The Definitive Guide on Switching from PCLaw | Time Matters to LEAP Legal Software

Is your law firm hesitant to move its operations to the cloud? You’re more than likely already using the cloud without even realizing it. From streaming music, watching television, online banking, and even texting, we leverage the cloud nearly every day to simplify and improve how we live our lives. While many industries have already applied that to how they run their businesses, the legal industry is starting to embrace the benefits legal cloud software can bring to law firm processes.

PCLaw and Time Matters firms are no exception.

As the #1 cloud software for PCLaw and Time Matters firms, LEAP is often one of the first cloud providers that come up during the evaluation process. However, legal professionals who are new to cloud legal software may need some additional information before making an informed switch to LEAP. This blog will cover everything a PCLaw or Time Matters law firm should know before transitioning to LEAP legal practice productivity solution to run and manage their firm.

Is your firm considering moving to the cloud? Register for the “Upgrade Your Law Firm: Everything You Need to Know About Legal Cloud Technology” webinar hosted by LEAP & PCLaw | Time Matters to learn more about the benefits of transitioning your operations to the cloud.

Why are PCLaw | Time Matters Law Firms Considering Cloud Software?

Before diving into LEAP, it is important to understand why PCLaw and Time Matters firms are ready to transition from on-premises software to cloud-based legal solutions. There are three main trends that are driving more legal professionals to embrace legal cloud software.

1. Security

One of the most important functions of a law firm is to ensure that all client data remains secure and confidential to avoid data breaches. Lawyers deal with extremely sensitive and personal information that they must protect on their clients’ behalf. In the past, there was some hesitance to move to the cloud because of security concerns. However, the cloud has proven to be more secure than on-premises servers, with extra protection measures such as data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and 24/7 security monitoring. As it is costly and nearly impossible for law firms to ensure that their on-premises hardware has this same level of security, 31% of lawyers report that they already trust the cloud over their on-premises security.

2. Accessibility

As we’ve seen over the past few years, remote and hybrid work setups are not only the new norm but are expected from many employees to better establish a work-life balance and improve productivity. Additionally, the legal industry requires hybrid work as attorneys are often out of the office for court appearances and client meetings. On-premises software limits when attorneys can update matter details, log calls and meetings, and update timesheets, leading to clerical errors and missed billable time being captured. Cloud software provides the flexibility and accessibility needed for law firms to offer their staff members the ability to work when and where it is convenient for them while enhancing efficiency and profitability with increased accurate billing.

3. Affordability

Last but certainly not least, law firms are moving operations to the cloud because it reduces technology spending and overhead. On-premises software requires costly maintenance and storage costs, hardware replacements, electricity costs, and dedicated internal or external IT staff to manage the hardware. Considering all these costs, law firms could spend thousands of dollars annually on technology costs and maintenance alone. Cloud software providers take on all these costs and offer a predictable, affordable monthly price that allows law firms to cut overhead spending.

Now that we understand why PCLaw and Time Matters firms are switching to the cloud, let’s take a closer look at LEAP.

What is the LEAP Legal Practice Productivity Solution?

For 30 years, LEAP legal practice productivity solution has provided thousands of global legal professionals with a solution for practice management, document management and assembly, legal publishing, and legal accounting in a single, integrated cloud-based software for all common areas of law.

Practice Management

Law firm staff can work securely online or offline through the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to never miss a billable minute. Whether LEAP users are in the office, at court, or on the go, they can onboard new clients, time record, access and work on legal documents, scan important information, manage their calendars, and collect payments to create a highly productive firm that provides consistent and quality services for its clients.

Document Assembly & Management

One of the most time-consuming tasks for law firms is completing legal forms related to their cases. LEAP automates document assembly and management to auto-populate forms and documents with the LEAP Clause Library. The LEAP Clause Library enables users to auto-fill commonly used clauses and phrases to streamline document completion. Additionally, LawConnect integrates exclusively with LEAP so that attorneys, their clients, and third parties can securely and easily share legal files with private document collaboration using comment, reply, and e-signature features.

Legal Publishing

In addition to streamlining document assembly, the LEAP Clause Library helps to expedite the legal drafting process to complete documents like complaints, interrogatories, orders, contracts, agreements, real estate planning documents, and more. This helps to reduce the time attorneys spend on manual data entry and potential errors from copying and pasting each clause. LEAP users also have access to over 11,000 forms and 2,500 pre-built matter types across all common areas of law and jurisdictions to eliminate hours of administrative work by providing access to fully up-to-date legal forms.

Legal Accounting

LEAP simplifies complex transactions with built-in office and trust accounting functionality. Instantly generate invoices, manage retainers and trust accounts, and directly capture disbursements in LEAP to simplify accounting processes while maintaining compliance with IOLTA and state bar rules. Additionally, LEAP streamlines time tracking with built-in time recording tools, legal calculators, and legal billing codes to automatically populate a timesheet to bill clients more accurately and frequently. Additionally, Xero and QuickBooks Online integrate with LEAP to reduce double entries of accounting data and enable law firms to offer online payment options.

What Sets LEAP Apart from Other Legal Software Providers?

LEAP is the only cloud software that provides PCLaw and Time Matters firms with everything they need to run a modern, productive, and profitable law firm. LEAP is built on 30 years of expertise and feedback from the top legal professionals around the globe: our clients. LEAP offers the Ideas Hub to allow users to provide feedback that influences the product roadmap to ensure that all current and future LEAP features address the common and complex challenges that attorneys and their staff members face. Additionally, LEAP enables law firms to create a modern, mobile law office where all staff members can work from a single source of truth through the desktop version and the LEAP Mobile App, available for iOS and Android.

LEAP is also recognized as a leader in cloud legal technology by leading industry institutions. Most recently, LEAP has been named Overall Practice Management Solution of the Year by LegalTech Breakthrough.

Check out the LEAP Innovations timeline to see a full list of awards.

Is it Easy to Switch to LEAP from PCLaw or Time Matters?

The short answer is that switching to LEAP from PCLaw or Time Matters is easy! As firms partner with LEAP to move to the cloud, they have access to the only solution specifically designed to transition data from PCLaw and Time Matters to the cloud. LEAP Strato migrates all law firm data, including historical accounting data and email correspondence, in as little as a few days so that users start experiencing the benefits of LEAP as soon as possible.

Conclusion

If law firms want to provide high-quality legal services, run modern and efficient practices, and maintain compliance across their processes, there is a clear need for legal cloud software. As PCLaw and Time Matters firms begin their transition to the cloud, they need to partner with a software provider that offers a seamless transition process and all the features they need and provides long-lasting value for a successful partnership. LEAP legal practice productivity solution is the only cloud solution that fits PCLaw and Time Matters firms' unique needs by providing them with a comprehensive, scalable, and simple legal cloud software solution.

Interested in learning more about how your firm can benefit from implementing LEAP? Schedule an obligation-free demo today!