At 6 months into a global pandemic, there is no part of our business world that has not been affected by Covid-19. Immigration attorneys and the legal industry face the frustrations of delays in justice & rethinking of litigation strategies, while the pandemic has made it abundantly clear their heavy reliance on non-digital processes is due for a digital overhaul.
Millennials have been slowly pushing the legal industry toward a more digitally evolved presence and our pandemic response has accelerated this process. To keep your practice on pace with this, we put together 8 essential tools to help your immigration law practice pivot with the pandemic.
Without the chances for meeting with clients in person, you will need a tool to help you build relationships, establish your client’s trust in you, keep your clients alerted to important updates, and exhibit your expertise & knowledge. Enter Mailchimp, a long-established email marketing platform that allows you to stay in contact with your clients and the forefront of their minds. Mailchimp provides the ability to create highly customizable email campaigns by segmenting email lists and using data gathered on your clients. A well crafted, mobile-friendly monthly newsletter using Mailchimp establishes yourself as a knowledgeable go-to for your clients.
Moving to a remote office setting leaves you scrambling to collect payments when you’re accustomed to collecting at point of contact. LawPay allows you to securely collect instant payments from your clients online or through mobile apps. Customize your firm’s payment solutions, set payment plans, track payments, and even build custom payment pages in different languages with LawPay’s unique features. A secure and efficient payment process gives your clients confidence in your practice.
Being siloed in our respective homes can make collaborating with colleagues on cases a challenge. Cloud-based immigration law software, NEUTRINET rises to the challenge with a unique & intuitive portal that closes the communication gap created by distance and eases collaboration between both colleagues & clients. NEUTRINET’s features facilitate seamless communication with your clients, with live commenting & feedback and status tracking, as well as case & document management. Standard client questionnaires automate form & case files. NEUTRINET eliminates the need for endless email threads or in-person communication and streamlines what can often be a cumbersome process.
Separated by locations & unable to talk through cases in person or team meetings can be the death of good communication & efficient collaborative work. Since 2013, Slack has provided solutions to the breakdown of communication for millennial forward-thinking companies. So much more than just an instant messaging tool, Slack’s features allow you to build workflows to automate & streamline routine procedures, schedule daily “stand up” meetings to keep teams up to date & prioritize projects, and integrate external contacts & partners into your Slack channels. A team move to Slack gives your firm the advantage of seamless collaboration & sharing.
Sharing documents and information with clients through a phone call/email combination can be awkward and clumsy. Zoom’s video conference software yields the trust of a face-to-face conversation, plus the ability to share important documents through screen sharing with your client. Its intuitive interface and no sign-up necessary policy make it especially appealing to less tech-savvy clients. And, it meets the legal and bar requirements for privacy and client confidentiality, in addition to adjustable security settings for your own needs. Zoom’s simple and easy to use software keeps your everyday interactions face-to-face while staying safely at home.
The limitations of traditional phone systems once you are away from your brick and mortar location have plagued the business world for years. Cloud-based phone communication systems like RingCentral keep you in contact with your clients no matter where you are, while also eliminating expensive phone server systems. RingCentral’s app allows you to use your business number for calls & texts from any device, send & receive faxes, create multi-party conference bridges, send voicemails to email, and utilize an auto-receptionist for routing, filtering, & managing call flow. RingCentral’s technology keeps your firm easily accessible for superior client service from any location.
A major part of any legal industry transaction is signing documents. Traditionally, the only way to do so was in person, however, electronic signature software now offers an easy online signing process, eliminating the need for in-person visits. DocuSign is a well-established software with strict security & compliance standards to protect confidential information and offer even more security and tracking than traditional paper documents. Simplified signing accelerates the process and cuts out the cost of expensive mail services. DocuSign is built to seamlessly integrate with your existing legal document management systems, bringing efficiency, and with that increased retention rates, to your practice.
Networking without the ability to meet in person can be challenging. Here’s where you can get creative in both approach and execution. Creating tailored video content on Youtube generates leads and is cost-effective. Youtube videos that succinctly answer common questions, showcase your staff & client stories, and are educational can also be embedded into your website to create more traffic and used across social media. Creating a quality presence on Youtube with content your clients care about gives you the opportunity to reach a wider audience than with more traditional networking and marketing methods.
Though daunting at first, a measured shift toward a millennial forward approach for your law firm will not only carry you through the pandemic but benefit you well beyond the days of masks & social distancing. A flexible approach, care for the community you serve, and the above tools to increase efficiency & preserve your work/life balance could catapult your practice into a new digital era.