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A Message From Thomson Reuters Small Law

Top Three Investments That Are Successfully Driving Change in Small Law Firms

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Small law firms are encountering new challenges in the legal marketplace. The 2017 State of U.S. Small Law Firms Study shares how firms are responding to them and the changes they are implementing to gain a competitive edge.

What challenges are these firms facing?

The obstacles that small law firms are facing are constantly evolving and many firms have different approaches to addressing them. Acquiring new client business, spending excessive time on administrative tasks and the increasing complexity of technology are considered some of the most significant issues that small law firms are encountering.

While acquiring new client business has been a common challenge, more recently there has been an emerging threat: DIY legal websites or services. With the advancements of technology, self-service legal businesses have grown to be new competition. In addition, time efficiency has been another hurdle small law firms have difficulty overcoming. Instead of practicing law, spending excess time on tasks, such as administrative or operational, has taken up more time than predicted for attorneys. Furthermore, with the growth of a digitally savvy generation small law firms are pressured to adopt new technology to improve how they do business.

What are firms investing in to adapt to changes in the legal marketplace?

Some firms are unsure of how to adapt to the emerging challenges. With the rapidly changing and demanding legal environment, small law firms are wondering where to start and trying to determine how to manage complex issues. However, others have implemented new changes and strategies such as investing in business development, marketing and adopting new technology and infrastructure. Firms saw an increase of existing client relationships and referrals when they invested in business development and marketing, and made it a priority to increase client satisfaction. Along with this, firms pushed for higher efficiency by adopting new technology. These improvements led to a higher quality of work, reduction in costs and a decrease of time spent on administrative tasks. The combination of saving both time and money resulted in higher revenues and even a better work/life balance.

What’s the outcome?

While some small law firms are lagging behind in adapting to the evolving legal environment, others are proactively pursuing new strategies. By implementing changes and streamlining their approach to running a small law firm, attorneys are able to successfully focus on what they do best – practice law.

Read more about the challenges small law firms face today and the innovative solutions successful ones are implementing in the full 2017 State of U.S. Small Law Firms report.

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