11 considerations when thinking about a new practice management system for your law firm
Lights-On Consulting’s Robin Boyle shares 11 vital insights and considerations for law firm leaders thinking of replacing their firm’s practice management system.
Buying a new Practice Management System (PMS) has always been a significant undertaking for any law firm, with much to assess and consider and many stakeholders to keep happy. The pace of change in legal technology, the volume of new entrants into the market and the ongoing shift to cloud-based, ‘software as a service’ solutions have all brought an added layer of complexity when it comes to choosing this vital software for your law firm. Yet for many legal practices there is a pressing need to switch, with some systems becoming ‘end of life’ and no longer receiving any development support.
From integrations to budget-setting, read on for Robin’s top tips on planning for a new PMS.
- Assess the need for change
Before diving into the replacement process, evaluate whether a complete overhaul is necessary. Is there a burning bridge or can you take a little longer and plan? Sometimes, a phase two upgrade of your existing system might suffice, especially if it’s not at the end of its lifecycle. The grass may not always be greener, and we often work with law firms to find that they have not fully exploited all the capabilities of their current PMS or have failed to invest in the current system or training.
- Understand your current system
Make sure you understand the capabilities of your current PMS. What functionality do you use? Does it handle only accounts and billing, or does it also manage cases, documents, and client relationships? Understanding the scope of what you’re replacing is crucial.
- Define your requirements
Identify what’s important for your new PMS. For example, do you need multi-currency and multi-jurisdiction capabilities? Is the look and feel of the system important; does it need to feel like a consumer product? Who are the key users – client-facing staff or back-office operations? Determine who will be using the system and what their needs are.
- Integration considerations
Examine your current system’s integrations with your other software products and tools. Do you need to replicate them? At this point, it’s also important to understand who owns the integration layer, do you manage it or do you need to rely on suppliers? If it’s the latter, allow both additional time and budget. With newer Cloud based systems “access to the tech layer” is restricted so this may break integrations or that VIP report.
- Cloud and SaaS readiness
In all likelihood your new PMS will be cloud-based. This means you need to evaluate if your business is actually ready for cloud and SaaS solutions. Can your IT infrastructure support these technologies, and do you have the right skills and team structure in place? Cloud solutions often mean more reliance on suppliers (and their update regimes), so a strong support contract is essential. (We wrote about this topic recently – take a look here). A word of caution in this area, while the architecture is modern (Cloud v on-premise) the depth of functionality may not be the same and therefore having a clear understanding of requirements can be key to a successful implementation.
- Build your team
Having the right team for a PMS project is crucial and you need to provide them with the necessary support. PMS projects require time and effort, so pick the right people and backfill their roles to ensure that the ‘business as usual’ work can still be managed.
- Data management
Decide on your data transfer strategy. Do you need to transfer all data, or does it make sense instead to retain limited access to your old system for specific needs? Data retention requirements can influence this decision – a conversation with your risk and compliance team will be needed here.
- Leadership
It goes without saying, that any decision to replace your PMS must be led from the top. Involve your key stakeholders – managing partner, finance director, and practice heads. A new PMS means change and needs effective change management – particularly when you are working with busy people under pressure to deliver for their clients.
- Budgeting
We are often asked for advice on how much to budget for a new PMS. It’s a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ job, but one key point to note is that the modern SaaS-based PMS products mean a complete change in the budgeting and finance model. PMS procurements used to be one-off activities that could be capitalised, these costs are now annual and ongoing, so cashflow is vital. While thinking about budget, don’t skimp on training. Invest in training for your team to ensure they can effectively use the new PMS. Allocate a budget for training and support to facilitate a smooth transition.
- Plan and project manage
Replacing your PMS will probably take longer than you think (sorry). For a mid-sized law firm of 100 to 500 people, you should estimate 12 to 18 months from start to finish (some suppliers are claiming faster than this now but often it’s a cut down migration in terms of function and/or data). The time to implement can be reduced if you are not changing too much in working processes or are prepared to adopt changes to working practices to align with the technology design or not taking across too much data – we have delivered PMS implementation projects in nine months. However, for most projects it is longer than this and, if it’s a complex replacement then we would always recommend allowing at least 18 months (and longer for complex, global firms). Having a dedicated project manager can really help to keep things on track and allow your core IT team to focus on the other projects and BAU activities.
- Return on Investment
If you compare the bottom-line costs of your on-premises system directly with a Cloud-based system, there will be an uplift (sometimes considerably). The approach to return on investment in your firm may need to change, along with working practices, to deliver productivity enhancements and efficiency improvements. We have heard of some firms where building their own PMS is a preferred option (rather than buying). This is a broad topic and one where we can offer advice.
Time to switch?
Replacing your PMS can feel like a daunting project yet, with the right change for your firm and the right system in place, it can pay dividends in terms of efficiencies, smoother working practices and less time wasted on a system that just ‘doesn’t quite work anymore’.
For a confidential conversation about approaching a PMS procurement or implementation project, please do get in touch. We’d be pleased to share some of our successful experiences (or war stories if you would prefer!) and give you a steer in the right direction.