How the Legal Industry Can Use Tech to Improve Client Communication

Integrating tech & law for better client communication

A lot of time, law finds technology misplaced in its industry. The reality couldn’t be further from the truth, with technology touching aspects of the legal landscape many lawyers can’t fathom. Starting somewhere tangible, like client communication, is a great backbone for fleshing out the capabilities of tech in law, and can serve as a gateway to incorporating technology into other areas of practicing law. Below are just a few examples of how a single practicing lawyer or law firm can use technology to improve their client communication.

VoIP

Start with something small. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) isn’t groundbreaking technology. In essence, it’s delegating the traditional land line functionalities to the Internet. So instead of making calls over a landline, employees will make calls over the Internet using the existing broadband connection. This type of tech infinitely improves client communication by providing company employees with flexibility and mobility. VoIP makes it possible to forward calls to your mobile device or home phone, receive messages in different formats, and manage calls even while away from the office (making it a great choice for virtual law firms, as well).

Online/Client Portals

Online portals are considered far more secure than communication via conventional e-mail, which is why utilizing them in lieu of phone calls and other communicative mediums is such an attractive option for lawyers. Online/client portals give law firms and lawyers a no-hassle way to stay in contact with clients throughout the entire stage of case preparation 24/7 and offers clients the option to not use a telephone if they wish to avoid one. Through password-protection setup where clients and employees can access documents at the same time, clients have access to all of their case-related information whenever they need it and can collaborate seamlessly with their lawyer. Online/client portals act as a great substitute when an employee cannot take a call right away and are generally resourceful for clients looking for answers to common questions, making them one of the ways tech improves client communication and eliminates the back and forth of unnecessary phone calls.

Web Chat

Most legal websites already benefit from a communication tech like web chat, but don’t understand the true incentive behind employing it: to increase client wins. Web chat isn’t just a great tool to improve client communication, it is a gateway to potential clients and when used correctly, streamlines all types of communication across a website. While web chat naturally removes the person-to-person dialogue of winning prospective clients, it is essentially the salesmen at the front door of your website inviting clients in. Here, law firms should be speaking directly to visitors, whether they are current or potential clients, and gauging what clients typically come to the website to accomplish. It won’t only improve client communication, but give your firm insight into what you are or aren’t doing well on your website and what services you can improve.

Video Conferencing

Video conferencing will improve your client communication simply by offering your clients the convenience of your face-to-face consultation at the leisure of their home, or office, or wherever it is they can make time to talk. This type of communicative tech is becoming so ubiquitous, doctors are diagnosing patients via social platforms like Skype. The claim to better communication here is ease of accessibility and speed. Making yourself available from wherever you are in the world opens up your practice to many more clients, and allows you to deliver council faster than ever before. Time is a valuable resource in law, making video conferencing one of the greatest tech tools to give your client communication a swift boost.

zbrella Technology Consulting can help implement any of these technologies into your law firm. For help on how to improve your own client communication via tech, give us a call at 718.355.9155 or contact sales@zbrella.com