Being sued for legal malpractice is a growing risk of which today’s attorney must be especially aware. That’s the bad news. The good news is that making use of today’s practice and case management software will decrease malpractice liability while at the same time create a more efficient, profitable legal practice.
The American Bar Association publishes The Lawyer’s Desk Guide to Preventing Legal Malpractice in which the authors offer advice in regard to the top 10 legal malpractice traps and how to best avoid falling into one. According to the authors, the two most common events resulting in a malpractice claim are missed deadlines and unhappy clients. Missed deadlines are one of the few oversights in the practice of law that often times cannot be fixed, and it is often said that an unsatisfied client is much more likely to become a plaintiff in a malpractice claim than a satisfied one. What tools can help avoid these risks?
Practice and case management software can assist an attorney or an entire firm in avoiding these pitfalls as well as others, while at the same time developing a more efficient practice. Programs such as Amicus Attorney, ProLaw, LegalEdge, and Abacus Law typically offer a free trial and excellent support and training. A valuable exercise in deciding the amount of capital to devote to the integration of software is to take a close look at how software will assist in avoiding specific malpractice liabilities while aiding in practice and case management.
The most common mishap resulting in a malpractice claim is a missed deadline. Paper-based calendars often require redundancy and constant attention, both of which can be botched leading to a missed deadline. Proper use of the scheduling feature included in most, if not all, software streamlines multiple calendars and offers reminders to avoid missed deadlines. While this helps to avoid the most common malpractice trap, it also allows for integration with other important management functions. For example, most software will allow a calendar entry to be easily integrated into billing, client correspondence, and docket management.
Every time a client leaves unsatisfied, the odds of a malpractice claim or grievance increase significantly. Any attorney will remember clients that were impossible to please regardless of the effort put forth, but many clients are unhappy due to poor communication and lack of involvement. Today’s software incorporates every legal activity entered into the system with client correspondence based on preset preferences. Billing is also integrated to keep the client abreast of the services they are receiving and being billed for to avoid skepticism culminating from inconsistent and unexplained billing practices.
Software offers additional methods of avoiding malpractice liability and streamlining practice systems. The stress of a busy practice often leads to undesirable mistakes and inefficiencies. Ineffectively screening clients is a guaranteed way to end up eventually wasting time and resources on a futile and unproductive case. Conflicts of interest and lack of documentation are other pitfalls escalating malpractice liability. Practice and case management software will remedy all of these situations as well by establishing better communication among attorneys and support staff as well as creating and archiving easily searchable documents and case files.
Installing software can be costly and time-consuming. Allocating some time to research the different software options available and deciding which is best suited for a particular practice will pay for itself in saved time and efficiency. It will also pay for itself financially. The software makers as well as independent legal consultants are available in most areas to help chose a particular product and learn how to use it as quickly as possible. In today’s atmosphere of increased legal malpractice liability and competition among attorneys and firms, making use of practice or case management software is practically necessary.