Effective Software Evaluation to Optimize Your Legal Practice

Before you waste your money on the wrong software and have a legal team of ten or more staff locked into software that doesn’t help them for at least twelve months, get organized in your evaluation process. Just because software is excellent doesn’t mean it’s right for your firm, specifically. There’s a lot to consider, and frontloading the effort in evaluating software will save you thousands of hours and dollars in the long run.

Join us for an exclusive webinar where two of Smokeball’s top AE’s serving 10+ person firms will walk you through the ins and outs of making the right software choices and maximizing the benefits. 

Andrea Biser, attorney, and paralegal Melissa Repking will share invaluable insights on effectively running a software evaluation process, learning how to align your firm's goals, and maximize your ROI with software investments.

In this webinar, they will cover:

Understanding Software Evaluation

• How to identify priorities and know if vendors can help you achieve your goals for the software.

Identifying Key Team Members and Partners

• How to identify and involve the right stakeholders for the decision-making process so the team is looking for expected benefits for everyone using the software.

Lead Sources and Conversion

• The ability to track prospect selection is a critical part of your software evaluation journey. It involves the software’s ability to monitor where your leads come from and optimize the potential client to retaining client conversion process.

Progression and Reporting

• Understanding how software supports the progression of a case specific to your area of law will help you key into the functionality that will support your team.
• Understanding how reporting capabilities of software help you streamline and grow your law firm and understand how your team is using the software (i.e. if you’re getting your ROI).

Calculating ROI

• Calculating return on investment (ROI) is a fundamental aspect of evaluating software by measuring the tangible benefits and impact your software choices have on your firm's overall performance.

Budgeting for Software Evaluation

• Creating a realistic budget for software adoption is a key component of the process, which involves carefully assessing the total costs of ownership associated with the software, implementation, and any necessary training, then aligning your resources to support the budget. 

Featured Presenters:

Andrea Biser, Strategic Account Executive at Smokeball

Andrea Valler Biser is an attorney and Strategic Account Executive at Smokeball. After working at a criminal defense and personal firm in Chicago, she became interested in the way law firms run as a business. As a result, she pivoted to legal technology with Smokeball, a Chicago-based case management company focused on small and mid-sized firms. She began on the onboarding team, creating high-quality adoption plans for implementing tech. Her consultative approach and extensive product knowledge ultimately landed her a top performer spot on the US Sales Team, and during the pandemic, she consulted with hundreds of firms nationwide who finally came to the realization they needed to leverage technology to evolve and thrive in a new remote work environment. In her Strategic AE role, she now works directly with the Managing Partners and C-Suite Executives of tops firms to address head-on inefficiencies that come along with growing from a small to a mid-sized law firm. From staying competitive, to reducing staff turnover and increasing profits, Andrea's experience has given her a front row seat in the US legal market and the different factors that influence decision makers and the law firm business trends.

Melissa Repking, Strategic Account Executive at Smokeball

Melissa Repking is a Senior Strategic Representative at Smokeball where she has been an advisor helping firms with their legal technology for over 10 years. Prior to Smokeball she attended Loyola School of Law, Chicago where she earned her graduate degree in Paralegal Studies. Having firsthand experience working in a law firm has given her the upper hand when it comes to showcasing how legal software solutions can provide much needed assistance in any type of law firm. In her free time, you’ll find her hiking a trail with her dog Bubba Bear or eating at the newest restaurant in Los Angeles.