo and/or downloading a free trial in an attractive software. AILA Practice and Professionalism Center has compiled the lists below to help your research. There are so many practice management softwares out there that there is one for you. Price point is always an issue. The selected softwares have a wide range of prices, though this first set is generally between $35 - $80 per user per month, and the immigration-specific one tends to be more.

General practice management programs

● Clio is a leader in the practice management software field. Their research and interpretation of anonymized data from users and consumers is helpful for market research in setting fees and planning growth strategy. Clio is known for third-party integrations to expand offerings.

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AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) ● Cosmolex has one of the simplest IOLTA accounting systems included in it. For solo practitioners who do their own billing and are not terribly fond of bookkeeping this may be a good choice. Cosmolex integrates with Casemaker , which some bar associations offer their members. ● MyCase started as a client portal and added practice management features, so their outward facing features are emphasized. I admit to finding it user friendly. They are not big on the third-party integrations and prefer to build out features and own them internally. ● Practice Panther is an up and comer that adds new features weekly and appears responsive to its clients. They do third-party integrations. ● ZolaSuite has a sleek interface and strives to have a complete accounting platform built in. They recently announced a full integration with RICHO copier-printer machines.

Immigration-specific softwares

● Blue Dot software has several levels to come in on and includes primarily case management components, but also invoicing, reports, and contact management. They offer client questionnaires that are general or tailored to N-400, H-1B or PERM, or Adjustment of Status, for example. The top of the line version appears expensive, compared to competitors. Blue Dot integrates with Clio. ● Case.one is a newer modal-style practice management platform with immigration workflows built out (they are working on other practice areas). It includes sidetracking, invoicing, reporting, and a Quickbooks integration. The online portal allows potential clients/clients to complete their forms, and a chat bot creator that can lead potential clients or clients through certain analysis or processes. Its price is notably low right now, modular, and can be by number of active cases or per user per month/year. ● Docketwise is an immigration case management software that costs between $49 and $59 per month. Its web based, has dynamic forms in multiple languages, and integrates with Clio and Practice Panther practice management software. ● eIMMIGRATIONAIR is a case management software targeted to large immigration firms. It has features in common with INSZoom, adding some practice management elements. Parent company Cerenade, does forms for the government, so would presumably update them promptly. ● Infotems is an immigration practice management software originally started in Canada, so they have both US and Canada forms. It is web based, has questionnaires, forms, and document automation. There is a client portal and the forms are in portable document format (PDF). ● ImmigrationTracker is a case management software with questionnaires, forms, client portal, and automation that permits streamlining of processes. It is $159/user/month with discounts as firm size increases or for certain nonprofits. It is developed by immigration lawyers. ● INSZoom is a case management platform designed for the immigration practice. It includes forms and some practice management features like contact management, invoicing, reporting, and integrations with Outlook and Quickbooks. There are different levels: The first is forms only, second is case management only, and only above that do you get practice management features.

7 AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18) ● LawLogix has two platforms. The Guardian does I-9 and e-verify compliance; the Edge is immigration case management and visa tracking. ● Lollylaw integrates with G-Suite and appears to be a clean platform at a price comparable to the general practice management softwares, specialized to immigration. ● PrimaFacie is a case management immigration forms platform that syncs with Clio (see above). It is essentially the forms and workflow build out to Clio that makes it tailored to an immigration practice—the two together would be a full immigration practice management system.

Resources 2018 Solo and Small Firm Legal Technology Guide, Sharon D. Nelson, Esq., John w. Simek and Michael C. Maschke Current information on computers, servers, networking equipment, legal software, printers, security products, smartphones, the iPad and chapters on social media and going paperless. ABA Practice/Case Management Software Comparison Chart for Solo/Small Firm is sometimes not up to date, but a good resource for comparing general practice management software options features, pricing, etc. Building a Business Case for Law Practice Management, Blue Hill Research, May 2015. A link to the report is embedded in the article. Software for the Immigration Practitioner, Marshall Cohen, Karol Brown, Douglas R. Penn, and Kirby Gamblin Joseph, June 29, 2017.

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AILA Doc. No. 18052166. (Posted 12/10/18)