Let’s set the scene. Your practice is smashing it: revenue is up, margins are looking great, and your recovery rates are at a perfect 100%. Your clients are thrilled with the high-quality documents they receive in record time, all at a price you are both happy with. Your team is energised, their legal minds are challenged and engaged, employee satisfaction is through the roof, and lawyers are eager to join your firm. If this sounds like your reality, then go ahead and skip this post.
But for those of us working in the real world - where competition is fierce, margins are getting tighter, and firms of all sizes are finding themselves working harder just to maintain their position - the pressure is very real. Lawyers are being pushed hard and long to deliver, and stress levels are the ones going through the roof (not the satisfaction).
So, what if there is a way to work smarter, not harder? Enter document automation (“DocAuto”). Not sure exactly what DocAuto is, don’t worry I’ve got you covered in Part 1 of my series.
Let’s look at how DocAuto can be transform your firm:
- Increased Team Capacity* – Handle more work without stretching your team too thin.
- Improved Margins & Reduced Write-offs* – Boost your bottom line by minimising inefficiencies.
- Increased Efficiency* – Get more done in less time, allowing your team to focus on what really matters.
- Enhanced Job Satisfaction* – Lawyers can spend more time on high-value tasks, leading to greater fulfilment.
- Risk Mitigation* – Reduce errors and give junior lawyers more autonomy, with less need for partner review.
- Consistent Quality Across the Firm* – Maintain a high standard across all your work.
- Preserving Firm Knowledge* – Codify your firm’s unique expertise, ensuring it’s retained and passed on.
- Peace of Mind* – Ensure everyone is working from the same, up-to-date template.
- Better Client Experience* – Provide faster turnaround times and keep clients happy.
- Supports Remote Supervision* – Enable effective oversight and mentoring from anywhere.
- Aids Recruitment & Retention* – A modern, efficient firm attracts top talent and keeps them around.
* Only if you do it right. Unfortunately, not all automation projects are created equal, and over time DocAuto has become one of the biggest graveyards of failed or struggling projects.
So, what’s the key to success? Experts (who have the scars from learning the hard way) will tell you: start small, keep it simple, and don’t overreach. Why? Because the more complex the automation, the more time and resources it will take to build and maintain. As you increase the depth of automation (i.e. its capabilities), the time and resource investment grows exponentially. But here’s the thing: a simple automation that saves just one hour in a five-hour process just won’t bring those benefits listed above. In fact, it probably won’t even get used as it isn’t worth the effort.
And that’s the unresolved tension with DocAuto - striking the right balance between how long it takes to automate and the value it will provide. While rich, deep automations are essential to unlock the full benefits, most firms never reach that point. Why? Because building and maintaining these automations is too complex, except for the most straightforward of documents. So, while everyone loves the idea of the benefits DocAuto can bring, few (outside of our customers) ever get to experience those rewards fully.
In the forthcoming parts of my series, we’ll dive deeper into the “what” and the “how” behind automation - starting with how to choose the right documents to automate. Spoiler alert: it’s all about picking the documents that will have the greatest impact and deliver the best results for your practice. And trust me, they might not be the ones you expect...
