Paralegals must perform an incredibly varied array of tasks. From direct advocacy to administrative responsibilities, the daily accomplishments of a paralegal are crucial to the operations and success of a law firm. Though most practice management solutions outline the countless ways in which they make attorneys’ lives easier, the benefits to paralegals are often overlooked. This is a grave mistake, as the practical benefits offered to legal professionals by legal software are extremely compatible with the work done daily by the paralegal. Because missed deadlines are a leading cause of malpractice complaints, it is crucial that legal professionals be offered as many tools as possible to successfully navigate their deadlines. Paralegal calendar management is a cornerstone of performance in the legal field. Read on to determine the ways in which legal software can help paralegals make the most of their calendar management.
Internal Chat Function
The work taken on by paralegals is often collaborative in nature, requiring communication with clients and attorneys alike. When scheduling deadlines, either for themselves or colleagues, paralegals must have the ability to communicate quickly and effectively with the other members of their firm. This is why an internal firm-wide chat function is a must-have for any paralegal-friendly legal software platform. Time is valuable, particularly when increments of it must be scheduled; instant communication with colleagues has the power to optimize paralegal calendar management.
Workflow Generation is a Must-Have in Paralegal Calendar Management
When it comes to accounting for their own time, or their colleagues’, paralegals need to look no further than a practice management solution offering automated workflow generation. These solutions allow for legal professionals to build workflows for each type of case handled by their firm. When a new matter is created in the software, the workflow is applied, and all of the deadlines, reminders, and events associated with it are populated onto the calendars of the relevant professionals.
Text Message Reminders
Because being a paralegal often requires juggling various equally important responsibilities at once, it is particularly important to use legal software that does the worrying about deadlines for you. Software should not only send you standard email calendar reminders but also text message notifications about pending deadlines straight to your phone. Your professional life is versatile and on-the-go; it’s not too much to ask of your legal software to simply keep up. Meeting deadlines is the final, most important step in effective paralegal calendar management.
The work done daily by paralegals has the power to make or break any law firm; it is only natural that any legal software worth its weight in gigabytes be able to keep up. Because of the crucial nature of adherence to deadlines, perhaps the most valuable functionality offered by legal software are the features that support paralegal calendar management. Evaluate your firm’s software for its capability to make your calendaring as efficient as possible by looking to these non-negotiable features and capabilities.
