The impact of the coronavirus pandemic has both created positive and negative outcomes for the legal landscape. Those barriers have had to be overcome, but it has enabled the legal environment to transition positively to new ways of operating against a backdrop of an unpredictable economic outlook.
The last 18 months has forced fee earners and law firms to adapt and implement strategies to ensure they can continue to operate in a rapidly evolving and uncertain legal and regulatory landscape.
Despite the pandemic having caused unprecedented consequences, it was proved to be a constructive catalyst in the driving force to more efficient working practices across the legal industry.
With clients’ habits and behaviours changing along with their expectations around speed and convenience, and while firms have exponentially increased their online presence and more transactions have taken place virtually, it has become clear that law firms require a digital and client-focused service to help them connect.
Pivot and adapt
Law firms quickly realised they needed to change the direction of their business due to the realisation that their current working practices and systems were not meeting the needs of the market. Prioritising the customer experience from the point of onboarding and using legal technology to power the whole process would vastly improve the customer service, create trust and connection with clients, and increase revenue and efficiencies in the workplace.
A successful example of how digital client onboarding can be transformative and beneficial to law firms is to look at the banking industry. Much the same as law, banking is also subject to a huge amount of regulatory pressure.
Following the financial crash of 2008, compliance requirements soared which forced large banks to recruit heavily in its manual compliance team, but it was soon understood that no amount of extra people would better the productivity but adding tech into the process was the ultimate facilitator.
The need to transform from traditional methods to truly digital and client-focused marketplaces became the key priority. But it is easy to see why digital solutions to onboard clients is far superior with its efficient, convenient, and slick processes – rather than relying on manual checks of varying quality and consistency which are unproductive and costly.
Client expectations are high
It has become an ‘ordinary experience’ for bank customers and bank users now refer to convenient, smooth, seamless onboarding digital methods as the biggest benefits – as digital onboarding tools connect with clients a lot simply, securely, and quickly. Moreover, it reduces costs and time as opposed to creating and setting up new clients manually and provides new ways to deliver unrivalled client experience which focuses on clients’ expectations.
Already forward-thinking law firms have completed the digital transformation or are about to transition to a more modern approach which gives them a strong competitive edge when it comes to clients deciding on which fee earner/law firm to choose. Things such as proving your identity have made great strides with eIDV becoming more and more prevalent in the onboarding process, Taylor and Emmet have seen a massive improvement since using eIDV as part of their process with 85% of their clients completing the easy to use Electronic ID verification within 48 hours.
Due to the development of banks over the years and their influence, clients will have much higher expectations when it comes to legal services and their onboarding journey. Therefore, if you are serious about your existence in the legal sector it is no longer a might but a must.
Tech investment pays dividends
Implementing a digital client onboarding system is not the daunting task it may appear, and the legal world is sophisticated and ready to follow in the same footsteps as the banking sphere. Investment in ‘Lawtech’ and ‘Legaltech’ has increased greatly over the years and the positive effects are already being experienced in the legal sector. It takes much of the burden of enhanced due diligence and client due diligence to mitigate risk from law firms. By using an intelligent legal client onboarding provider, law firms can enhance their business by streamlining the onboarding process without having to become tech experts.
Experience from some of Minerva’s clients has seen a tangible increase in the turnaround of clients onboarded, with Watson Ramsbottom having 50% of their clients onboarded within 24 hours , using the full suite of Minerva’s offering, Watson Ramsbottom have seen real progression in their onboarding process taking up to 3 weeks off the onboarding process.
Are you ready to experience smarter, faster legal processes and services through the power of a comprehensive, smart, connected digital client onboarding system – which will transform the transactional journeys of both fee earners and your clients?
At Minerva, we recognise that client’s habits have changed, especially around speed and convenience. That is why our intelligent legal client onboarding system has unrivalled customer experience with easy to use, secure, quick, convenient client onboarding solution that will revolutionise yours and your client’s experience. With Minerva’s smart client onboarding solution being developed with multi-service law firms in mind and created alongside large leading law firms – you will be in safe hands, with a ‘win win’ experience for all parties involved.Contact Minerva’s friendly team of experts. Book a no-obligation demo or request more information. Email hello@minervaportal.com or call 01604 312146.
This article was submitted to be published by Minerva/ Law Firm Services as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
