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PEGEEN TURNER | Cloud Technology
Can I Move My Law Firm to the Cloud?
Yes, is the simple answer. All law rms can move their practices to the cloud. Attorneys and sta can work from the o ce or anywhere with an internet connection. ey can use their local printers/copiers and do not have to buy new servers. Law rms can have everything and more by accessing their data through cloud-based systems.
So, how do you start? Many law rms start their migration to the cloud with their email. Microso ’s cloud-based email,O ce365,canbeusedforanysize law rm, from solos to the Am Law 100 rm. Firms can take advantage of O ce 365 to provide email, access to your doc- uments, encrypted email, archived email and more. Lots of law rms have already moved their email to the cloud and Of- ce 365 is a great option.
e next step of moving to the cloud is determined by the size of the rm and the so ware it is using. Let’s look at some options depending on the size of the rm.
Since solo and small rms have fewer decision-makers and smaller practices, these rms will have the easiest time moving to the cloud.
Consider using one of the many cloud-based practice management and time and billing systems on the market. Clio and PracticePanther are examples of these popular systems that o er the most frequently used features including time keeping, billing, calendaring, and more.
If your small rm is using Quickbooks, consider using Quickbooks Online instead. Finally, adding a cloud-based document
storage like Box.com, OneDrive, Dropbox for Business or Google Drive to your other cloud-based tools allows your solo or small rm to get to work in the cloud.
If your mid-size rm is not fully utilizing its server-based so ware, consider making a change to a cloud- based system.
Mid-sized rms may need more extensive docketing, work ows and document assembly features. Cloud- based systems have you covered by including these features and constantly improving their so ware and adding features.
(think So Pro for Real Estate), your cloud-based system may look a little di erent.
With updated remote access technology, many mid-sized rms can move to hosted cloud-based servers. ese hosted servers would shi the responsibility of all network and server support to the hosted server provider. Uptime Legal and Abacus Cloud are good examples of providers that are law rm speci c and o er so ware and servers in a hosted environment. ey migrate your data and programs and give you access to everything 24/7.
Large-Size Firms
For large law rms with less restrictions on time and money, they can implement any combination of these options, hosted or cloud. However, with many decision makers and more established business processes, large law rms will need to move to the cloud with lots of time and careful planning. Remember, the larger and more complex the system you are migrating from, the more time and sta needed to make sure that nothing gets le behind or forgotten. Many law rms think that they cannot implement cloud-based technology in their rms because they don’t know where to begin or think that their systems are too complicated to move to the cloud. at is far from the truth. Firms of all sizes can take advantage of cloud-based technology, using their existing so ware or
migrating to new so ware. Now’s the time to make that move.
Small Firms
For those rms that are extensively using an existing server-based system, you have the most options of all.
Option 1. e rst option is to migrate your data to a new cloud- based system. From Time Matters, to Amicus to Timeslips, programs like Actionstep and Centerbase are cloud- based programs that o er migration paths from more robust server-based systems into the cloud. Data and all. Most of these cloud-based, highly robust, work ow systems, will allow law rms to operate with the same functionality in the cloud.
Option 2. If you are a mid-size law rm that has multiple practice areas and uses practice speci c so ware
AttorneyAtLawMagazine.com
Mid-Size Firms
e mid-size rm challenge is about data migration. Many of the cloud-based systems o er migration services to help you get your data out of your existing system and into their cloud-based system.
Mid-Size Firms – Part Deux
Pegeen Turner is a legal technology consultant in Raleigh and the president of Legal Cloud Technology. She helps law rms integrate new technology into their practices and helps rms update and use their existing technology better. Turner’s rm concentrates on cloud-based technology and moving law rms toward cloud-based technol- ogy. Because she doesn’t sleep much, she became an entrepreneur again by co-founding a new legal technology startup, myFirmData, a web application that integrates with Clio, the leading legal cloud-based practice manage- ment system. myFirmData is a custom reporting tool that gives rms access to build custom reports using their Clio data.
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