The Online Trend and Family Law

How easy are you making it for potential family law clients to find and deal with your firm? While none of us can predict the future, what is certain is that the legal landscape has changed for good—especially when it comes to how clients interact with your firm.

In the not-so-distant past, the ways that legal clients interacted with legal firms was very different than today. Clients expected a certain amount of inconvenience as part of the process; for example, that they might need to take time off to visit an office to sign documents or to discuss next steps with their solicitor.

Legal clients now know that a better experience is possible, and they seek it everywhere. Even before the pandemic, your client was regularly using online tools such as Google, instant messaging apps, and online banking every day. Their experiences during the pandemic have shown them that these are the kinds of things they can reasonably expect to see from all service providers today, including family law firms and solicitors.

At Clio, we don’t believe that the move online during COVID is a temporary measure. Our data, research and experience show that this shift is here for the long term—and that law firms who don’t adapt are in danger of being left behind.

We’re already seeing strong trends that way. In Clio’s 2020 Legal Trends Report, 68% of legal professionals said technology has helped their firms deliver better client experiences during the pandemic. On the consumer side, a majority of legal consumers said they now expect lawyers to provide more remote legal services with 56% of consumers saying they believe that most legal matters can be dealt with remotely, and preferably over a video call.

All of this matters to you if you want to remain profitable in a competitive market. The blunt fact is that firms who are not meeting those client expectations, or who are not cognisant of their clients’ wants and needs, could find themselves losing business to firms who do.

Clio’s Better Business Development for Solicitors guide has a section on how to improve your clients’ experience as well as tips and guidance for developing and growing your firm.

Alternatively, if you’d like to see how a legal software solution could help you adapt and to future proof your firm, speak to a Clio expert for a free demonstration.

This article was submitted to be published by Clio as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Family Lawyer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Family Lawyer.