A faithful process to improve your law firm with technology: fall in love with the problem

Update of July 8, 2025

Start with the problem

Before evaluating possible innovations in your practice, you must first prioritize the problem (s) you aim to solve.

It is certainly tempting to do the opposite. Whenever you attend a legal conference or check your reception box by e-mail, it is easy to prioritize solutions first. You see a hundred shiny objects that offer an easy solution. Resist the temptation!

You don’t just want a solution, but the right one for your specific problem (and your business). Follow this process in five steps to prioritize and select tools that will have the most impact for your business:

1. Walk towards the whiteboard or the nearest wall. Use sticky notes to empty everything that drives you crazy in your business. Customer communication, legal files, drafting of documents, accounts to be paid, etc. But be as precise as possible. Dig into large problems to identify specific pain points. Put every problem on the wall.
2. Prioritize these problems using a simple section. Identify which factors make certain problems more impactful than others. Would the resolution of a problem bring new income? Is there a time constraint that increases the emergency? Are customers affected by a problem? Decide which factors move the needle the most for yourself and use it to mark the problems you have stuck to the wall. Companies could ask the team members to vote with stickers or pins to choose them the most important problems – everything that works for you. Then move the sticky notes with the most priority signals to the summit. The problem that ends above is the one you are going to solve first.
3. Now stay focused on this only problem. Repeat the brainstorming process and use a similar reflection to imagine possible solutions to your problem. Are there low technology solutions? Solutions with a high intensity of people? Automation? Create a new set of sticky notes with each possible solution to your problem.
4. As you have done with your set of original problems, prioritize your solutions with a simple set of factors that are most important for you. Maybe you pinch the cheapest solutions. Perhaps you give points to the fastest solution, that with the most downstream impact, or the easiest to implement. At the end of this second hierarchy exercise, you will have a solution that goes directly to your problem.
5. With a solution in hand, fix a deadline and identify a defender. You will need someone who owns the implementation. If you are a solo lawyer, you can hire help for this, or claim that “CEO you” has a mission for “you lawyer”. Whatever the result, a person should have a clear vision of the problem / solution pairing and be empowered to manage the process of implementing the rest of the team. (Learn more about process changes and best practices for implementing technology to further improve your chances of success.)

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‍An example of a pair of problems / solution

Take the example of a family law practice (although it works with many different fields of practice).

If you serve families in divorce and guard procedures, you can imagine a very complete wall of sticky notes frustrations:

• Customers are in a hurry but do not send you the documents you need
• The courts require timely deposits but refer documents for vague reasons
• You cannot collect for hours or charge flat fees because cases await updates
• You fear that writing errors causes problems, but you are stuck with “find and replace” in Microsoft Word, etc.

Of all the possible problems, you decide to focus on quality control. You are most afraid that customers notice embarrassing errors in a footer after a night of work, or you have made several legal deposits reject for errors in documents.

With a problem on the board, you think about the solutions:

• You can create each document yourself, from zero
• You can buy an expensive forms of forms
• A more expensive contractual lawyer could give better personalized forms
• You can incorporate the automation of documents into your practice
• The introduction by the coconsil could help you distribute the risk of poor service, etc.

If you prioritize a low -cost solution that allows you to keep control of your processes and guarantee quality, you can move the sticky note “Documents Automation” upwards.

With your pair of problems / solutions, it is time to implement.

The problem will make you continue

The most difficult thing at the origin of improving your practice with legal technology is to bring people to use the new tool. Here are some items you can do to give your business the best chances to follow:

1. Choose a project manager. Assistant, partner, partner, you – someone must have the solution, suppliers’ relationship and remain focused on success.
2. Identify a great user. When a person undertakes to push back in a productive way, the implementation improves.
3. Get training. Most technological companies are delivered with specialists in customer success. These service agents are responsible for helping you succeed. Use them.

More than anything, keep the problem that motivated you in mind.

The brilliant objects will not move you forward (and some will step back to you if they become a distraction and increase your costs). Focus on the problem that irritated you first to keep moving forward. You could even record this sticky note as a trophy reminding you or your team how things were.

And when you are satisfied, start with the problem on the next sticky note below. One by one, you will change your practice for the best.

Transform problems into progress – with the right legal technological tools

Improving your law firm should not mean the revision of all at the same time – it simply adopts a thoughtful approach and first. When you anchor your decisions in what must really repair, you are more likely to adopt the right solutions and make lasting changes. Whether it is the automation of documents, rationalized invoicing or better communication of customers, Clio can help you meet the biggest challenges of your business with specially designed legal technology.