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31st October 2024
Making decisions about IT infrastructure is an critical part of ensuring the smooth running of any legal service. The legal sector has several demands on security, data storage, access and regulation that dictate what is needed to form a robust IT foundation. To understand what sets apart technology like Microsoft 365, for law firms in particular, partners and IT leads need to consider the regulatory requirements of the sector, as well as a growing demand for modern working from current and incoming employees.
An implementation of Microsoft 365 for law firms in the UK unlocks a comprehensive suite of secure productivity and collaboration tools, delivered via the cloud, on a subscription basis. It utilises industry-leading technology from the most trusted IT supplier in the world to provide a single source of software and services designed to enable individual roles and entire organisations to work smarter and faster, with access from anywhere.
We’ve highlighted a selection of these services and how they work, to create a better understanding of how implementing Microsoft 365 for law firms like yours can help boost productivity, ensure security and offer valuable insights to help you plan your future strategy.
The core applications of Microsoft Office are all here in Microsoft 365. With the fast pace and large workloads of law firm roles, it always helps to give your team a head start in their working day. The familiar and trusted applications of the Office suite are why many managing partners choose Microsoft 365 for their law firms.
Outlook provides so much more than just email. This personal information manager can look after your contacts, calendar management, task organisation and scheduling. All fully secure and backed up to the cloud. With full Microsoft 365, your lawyers can take Outlook with them wherever they go, working from any device.
Word has been the best-in-class word processing app for creating, editing, formatting and sharing content for decades now. This simple and intuitive approach makes it the perfect choice for lawyers, paralegals and legal secretaries across the world.
Excel is the world’s most implemented spreadsheet application. Microsoft 365 enhances data analysis, calculations, charting, projections, and financial management, making it even easier to collaborate and share vital information within law firms.
PowerPoint makes presenting simple. With Microsoft 365, PowerPoint is elevated to a seamless collaborative tool to share case information with external sources and provide internal communications. Templates and bespoke slideshows, animations and multimedia integrations are all available too.
One Note is a versatile note taking app designed to catch vital information on the fly across multiple users. Real time editing is available across an entire law firm team with the opportunity to add voice notes, audio, text, video and web links with rapid and secure access guaranteed.
Microsoft 365 allows law firms to take care of their data and allow secure access to it across the entire team. This is achieved through several apps & services.
One Drive is the cloud storage service that lets you store, sync and share everything across the firm safely and securely. With automatic updates and version history available for all collaborators, you can access case notes from anywhere with the knowledge that everything is live and up to date.
SharePoint provides the capability for law firms to develop and manage their own intranet sites in a simple and secure way. Case management can be organised through well organised sub sites, libraries and pages for enhanced workflows, and edits, with alerts and access all centrally managed. Full integration with the entire Microsoft 365 suite of apps makes file management a breeze too.
Teams responds to the demands of modern working with video conferencing and collaboration controlled by you. With the rise of hybrid and remote working it makes vital connections between departments and roles simple and effective. Microsoft Teams also offers enterprise level security for sensitive information in contrast to other video conferencing tools that are made for more personal use.
The sheer amount, variety and complexity of data that law firms store, share and access presents some vital opportunities for business intelligence capabilities. Microsoft 365 gives for law firms data sovereignty for everything, while allowing the creation and analysis of business insights in bespoke ways.
Our Power BI services give law firms the tools to create interactive reports, visualise data from any source and share insights with stakeholders both inside and outside the firm in a secure way. The bespoke dashboards and real-time analytics you access can greatly aid decision making and next steps within workflows and processes. Through safe integration with external data sources, it delivers peace of mind too.
Power Apps let users within a law firm create bespoke business applications through a no code/low code platform, designed around your needs. Customs solutions are easily created without specific coding knowledge to keep your tech working for you in the most valuable way. Client intake, regulation management and time tracking could all be taken care of through Power Apps created for your specific workflows and processes.
There are lots more applications and services within Microsoft 365 for law firms to take advantage of. Once you have established a foundation of how the core functionality works you can begin to unlock further nuances and advantages that are specific to your firm and the processes you already have and want to improve. Read more about what is included in Microsoft 365.
Guaranteeing data safety is the highest priority when selecting any technology or platform. It is essential firms have the utmost confidence that all the sensitive data they create, share and store is secure. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) also require digital compliance with GDPR and the Data Protection Act of 2018 as a standard practice.
The Law Society makes recommendations regarding the encryption, access control and auditing of all digital processes that involve confidential data, for useful guidelines too.
Microsoft 365 helps law firms successfully achieve this resilience and compliance in several ways.
Microsoft 365 is increasingly the platform of choice for law firms that need an ultra-reliable infrastructure with adaptability, security and compliance at the core. As a cloud-based subscription service it offers versatility and scalability with the option for all team members to work from anywhere across any device.
The integration of any existing tools and services that law firms have, such as Case Management, Document Management and Practice Management is a simple process that can often enhance the processes and tasks they have responsibility for.
With the power of the tools in the Microsoft 365 suite for law firms, it’s easier than ever to maximise billable hours by minimising time spent on administrative tasks.
Future-proofing your IT environment with Microsoft 365 can also guard against unprotected services and application obsolescence, with updates and additional functionality improving or adding to its overall capability.
This also means that law firms may be given a vital edge in attracting and recruiting talent through the demonstration and commitment of technology focus.
Innovations through Microsoft automation, AI and Copliot are constantly being rolled out within Microsoft 365 that hold the potential to be genuinely transformative to many law firm workflows, tasks and processes.
All these benefits are delivered with an unmatched dedication to security that consistently evolves in response to the rapidly developing threat landscape of cyber security and business critical attacks.
BCN makes simplicity our utmost priority for all our client partner journeys. Migrating law firms to Microsoft 365 from any existing or legacy suites and applications is the perfect example of this in action.
Our team will be on hand from the initial requirement meetings and workshops, through to the solution creation and development, all the way to execution, delivery and aftercare in a customer service focussed and results driven way.
With an enviable accreditation record and a strong Microsoft Partnership Status, we can guarantee that the work will be carried out with best practice in mind and with minimum down time and disruption.
BCN is one of very few UK-based Managed Service Providers that holds Microsoft Solution Partner Status and designated accreditation across all six Microsoft Cloud Solution areas of Infrastructure, Data & AI, Digital & App Innovation, Modern Work, Business Applications and Security. Our IT support for law firms is tailored specifically to your needs, with a clear understanding of the requirements of the sector.
Our relationship with Microsoft is the product of decades of transferred experience and product knowledge that our Microsoft 365 team brings to every project. Maximising your investment in Microsoft platform and products means you can find a Microsoft partner to help you unlock all the potential and value they can bring.
Contact our team today and we can start plotting the right path towards Microsoft 365 success for your law firm.
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