In the year and a half that I’ve been working here, I’ve helped many law firms start out with Filevine. Adoption has been enthusiastic and successful every time, but it’s rare to find a team that takes full advantage of all Filevine has to offer. With that in mind, here are a few tips on how to get the most out of Filevine.
Get more done with task management
Filevineat its core is built to help you manage your tasks and projects. I think it does this better than any case management system out there, and is on par with the powerful project management tools used by teams at fortune 500 companies. But how do you take advantage of it?
The best thing you can do is have a goal to use the tasking function. Make assignments to your team mates, get away from email and sticky notes and keep a permanent record of what was done by whom and when right inside the case files. Don’t just use Filevine for keeping notes! It’s so much more powerful than that. You can read about this method in.
Let your clients text you
Studies have shown that people LOVE texting. They feel more connected to you, they feel happier and more likely to recommend you to others, and they are less likely to call and demand to talk to “the person in charge” if they can get a response through texts.
Filevine can let you send and receive texts right from your case files or from the Mailroom. You can even enable your office number to receive text messages. The best part is you get to connect with your clients while maintaining your privacy and sanity.
Track your business
Too many law firms are just run without a plan and without perspective of what is making the firm work. With Filevine, you can track nearly any metric you can think of. The trick is to use the immensely powerful custom reporting system. Custom reports can be generated based on any field in Filevine, giving you all the data you can handle. Here are some example reports:
- Which paralegal has created the most notes, tasks, and emails?
- Which attorney has the highest settlement values?
- Which referrer is sending us the most cases?
- How many cases did we open last year?
- How many cases came from our online advertising last month?
- What are all of the statute of limitations for my cases?
If you can imagine it, chances are we can create a report for it. The only limit is the data you put in to Filevine. Talk to your customer success representative about customizing your Filevine environment and gathering the data you need.
Automate your firm
As a case progresses through different phases, Filevine is able to automatically create tasks that need to happen for that phase. Nothing gets forgotten or falls through the cracks because your team gets the right assignments every single time.
To set up automatic tasks, simply visit the Setup area in the menu, then click the drop-down and choose Task Flow. From here you can create endless tasks for organizations, projects, and phases, allowing you to create the ultimate custom automated workflow. Need help setting it up? Don’t hesitate to call or email your customer success representative to schedule some training.
Securely transfer files
Believe it or not, Filevine is one of the most secure ways you can transfer files, plus it automatically backs up every version of the file which passes through it. Additionally, you have complete control over who can access every single file you upload. Don’t waste time breaking attachments into pieces to send to a vendor, client, or co-worker. Just upload it to the appropriate project in Filevine and share it with the right person. Your data is saved, the transfer is fast, and you avoid any security risks associated with email, instant messaging, text messaging, or other file transfer methods.
Obviously there are many more things you can do with Filevine, but these are some of the most commonly missed ways to enhance your experience. If you have any questions about any of these things, never hesitate to reach out to us.