Legal Tech: Warning Signs of Subpar Tech Support

Every firm has either heard of or been part of this tech fiasco. Unfortunately, you don't typically discover support issues until after the firm has signed the contract and implemented the new technology. At that point, your options are limited. You can make demands for better customer service, which may or may not get a response. You can seethe quietly until your contract expires. Or you and the rest of your firm can limp along, augmenting the IT support you are paying for with frequent Google searches.

But what if you could avoid all the headaches, expense and lost productivity by pinpointing a provider's level of support before you commit? It's possible if you know what to look for. Here are some potential red flags that will help you evaluate a provider's technical support before you sign on the dotted line.

Technology Certifications

Experience is essential, and the provider has probably already touted its support team's qualifications, but is it the right kind of experience? Technology certifications allow for quantifiable ways to measure that. Certifications demonstrate a commitment to the technology, as well as demonstrable knowledge that IT staff will be prepared to troubleshoot your time-consuming tech problems.

A certification is also proof of a standard level of education. That means providers understand solutions and the best practices to support them. Compare this to someone who can learn quickly on the fly, but perhaps doesn't have the knowledge base of how to fix common and not-so-common problems.

Not All Certifications Are the Same

You and your firm should consider a few factors when reviewing an IT support staff's technology certifications. First, they should be certified in non-legal-specific software, since every firm relies on some general-use software. For law firms, this usually means looking for certification in Microsoft products. The types of certifications you should favor include MTA (Microsoft Technology Associate), MCSA (Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate) and MCSE (Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert). MCSE is the globally recognized standard for IT professionals. Other mainstream technology certifications for consideration include VMware enterprise partner and Microsoft Gold Partner.

Of course, you want your providers to have industry-specific certifications as well. The support team should have knowledge of and certifications in legal solutions such as practice management, document management and time and billing solutions. Ideal legal-specific certifications will include Advanced Certified in LexisNexis and Worldox VAR.

Since software doesn't exist in a vacuum, there is another bonus for certifications in both mainstream and legal-specific technology. Tech support providers with certifications will be familiar with integration challenges and possess knowledge of how to fix any problems that arise with them.

Action item: Ask your vendor contact to provide a list of all its support team members' certifications. You should also explore the vendor's website to see if any certifications are listed. Most vendors take pride in these types of accomplishments and will highlight them.

Experience Supporting Law Firms

Your vendor may say it knows how to work with law firms, but you need to understand the extent of that experience. Law firms have unique structures and priorities, but not all software vendors appreciate the different challenges that a law firm environment presents.

For example, a support team unfamiliar with the legal industry will not understand the urgency of the situation when someone from the firm calls frantically and says, “I can't run prebills.” If IT support staff hasn't worked with law firms before, they may not even know what the term “prebilling” means. When this happens, you and your attorneys don't have time to acquaint the person on the other of the phone with the concept, and you don't have time to wait for them to figure it out.

Action item: Quiz your vendor and its support team on common law firm processes and priorities to determine if they understand how law firms work and will be able to provide the support you need quickly and thoroughly.

Migration Protocol

The software may be the right fit, and the tech support can be top-notch. But if the migration process isn't managed correctly from start to finish, the new technology won't be successful or widely adopted by users at the firm. The provider's IT team should be skilled enough to discover the information that's needed, check servers and equipment, determine licensing, replicate the environment and run both your environment and the replicated environment to ensure everything is meshing smoothly.

Action item: Ask a lot of questions about the provider's approach to migration, timelines, and challenges it has faced and overcome. Allow plenty of time for the migration once you commit — even the most carefully coordinated rollouts can experience some hiccups along the way.

Stealth Tactics to Consider

There are several other factors to consider before signing a contract, including the team's response rate. Find out the types of contact that support responds to, such as phone calls, email and IM, and whether those are methods your team prefers and with which it is most comfortable.

You should also undertake a “secret shopper” approach and contact the provider's support team with a common question. See how long it takes the staff member to respond.

A quick response is just the first step, though.

You should also consider whether the support person understood your questions and provided the help you needed while being courteous and professional. Don't stop at just one call. Contact customer support multiple times to see if you can speak with the same technician or if you have to start all over with someone new each call.

Be sure to find out what other law firms say about the provider. The vendor will most likely provide you with references from other law firms. You should speak with these firms and ask questions about their experience with support. Current and past users who haven't been recommended by the technology provider can also provide helpful information. Explore LinkedIn Groups or other online forums and social media. Ask your colleagues. See if industry organizations such as ILTA have members that can provide feedback. This will help you get a more “right-sized” profile of support and provide a range of insights, not just those that have been pre-approved by the provider.

While checking references and testing on your own, be sure to find out whether the provider keeps records of calls and transactions. It is frustrating, time-consuming and expensive to have to explain ongoing problems over and over.

Consider reading online reviews as well. For example, one unhappy law firm posted that its data went missing and the calendaring system didn't sync seamlessly with Outlook. Appointments were dropped or appeared on the wrong attorney's calendar. That's not the kind of honest feedback that a reference is likely to provide.

Conclusion

Even if the technology has all the capabilities it claims, you will still need to train your staff and attorneys to use it, and they will run into issues when they do. If the support staff can't provide the assistance you need, you won't be able to leverage all the features you paid for, and your users won't adopt it.

While it's tempting to take advantages of promised technology benefits as fast as possible, it's worthwhile to take a slower, more measured approach to make sure the IT support is as good as the product itself.

*****

Joe Kelly is the founder and CEO of Legal Workspace. Under his leadership, the company has helped hundreds of law firms focus on practicing law — not IT. He is a frequent speaker and has contributed to numerous legal and technology publications.