It’s the start of a new year, which is when many of us make resolutions for the year ahead. However, it’s also an ideal time to set some realistic resolutions for your law firm. Last year proved a surprisingly positive year for UK firms, with many experiencing impressive profit growth. One of the biggest challenges law firms faced in 2021 was adapting to new ways of working - from navigating a new hybrid workplace to collaborating with clients virtually. As we head into 2022, law firms have a more solid understanding of how to evolve their firms and more confidence in taking on the challenges that lie ahead. 

Now’s the time to set clear, realistic goals to modernise your firm and prepare to face the year ahead with optimism and clarity. Here, we share five achievable resolutions to set for your firm up for success in 2022 and beyond.

Automate Your Firm 

If you haven’t already invested in legal workflow automation to help streamline your legal operations, this is the year to do so. According to the 2021 EY Law Survey, 76% of legal professionals find it challenging to manage current workloads, and over the next three years, workloads are expected to increase. By investing in workflow automation, you can streamline core legal processes, such as knowledge management, document generation, contract management, client onboarding and service delivery. Through automation, you can significantly reduce the amount of time lawyers spend on repetitive tasks, giving them more time to focus on advising clients and building relationships. 

Legal workflow automation tools like Sysero offer a robust set of features, such as a visual workflow designer, to enable nearly anyone at the firm to design customisable workflows to solve a number of operational challenges.

Move to the Cloud

Over the past two years, more firms have moved toward a hybrid or fully remote working environment. So too, have their clients. In today’s modern office, lawyers, staff and clients alike must be able to easily access business-critical information and applications from anywhere. 

Legal technology vendors like Sysero can provide Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). This removes the IT support burden from the law firms by providing managed, cloud-based applications that are designed to grant access to templates, transactions and contracts via a web browser, making them available no matter where your staff or clients are working. Additionally, there’s no need to download additional software. Ultimately, this enables your firm to be more nimble, agile, and efficient when it comes to conducting everyday business.

Sort Out Your Compliance

As we head into 2022, it’s time to automate your compliance and risk management. The year ahead will bring new challenges in navigating the ever-evolving and complex legal and regulatory landscape - and it will be impossible to do so without adopting new technologies. Today’s firms must take a more standardised approach to risk management to create more transparency and accountability. 

By using workflow automation solutions like Sysero to standardise key legal processes, you can embed compliance best practices into every day operations and create clear audit trails. Additionally, you make it easier for staff and lawyers to adhere to compliance policies, even if they are working away from the office.

Standardise your Contract Management

When it comes to compliance, one of the main areas lacking transparency and efficiency is contract management. According to the 2021 EY Law Survey, 69% of legal professionals say their contract creation process isn’t standardised and 71% say their contracts aren’t monitored for deviations from standard terms. This lack of standardisation opens firms up to an array of risks that could be potentially devastating.

Using a workflow automation tool like Sysero, you can automate and standardise the entire contract management process, from initiation and review to e-signing and storing completed contracts in your DMS. By streamlining the contract management process, you can create a digital, secure and efficient contract lifecycle that greatly reduces risk.

Modernise your Business Processes

In 2022, it’s time to bid goodbye to your legacy processes that are no longer fit for use and embrace new technologies to bring your firm into the future. In this modern age, it’s no longer enough to rely on manual processes to conduct key business operations, such as accepting and evaluating new clients and matters or generating documents. Clearly, the way forward for law firms is continued digital transformation, and those that will emerge as leaders will be the ones who embrace new technologies to stay competitive in the market. The question is: will your firm be one of them?

Driving change for your law firm can always be a challenge, but these resolutions are achievable - and critical for your law firm success. At Sysero, we can help you reach your digital transformation goals with our workflow automation technology. Get in touch to schedule a demo or learn more about how we can help you reach your goals this year.