Why Termi is a Must-Have for Practicing Lawyers
Read time: 7 minutes
Law school is tough. And sadly, during all that arduous learning, the business of law isn’t mentioned. Or taught, for that matter. Okay, there may be a seminar here or there, but typically business courses are not on the law school curriculum.
Here’s the kicker: Being a successful attorney requires more than outstanding legal chops. It demands business acumen.
To move your career forward, you’re going to have to do more than track your billable hours. You’re responsible for generating leads, reviewing proformas, onboarding, preparing contracts, running down collections, and, oh yeah, communicating with clients.
If you’re practicing law, you have to incorporate these business tasks into your daily workflow. And if you’re like many of the attorneys we encounter, you’re constantly struggling to balance these responsibilities with your legal activities.
As legal tech professionals, we’ve been observing this juggling act for years. In striving to help attorneys optimize their technology, we developed a solution.
Introducing Termi
Helm360 has been serving the legal community since 2010. We know attorneys and staff like you access firm BI data all day long. You have to. You need it to check for conflicts, update billing, track your time, and a million other tasks that are part and parcel of actively practicing law.
For years, tapping into this data has involved an intricate, time-consuming dance we call the Old School Cha-Cha. It goes like this: the attorney asks the secretary for data, the secretary/support team digs up the information and passes it to the attorney, the attorney uses it, the attorney hands it back to the support staff, repeat. Back and forth, back and forth… Meanwhile, time’s a-wasting and clients are waiting.
In a world where you can ask your refrigerator to make a grocery list, there’s no reason to be clinging to this outdated workflow!
This is why we created Termi.
Termi is a multi-dimensional AI chatbot tool that allows legal professionals and their teams to access information from disparate systems via one portal. Think of it as a one-stop-shop for all your firm’s data.
For practicing attorneys and staff, Termi is a game-changer, eliminating the need for all the back and forth. (Bye-bye Old School Cha-Cha!) It puts the data you use every day in your hands. Literally.
How Termi works and why you’ll love it
The last thing you need in your busy workday is another system to learn. With the Termi chatbot, you don’t have to; just type questions in plain English, and Termi will give you answers.
It can integrate with programs you’re already familiar with and using, like Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Slack, etc. The Termi interface can share the same window as these applications so that it’s always right there in front of you like a personal assistant, ready to deliver the real-time info you need to go about your day.
Termi gives you the ability to streamline administrative processes and align them with your daily workflow so that you don’t have to think about how they’ll happen, you just get them done.
The whole lawyer experience is improved. What might your new workflow look like? Here’s an example:
- Your client, Mr. Smith, sends you an email asking for his latest bill.
- Without ever leaving Outlook, you type a question into Termi asking for Mr. Smith’s WIP, last statement, current case notes, and any other pertinent information.
- Termi registers your request, runs out to the all the different applications and databases where this info is being stored, and serves a document back to you with Google-like speed.
- You double-check and then attach the bill in a reply email to Mr. Smith, all without ever asking your secretary for anything or leaving the Outlook window. Done!
How much time did that save you?
The more you use Termi, the more it learns and anticipates what you need. For example, it can connect the dots between Mr. Smith’s current and past work with your firm and display that history when Mr. Smith contacts you again.
Everything happens in plain English and is as easy as sending an email.
Thinking bigger
So yes, Termi can make your daily interactions with clients and staff smoother and more productive.
Let’s go even bigger.
We’ve identified four activity areas in which incorporating Termi can have a huge impact on lawyer efficiency:
- Client attraction
- Client onboarding
- Service delivery
- Client retainment
Here’s a snapshot of how Termi fits into each:
Client attraction. Generating leads and converting them to active clients involves a lot of legwork and research. Termi makes this process much easier. It collates all the information you collect (notes, contacts, pricing, case reviews, etc.) and allows you to find it quickly. Everything you need for relevant conversations and relationship-building with potential clients is easily accessed and used.
Client onboarding. Bringing a new client on board can take a mountain of documentation: intake forms, payment agreements, conflict reviews, signed contracts. Typically, this work is handed off to a secretary or delayed while you find and forward the needed papers. Termi expedites the process. Simply ask for the document you need and Termi will bring it to your computer where you can edit it, share it, save it, and get it signed in no time flat.
Service delivery. This area is where Termi really earns its keep. Termi facilitates collaboration, conflict research, expense tracking, billing, and collections. It brings all the business tasks associated with practicing law into one platform that integrates smoothly into your day instead of disrupting it. Termi even has notifications and reminders to help you stay on top of your timekeeping.
Client retainment. The best source of future income is current clients! However, we all know that fostering relationships with your current clients after their case is closed can easily get left by the wayside as you move forward with new work. Termi makes client retention easier via notifications and reminders. It can also access client surveys, correspondence templates, and other materials stored in the firm’s system, making it easy for you to leverage marketing materials that facilitate relationship development.
Hello, hybrid work!
“Hybrid work” is becoming the new catchphrase for the post-pandemic business landscape. Decision-makers are discovering that 1) their employees want more flexibility in their work environment, and 2) downsizing a company’s physical footprint can result in significant cost savings.
Law firms are not immune to this trend.
A survey of 1,160 executives and in-house counsel found that only 4% believed their employees want to be back in the office. 71% said most of their workers would prefer a hybrid model over full-time, in-person work.
The hybrid work model is becoming a new normal, not just a stopgap, and new tools and technologies can make it more efficient and productive than full-time office work ever was.
We designed Termi well before Covid was even a thing. We did so with attorneys’ on-the-go schedules in mind, which means it’s mobile and device-friendly.
You can use Termi to update your time while you’re at the courthouse, edit proformas while standing in line at Starbucks, add case notes in the back of a cab, or submit expenses from your kitchen table.
In short: with Termi, you are no longer tethered to your office computer. Termi allows your firm to fully adopt the hybrid work model without sacrificing productivity or efficiency.
Did we mention that Termi is also completely secure? It uses a two-step validation system to ensure your data is protected. You log into Termi as if you were in the office and it works through a unique portal specific to your firm.
Conclusion
Many aspects of practicing law are tricky and difficult. Managing your business responsibilities shouldn’t be one of them! Termi makes everything easier: no more juggling, no more Old School Cha-Cha, no more seat-of-your-pants learning. Your energy can go into practicing law instead of learning business. Isn’t that why you went to law school?
Want to see Termi in action? Contact our awesome sales reps to schedule a free, customized demonstration. You’ll be blown away!