How To Leverage Legal Analytics For Your Law Firm

Experienced lawyers remember the days when legal research required physically going to a law library and collecting court outcome data by word of mouth. Litigation discovery was a tedious process that took hours to organize by hand.

Fortunately, legal analytics have made lawyers' work easier, more productive, and more profitable. Technology has transformed the legal industry, and law firms and corporate legal departments must adopt legal analytics and leverage the power of artificial intelligence to stay ahead of the curve.

This blog post explores legal analytics tools and their benefits. By embracing legal analytics, law firms can adapt to the modern era, effectively set goals, and increase their chances of success.

What is legal analytics?

Legal analytics refers to the use of data analysis, statistical modeling, and machine learning techniques to extract insights from legal data. It involves the application of data-driven insights to inform decision-making in legal practice, including:

• Litigation strategy
• Case prediction
• Risk management
• Legal research

In a nutshell, lawyers can use legal analytics to crunch extensive amounts of data and extract valuable insights, such as the likelihood of a specific motion outcome, the interconnectivity between seemingly unrelated cases, or the possible settlement award amount. Then, they can make informed decisions and develop effective legal strategies.

What is legal analytics software?

Legal analytics software is a computer program or application that helps lawyers, law firms, and legal departments make sense of large volumes of legal data, and develop and track KPIs. This software uses various techniques, such as data mining, natural language processing, and machine learning algorithms, to extract valuable insights from legal documents, case law, and other legal data sources.

Some common types of legal analytic software include:

• E-discovery tools
• Case management software
• Contract analysis software

Should attorneys use legal analytics software?

Whether attorneys should use legal analytics software ultimately depends on their specific needs and preferences.

However, it is safe to assume that many of the other legal professionals you work with or litigate against will utilize this tool to develop more effective legal strategies. Consider these shocking statistics from a 2020 study conducted by Lexis-ALM.

According to the research, 98% of those who have used legal analytics for litigation said they found them useful for determining strategies for particular courts or judges.

• 96% found legal analytics useful for predicting likely outcomes of strategies or arguments.
• 94% found legal analytics helpful in case assessment.
• 92% of participants said they planned to increase their legal analytics usage within the next twelve months.

Consider that if you don’t use legal analytics software to easily access crucial data, your practice may not be as effective as it could be for both you and your clients.

However, legal analytics software is not a substitute for legal expertise or human judgment. Legal analytics software should be used as a tool to assist attorneys in making better decisions, not as a replacement for their own knowledge and experience.

What are the benefits of leveraging data analytics for your law firm?

We’ve established the ways that legal analytics can help lawyers and law firms to make better-informed decisions by analyzing patterns in legal data.

Incorporating legal analytics into the business side of practicing law also has other perks. For example, legal analytics are transforming the way legal services are delivered, making them accessible and affordable for more people. In addition, analyzing legal analytics is becoming increasingly important as a way to streamline law firm workflows and increase efficiency.

Let’s look a little more closely at how data can boost your legal business.

Save money

Legal analytics software can help legal firms save money in many ways.

• Saving time on legal research
• Allowing for efficient resource allocation
• Cutting down the number of staff needed to work on a case

Legal analytics software can also help your firm identify potential issues early. This can reduce the time and financial costs associated with exploring an idea for weeks or months, only to discover it’s a dead end.

Improve client outcomes

By analyzing legal data, such as case law and court rulings, legal analytics tools can help lawyers and law firms identify patterns and predict outcomes in similar cases. This information can be used to develop effective litigation strategies that increase the likelihood of a positive outcome for the client.

Legal analytics can also help lawyers and law firms to better understand their clients' needs and preferences by analyzing data on their past behavior and outcomes. This information can be used to tailor legal services and communication to meet the specific needs and expectations of each client, which can improve client satisfaction and loyalty.

Increase profitability

We’ve already looked at how legal analytic software can help legal firms save money, but what if we told you they could also increase profitability in several ways?

Consider this. Legal analytics can help law firms identify which cases are most likely to yield positive outcomes and which ones are not. By focusing on cases with higher chances of success, law firms can allocate their resources more efficiently and reduce the costs associated with pursuing less viable cases. This can help to increase profitability and improve the firm's overall financial performance.

Legal analytics can also allow law firms to develop more effective litigation strategies by analyzing patterns in legal data, such as case outcomes and judicial behavior. By tailoring their strategies to the specific circumstances of each case, law firms can increase their chances of success while minimizing costs.

Moreover, law firms can streamline their workflows and reduce the time and resources required to complete legal tasks. This can increase efficiency and reduce costs, ultimately leading to increased profitability.

How can law firm analytics be used?

Law firm analytics can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of legal services in a variety of ways. Here are some examples:

Client management

By using analytics collected through client surveys and other types of qualitative data collection, lawyers can better and understand their client's preferences and needs.

They can then use this information to develop personalized services and communication strategies, ultimately ensuring that the client has a positive experience with the firm. This keeps clients coming back and increases the possibility of referrals.

Predictive analytics

Law firm analytics can track the progress and performance of legal matters. There are several types of legal predictive analytics tools that lawyers and law firms can use to help predict outcomes in legal cases.

Case prediction software: This software uses historical data and predictive algorithms to forecast the outcome of a specific legal case. It can make predictions based on several factors, such as the presiding judge, case law, and the strength of the evidence.

Settlement prediction software: This technology analyzes settlement data from previous cases to predict the likelihood and potential value of a settlement in a current case.

Legal research tools: Some legal research tools use predictive analytics to identify patterns in legal data and provide insights into how a particular legal issue is likely to be resolved.

Expert witness selection tools: These tools use predictive analytics to help lawyers identify the most effective expert witnesses to use in a particular case. They consider factors such as the witness' expertise, past testimony, and credibility.

Jury selection tools: These tools use data analysis and predictive modeling to help lawyers select the best possible jury for their case. They can analyze factors such as demographics, attitudes, and past experiences to make predictions about potential jurors’ likely behavior during a trial.

By analyzing data on the duration, costs, and outcomes of legal cases, law firms can identify areas for improvement, streamline workflows, and make more informed decisions.

Business and financial management

Revenue, expenses, and profitability can all be tracked and analyzed using law firm analytics. This information may help identify opportunities for cost savings and revenue growth, ultimately improving the bottom line.

Most software and applications—including Google, social media accounts, and your website host—provide easy-to-read analytics in the form of reports. Suppose you’re using payment and billing software, (like LawPay), or a case management tool (like MyCase). In that case, you probably already have critical data about your financials, staff productivity, and customer satisfaction at your fingertips.

MyCase’s and LawPay’s financial dashboards give you the business insights you need to stay competitive and grow your practice.

Talent management

Did you know that each job opening posted in the United States receives an average of 250 applications? Hiring the right candidate involves reviewing a staggering number of resumes. And, if you take too long, there’s a good chance your top choice will move on.

Law firm analytics software can automatically scan resumes and cover letters to help to pull out key skill sets, narrowing down the candidate pool in hours—not days. This tool can also assess the skills and strengths of individual attorneys already on your staff, enabling your law firm to assign tasks and responsibilities more effectively.

Finally, law firm analytics can identify areas for professional development, ultimately improving the quality of legal services.

This can result in lower burnout among staff, decreasing the financial burden of high employee turnover.

Tip: Check out our blog article, 9 Tips to Prevent and Overcome Lawyer Burnout, for more strategies to keep your legal professional team engaged.

Attorney productivity

Legal case management tools can help law firms and legal professionals manage their cases more efficiently. Cloud-based case management software, like MyCase, enables legal professionals to access case information from anywhere with an internet connection.

MyCase's platform provides a wide range of benefits to attorneys, including efficient case management, streamlined communication with clients, and organized document management. With MyCase, attorneys can easily manage their cases, track deadlines, and collaborate with clients in a secure online environment. Additionally, MyCase's robust billing and invoicing features enable attorneys to save time and improve their cash flow.

Risk management

Law firm analytics may identify and mitigate potential risks, such as compliance issues, conflicts of interest, and malpractice claims. By analyzing data on past cases and client behavior, law firms can develop strategies to reduce the likelihood of legal disputes and protect their reputation.

Case research

In addition to providing researchers with access to large amounts of data, law firm analytics can help them identify relevant cases and legal precedents more quickly. In addition, they allow researchers to identify patterns and trends in legal cases.

Marketing

Lawyers can use law firm analytics to identify and understand their target audience by analyzing data on behavior and preferences. Secondly, they can measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by tracking engagement and conversion rates. Finally, law firm analytics may highlight the types of content that resonate with the target audience.

Final takeaways on legal analytics

In conclusion, legal analytics have transformed the legal industry—enabling lawyers to make data-driven decisions, develop effective legal strategies, and work efficiently.

While legal analytics software is not a replacement for legal expertise, it can assist attorneys in building more successful practices. In fact, law firms that adopt legal analytics and leverage the power of artificial intelligence may stay ahead of the curve.

If you’re looking for more ways to automate your workflows and increase profitability, we recommend checking out LawPay and MyCase. Our customers get paid 39% faster and gain at least three billable hours per day, on average.