For multi-practice firms, modernising case management doesn’t always need to begin with a firm-wide rollout. Starting with conveyancing can give firms a focused, measurable route into wider operational change – InTouch co-founder Dale Roune explains how.
For many multi-practice law firms, the case for better case management is already understood. Most aren’t starting from paper; they’re typically running a legacy case management system, a generic practice management platform, or a patchwork of tools adopted department by department.
The symptoms are familiar: duplicated work, information held in multiple places, limited visibility of work in progress, and clients and referrers expecting clearer updates. The question is rarely whether to change – it’s where to begin.
Unnecessary complexity
A firm-wide system change can quickly become a large operational project. Different departments have different working patterns, document sets, risk points, client expectations and reporting needs. Trying to move every team at the same time can create unnecessary complexity, particularly where partners are not yet aligned on priorities or where the firm has not had the opportunity to see the new system working in practice.
For that reason, a staged approach can be more effective. Rather than treating case management change as a single firm-wide event, firms can begin with one department, prove value there, and use the lessons from that first rollout to inform the wider plan.
Conveyancing is often a strong place to start: it’s high-volume, process-led and full of repeatable work. Enquiries, quotes, onboarding, documents, searches, forms, signatures, client updates, stakeholder communication, completion steps and reporting all need to be handled consistently. These characteristics make conveyancing a useful department for testing whether a case management system can improve the way work is organised, monitored and delivered.
Conveyancing-first
This is not because conveyancing is simple. In many firms, it is one of the most operationally demanding areas of practice. Margins are tight, volumes are high, clients expect regular updates, referrers often need visibility, and small inefficiencies can build quickly across a large caseload. Those pressures are precisely why the department can provide a clear view
of whether a new system is working.
A conveyancing-first rollout allows the firm to focus on the areas where the impact should be easiest to assess. The firm can look at whether enquiry capture has improved, whether quotes are being produced more efficiently, whether onboarding is clearer, whether documents and tasks are easier to manage, whether clients and stakeholders are receiving better updates, and whether managers have a more accurate view of progress and performance.
It also gives the firm a more practical basis for wider decision-making. Once the conveyancing team is live, partners and operational leaders are no longer relying only on a demonstration, a proposal or a theoretical implementation plan. They can see how the system performs inside the firm, how staff use it day to day, where workflows need refining, and what support is needed to make adoption successful.
Staged roll-out
That learning is valuable when the firm starts considering the next department or a firm wide adoption. A staged roll-out can also help build internal confidence. Case management change often fails to gain momentum when it feels too abstract or too disruptive. A successful first department gives the firm evidence it can use internally: evidence of improved visibility, reduced manual work, clearer workflows or better reporting. It also gives other departments a live example to look at, rather than asking them to imagine how the system might work for them.
There is also a cultural point. New systems are not adopted by firms in the abstract; they are adopted by people who have existing habits, pressures and deadlines. Starting with one department allows the firm to identify champions, improve training, refine workflows and understand where staff need support. Those lessons can be carried into later phases, making the wider rollout stronger.
Conveyancing is particularly suited to this because it sits at the intersection of volume, process and client expectation. A firm that can improve how conveyancing work is captured, progressed, reported on and communicated is often in a better position to make informed decisions about modernising other practice areas.
For multi-practice firms, the question isn’t necessarily whether the whole firm is ready to move at the same time. A better question may be whether one department can provide a
clear starting point for change.
About the author
Dale Rounce is the co-founder of InTouch, an award-winning case management platform that helps conveyancing and law firms manage their cases more efficiently while delivering a better experience for their clients. She plays a hands-on role across sales, marketing and client success. From spending time with firms to refine workflows, to shaping onboarding materials, to testing new features with users, she ensures every improvement is rooted in real-world needs. Her focus is on helping firms adopt InTouch quickly, easily and with long-term confidence.
