<b>Technology In Marketing: </b> CRM: How Lawyers Can Benefit

Lawyers work hard, graduate from law school, and survive the grueling years of being an associate. Over time, they network, build a healthy book of business and a steady flow of referrals. Lawyers who hail from the GenX or GenY tribe are intimately comfortable with technology and probably own a Blackberry or Treo so they can be in touch and stay organized. But unless they plan to practice solo for the rest of their lives, they're likely to run into Client Relationship Management (CRM) technology.

Most mid-to-large-firm lawyers look to CRM to leverage relationships within the firm to grow their business. In today's competitive legal services market, CRM is critical to maintaining a profitable business. Leading law firms with a mature marketing and business development function are increasingly looking toward CRM technology in the hopes that it will provide them with the extra competitiveness they need to secure new clients and solidify existing client relationships. In recent years, more law firms are hiring sales executives to lead business-development efforts. Yet the high expectations placed upon them are not matched with the technology tools to fulfill them.

Despite the lofty vision of many marketing executives and their IT counterparts, the previous CRM applications have led to abysmal failure in the legal industry. In its 2005 survey, the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) noted that more than 50% of all CRM implementations failed to go live, thus firms were not able to benefit from the investment. There may be several reasons for this: limited investment in training and implementation; lack of an intuitive user interface that lawyers are comfortable working in; and lack of information captured thus resulting in poor data quality. If lawyers have to enter data separately after a long day of billing clients, the information never gets in and the system becomes less than useful.

Enter Microsoft

One of the most exciting developments in law firm marketing technology is the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Nested comfortably within Outlook, it now provides lawyers with an intuitive, easy-to-use tool to manage their client and contact information and keep track of their marketing and business development activities. Patrick Fitzhenry, Managing Director of the Professional Services Industry Strategy Group within Microsoft Corporation says that 'unless it's part of the normal workflow of an attorney, data is not likely to be captured in CRM.' Microsoft believes it understands why CRM has not been successful in the legal industry, and has an answer to this problem. Through its network of over 5000 partners worldwide ' many of whom are creating vertical solutions for the professional services industry (including law firms) ' Microsoft says that its Microsoft Office integrated solution works the way lawyers do.

Here are four ways lawyers can benefit from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0:

1. Keep in Touch: Relationship Management. Clients, potential clients, referral sources, judges, expert witnesses, vendors, e-discovery consultants, friends and family who refer business ' there is an enormous world of contacts that lawyers can neatly manage in CRM within Outlook. Check your e-mail, schedule appointments and store notes on client or potential client calls within Outlook and have it become part of CRM without any additional work. Lawyers can now look up information on firm clients or jointly pursue new business with their colleagues. Most law firms view client and other business contacts as assets of the firm and therefore managed within CRM. Luckily, this is easy to do within Outlook.

2. Collaboration: Business Development. One of the challenges with implementing CRM in law firms is the perception that most lawyers are unwilling to share their client and contact information on the firm's network, visible to others. With cross-selling opportunities and increased revenue as the lure, most lawyers get beyond this, but it does take effort in the implementation process. If the CRM implementation is tied to a business development program with the firm's key clients, for example, and the program ideas originate with the lawyers, they are more likely to participate and pay attention to the revenues that are generated. Fitzhenry notes that Microsoft found the biggest barriers to be adoption and ease of use. 'Lawyers don't want to learn yet another new technology system,' he says. Microsoft CRM is structured into the normal workday of a lawyer. Client meetings, appointments and client work products are all available within the Microsoft Office suite. Lawyers no longer need to re-enter information into multiple systems. The ILTA 2005 survey indicates that 80% of survey respondents use Office applications, which means they are already familiar with the user interface of Microsoft CRM because it's Outlook. 'You get a double benefit,' says Fitzhenry. 'Lawyers understand how to use it intuitively and secondly they can capture their normal day-to-day business ' appointments, calendar items, notes, etc. ' into the CRM system.'

3. Marketing: Mailing List Management. How difficult can it be to
generate a mailing list of the firm's key clients and those who might have, say, business issues in the energy sector in the greater New York Metropolitan area? Believe it not, a request like that can take some firms several days to painfully pull together. One partner at an AmLaw 100 firm was recently frustrated by the marketing department's inability to generate a mailing list of the firm's top clients with offices in New York for their open house. So many firms continue to send out e-mail requests to add names to a list. Overworked marketing staff have to collect Outlook V-cards via e-mail and create lists from scratch with each new marketing initiative.

With Microsoft CRM, mailing lists are managed right inside of Outlook. Marketing managers can create and manage mailing lists without having to email all attorneys to ask for names to add to an event list. Simple or complex queries are performed and quick marketing campaigns can be accomplished in minutes using the Quick Campaign Wizard. Rather than using e-mail marketing software and outside vendors, firms can now manage and execute their mail campaigns within Microsoft CRM. Tracking costs and revenue results are also within reach, allowing for easy return on investment analysis.

4. Dynamic Reports. Performance metrics are at your fingertips. Fitzhenry says that using Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server and Microsoft CRM, firms can create custom 'dashboards' that may show a quick summary of revenues by client team, revenues by industry group, potential revenue from opportunities in the pipeline, or other performance metrics specific to the firm. Firms can use Microsoft SQL Server to enable research into client data, or examine merger and acquisition activity within an industry and benchmark the firm's share of a client's legal work.

Naturally, Microsoft Excel works with Microsoft Dynamics CRM; data in spreadsheets can be dynamically linked to CRM. So if you are a spreadsheet junky and like to see client performance updated by practice group or office, or track the revenues from proposals in which you participated, you can easily open up the report without having to regenerate it. The data fields will automatically be updated when you open it, if you set up the report to function this way.

Lawyers stand to benefit in many ways with the new generation of CRM technology. Without knowing they are even participating in a CRM system, lawyers can go about their billable day without having to re-enter information and pull teeth to generate mailing lists and client information. Marketers can relax a little knowing that it will be much easier for their lawyers to participate in marketing and business-development efforts when the technology tools can passively capture information workflow that is part of the normal work day of their lawyers.

The Future Looks Bright

Imagine a lawyer snuck out of the office early and is taking his or her son to the park. Their cell phone rings and it's an important client. Smart Phones will recognize this as a client call and will populate a screen to allow the lawyer to choose to bill for the time. It will then track the time and automatically create a time sheet entry that is transmitted back to the firm's billing system automatically.

Sound too futuristic? Look for it from Microsoft partners in about 3 months, according to Fitzhenry.

Lawyers work hard, graduate from law school, and survive the grueling years of being an associate. Over time, they network, build a healthy book of business and a steady flow of referrals. Lawyers who hail from the GenX or GenY tribe are intimately comfortable with technology and probably own a Blackberry or Treo so they can be in touch and stay organized. But unless they plan to practice solo for the rest of their lives, they're likely to run into Client Relationship Management (CRM) technology.

Most mid-to-large-firm lawyers look to CRM to leverage relationships within the firm to grow their business. In today's competitive legal services market, CRM is critical to maintaining a profitable business. Leading law firms with a mature marketing and business development function are increasingly looking toward CRM technology in the hopes that it will provide them with the extra competitiveness they need to secure new clients and solidify existing client relationships. In recent years, more law firms are hiring sales executives to lead business-development efforts. Yet the high expectations placed upon them are not matched with the technology tools to fulfill them.

Despite the lofty vision of many marketing executives and their IT counterparts, the previous CRM applications have led to abysmal failure in the legal industry. In its 2005 survey, the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) noted that more than 50% of all CRM implementations failed to go live, thus firms were not able to benefit from the investment. There may be several reasons for this: limited investment in training and implementation; lack of an intuitive user interface that lawyers are comfortable working in; and lack of information captured thus resulting in poor data quality. If lawyers have to enter data separately after a long day of billing clients, the information never gets in and the system becomes less than useful.

Enter Microsoft

One of the most exciting developments in law firm marketing technology is the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0. Nested comfortably within Outlook, it now provides lawyers with an intuitive, easy-to-use tool to manage their client and contact information and keep track of their marketing and business development activities. Patrick Fitzhenry, Managing Director of the Professional Services Industry Strategy Group within Microsoft Corporation says that 'unless it's part of the normal workflow of an attorney, data is not likely to be captured in CRM.' Microsoft believes it understands why CRM has not been successful in the legal industry, and has an answer to this problem. Through its network of over 5000 partners worldwide ' many of whom are creating vertical solutions for the professional services industry (including law firms) ' Microsoft says that its Microsoft Office integrated solution works the way lawyers do.

Here are four ways lawyers can benefit from Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0:

1. Keep in Touch: Relationship Management. Clients, potential clients, referral sources, judges, expert witnesses, vendors, e-discovery consultants, friends and family who refer business ' there is an enormous world of contacts that lawyers can neatly manage in CRM within Outlook. Check your e-mail, schedule appointments and store notes on client or potential client calls within Outlook and have it become part of CRM without any additional work. Lawyers can now look up information on firm clients or jointly pursue new business with their colleagues. Most law firms view client and other business contacts as assets of the firm and therefore managed within CRM. Luckily, this is easy to do within Outlook.

2. Collaboration: Business Development. One of the challenges with implementing CRM in law firms is the perception that most lawyers are unwilling to share their client and contact information on the firm's network, visible to others. With cross-selling opportunities and increased revenue as the lure, most lawyers get beyond this, but it does take effort in the implementation process. If the CRM implementation is tied to a business development program with the firm's key clients, for example, and the program ideas originate with the lawyers, they are more likely to participate and pay attention to the revenues that are generated. Fitzhenry notes that Microsoft found the biggest barriers to be adoption and ease of use. 'Lawyers don't want to learn yet another new technology system,' he says. Microsoft CRM is structured into the normal workday of a lawyer. Client meetings, appointments and client work products are all available within the Microsoft Office suite. Lawyers no longer need to re-enter information into multiple systems. The ILTA 2005 survey indicates that 80% of survey respondents use Office applications, which means they are already familiar with the user interface of Microsoft CRM because it's Outlook. 'You get a double benefit,' says Fitzhenry. 'Lawyers understand how to use it intuitively and secondly they can capture their normal day-to-day business ' appointments, calendar items, notes, etc. ' into the CRM system.'

3. Marketing: Mailing List Management. How difficult can it be to
generate a mailing list of the firm's key clients and those who might have, say, business issues in the energy sector in the greater New York Metropolitan area? Believe it not, a request like that can take some firms several days to painfully pull together. One partner at an AmLaw 100 firm was recently frustrated by the marketing department's inability to generate a mailing list of the firm's top clients with offices in New York for their open house. So many firms continue to send out e-mail requests to add names to a list. Overworked marketing staff have to collect Outlook V-cards via e-mail and create lists from scratch with each new marketing initiative.

With Microsoft CRM, mailing lists are managed right inside of Outlook. Marketing managers can create and manage mailing lists without having to email all attorneys to ask for names to add to an event list. Simple or complex queries are performed and quick marketing campaigns can be accomplished in minutes using the Quick Campaign Wizard. Rather than using e-mail marketing software and outside vendors, firms can now manage and execute their mail campaigns within Microsoft CRM. Tracking costs and revenue results are also within reach, allowing for easy return on investment analysis.

4. Dynamic Reports. Performance metrics are at your fingertips. Fitzhenry says that using Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server and Microsoft CRM, firms can create custom 'dashboards' that may show a quick summary of revenues by client team, revenues by industry group, potential revenue from opportunities in the pipeline, or other performance metrics specific to the firm. Firms can use Microsoft SQL Server to enable research into client data, or examine merger and acquisition activity within an industry and benchmark the firm's share of a client's legal work.

Naturally, Microsoft Excel works with Microsoft Dynamics CRM; data in spreadsheets can be dynamically linked to CRM. So if you are a spreadsheet junky and like to see client performance updated by practice group or office, or track the revenues from proposals in which you participated, you can easily open up the report without having to regenerate it. The data fields will automatically be updated when you open it, if you set up the report to function this way.

Lawyers stand to benefit in many ways with the new generation of CRM technology. Without knowing they are even participating in a CRM system, lawyers can go about their billable day without having to re-enter information and pull teeth to generate mailing lists and client information. Marketers can relax a little knowing that it will be much easier for their lawyers to participate in marketing and business-development efforts when the technology tools can passively capture information workflow that is part of the normal work day of their lawyers.

The Future Looks Bright

Imagine a lawyer snuck out of the office early and is taking his or her son to the park. Their cell phone rings and it's an important client. Smart Phones will recognize this as a client call and will populate a screen to allow the lawyer to choose to bill for the time. It will then track the time and automatically create a time sheet entry that is transmitted back to the firm's billing system automatically.

Sound too futuristic? Look for it from Microsoft partners in about 3 months, according to Fitzhenry.