Running a law firm involves many moving parts—and organization is key to keeping everything flowing. Dropping even a single task can hold up a whole matter.

If you’re working on cases, you don’t have time to oversee all those moving parts. But with the help of a modern practice management system, you can keep your firm’s matters—and your financials—running smoothly.

Matter-centric records

You need a system that lets you keep track of everything—and have a bird’s eye view.

Set yourself up to stay organized with matter-centric records. From case details to deadlines, everything should be in one place—and all activity should be linked to matters. This includes billable tasks, client expenses, and even payments. The goal should be to make it as easy as possible to track and find information.

Task Management

For many of the matters lawyers handle, there are long lists of tasks that need to be completed in a particular order, known as workflows.

Because the tasks for, say, setting up a charitable giving trust, are fairly consistent from one client to the next, law firms can save time and improve efficiency by being able to track the individual tasks in a workflow—and having a cloud-based system that updates in real-time, letting team members see what needs to be done next.

Even better, you can create a template for that workflow, which means you’re saving time on each case once you get the initial task template set up.

For accuracy and consistency, customize your workflows and add them to new matters. Assign tasks and due dates, set task priorities, and improve team coordination by designating specific tasks as doable only once previous steps have been completed.

Time-saving automation

A critical component of staying organized and productive is using time efficiently. If tasks and workflows can be automated—do so.

With modern tech, time-saving features such as batch billing, invoice reminders, and automated document assembly should all be part of your firm’s routine.

Organized communication

Communicating with clients promptly and clearly is also part of staying organized—and can go a long way toward preventing tangles down the line.

Client portals with chat tools and secure document sharing set you up for improved communication. Instant chat feels less distant than email for many clients—and it’s more secure, especially for sharing documents.

Integrated systems

All of these components—matter-centric records, task management, workflows, automation, and efficient communication—will help your law practice stay organized.

But what sets CosmoLex apart is its fully integrated system.

Instead of trying to coordinate across a couple or several different programs—say a practice management system and a generic accounting system—with CosmoLex, everything is in one place.

For instance, integrated calendaring and billing means that billable tasks automatically make it onto the client invoice. They can be found in the matter file, and they’re organized as data for quarterly or annual analysis of how your firm is doing.

Likewise, if a client has a question, you can quickly answer it over the client chat—and share relevant documents, which you can easily find in the matter file.

Connections

Nothing at a law firm happens in isolation.

The tasks in your calendar need to be completed in a specific order—and make it onto a client invoice. That invoice should then be sent out in a batch with other bills to save time. The client should have the option of paying online with a legal-specific credit card merchant that won’t accidentally violate trust accounting laws—and is integrated with your accounting, so you don’t lose time on data entry. And when your client reaches out with a question, that whole history should be available in your matter-centric records.

This is what a legal-specific, integrated system looks like—and it’s how CosmoLex keeps you organized every day.