 Tech4Law visited Andrew Johnston from ProDial in Port Elizabeth to find out from him what made the new ProDial Professional Call Billing Network so unique and also beneficial to attorneys and legal advice seekers.
|
 Currently we have 280 responses to the survey, which is a long way off the 690 responses we got in the secretary/paralegal survey we did last month. Our current stats tell us that 25% of practicing conveyancers earn less than R10 000 per month - rather an alarming fact.
|
High Tech without the Cheque |
 |
 |
 |
 Until recently, medium and large firms were the primary adopters of sophisticated practice management software, such as Time Matters produced by LexisNexis, and other "high" technology. This was due to the high cost of adopting cutting-edge technology, such as the need to have an in-house IT department.
|
Law Firm Cost Recovery Is Here to Stay |
|
|
|
 Cost recovery has always been a controversial area of law firm billing. Law firms incur substantial administrative costs in servicing their clients, and yet clients are generally resistant, even hostile to the idea of these costs being billed back to them. Given the current economic crisis, law firms are having to justify their fees and costs more than ever before, so they need tools and data to help them demonstrate that their rates are fair and competitive.
|
 So the recession is really starting to bite now, and we're starting to see law firms closing down and partners getting out of the profession. It's OK though: Most bank economists agree that we'll see an upturn in 2010 - so perhaps you can still outride the storm. But what if they are wrong? And even if we do see an "upturn", will that be enough to save your practice? And for those firms who haven't been saving for the proverbial "rainy day", how do you hang in there?
|
Tough times mean tighter IT budgets (Dec'08) |
|
|
|
|
 Tough economic times lie ahead for law firms. A recession means re-evaluating the budget and tightening the proverbial belt. It means thinking strategically about how best to spend-and save-money. See the full article
Tough times mean tighter IT budgets - Heinan Landa, Legal Times
|
|
 It's back with some old and many new questions, the almost annual GhostDigest survey in which we find out how legal firms have adapted to the "new normal" vis-a-vis their relationship with estate agents, financial institutions and clients.
Link to the online survey setup by GhostDigest...
|
A Foolproof 5-Step System to Attract Perfect Clients |
|
|
|
 Are you attracting the type of clients you want? - I'm surprised at how many lawyers and non-lawyers answer "no" because it's really not that hard to do. It seems that not a week goes by when I'm not asked how I've been successful in attracting the clients I love to work with - entrepreneurs.
|
Tech turbulence: 10 Questions to Just Ask your IT director |
|
|
|
 During this economic downturn, here are 10 questions law firm managers should ask IT directors, in order to best exploit existing technology.
|
Cuts, freezes and sabbaticals mooted |
|
|
|
 Sweet & Maxwell asked 25 top-100 law firms what measures they have implemented to cut costs while avoiding staff redundancies. According to the results, only one firm has gone ahead with pay cuts, but 36% said they are considering them. A quarter (24%) of firms have put salary freezes in place, with 60% considering this as an option.
|
Will your firm survive a lethargic economy? |
|
|
|
|
 Here are ten things that we can do now to prepare for the upcoming growth cycles of the economy from both a business and technology perspective. By Steven Best.
|
|
|
|
|
|
