As a lawyer, you must know the importance of technology and how it improves efficiency and decreases the enormous workload by making processes more streamlined.

However, due to security and privacy concerns, legal firms still resort to paper documents for clients’ cases. Many law firm apps can make documents and cases easily accessible and provide a better, more transparent legal client experience. Before we dive into the main features of a mobile app for lawyers, let’s look at the importance of developing one in the first place.

Importance Of Apps For Lawyers

If you or your law firm is hesitant about shifting processes online, here are a few key points you should consider. With app development focused on lawyers; many useful features can help lawyers work better. These are the benefits for the clients and the lawyers of developing apps in a law firm:

Increase In Productivity

Saving time and making the process of justice easier, an app or web design with a library of all case files can be convenient for the lawyer. This will help them boost productivity, as they can just browse through previous cases without physically spending hours looking for a specific case file.

Secure Communication Guaranteed

An online chat feature with your clients through an app can simplify the process and build a relationship based on trust and mutual understanding. This can also boost the confidence of the clients, who will have written evidence and proof of their communications with the lawyers to avoid misunderstandings.

Paperwork Being Digitized

All the notes, important documents, and files can be stored in a folder in a law app that can provide data in softcopy form. This will allow the information to be easily accessible from anywhere, making the legal process simpler and more convenient.

All in all, the benefits of a law app are not just for the lawyer but for the client and the overall internal process. It eases the standard procedures, saves time for both parties, ensures timely action, and is more secure and accessible for the client and law firm.

Must-Have App Features For Lawyers

Law apps are a relatively new trend; however, many have already made their place in the market, tapping into several needs of both the client and the lawyer. There are three main types of law apps designed to cater to the specific needs of each: the lawyer and the client.

Management Apps

These organizer apps allow data such as case files, confidential documents, and contracts to be secured in folders and files for easy access. The three main features of such apps are as follows:

Case Notes

This simple but useful feature allows the lawyer to annotate the files. It can also include a snapshot/scanning button so the lawyer can take a picture or screenshot of an important document and save it to a drive online for later use. This is a helpful feature when a single lawyer is working on multiple cases simultaneously.

Tracking

This feature can allow the lawyer and client to track down expenses, time spent on the case, important details or documents related to the case, and progress. The law office worker will find this feature helpful as it allows them to check the time spent per case, make payment calculations, and draft progress reports for the case at hand.

Calendar

This feature would allow the law officer to schedule meetings with the client and the lawyer accordingly, note down the client’s hearings, and set reminders for important events.

Reference Apps

Since lawyers have to deal with a lot of information simultaneously, it can be easy to overlook a mistake or create one. This is where reference apps come into play. Such apps allow the lawyer and client to double-check and cross-reference every document so that minimal inaccuracies are made during the process, especially before a court hearing. Here are the must-have features for reference apps:

Law Comparison

This app feature would allow lawyers to compare the law of their home country with any other country in the world at their fingertips. For international cases, laws can be quite complicated, and it would be much easier and more time-saving if the law documents of each country could be presented side by side for cross-reference.

Supreme Court Database

Integrating a mobile lawyer app with the Supreme Court database can provide the lawyer with the legalities of every case, ensuring that the rules are followed and inaccuracies are minimized.

Case Registry Search

Similar cases and circumstances can occur, which is where this feature can be of lawyers’ aid. Finding these cases can be a breeze using a case registry search, allowing the lawyer to find a past case in a few seconds rather than longer by physically ruffling through case files.

Client-Oriented Apps

Both of the above features allow for a smoother internal process and a streamlined bureaucratic experience. However, some features bring the lawyer and client together to manage an unexpected event or crisis better.

Crisis-Management

Sudden raids and warrants to search homes can be a stressful crisis for a client. In such difficult times, the client must maintain composure and behave accordingly. Knowing their rights is crucial for the client, which is where a legal mobile app can help. Different case studies and how to manage them if a client comes across one is an important feature that can prevent distasteful interactions between the client and the law enforcement agencies.

Consulting

This feature is already available online on computers, but having it as an app can make things much easier. An easy-to-use interface for the client on the app can allow them to look for lawyers best suited for their case and schedule an appointment with the one they find best. Once they contact a lawyer, the lawyer will receive a push notification from the potential client, making the consulting process faster and simpler.

Conclusion

Well-thought-out functionality and impressive features such as the ones mentioned above can make the jobs of law enforcement agencies and their clients much easier. It removes the burden of heavy data loads, shortens waiting periods, and makes information easily accessible without compromising the safety and security of the client and the lawyer.