ESSENTIAL TECH , TOOLS & TALENT FOR RUNNING A SOLO & SMALL LAW PRACTICE, REMOTELY

Sep 24, 2026

Educational presentation on the tools, services, and systems needed to run a solo and small law practice remotely. It outlines practice constraints, potential remote-work problems, and evaluation criteria such as affordability, adjustability, customization, usability, comprehensiveness, process integration, and appropriate human discretion. It explains why remote setup matters in the COVID-19 context, provides customer acquisition and responsiveness statistics, contrasts “lawyering vs laboring,” and introduces the law firm sales funnel stages and mismatched expectations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages49

Reading Time17 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

What we’ll cover

How we’ll evaluate

Why is this important

How this applies to your practice

Use this course to create

The state of law firm

Customer acquisition

Lawyering vs laboring

Understanding the “law firm sales funnel”

Mismatched expectations

ESSENTIAL TECH , TOOLS & TALENT FOR RUNNING A SOLO & SMALL LAW PRACTICE , REMOTELY Official Presentation of [the Smith.ai](the Smith.ai) Educational Series I NT ROD UCT ION MADDY MARTIN Head of Growth & Education [maddy@smith.ai](maddy@smith.ai) [linkedin.com/in/madelainemartin](linkedin.com/in/madelainemartin) Maddy Martin is the head of growth and education at [Smith.ai](Smith.ai), which provides small-business communication services, including their virtual receptionist and intake service, web chat, and text answering. [The vast majority of Smith.ai](The vast majority of Smith.ai) clients are solo and smallfirm attorneys. OUT L I N E WHAT WE’LL COVER • Law firm practice needs & constraints • Potential problems of remote work • Solutions to remote work • Software • Services • Systems & Habits • Task management • Case/practice management • Case alerts • Time tracking • Email systems • Calendaring • Billing & Payments • VoIP/Cloud phone systems • Virtual receptionists • Virtual assistants & paralegals • Freelance lawyers & law clerks OUT L I N E HOW WE’LL EVALUATE These systems must: • Be affordable (without commitment) • Be adjustable (budgets & priorities change) • Be customizable (at the start & ongoing) • Be easy to use & monitor • Be comprehensive (one provider: fewer bills & mgmt) • Integrate with your processes, systems & software • If human, have reasonable discretion (as someone in-house would, from blog writing to call answering) OUT L I N E WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT Immediately: • COVID-19 triggered Long term • Cost reduction • Business continuity • Staff retention in the“new normal” HOW T H IS A P P L I ES TO YOU R P RACT IC E USE THIS COURSE TO CREATE: • Policies and Procedures • Disaster Recovery Manual • Employee Handbook • Marketing Plan • Crisis Communications Plan • Succession Plan • Merger, Sale & Acquisition Documents TH E STATE O F LAW FIR M CUSTOMER ACQUISITION Consumer Buying Statistics Affecting Law Firms 89% of consumers expect an immediate response to a customer service issue 82% of consumers expect an immediate response when inquiring about services 67% of law firm clients say their “decision to hire” is most influenced by an attorney’s initial responsiveness to their first call or email 64% of legal consumers look for an attorney who offers a free initial consult LAWYER ING VS LABORING What blocks remote management & communications? The 2017 and 2018 Clio Legal Trends Reports uncovered staggering daily averages of the actual time allocations recorded by solo practitioners and small law firms. Consider how these are further affected by remote work & disruptive events . 2 hours lost to recovering from interruptions |
1.9 hours spent on billable work |
2 hours spent on business development | | --- | --- | 2.9 hours spent on admin tasks U N D E RSTA N D I NG T H E ‘ LAW F I RM SA L ES F U N N E L’ Unqualified/Cold Leads Website visitors Qualified Leads Completed a form, participated in chat, called in, or emailed Completed Intake Have been vetted and are a fit for services Consult Scheduled Retained Client MISMATC H E D EXP ECTAT IONS Unqualified/Cold visitors Completed Have been vetted and are a fit for Retained

FAQs

What evaluation criteria are used to assess remote practice systems?

The presentation requires systems to be affordable, adjustable, customizable, easy to use and monitor, comprehensive, integrable with existing processes and software, and—when human-led—allow reasonable discretion similar to in-house work.

Why does the presentation emphasize remote work readiness?

It highlights immediate impact from COVID-19 and long-term needs such as cost reduction, business continuity, and staff retention in the “new normal.”

What do the customer acquisition statistics focus on?

They emphasize consumer expectations for immediate responsiveness, how responsiveness influences hiring decisions, and that many legal consumers look for attorneys offering a free initial consultation.

Sep 24, 2026

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