5 Key Collaboration Features of Legal Practice Reporting Solution

Introduction-

To maximize the value of analytics and reporting solution investments, law firms need a solution that support the Collaboration Features from analytical reports. These collaboration features facilitate communication, and align action with strategy among those involved in the decision-making process leading to more informed and better decisions. This is hugely important because the firm can become data-led, if all the key decision-makers like firm partners, CEO, COOs and attorneys in the firm have access to the insights, outputs and actions taken from data coming out of a legal reporting solution.

What is Collaboration feature?

Collaboration is basically how you work with others within your law firm. Collaboration feature enables a wide range of people & decision makers in a firm to see, discuss and act on the data and insights that are critical to the firm’s business. 

Let’s look at some of the key collaboration features offered by LawKPIs Reporting Solution –

• 1. Export

  2. Share

  3. Broadcast

  4. Favorites

  5. Smart Task

1. Export – We have the following options to export the data –

1. CSV – It gives only the data in comma separated format and not the charts. It gives the following options like how you want to quote the values in double quotes, kind of character set (by default it is UTF 8) needed a field separator. CSV is basically a text file, and can be by default be opened in Excel sheet only but it can be opened like a text file also. TO differentiate between values of two different columns, the field separator is important. So, the user might want to use a comma, semicolon, Tab or any other field separator to differentiate the text. The CSV also allows you to use to Quote Comma instead of the Comma option in the field separator, if we have the First and last name of the attorney in the same field. This option, the Quote comma allows to separate the first and last name by adding double quotes. The use of CSV in export is for further analysis, if someone wants to export the data in excel format, but also wants to let the user know certain added information, this option is useful.

2. DocX – This is a latest version for .Doc. IF any user wants to use this option to export the data, it allows to export the data in text format, with provisions like data in tabular formats, charts etc. There is a report name, filters on the top, the tabular data followed by charts in the following pages.

3. PDF – This is one of the most preferred ways to export as it’s the safest way to export the data. The PDF option allows the options like page sizes A0 to A5, B4, B5, legal, and letter. The orientation needed, whether landscape or portrait and the default layout values. If the default layout values is not checked, it lets us choose page width, page sections, page break etc. Also, the pdf can be secured by adding a password to the pdf for any confidential reports. Like the word file, pdf version also allows to have the chart, file and tabular forms of the data that can be exported.

4. Text file – Text also directly downloads the information and lets us export the data and does not ask any specific options that are available for CSV and PDF.

5. Excel – Excel allows have various options like keep same formatting, format column and row size, Export tabbed co-displays, wrap text and length. Excel allows to apply defined formatting to values within the XLSX file, resulting in numeric values being exported as numeric, with formatting applied in the document. Hence the native functionality of the Excel can be utilized which it is checked off. By checking off the formatting button, we get the numeric values of the data, rather than when we check It on, the data we get is in the character form. Hence to get a better view of the data, its always better to check the formatting option off.

The print option to get a report printed will directly print the report if a printer is set. The print set up will not let the user have the filter values.

2. Share the Report –

The share option lets a user have the following options –

1. Distribute – This feature allows the user/s to distribute the report to their preferred colleagues who are LawKPIs subscriber/s. Anyone who gets access of the report through this option will get an email with the link to the report in it. The report can then be accessed with the login credentials.

  

2. Email – The email option lets the user have the attachments. This sends the report output directly to the other user’s inbox.

3. Embed – Option lets the user have the link copied and paste it somewhere in the third-party application. The firms can use this option if they have if they have an intranet, if they have an internal communication system, and have the login credentials to access the reports shared.

4. Link – The link option lets the user attach or share the link to the report in any preferred location (like an email, or browser or internal chat window) for a quick access. The report link hence shared with the recipient is accessible only with secured login credentials of LawKPIs reporting solution.

3. Broadcast the Report –

The broadcast feature which is used mostly, as the users don’t have to login into our reporting solution always to check the reports. The broadcast feature helps in sending a report to user’s inbox by scheduling them on set frequency. Hence, they can just go into their inbox and check whichever reports they have scheduled using broadcast feature But, if a user wants to have an updated data, he/she can use the Share option again. But with broadcast, you can have the report ready at your finger tip in your inbox at a particular time/duration needed. Broadcast allows to have the following options –

1. Broadcast – The broadcast feature lets the user choose the recipients in the search bar. And can be set for other users who are LawKPIs users. The broadcast feature cannot be accessed by the non-LawKPIs users. The reports can be broadcasted to the attorneys who are non-LawKPIs users by using the auto-forwarding rule and for a minimal charge of $10 per user per broadcast. 

2. Personal Broadcast – It is for personal use. It wouldn’t allow a single user to enter the recipient’s name. There are various options available in personal broadcast like, attachment, secure, append the broadcast date to that attachment, set the frequency of receiving the report. It also allows the frequency to be set on the different time zones. This can also be scheduled for a limited period of time using Limit Schedule Period option.

 

4. Favourites –

To access this option the user has to go back to the dashboard and click on the Username drop down menu and choose favourites options from that. The user can see/view all the reports that have been added as favourites in the list. This option lets the user choose the frequently used report from the range of multiple reports/dashboards, instead of investing time in looking for the report.

4. Smart Task –

This is an alert-based broadcast. The report will be delivered based on the selected schedule when the result matches the alert rule. The report can be sent on a particular frequency, limited period to preferred users etc. The smart task can be named, by naming the requester and whom does the user wants this smart task to be assigned. The smart task can be broadcasted to the attorneys who are non-LawKPIs users by using the auto-forwarding rule and for a minimal charge of $10 per user per broadcast.

For Instance – Certain areas where we can use smart task functionality is we set an upper and lower limit of collection amount and billed amount. Say if the collected amount is less than $10000 and billed amount is less than $50000, then schedule this smart task report rule. Such business rules can be set using smart task.

It is useful for monitoring performance of attorney, helpful for main/originating attorney, For this the report needs to be executed for a particular attorney say for, originating attorney and schedule the Smart task.

Summary –

Law firms when evaluating the data and analytical reporting solutions, should also put the weightage whether the solution offers collaborative features and if yes, which all features are included?  This is critical to meet the firm’s requirements. These features provide the ability to see a change and to be able to discuss, ask questions, assign and have visibility on who else is aware of the change. Or the ability to know or understand something and help others by providing context and sharing insights.

LawKPIs help the users with all the collaborative features and provide the functionality to share the data-driven insights with others resulting into faster and smarter collective decision-making.