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3 Reasons Your Law Firm Needs Legal Appointment Booking and Scheduling Software

Legal appointment booking and scheduling software can generate more business, streamline your law firm's efficiency and instantly improve your client experience.

More industries than ever are utilizing online booking and scheduling software, from restaurants, hotels and beauty to doctors, dentists and other professional services. The growth in popularity of online booking and scheduling systems is driven by clients who expect to do more digitally and gravitate towards businesses that facilitate this.

Consider your habits and those of your family and friends. It is probable that you, and the people you know, utilize online booking for many services and appreciate the convenience and efficiency it provides.

Law firm clients are no different, and law firm businesses have no excuse not to reap the benefits this innovative technology offers. Here are the top 3 reasons why your law firm needs legal appointment booking and scheduling software today:

Increase your law firm's conversion rate from lead to client

Your receptionist is only present at your firm during business hours. Legal appointment booking and scheduling software can be available on your firm's website, Facebook Page and email signature 24x7.

Research shows that many online appointments are scheduled outside of business hours for the following day. In fact, many law firms that use contact forms (and even non-human 'chatbots') on their websites have low conversion rates because contact forms don't generate the instant response clients expect when booking an appointment with an attorney online.

This is especially the case if they are trying to see you the following day. The same goes for phone messages left outside of business hours: they must be checked the next morning by your support staff, by which time there is hardly a chance to schedule any same-day appointments.

Some clients are less likely to engage with your firm if they can't book appointments online; this is particularly true of the millennial demographic, who are more likely to book appointments online if given the opportunity and for whom to book an appointment online is preferred to telephoning the firm. Legal appointment booking and scheduling software captures these potentially lost bookings and increases your overall conversion rate.

Reduce cancellations and no-shows

Cancellations and no-shows are a costly affair for law firms. Research shows that online booking and scheduling systems reduce non-attendance rates common with traditional booking methods through regular reminders sent directly to clients' smartphones and email addresses.

This is effective because your clients will be regularly checking their smartphones throughout the day, so the chance of them not seeing your appointment reminder is unlikely.

This also means that if your clients do need to cancel, they can do so well ahead of time, quickly returning that appointment slot to the booking system for someone else to use.

Reminders sent via SMS (text messaging) and email are preferable contact methods for many clients, and studies reveal that many people prefer to minimize phone calls if they can utilize a digital interaction channel instead. The added benefit for your firm is that this method is much less time-consuming than reminder phone calls, which tie up your support staff from performing more productive (and valuable!) tasks to support firm growth.

Improve client experience for all client appointment bookings

Many clients often say it is difficult just getting in touch with their attorneys, let alone seeing them! When they can get in contact with the firm, there is a lot of back and forth, trying to find a suitable time for both parties.

For many clients, being able to book a service online is an important aspect of their experience with that business. If your firm doesn't provide the option, you risk turning clients away from your firm entirely, or otherwise blemishing their experience with you.

You lose nothing by offering multiple options for appointment booking, from traditional phone and walk-ins to an online booking and scheduling system – your clients will use the one they most prefer. For the digitally-savvy (an increasingly large group) an online booking and scheduling system simply offers them unparalleled convenience and ease. It also positions your firm as both client-centered.

Alongside an improved client experience, this puts you ahead of the competition and well-positioned for profitable growth.

My law firm is already booked for weeks in advance. Can we still benefit from legal appointment booking and scheduling software?

Yes! Here's why:

  1. LawTap delivers a consistent experience for all client appointments - not just client online self-service appointment bookings. Your firm can schedule and manage all appointments from their Firm Dashboard with automated SMS/Text and email appointment reminders.
  2. Your support staff is probably overwhelmed by the number of phone calls and emails required to set up so many appointments, follow-up on contact forms, make courtesy reminder calls, and cancel and reschedule appointments. Legal appointment booking and scheduling software will dramatically decrease the number of calls, emails, and scheduling your support staff must attend to, freeing them to do more valuable work (both for you and them!).
  1. Your clients might call your law firm only to be put on hold and then finally told you are already completely booked out! Legal appointment booking and scheduling software that clearly displays your schedule provides greater transparency between your clients and your fee-earners. It also affords clients a better chance of booking an appointment, including any that have been freed up by last-minute cancellations. This will dramatically reduce any client concerns over a lack of communication.
  2. Legal appointment booking and scheduling software simply offers more convenience to your clients who prefer to do things online. If you want to maintain a profitable and growing firm, you must immediately take steps to improve your client experience.

What is the best appointment booking and scheduling software for law firms?

Integrated within LEAP, LawTap is specifically designed by attorneys for law firms. So, if you are looking for the best appointment booking and scheduling software for law firms (as used by 1,000+ law firms today), there is no better solution than LawTap.

LawTap is available at no extra cost to firms using LEAP, the Legal Practice Productivity Solution used by 61,000+ practitioners worldwide.

Learn more about LEAP