The Legal Assistant Software can drastically improve your ability to manage your current caseload with the ability to handle more cases than you ever imagined. A paralegal already does the work of ten men, so with efficient legal software, you can double, or even triple those numbers making for an impressive resume and a productive firm. Trust me; it will not go unnoticed.

The Paralegal’s Daily Agenda

A paralegal is the mitochondria of a law firm, the literal powerhouse. A paralegal’s daily takes include drafting letters, motions, discovery, complaints, and much more. Since paralegals wear many hats, many paralegals wear the administrative hat. Some administrative tasks include tracking checks, invoicing, receiving client payments, maintaining the firm’s bills, marketing expenses, and managing the attorneys’ calendar.  This is far from an exhaustive list. For all the tasks listed above, this proves that legal software is essential to streamline administrative processes.

Paralegals and legal assistants are always multitasking. Since we are human, mistakes are bound to happen. Do not be too hard on yourself; it is just part of the profession. One of the most common errors among paralegals and legal assistants is forgetting to calendar a hearing date. That is the WORST! Paralegals hate making mistakes, but they shouldn’t be too hard on themselves. It is no surprise that with all the daily chaos that one may get missed. But what if I told you there is a way to eliminate human error? The Legal Assistant is equipped with features that will virtually eradicate human error.

The Legal Assistant Software

The Legal Assistant is an all-inclusive legal software program designed for paralegals, legal assistants, and other legal staff. The Legal Assistant is a versatile software that benefits and excels in many areas of law. Whether a firm specializes in criminal law, personal injury law, real estate, or family law, you will be equipped with a simple, reliable, and organized hub to store and maintain case files, information, and the firm’s administrative information in real-time.

Low Price, High Quality

The Legal Assistant respects a firm’s budget. The Legal Assistant is packed with essential features that allow you to manage your firm or business to pay only for what you need.  The Legal Assistant offers different versions of the software, whether Cloud or On-Site. You also can select the modules that best fit your firm’s area(s) of law and the number of staff who will need to access the software.

Customized to Perfection

Each law firm will have different needs. The variety of needs is typically based on the firm’s size, practice area, and long-term goals. All of which is configurable for your firm’s specific needs, moreover The Legal Assistant comes loaded with predefined events for each module. A paralegal will relish in the hundreds of Microsoft word templates available immediate use. All templates are customizable and easy to use. Any outgoing correspondence is automatically merged with the data previously entered so you won’t need to waste a minute re-inserting previously entered data.

Seize the Day – Tackle that Inbox

Two Words. Email Management. A paralegal’s inbox can become flooded within minutes. They are typically copied on their attorney’s emails as well to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. The types of emails range from potential client inquires, retained client correspondence, marketing, court filings, invoices/bills, in-house communications, emails from opposing counsel, and much more.

The Legal Assistant monitors emails while tackling incoming and outgoing mail. Incoming mail can be scanned and sent to the assigned case file within seconds. This allows the attorneys or other members of the firm to be informed in real-time.

Task Management and Workflows

The internal communication between your legal team is just as important as any other communication you send externally. The Legal Assistant provides comprehensive task management features providing the attorneys and paralegals with full inter-office messaging capabilities, audio dictation, and customized workflows based on the case type, practice area, and its specific cased details. Attorneys often need to dictate important information on-the-go, The Legal Assistant allows the attorney to quickly send a task to the paralegal along with a recorded audio dictation, and a direct reference to the assigned case.

The Legal Assistant is as the name says, your 24/7, on-demand, legal assistant. You can be notified via email of your daily to-do list and calendar with nightly notifications, so the paralegal can confirm the team is prepared for the next day.

The Legal Assistant also includes an event management feature. One example of this feature is a letter to remind a client of an upcoming hearing that is thirty days out. It also serves other vital functions. This feature sets The Legal Assistant apart from the rest.  It can generate and sign a preassembled letter. It sends the letter to the case file and notifies you so you can quickly review the letter, and any other event management has generated for you. Then it is only one click away before sending it via email or fax to the client and any other interested parties.

Legal Billing as Easy as 1,2,3

A law firm is always running on all cylinders. Leave it to The Legal Assistant to keep track of your billable time and automate routine processes. The Legal Assistant’s document assembly works to not only create a letter for a client but also automatically bills for that letter to the appropriate case. This process proves to be of both worlds and keeps track of billable hours that could inadvertently be skipped over during a busy workday.

A unique feature The Legal Assistant Provides is a lightning-fast process to make monthly invoicing a breeze. The software customizes an invoice template to your firm’s specifications. The template is easy to set up, and once the document is generated, it is ready to be sent to the client. This process can be automated to send on a specific date with a minimum trust balance.

Expanding Marketing Campaigns

The Legal Assistant boosts client communication and strengthens the attorney-client relationship. Want to wish them a happy birthday, automatically? No Problem.  Planning an open house or holiday party? No problem, email everyone within a city or zip area and let them know by email or printed letter.

Making the Switch – Data Conversion

A paralegal may already have his or her organizational system and thinking about converting all data to new software can be overwhelming. Relax, The Legal Assistant can discuss the firm’s requirements in detail, and the good news; the chances are that we already have a converter for your existing data.

Stress Less & Let The Legal Assistant Worry About the Rest

Even when you’re not working, The Legal Assistant is. Implementing new innovative software may be the edge you’ve been looking for. The software is easy to navigate and easy to use. The Legal Assistant software will provide more time to focus on other matters in the firm. Paralegals and their unmatched work ethic never cease to amaze their attorneys with new ideas, helpful research, and continuing success. Behind every great attorney is an exhausted paralegal, but a great paralegal. The Legal Assistant sets a paralegal up for professional advancement and puts a firm on track for overall success. Keep up the hard work; remember, work smarter, not harder!

For more information on our customized modules, check the best paralegal software on the market. Also, be sure to schedule a free, quick, eye-opening demo to show you all the features you need TODAY.

It’s simple to learn, it’s easy to use, and you will not be sorry you gave us a try.

The post Legal software for paralegals appeared first on The Legal Assistant.

As technology progresses, so does our fear of being replaced by artificial intelligence (A.I.).  A.I. has already made its presence known in the legal field igniting worry about our job security.  The topic of Attorneys and paralegals v. Artificial Intelligence is hitting the headlines with ever-increasing presence. 

Even with the new wave of A.I. pouring into the legal industry, it does not necessarily mean that paralegals will ever become obsolete. While A.I. is by some, portrayed as an enemy, it also brings something of value to the legal field.  

There may be some firms that eliminate receptionist roles to cut down on costs. A paralegal serves a more substantial purpose and is likely to maintain employment. New advances in technology such as automation and A.I., can turn a month-long task that would typically require multiple attorneys and paralegals to sort through into a more efficient mode of productivity. A.I. could be a friend rather than a foe of paralegals. 

Comparing Apples to Oranges 

There is a common misconception between A.I. and regular computer automation, and the two terms are commonly used interchangeably. While the two may share a few similarities, they are quite different. A.I. consists of advanced computing algorithms that aim to simulate thought patterns of humans, ultimately to make autonomous decisions. Conversely, automation is software designed to follow a set of pre-programmed rules or commands, which is really, all software ever has been since the first computer program was written.

The distinction between Artificial Intelligence and Automation 

Automation is already omnipresent and works to expedites several administrative tasks and automate filing systems. It is appealing to most firms because it is cost-effective and efficient. In a law firm, it is typically used to organizes emails, produce legal documents, regulate billing, and much more.

Automation allows more time for paralegals and attorneys to dedicate time to more advanced legal work. Automation provides a legal team the freedom to meet face-to-face with clients and ensure more client interaction that is sure to boost client satisfaction.

So, automation offers a single purpose: the software performs the mundane, repetitious tasks. 

While automation may seem like A.I., it is not. The critical difference is that automation is embedded with manual configuration. It establishes workflows and formulas. It is software that can follow orders. This may somewhat put some jobs in jeopardy because it can quickly perform tasks faster than a human, and it is at times more reliable. For example, if an employee calls in sick, the automation software can continue the processes it is programmed to do without missing a beat. 

Paralegals always desire to work smarter and not harder. Automation through the use of legal practice management software can turn the average paralegal into the new and improved “Paralegal v2.0.” It expedites several administrative tasks and automates filing systems. Many law firms have already implemented a web chat feature on their websites. That addresses the routine questions and offers a quick response instead of the calls that may flood in to ask repetitive questions and eliminates phone interruptions overall. 

Interruptions can be disastrous and end up costing a law firm several thousand dollars per year. A Professor from UC Irvine presented research findings that it takes an average of twenty-three minutes for an employee to refer back to a task after an interruption. There will always be interruptions in the workplace, especially for a paralegal who multi-task on a daily basis. 

Paralegals often are the main point of contact for clients; they draft and edit legal documents, complete administrative tasks, and run errands as needed. The shorter answer to what does a paralegal do is what doesn’t a paralegal do.  Studies show that with each interruption, it takes on average twenty-three minutes to get back on task. For example, if there are ten interruptions a day, that could result in almost four hours of lost time a day out of an average eight-hour workday.

After all the math, that equals one thousand forty wasted hours per year. Therefore, it is incredibly beneficial and cost-effective to eliminate as many interruptions as possible.

Automation paired with A.I. allows paralegals to reduce interruptions and delegate tasks to learned A.I. which can brush through “interruptions” like no other. 

iParalegal – Artificial Intelligence 

A.I. is the technology that is designed to mimic what a human may think, say, or do. Unlike automation, which follows a strict predefined set of rules and orders, A.I. is constructed to learn from experiences and seek patterns and form the ability to enact the proper response. Like humans, they learn by repetition what the appropriate response is and is not. 

A.I. is extremely intimidating because it is basically a replica of you or me. No need to fret, just like us humans, A.I. has its myriad of flaws. While it is not restricted by rules, it accelerates its ability to learn quickly, but it is doing so without context. It has been compared to teaching a baby to do a paralegals job, which is quite cute, but not practical. 

The ABA published an article in 2017, introducing a paralegal robot that reviews patent documents. The company which developed the robot implemented A.I. to generate patent claims. The report produces a marked-up word document to address potential errors or concerns.

However, this does not mean it is a “paralegal or attorney replacement.” James Billmaier, the chief executive officer of the software, states, “[w]hat artificial technology is doing to a lot of repeatable functions, we’re just applying to a very large vertical. The attorney is still fundamental at working with the inventor and grabbing the idea.

The machine is better at creating and protecting the application.” He believes that A.I. is an impending need for law firms within the next five years, or they will appear “way behind the curve.” 

Other adoptions of A.I. in legal technology include using A.I. to automate the process of document review, the analysis of legal contracts and to perform due diligence checks in contract review, for example, electronic discovery and other areas of legal research.

Human Paralegal vs. Paralegal Bot

The legal profession has and always will be client-driven and an immensely sensitive area. A.I. cannot replace compassion and genuine communication. Most people seek attorneys in times of stressful circumstances. In such personal matters, a paralegal or legal assistant, or attorney communication is necessary. If a client is calling about a murder charge or a divorced issue – human interaction is essential.

There are some non-threatening ways A.I. can effectively assist in client interaction. For example, if you have a Spanish speaking client and you speak English, right off the bat, there is a troublesome language barrier. However, with A.I. chat software, what the potential client types in Spanish can be translated and received by you in English and vice-versa.

This mode of A.I. produces real-time interaction and expands your clientele. This example illustrates that in some situations, it is a more practical conduit to have A.I. in, and it is a conversation that is not ruled out from a lack of fluency. 

Paralegal Advancement 

The use of new technology can place a paralegal in a better-suited position for career advancement. Paralegals become readily available to conduct more advanced research, meet with clients, and interact more closely with attorneys and assist with case strategy. It is not too uncommon for an attorney to bring a paralegal to court because the paralegal has spent hours on the case and is familiar with the specific facts. This provides an attorney with an additional resource to utilize in court. 

The more time a paralegal has to focus on law-related issues, the more likely they are to advance and refine their legal skillset. It opens the door to a higher salary and overall career advancement. It will also increase client satisfaction if the paralegal or any member of the legal staff is readily available to address their needs expeditiously. 

Match Made in Heaven?

Automation and A.I. seem to complement each other. While automation software collects data, A.I. is designed to understand it through machine learning. According to an article published by Interesting Engineering, ” A.I. applications which are developed by using data make similar inferences by looking at the millions of cases in the past while giving a higher performance compared to the success of a group of human lawyers.” A.I. enables paralegals and attorneys to regain lost time.

Some ethical dilemmas are surrounding the implementation of A.I. in the legal industry. The concerns are if A.I. would have the ability to ‘think’ subjectively like humans. If not, it could open the door to prejudices and lead to wrong suggestions and incorrect decisions. A.I. is not yet able to ascertain social conflicts. 

Collaboration 

Humans and A.I. can collaborate instead of competing against each other to have a more desirable outcome for all parties involved. As legal software for paralegals changes, we must learn to adapt. Paralegals are accustomed to adapting to constant changes within the industry. A.I. will allow paralegals to become more cultivated and grow their knowledge of the law and its many processes. 

A.I. cannot replace face-to-face contact, and a robot cannot argue a case in front of a robot judge. A.I. opens the door to career advancement and new possibilities to become experts in A.I. and managing the processes.  The key is to adapt and embrace the change A.I. brings into the legal industry.  Become an expert on both automation and A.I. and educate yourself on how the adoption of both automation, A.I. and certain A.I. technologies could not only benefit you but your firm as well. 

The post Paralegals v. Artificial Intelligence – Friend or Foe? appeared first on The Legal Assistant.

Modern technology continues to improve the life of attorneys, paralegals and legal secretaries throughout the United States.  The Legal Assistant is one of the companies participating in this technological change.  The Legal Assistant has added recently their newest product, The Family Law Assistant (TFLA).  TFLA provides to family attorneys a simple and yet profound case management system to improve law office management, efficiency, quality of work, and help provide peace of mind to the family law practitioner.

Practicing in the family law area has its own distinct problems and sophistications.  This new family law software provides the case management, contact management, and document management services needed in order for family law practitioners to practice more efficiently and lower the cost of doing business.

The software, TFLA, was developed over the years primarily from two sources.  First, the software was designed by and in consultation with attorneys thoroughly experienced in the particular problems in the practice of family law.  As in all areas of law today in the United States, the attorney, paralegal, and legal secretary need to practice only in areas that they are able to provide appropriate and competent services.

Developed with these family law experts, TFLA allows experienced attorneys and newer attorneys, to both practice safely and productively.  Second, there are the years of experience that The Legal Assistant has had in the use by attorneys throughout the United States of our previous products, The Personal Injury Assistant, The Real Estate Assistant and The Criminal Law Assistant.

A partial list of the specific areas that are covered in this software, TFLA, includes:

• Time management and billing system
• Document assembly
• Legal calendaring
• Contact management
• Case management
• Clients, Dependents and Spouse Database
• County Court & Judge Database (New Jersey by default)
• Attorney Database (New Jersey by default)
• Expert Database

While this program comes with a default set of data for New Jersey, including judges, court data and other information, the complete package dovetails perfectly with the use of court forms in other jurisdictions.  For example, in California, fillable all court forms are provided by the governing State Judicial Council.  Those forms are available at http://www.courts.ca.gov/, are able to be uniquely filled out on your computer, and relate to the case management aspect of your case provided by The Legal Assistant.

Of course, there is constant updating of the system because of not only the change in technology, but also the constant change in court personnel, information concerning the court system, and general databases.

The TFLA, The Family Law Assistant, contains pre-designed family law templates for divorce, domestic violence, pre-nuptial agreements, visitation, child support, child abuse, child custody, military divorce and spousal support, but also allows you to use a customizable database which allows you to add in other areas of family law practice.  In all circumstances, the forms can be modified to fit your case.  In addition, the workflow management of the TFLA software allows you to modify it easily in order to optimize the custom workflow system already in place in your office.

The Legal Assistant allows you to manage all aspects of the case, and use the court forms independently. All systems work within one software application which allows you to smoothly transition from one type of work on an individual case, and also transition smoothly with no change of software to another client.  Importantly, TFLA is also extremely easy to use, and The Legal Assistant provides free chat and webinars.  You can sign up at any time for the seminars, and of course, the legal chat results in either immediate results during business hours, or a response the next day.

All of the programs of The Legal Assistant work from the same database so that other work such as real estate or criminal law is easily accessed.  TFLA is also fully compatible with Microsoft Office and allows you to use Outlook, Word and Excel seamlessly.

Finally, The Legal Assistant includes financing functionality, which allows you to get the complete package including the time management and billing system for just $75.00 per month with only a six-month commitment.  This pricing system allows all legal practitioners to easily afford the upgrade in their practice of law, which in a short period of time saves them money, increases their efficiency and provides them with peace of mind, which sometimes can be difficult in the field of family law.

The post Family Law Attorneys Reap Benefits With The Family Law Assistant appeared first on The Legal Assistant.

General updates affecting all modules

Unprotected Attachment Distribution

A popular request was to allow the distribution of system generated Microsoft Word documents from the attachments screen in unprotected form primarily so that users could continue to edit letters after they had been created. This is particular useful for legal contracts where you would want to ‘track changes’ in the document.

Integration with EFax

We have now added the popular internet faxing service ‘EFAX’ to our list of supported fax distribution methods. Now you no longer need a physical fax machine in your office, if you are signed up with eFax, all you need to do is update your company parameters and select EFAX as your fax service and thats it. The next time you distribute a letter via fax, it will use your eFax provider.

Ability to Complete/ReOpen event log entries

It is now possible to mark event log entries as either complete or re-open completed entries directly from the event log form.

Printed Case Statistics

We have now added a ‘Print’ button to the case statistics dialog, so you can easily obtain an overview of your system in hard copy, including statistics such as open/closed cases.

Outlook Calendar Synch (OLSYNCH)

OLSynch is an additional feature that can update your personal calendar in your own installation of MS Outlook with calender entries held in The Legal Assistants system calendar assigned to you automatically with no intervention. This is a fantastic feature for those who require their personal calendars are kept up to date with their office activities, even for mobile users as long as they already have synchronization in place between their mobile device and their office calendar.

TO DO List overview default search dates.

The search date range now defaults from today’s date to 30 days ahead.

Defendant search include Opposite Parties

Both the Defendant and Opposite Party databases will be searched when you carry out a search from either case form as they both typical represent a conflict.

Emails can now be sent BCC

The attachment/email distribution facility now additionally supports Blind Carbon Copy(BCC).

Importing an Email from Sent Items

An issue has been resolved when importing emails from the ‘Sent Items’ email resulting in the incorrect date being carried over to the case attachments form.

Referral field issue resolved

An issue was identified and has been resolved involving the Referral field on the case details form.

The Personal Injury Assistant Enhancements

Inclusion of Police Departments database (State specific)

You can now select, and maintain the related police departments through the additional accident details interface.

Other events are now printable.

A facility has been introduced allowing a report to be generated of all ‘Other Events’ across all cases, filterable by date.

Doctors list now printable

The list of Doctors linked to a case can be quickly printed providing a hard copy of all the doctors details.

Introduction of Interpreter Required flag against the case.

It is now possible to indicate on your case file whether an interpreter will be required at court events. This field can then be used within your letters to the courts to indicate the interpreter requirement along with the language required.

No restriction on Deposition entries.

We have now made the number of depositions you are allowed to enter unlimited. In addition you can also click to see instant reports on depositions by attorney for that case, or globally across all cases and even limited by date range if required.

Defendants Attorney Personal Fax/Phone

An issue has been resolved while retrieving and presenting the personal fax and phone of a defendants attorney.

The Real Estate Assistant Enhancements

Surveyor Reference Number

You can now specify a reference number for the surveyor.

We’d like to hear from you if you have any suggestions for future updates or comments re’ this update so do not hesitate to contact us
On FaceBook : http://www.facebook.com/LegalSoftware
On Twitter : http://twitter.com/lawyersoftware

Or via our website.

The post Software Update 03112012 appeared first on The Legal Assistant.

Lawyers have gotten a bad rap due to stereotyping in pop culture, and other people’s bitterness about how their legal situation turned out. Sometimes, that just cannot be helped. In every contest of wills, which is essentially what two or more non-attorneys arguing over a legal matter is- a contest of wills in the courtroom- there is a winner and a loser. Whose will was stronger? Whose lawyer did more work on the case and therefore, had the best arguments which won the case? Which party was in the right, legally, if not necessarily morally? These things help to determine who wins or who loses a case.

An attorney can bill for hours and hours of tedious work on a case, only to lose the case because a form was not properly prepared by a Paralegal, or part of the client’s file was mislaid, misfiled, or completely lost. How does that look to the client? How does it look to a judge or a jury? It looks shabby, fly-by-night, and only adds to the negative perception that so many have of attorneys.

Part of the problem is that paralegals can quickly become overburdened in a fast-paced office. Answering phones, filing cases in their proper place in the office, taking dictation and writing out the forms the attorney needs to file, while setting appointments, both for court dates and client interviews both in person and by telephone or even Skype, and handling clients’ payments to the attorney, disbursing payments to the client after taking payment for the attorney’s fees, as well as helping research case law is a pretty tall order! One Paralegal working for one or more attorneys has a very important and large job in the firm. The support a paralegal gives in that firm is absolutely invaluable, but the human factor can never be ruled out. Much of the actual work done that attorneys bill clients for is done by that paralegal.

Paralegals put as many hours into a case for the attorney as the attorney puts into the case. Most attorneys have more than one case they handle simultaneously. What if you could eliminate many of the errors the humans in the office make, get more work done in less time, and bill for the same number of hours? With the right legal practice management software, you can. Your paralegal would be able to call up any client’s file with a few clicks. Creating documents could be done from a template provided in the software, or using a macro and include your firm’s logo and/or letterhead where appropriate, keep lists of court contacts, attorney contacts, client information, and other important matters all in one place, without the need for so much paper and ink. You could print the completed paperwork you needed right from your office chair, collect it, and file any motions or proceedings you needed at the courthouse. The right software would also eliminate that clunky, easy-to-misunderstand or erase whiteboard. Appointments would appear on your screen as reminders. A calendar, lists of which attorney (s) in the office had which cases (s), and which paralegal had typed the needed letters, forms, and other paperwork would be listed for your convenience.

You may say, “We already have software to help us in our office systems.” Ask yourself this: “Is my current software helping me and my colleagues as much as this software claims to do?” “How much time is my current software actually saving me?” “Was the software we already have worth the money spent purchasing, installing, and learning to use, compared to the help it gives now?” If the answer to any of these questions is not satisfactory, then consider using The Legal Assistant. The Legal Assistant was developed by attorneys and paralegals for attorneys and paralegals. It will help any size firm work more efficiently, saving man-hours, without sacrificing billable hours, and it is as easy as 1-2-3 to operate once installed in the firm’s private servers.

Once you use The Legal Assistant Software, you’ll wonder why you ever tried anything else. You’ll take some of the stress out of your day, take some of the stress out of your paralegal’s day, and the entire office will run so much more quickly and efficiently. That is going to do you nothing but good.

A very efficient law office is paramount to succeeding in todays legal industry.  An efficient law practice  impresses potential clients, keeps current clients happy, and can only help you win that contest of wills in the courtroom. How will that look to a jury? How will it look to a judge? Time is certainly money. Save time by using The Legal Assistant Software and make more money for less work. If you save time without cutting corners, you can also take on more clients, which brings more money. You can’t go wrong with The Legal Assistant software, and your Assistant and your Paralegal will certainly thank you for it.

The post Time is Money: Save Time And Make More Money with Legal Practice Software appeared first on The Legal Assistant.

• The gross amount due from the buyer and to the seller.This includes the contract sales price, value of any personal property and the total amount of the settlement charges and fees extracted from the final total on page 2 (line 1400).
• Adjustments for items paid in advance by the seller primarily calculated from taxes paid.
• Amounts paid for by or in behalf of the borrow, and reductions in the amount due to the seller.
• Adjustments for items unpaid by the seller
• Cash at settlement due from or to the buyer and seller

The settlement charges listed feature the following;

• Broker fees
• Fees related to the loan
• Items required to be paid in advance by the lender
• Deposits reserved with the lender
• Title charges
• Government recording and transfer charges
• Any additional settlement charges

Page 3

Page three features figures relating to the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the details of the loan terms. The GFE estimate figures will have been supplied to the settlement agent by the bank upon application of the loan, the HUD figures will be listed side by side by the GFE figures in order to easily spot any discrepancies or wide variations in amounts. The loan terms include the originating loan amount, interest rate, interest rate details, and other payment details.

The post Understanding the HUD-1 Settlement Statement appeared first on The Legal Assistant.

1. Preparing for the financial summaries of transactions
2. Preparing for the necessary arrangements for closings
3. Preparing for the preliminary negotiation documents
4. Preparing for legal documents like purchase contracts, and listing agreements
5. Gathering information associated with taxes
6. Analyzing mortgage and financing commitments
7. Eliminating possible title problems
8. Determining the status of the title
9. Conducting property surveys
10. Determining scope of inspections
11. Drafting of instruments of conveyance
12. And so on…

It is fortunate they have highly skilled paralegals at hand who know how to handle these tasks competently but undoubtedly, the problem of human error can and will happen, leading to situations where office conflicts and attorney-client disputes may arise.

Aside from these concerns, another problem that real estate lawyers have to face today, is simply remaining in business. Lawyers are not exempt from the recent recession and many law firms are trying their best just to stay in business. Many have resorted to different methods in which they can save expense and one of the first things that is often considered is reducing the headcount which includes associates, paralegals, staff and non-productive partners in the firm.

This is a great cost-cutting strategy but who will then manage all of your files, schedules, as well as document and correspondence preparations? Do you think you will solely be able to handle all the above tasks?  You definitely need an aid which will not bring you any additional worries.

LPO(Legal Practice Optimization) compliant case management software is the perfect solution to all of these problems. It helps lawyers with their case management worries and assists them with their cost-cutting issues and it massively reduces risks of human error. It will not require you to hire additional staff members just for him or her to operate the system for you. It is very simple and convenient to use. It has a friendly interface that allows users, even non-technical types, to navigate through it without any hassles.

Let’s take for example your task to remember important dates related to particular cases that your firm is handling. Traditional real estate lawyers will most likely have a big white board inside their office. This serves as his reminder of the things that needs to be accomplished for the month. He or she may not be the one who updates this gigantic work calendar but this is enough for him to be reminded of his or her tasks for the month.

The problem with this office management approach is convenience. There is no way you can bring this giant white board everywhere yet Case management software provides you the luxury to always have all of this vital information at the comfort of your laptop or mobile device. Now you can have access to a colossal weight of information wherever and whenever. Once a system is installed in your laptop or desktop, you can conveniently click on its designated button and the information you sought for will instantly be presented before your eyes. There is no need for you to call your paralegal and search for files. You simply need to familiarize yourself with the case management software and you can handle it on your own.

Aside from this, it allows you to automatically generate and send letters.  Legal Case Management tools typically come with tons of templates for all your letter needs. It can even install your letterhead into the system as well as your virtual signature so you can send and print letters conveniently. They also contain trackers for different kinds of correspondences that you have traditionally mailed or electronically mailed to your clients. Just signal the system to proceed with mail delivery and it will be done within a few seconds.

A reliable case management application is the ultimate paralegal you may ever need. It is not susceptible to human error and performs its duties 100% efficiently.  Any calculations that must be done can be done in an instant. Any client, broker, lawyer, or any other contact type can be instantly retrieved. In this manner, you can reduce your headcount, benefit, compensation, and even office expense without worrying about the quality of work it will deliver.

Real Estate Legal Software such as The Real Estate Assistant module, part of The Legal Assistant software suite, provides your firm with custom databases that will include the following:

1. Lawyer Database
2. Clients Database
3. Bank Database
4. Real Estate Broker Database
5. Real Estate Agency Database
6. County Clerk Database
7. House and Pest Inspector Database
8. Surveyor Database
9. Municipality Database
10. Title Agency Database
11. Letter Database which contains more than 150 letter templates
12. HUD-1/RESPA

It will assist you with time and billing management, inter-office communication, scheduling and calendar management, notification and reminder management, generate the HUD-1 RESPA form at the click on a mouse, and additionally document management and letter generation features.

One major advantage offered by The Real Estate Assisant is the nature of combining multiple  features into a single product, unlike many offerings out there which require one package for handling billing, another to let you create the HUD-1 or GFE settlement statement,  The Real Estate Assistant has in-built HUD-1 Software right out of the box.

There is no other legal practice management software developed which can so much cater to the needs of real estate lawyer than The Legal Assistant.

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The Legal Industry is probably one of the top culprits behind massive tree cutting in the past years. In a recent survey of paper use, results revealed that an average attorney generates more or less 100,000 sheets of paper a year which is enough paper to wrap the entire U.S. Supreme Court Building 66 times over and is equivalent to twelve 40 foot trees in a year. If the numbers can be reduced then imagine how many trees lawyers can save! But is it possible?

It is impossible for any lawyer not to use paper since document production is an inevitable part of his daily transactions. Voluminous amount of research and paperwork is a common site in the work place of these lawyers thus it is not unusual to encounter heated arguments amongst office personnel because of frustrations associated with finding specific files. If only there could be a way to get rid of these office annoyances and clutter.

Law Practice Optimization or Legal Practice Optimization (LPO), as others may call it, is the solution offered by software developers to the legal industry. It was developed and designed to help provide assistance to law firms by allowing them to obtain a better and more efficient office management in the work place. It introduces modern technology through the use of computer systems and LPO compliant case management programs such as The Legal Assistant that will aid lawyers with their daily routines.

Law Practice Optimization allows the Legal Industry to continue with their daily office routines without the regular office-paper hassles like regular filing of case folders, client files, letters, memorandum, billing statements, pleas, notifications, petitions and the like. Instead of the usual paper and file system, lawyers and their paralegals can simply click on their desired information and key-in specific commands for them to see the information they are looking for. These liberate them from long hours of searching which only brings frustrations and additional stress to the body.

In addition to the above benefits of LPO to the regular office works of lawyers, it also makes their lives more convenient since it allows lawyers to connect to their clients faster and more effectively. The designed software gives lawyer the luxury to receive their mail and even reminders or court notifications electronically or through SMS messages. Thus it puts an end to last minute formulation of Responses to the court simply because you or one of your assistants fails to remind you of the Court’s deadline.

Law Practice Optimization is the perfect tool for the modern law firm.  It is in accordance with the Go Green Campaign advocacy to help save Mother Earth from destruction while assisting legal personnel and lawyers with their daily office work. It brings an end to cluttered offices and needless use of papers while providing you more time to handle family matters and other pressing issues which need to be attended to in the office.  Moreover, it also helps increase the online exposure and marketing of law firms which ultimately enhances your chances of getting more clients and cases to handle.

For further information on LPO software or to arrange a live one on one demonstration of the software, read more on The Legal Assistant, our Legal Case Management Software suite.

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