Director, Campbell Read, explains how LawWare helps his business.
Established in 1907, Stewart Balfour & Sutherland is a leading firm of solicitors and estate agents providing a comprehensive private client service throughout Kintyre, Mid-Argyll, the islands of Islay & Jura and further afield.
Campbell spoke about his relationship with LawWare:
What prompted SBS to look for a legal software system?
“It’s over ten years since I joined SBS which, at the time, simply didn’t have a software-based case management system. It was all old-fashioned paper systems back then and we needed to
fast forward to a more modern, efficient approach.”
Did you look at many systems?
“No. That’s the quick answer! I’d used a practice management system in my previous firm and it was around the time when cloud-based software was taking off. We took advice from a trusted source and the word was: “Go straight to LawWare”.”
So, it was love at first sight?
“I guess you could say that. However, my senior colleagues did their due diligence on the system and quickly realised that it met all our criteria and would provide us with a major productivity boost in the process.”
What did LawWare bring to your business?
“Just on the financial side, the ability to generate a real-time profit and loss statement and balance sheet at the press of a button gave us a much clearer handle on how our firm was performing. Similarly, being able to instantly examine the state of work in progress, fees and outstanding accounts all helped us to manage cashflow much more effectively.”
How did the case management side help?
“The real point about LawWare is that it is so much more than just a glorified online filing system. There is no comparison with the way we worked before. The case files integrate completely with the accounts side of things. You can drop email into case files effortlessly and I have managed to go totally paperless in my work. Looking further ahead, we are now starting to use the power of workflow automation to standardise the way we operate. At the same time, this will help us ensure the consistency of our approach and service delivery.”
What’s the key attraction for you?
“There are a few. Firstly, in my managerial role, I can dip in and out of my colleagues’ work activity logs to ensure everything is up to date and being done when it should. Risk assessment management is built into the system to keep us compliant at every step. Above all it’s scaleable. When we need more bodies on the ground, we can just add them to the system without fuss.”
Would you recommend LawWare and why?
“Yes. The ongoing support is great and, when it came to the pandemic and remote working, there is no doubt in my mind that LawWare supported our ability to hit the ground running. The very fact that LawWare has been our practice management partner for over ten years now really tells you everything you need to know.”
LawWare testimonial: SBS Property.