Don't change your Practice Management Software lightly

Twenty-five years experience consulting...and plenty of years law firm management experience before that as a principal and Managing Principal...has shown me that there is always a large range of practice management software available to small-medium law firms.

Each system has its strengths and weaknesses, but few have "pure magic" embedded in them!

A truly well-run business can operate quite successfully with what to other practitioners or managers might appear relatively "unsophisticated" systems.

Like so much else in life it comes down to a combination of what you really need, what you will actually use correctly, and what you can afford.

One interesting observation I've made many times over the years is that law firms can often think they need to make a change of software far too lightly.

Making a change is a big thing, and should not be done on a whim, for example, simply because a new Manager in your office does not like the system you have.

I have seen firms change from one perfectly good system to another, and change right back again inside twelve months!

I regularly hear that a firm is changing from system A to system Z, while I know that other similar firms are doing exactly the opposite move at the same point in time.

I have to ask, how can this be?

Is it because firms are frustrated with outcomes and need something to blame?

Is it because firms often do not know how to properly use the software they have at the moment?

Is it because they truly believe there is software "out there" that provides every Practice Management solution under the one package...and that what they are moving too will actually match the demonstrations when it comes to day to day performance.

It's actually often a bit of all of the above and more...

I regularly counsel my clients to hasten slowly and research extensively before making such a change.

This is especially so when I find that the firm is grossly under-achieving in generating principals' proper returns from their present overheads and operating structure.

 It's almost always best to first fix the root causes of the problems, sort out the low-hanging fruit so to speak, and generate some really good profits for a time, thus buying quality time in which to do the necessary research (buy the labour in on a project basis if you need to...don't delegate to anyone without the necessary skills...it's just too important).

There is some good material on the web, including research done for various Law Societies.

The bottom line...changing Practice Management Systems is a big challenge...containing lots of real opportunity for the future for your firm, but also fraught with danger to those who tread without great care.

It's a great time to be getting wise counsel...and a great time to be getting skilled help if you embark on the project. Allow a lot more time thank you'd think necessary...you don't want to end up rushed into a decision or an implementation!