Trial Magazine

For a successful law practice, strong lawyering skills and copious attention to details are required. But the business side of law—your firm’s staffing, web presence, cybersecurity measures, and more—is also critical. Whether you are a manager or a partner, you may have considered outsourcing your back-office operations. Outsourcing—transferring specific functions to third-party providers—can help your firm cut costs and increase efficiency, while allowing you to focus on practicing law.

Each firm has unique and specific needs, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach to outsourcing. A business plan can help you decide which duties, roles, and operations should or should not be outsourced. Also give thoughtful consideration to your firm’s budget, staffing needs, efficiency, resources, and the quality of possible vendors.

When creating an outsourcing plan, be flexible, and as your firm grows or changes, periodically check out other vendors to ensure your firm is getting the best services for its needs. For instance, when I first started my firm, I outsourced a receptionist and used a virtual answering service. However, I felt that my current and potential clients would benefit from getting real-time help from a full-time front-desk receptionist. My firm pivoted and now uses a front-desk receptionist who can better help new clients with directions to our office and answer specific real-time inquiries from callers.

While you can outsource any number of law firm tasks, I’ve found it particularly helpful to outsource my firm’s digital marketing and technology. When considering outsourcing these tasks, I asked questions such as: “Is my technology plan current?”; “What practice management software should my firm use?”; “What type of service should I use to host my email?”; and “How can I enhance my online presence?” I then analyzed the costs and benefits of keeping certain responsibilities in-house versus outsourcing them.

Digital Marketing

In this increasingly online world, my firm has outsourced digital marketing tasks both to save time and increase efficiency.

Search engine optimization vendors. A firm may have a great logo and website design, but how does this translate to new clients coming in the door? A website is often the first impression a potential new client will have of your firm. But a great website with no web traffic does not help your firm grow and bring in new clients. Search engine optimization (SEO) is the key to driving traffic to your website. SEO, in a nutshell, is using techniques to help your website rank higher in search engines.

There is no shortage of SEO vendors promising you impressive results, so know all of your options. Before deciding on a vendor, shop around, check testimonials, and get references and referrals. Inquire whether the potential vendor has experience with other law firms. After you have selected your SEO company but before signing a contract, review the vendor’s cancellation policy. Look to see if you are locked in for an annual contract and whether your contract will automatically renew. Ensure your firm is getting a return on investment before renewing the contract.

As online leads contact your firm, tracking is useful to determine which online marketing sources are benefiting your firm. Make sure source tracking monitoring is offered by the SEO vendor to help you monitor clicks and open rates. Also ask potential new clients how they heard about your firm. If you do choose to track in-house, Google Analytics offers a monitoring service.¹

Digital technology directors. An alternative to outsourcing SEO is hiring a technology director who can handle various digital marketing tasks. This position can be in-house or can be outsourced to a contractor. A tech director has proven to be invaluable for my firm in terms of vetting potential tech vendors and knowing the right questions to ask. A tech director also can help set up online legal directory profiles and track results so your firm knows where to spend marketing and advertising dollars. My firm’s tech director helps keep us current on the ever-changing world of Google Analytics, marketing trends, and social media.

For example, when pay-per-click marketing was initially introduced, it was very popular. Pay-per-click advertising includes both “search ads”—ads that appear when a user enters a query using keywords matching those you chose as part of your campaign—and “display ads” that appear on websites. When a user clicks on your ad, you incur a small fee. However, though this pay-per-click marketing still works, other options have evolved that may better drive web traffic to your firm. For instance, a firm might diversify its online marketing by blogging and using social media. Diversifying your marketing strategy as trends change is prudent.

Social media. Social media has been a game changer for legal marketing.² Law firms sponsor ads on social media, create videos and reels, post blogs, and more. Law firms obtain new clients via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter, and other platforms. Outsourcing social media can be a good option so your law firm has consistent content and presence.

When outsourcing social media, here are some important questions to ask vendors:

• Are you knowledgeable about my state bar rules so the marketing is ethical and complies with these rules?
• How will you help build my firm’s online following?
• Are you familiar with which hashtags are best and why?
• Are you familiar with Hootsuite, Sprout, or other platforms that allow for posting on multiple social media platforms?

The vendor should analyze and understand your firm’s public relations plan so that your online presence reflects your firm. And have someone in your firm, such as your technology director, approve content before it is posted. Once something is online, even if deleted, it can be found.

An IT professional can help educate employees on ways to avoid cybersecurity breaches caused by phishing, viruses, and hackers posing as potential new clients.

Information Technology

Information technology (IT) is a broad area, and it includes your firm’s practice management software, phone system, cybersecurity plan, software integration, hardware and device selection, technology troubleshooting, and more. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to update your IT strategy, an IT professional can help you map out a customized IT plan. Some IT professionals can fill dual roles, providing both the digital marketing services described above and your firm’s technology needs. If you find such a person, this can be a cost-effective option for your firm.

Case management software. Great case management software (CMS) can save your firm a lot of time and money and keep your firm organized. With so many choices, do your research. Ask your colleagues, attend software demonstrations, and talk to vendors to help determine what will work the best and be the most efficient for your firm. Most CMS vendors will provide a demonstration and some even offer a trial period to determine whether the CMS is right for your practice.

If you already have CMS and are thinking of switching, check to see how much the migration fee is to transfer data. Inquire if the one-time migration fee can be negotiated.

Phone system. Having the right phone system is important—so be sure your firm reviews and analyzes its needs periodically. As technology changes and your firm grows, your phone system needs may change as well. For instance, several years ago, my firm switched to Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) phones. We found this option more cost-efficient, and it allowed us to easily add phones lines as we hired more employees. It also allows us to have static IP lines and have calls transferred from our office to any location. However, if you go this route, have backup internet and a backup landline so you don’t lose calls if the internet goes out.

When the pandemic began, my firm added a phone vendor that allowed employees to make and receive calls remotely from their mobile devices as if they were in the office. And after analyzing our needs, we recently switched to another VoIP carrier that has current technology options at a lower cost. This carrier offers voice-to-text, internet bundle discounts, and video technology. Remember, as technology changes, so may your phone needs—so keep current on the competition.

When choosing a phone system, here are a few considerations:

• Can it provide enough phone lines to handle multiple calls?
• How will the interoffice intercom system and voice mail work?
• Does it have the capability to forward calls to employees who are remote?
• Can calls be rerouted on snow days or when the entire staff is remote?
• Does the provider offer text, fax, and video technology?
• Can it link with your current CMS?

Cybersecurity. Your IT plan must include cybersecurity. As members of the bar, we have a professional responsibility to protect and safeguard client files.³ Have an IT professional set up firewalls and develop other barriers to thwart hackers. An IT professional also can help educate employees on ways to avoid cybersecurity breaches caused by phishing, viruses, and hackers who pose as potential new clients to obtain sensitive information. My firm found it to be cost-effective for our IT director to also handle firm cybersecurity needs.

Other tech decisions. An IT professional (or certain vendors) can help you decide which computers, laptops, webcams, and other devices are best for your firm. They know how many gigs your computers need to run well, can help install software on computers, and can ensure you have sufficient virus protection. They also can help you weigh the pros and cons of renting devices versus purchasing. And I’ve found an IT professional can even help with tasks such as installing
voice-activated webcams that rotate when different people speak in a conference room.

If you’re thinking of moving to a paperless, cloud-based system, outsourcing to vendors or IT professionals can help you tease out how that will work and how best to store client files. The migration process can be time-consuming, so it’s important to have as much information as possible up front. And you’ll need to know how to securely back up your data if the cloud-based system goes down for any reason—this way your firm can still operate. Also make sure your paperless filing system is organized and that all firm employees are saving paperless files in the same way.

While I’ve focused mostly on technology, law firms can outsource many other tasks. As your firm grows and evolves, continue to reevaluate systems and processes, and think about what you might be able to outsource to ease stress and increase efficiency. Periodically reevaluate any professionals or vendors you outsource work to as well. When the business side of your practice runs smoothly, you can focus on helping your clients.

Gwen-Marie Davis is the managing partner at GDH Law in Lanham, Md., and can be reached at gdavis@gdhlawfirm.com.

Notes

1. Further information on the Google Analytics service and a free online course are available at https://analytics.google.com/analytics/academy/.
2. Always follow your jurisdiction’s ethics rules for marketing and social media. For more on law firm social media ethics, see Heidi L. Wickstrom, Navigating Ethical Minefields, Trial, Aug. 2021, at 26.
3. For more on law firm cybersecurity, see Hadley Lundback Matarazzo, Safeguard Client Data, Trial, Aug. 2021, at 18.