How Government Professionals Can Be More Efficient and Effective with Legal Software

• Government
• Uncategorized

December 1, 2024December 1, 2024

If you are a legal professional in the government or public sector, you're all too familiar with the daily balancing act of consultations, legal research, drafting documents, compliance reviews, litigation support and much more.

While striving to provide excellent service and keep your constituents satisfied, organizing all your responsibilities is no easy feat. Many government and public sector professionals still rely on outdated technology that struggles to keep up with the fast-paced demands of today's world.

To stay efficient, many organizations are transitioning to all-in-one software solutions, such as legal case management software, that are designed to streamline critical tasks.

What is Legal Case Software for Government Professionals?

Government case management refers to the organized, systematic handling of individual cases through a structured workflow. A "case" generally refers to a specific issue, request, or transaction that a government agency must resolve. Government cases can vary widely, including:

Investigations/Fraud casesInternal/external resource trackingContracts/leasesMonitor spending

Employment/human resources Outside litigation/compliance issuesConstituent requests Freedom of Information requests

Legal case management software is specifically designed to help government and public sector professionals move cases, files or matters forward more strategically and efficiently, all through a centralized hub that offers:

File managementCalendaringDocument management /templatesEmails (Integration with Outlook, etc.)

Mail and phone logsCollaborative featuresAutomated workflow systemReporting

The right legal case management software should support all levels of government-federal, tribal, provincial, state, regional, county and municipal-ensuring order, efficiency and accountability across the full spectrum of government functions.

Five Ways Legal Case Software Benefits Government Professionals

Government agencies are often unfairly labeled as slow-moving bureaucracies, a stereotype that can sometimes affect legal professionals simply because they work for a "government" agency. However, with the latest legal technology, government legal professionals can work more efficiently than ever, dispelling these misconceptions. Here are just a few ways legal case management software can benefit your organization:

1. Automation

Whether you're using a standard checklist or a calendar of court-based rules, your workflow system is crucial to ensure that relevant tasks and case activities are completed on time by the right person. Today, you no longer need to manually track tasks-you can leverage legal technology to track it for you.

Legal case management software features automated workflows that assign tasks and due dates to team members based on their role in the case. The system standardizes each step of the process into a task with an assigned role, ensuring nothing is overlooked. Once all tasks are added to the workflow, they are linked, so any changes to the case automatically trigger notifications to the appropriate colleagues.

Workflows allow you to define milestones that trigger automatic email notifications when a milestone is reached. You can create an unlimited number of user-defined workflows, ensuring that important milestones and deadlines are met.

1. Collaboration

When handling complex cases, multiple team members are typically involved and need regular updates to stay informed. Legal case management software enables legal professionals to collaborate efficiently and assign tasks to the appropriate individuals.

The software allows you to track basic information about each party (e.g., name, phone number, address) and their role in the case. You can set security permissions based on the user's role and the frequency of communication they need.

This ensures that everyone has the most up-to-date information and can complete their assigned tasks, improving productivity across the team. If someone is out of the office or a case is transferred, other team members can easily pick up where the original person left off. All relevant information is instantly accessible, making it easy for someone to understand the context of a matter or contact in just a few minutes. Legal case management software simplifies tracking communication and task progress, so everyone stays on track.

1. File Management

Legal departments handle a variety of documents. Instead of storing them across multiple systems, legal case management software consolidates everything into one secure location. Legal Files makes it simple to view all documents related to an employee or case at a glance.

Users, based on their security settings, can access any document or file ever created or uploaded into the system, all stored within the relevant case and creator's profile. The built-in Document Management System supports various file types, such as Microsoft Office documents, Outlook emails, .pdf files and .tiff images. No more worrying about managing paper files or sticky notes-everything is at your fingertips, accessible anytime, anywhere.

1. Customized Interface

Legal case management software is highly flexible and customizable to fit your organization's specific needs and workflow. You can create unlimited menu templates tailored to the types of cases or matters being handled. With the right software, you can even manage investigations or projects. The software offers a standard interface setup, which serves as the template for all files.

You can also create unlimited custom windows and "attach" them to specific file menus when unique or specific information needs to be tracked. Custom windows can be made "required" where appropriate. This flexibility ensures that the software provides a truly customized view of your cases, allowing you to work as efficiently and productively as possible.

1. Document Classification

Legal case management software allows you to define document types and classifications based on your organization's needs. You can set search parameters to suit your specific requirements, and users can easily locate documents, regardless of type, using these defined fields.

Once documents are entered into the system, text-based searches can be performed using Boolean search criteria. Documents are automatically indexed when saved, with keywords categorized within the body of the document. This allows you to quickly find exactly what you're looking for, whether it's from last week or three years ago. No more digging through files-documents are centrally stored and can be accessed in seconds.

Government Agencies Boost Productivity With Legal Software

There's no doubt that the pace of the legal profession has accelerated, and things are moving faster than ever. However, with legal case management software, government professionals no longer have to struggle to keep up. This technology works for you, helping you accomplish more in less time. With superior workflow and productivity tools, Legal Files software is designed to help government and public sector organizations manage a higher volume of work with the same or fewer staff-sometimes by as much as 40 percent!

Legal Files serves as a central hub for storing and managing data across all your government and public sector cases. This makes information more accessible, reduces duplicate data and greatly enhances collaboration across departments. Workflows are tailored to your organization, guiding cases through various stages and ensuring each step is completed efficiently. This allows you to focus on serving constituents, rather than getting bogged down by administrative tasks.

Legal Files Software Inc. brings over 30 years of experience supporting organizations across various industries. Its legal software, Legal Files, is designed to help you tackle the unique challenges you face daily while improving your constituent services and investigations. If you're seeking a trusted, consultative partner, you've found it.

"Legal Files is a great fit for our busy and innovative municipal law practice. It meets our litigation and our advising case management requirements because it is easy to configure to all our practice areas. Of all the vendors who made proposals, Legal Files was far and away the best at explaining how its software accomplishes our legal case management."

David Eldred, General Counsel

King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, a Legal Files Client

Request a demo to learn more about how we help organizations like yours manage what matters to you.