I’ve spoken with plenty of attorneys who wish to make their very own software program. In actual fact, as a creditor’s rights lawyer, I knew fairly a couple of who developed platforms for their very own use. Lots of them entertain the thought of promoting these platforms to others. But, few of them attempt, and nonetheless fewer of them are profitable.
What’s it, then, that enables some attorneys to faucet into this various revenue stream? And why are others left merely dreaming of what they might do? Software program improvement for attorneys is about promoting processes. The companies which have good processes to promote will discover success. Others won’t.
Impetus for Constructing Software program
Legal professionals typically discover themselves wishing {that a} platform would do one thing extra. Nothing ever works completely for the programs they’ve in place. Which is smart. There are numerous methods to observe legislation throughout the observe of legislation. So, except a lawyer is prepared to regulate their processes to suit the system, the system won’t ever be sufficient.
Generally, this leads a agency to construct their very own product primarily based round their very own programs If a agency has the necessity and the means, it’s not a foul concept to construct one thing bespoke that matches their agency completely.
Though it is a nice cause to construct a product internally, it’s not an amazing cause to promote the product externally.
Promoting Processes Fairly than Software program
As acknowledged earlier, no product will likely be good for a agency except the agency is prepared to regulate its practices and procedures to suit the product. That is true for any software program. Sure, some instruments match properly right into a agency’s procedures, however they don’t typically match the whole lot.
This was true for Greg Siskind, a Lawyerist Neighborhood member and famend immigration lawyer. Together with his workforce from Siskind & Susser, he has designed an immigration-specific observe administration platform. They’re co-developing it with FastCase, utilizing the NextChapter software program.
From his perspective, this platform is a pure extension of a guide that his workforce has printed for many years. They discuss with it because the Immigration Cookbook, and it helps different attorneys study correct practices and procedures for immigration instances.
With this new software program, practising immigration attorneys gained’t want to regulate their programs and procedures simply to make use of it. They’ve already accomplished that when shopping for into the Cookbook. Right here, Greg and his workforce have already offered the processes. The software program is solely a method to make use of present know-how to implement these processes.
Growing Software program as an Lawyer
Software program improvement for attorneys, then, will not be actually about constructing software program. It’s about constructing processes. And, frankly, it’s about constructing higher processes than the following lawyer. Then, and solely then, can a agency develop a profitable software. Future customers must see a necessity to make use of the system upon which the software program is constructed. In any other case, they might simply develop one thing on their very own.
Additional Studying
Try our Healthy Systems assets to study extra about growing processes and procedures on your agency. There, you’ll see methods to construct processes, doc them, and implement them into your specific observe.
Final up to date March sixteenth, 2023