It’s no secret that the last two years have been filled with unprecedented challenges. Moving into 2022, the legal industry is taking the lessons learned from navigating these challenges and turning them into resources to support a successful year to come.

Firms want tools to help them handle routine tasks in a more efficient manner so they can save time and drive revenue. Keep reading to explore some of the trends that will drive these concepts and shape the legal industry in 2022.

You know that your law firm is a business, but only recently have firms started focusing on how to improve their business. By spending time now to build a strong legal operations team headed by an experienced, tech-savvy legal operations manager, you can modernize your firm and situate it to capitalize on future trends in legal operations. Join us as we uncover what a legal operations manager does and how having one at your law firm can increase efficiency.

A recent study from Bloomberg suggests that a third of law firms don’t have a dedicated legal operations function. If you’re considering whether your firm needs a dedicated legal ops professional, you may be wondering how deep to go down the rabbit hole in forming your team. Let’s take a closer look at what a legal ops team does and how you should go about building yours.

Every law firm should start 2022 with accurately balanced accounting that is ready for all that the new year will bring. This year-end closing process comes together through reconciling bank accounts, adjusting entries, and preparing financial statements for analysis.

The following are some annual bookkeeping processes to help your law firm set the foundation for financial success in the coming year:

Evaluating end-of-year compensation for your attorneys may be the last thing (or, we’ll say it, most dreaded thing) on your to-do list as you work through closing the books for 2021.

There is some good news - you don’t have to go it alone. We were lucky enough to be joined on a webinar by Amanda Koplos, Executive Director, and Stephanie Donaldson, Controller, at Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson, P.A. They were gracious enough to share their own theories and best practices surrounding end-of-year compensation for attorneys. Here is what they had to say:

Tis the season for law firms to give back and expand on their charitable endeavors! Giving back helps firms solidify themselves as members of their communities with a vested interest in their people and their wellbeing, and also provides a powerful brand-building tool.

Join us as we explore the various aspects of law firm humanitarianism, including the benefits of giving back and some ways your law firm can serve its community this holiday season and throughout the year.

If you’re like most people, managing your clients’ funds is unfamiliar territory. Most of us don’t have an accounting background, and accounting isn’t a subject that’s included in law school curriculums.

In this guide, we’ll give you an overview of the basics of attorney trust accounts and describe how you should manage settlement proceeds and other funds on behalf of a client.

By thoughtfully creating a budget ahead of the coming fiscal year, you can better align anticipated revenue and expenses with your law firm’s goals. Successful budgeting involves critically thinking about your financial expectations so that strategies can be implemented to promote greater profitability and prevent financial pitfalls. These nine tips will help you build a solid budget for your law firm as you wind down this year and prepare for 2022:

Studies show that mental, emotional, and physical health issues have become more common among legal professionals as they struggle to deal with the demands of their chosen careers. Wellness is not a one-size-fits-all concept because different people need different strategies to help them feel healthy and at their best. Wellness includes an improved work-life balance, better stress management, and a positive mindset that prioritizes self-care.

Firms are uniquely situated to address these issues by making wellness an aspect of their overall firm culture. Learn strategies to promote wellness here:

In this digital age, technology has become essential to the delivery of legal services. Law firms use tech tools for a variety of reasons, including matter management, calendaring, client communications, and billing. While this reliance on technology has helped law firms improve client relations and the provision of services, it has also made the legal industry a common target for cybercriminals looking to steal valuable client data.

When law firm leaders fail to plan, implement, and enforce strict cybersecurity protocols, they are potentially exposing the firm to costly and damaging attacks. Though it will take some time and money to get adequate plans in place, when done correctly, it is one of the best investments a firm can make to deter fraudsters and keep client data secure.

Centerbase, a legal practice management software company that provides mid-sized law firms with a cloud-based platform to streamline operations, has been awarded the NetDocuments Inspire 2021 Partner of the Year Award.

The landscape of law firm recruitment is changing dramatically. Whether seeking to attract new attorneys out of law school, entice lateral hires, or retain current members, law firms are taking unprecedented steps away from tradition in hopes of engaging and keeping top legal talent.

Conventional considerations like compensation, promotion potential, and bonuses remain part of the equation, along with some new metrics of comparison. Let’s take a closer look:

Centerbase is pleased to welcome Bob Freeburg as Chief Technology Officer. The hire follows Centerbase’s recent growth equity investment from Mainsail Partners and underpins the company’s commitment to aggressive growth and strategic expansion.

A performance-driven leader with over 25 years of innovative technology experience, Freeburg comes to Centerbase from Curantis Solutions, where he started as Chief Technology Officer in March 2017 before being promoted to Chief Operating Officer/EVP of Technology earlier this year.

It’s been a challenging couple of years for the legal industry, requiring law firms to make unprecedented administrative shifts and difficult decisions about adopting new technology. Every firm, regardless of size, can maximize its current technologies, but it takes strategy and analysis to make that happen. With evaluation, training, identification, and planning, you can get the most out of your current systems. Read on to learn how.

Law firms nationwide are redefining the traditional law office by embracing virtual work, reducing their financial footprint, and promoting flexibility.

Now, more than ever, it is important to be adaptable in all aspects of your business, including financially and operationally. The right legal technology tools can support remote and hybrid work arrangements while ensuring both productivity and client confidentiality.

Last week we blogged about providing an outstanding client experience from intake through the end of representation, culminating in a successful attorney-client relationship. This relationship begins with the client intake process. Efficient client intake starts and ends with the systems and tools that law firms implement. The right legal practice management software can prove instrumental to handling this important start to legal representation. Let's dig deeper.

Today’s legal clients expect an outstanding experience that includes innovation, convenience, and consistent communication, so implementing strategies that support client satisfaction should be an ongoing goal for your firm. This starts with asking what your clients need at intake and ends with collecting honest feedback at the end of representation. Read on for ways law firms can create a client-focused environment where all clients feel valued.

Law firms can simplify their legal billing process, and even expand their client base, by implementing the acceptance of credit card payments. E-billing and simplified time tracking combined with multiple payment options are sure to make your billing easier for internal and external clients alike.

Does your firm have a succession plan in place? Succession planning is a crucial exercise in providing uninterrupted service to clients. Legal practice management software keeps the firm’s various business components in one centralized location, which can make a transition easier and efficient to navigate. Read on for what a successful law firm transition plan consists of - and how legal technology can help.

Family law clients have a lot on their plates as they try to care for their families and traverse the waters of domestic relations law. Family law firms can alleviate some of their worries by implementing legal practice management tools that promote excellent client service, streamline various billing arrangements, and promote accurate trust accounting.

Centerbase, a legal practice management software company that provides mid-sized law firms with a cloud-based platform to streamline operations, has acquired Family Law Software, the leading workflow software for family law legal practices.

Your law firm has fallen victim to a cyber attack. Now what? Ideally, your firm would already have a plan in place to minimize the impact of a data breach. If not, read on for a checklist of steps that firm attorneys and administrators alike can take to appropriately respond to a data breach - before, during, and after the attack.

In today's world of increased remote work and ever-evolving cyber attacks, the risk to client confidentiality is at an all-time high. With the right legal technology, including a secure document management system, firms can reduce the threat of data breaches and keep sensitive client information safe.

We find ourselves at an exciting moment in Centerbase history, with the announcement of an investment from Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm that invests in bootstrapped software companies just like ours. It's been a long road to get here and we look forward to having you join us in the next chapter of the Centerbase journey.