Advanced Efficiencies: How Snow Christensen & Martineau Increased Profitability

ABOUT THE FIRM 

Snow Christensen & Martineau (SCM) is a business, litigation, and trial law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah. Founded in 1886 – ten years before Utah became a state – SCM serves many of Utah’s most vital and prominent businesses and public entities, several of which have been clients for more than 50 years. SCM is committed to understanding the individual needs of its clients and providing innovative solutions to meet those needs.

BACKGROUND

As a midsized law firm, SCM experienced unique challenges when searching for a new solutions provider. The firm’s client and matter capacity required an array of advanced functionalities to keep up with client demands and remain cost-effective and value-driven. SCM leadership initiated the search to establish a strong partnership with a solutions provider that could offer a high-quality product and a proven history of innovation, ultimately selecting the SurePoint Legal Management System (LMS).

“The efficiencies provided to us through LMS have eliminated the need for us to backfill vacant positions, reducing the firm’s overhead cost by six-figures every year.”

CHALLENGES 

Tenured in providing exceptional legal services, SCM required a practice management solution to continue to advance the firm’s legacy in advocating for its clients. The system needed to continue to provide attorneys and legal support staff with the following:

• The ability to perform advanced operations from a single, fully integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system
• User-friendly and accurate reporting capabilities
• Streamlined processes for improved efficiencies
• Access to excellent customer support

SOLUTION

SCM leadership initiated the search to establish a strong partnership with a solutions provider that could offer a high-quality product and a proven history of innovation.

The firm’s practice management team presented three solutions to an internal focus group consisting of 15 attorneys and paralegals, who then participated in demonstrations with each provider.

Of the group, all 15 participants ranked the SurePoint Legal Management System (LMS) as their top choice based on:

• The ability for timekeepers to access LMS from anywhere and at any time through sophisticated cloud technology
• Eliminating the need for dual input into the system through advanced workflow efficiencies
• The ability to quickly access high-level performance and profitability reports for clients and matters through the Business Intelligence Dashboard and Reporting Module

Shortly after, the decision was made by SCM leadership to convert from its prior practice and financial management system to LMS. Expert implementation strategists at SurePoint formulated a successful, in-depth conversion strategy tailored to meet the unique needs of the firm.

“Of the focus group participants, all 15 attorneys and paralegals ranked the SurePoint Legal Management System as their top choice.”

RESULTS 

Since converting to LMS, SCM has experienced tremendous improvements in the firm’s operational efficiencies while receiving consistent, quality customer support unavailable to them through their previous provider.

Streamlined and Paperless Workflow Efficiencies:
SCM now operates within a paperless environment through the LMS Workflow Module. From accounts payable, fulfilling requests and reimbursements, to new clients and matter intake, LMS Workflow has afforded SCM major improvements in operational efficiencies.

“Prior to LMS, forms had to be entered into our previous system two, sometimes three times each. Now, they only need to be entered once by the initial requester, which has drastically changed the way my department operates. We are now conducting high-level reviews of the forms, freeing up more of our time to focus on other areas of the practice.”

Immediate Access to Accurate Performance Reports:
SCM leadership, attorneys, and support staff now have immediate access to accurate and easy-to-read performance reports from any location and device through the LMS Business Intelligence Dashboard and Reporting Module.

“In meetings where questions come up regarding numbers and performance, I am able to pull out my iPad to provide an answer on the spot using LMS dashboards. Being able to access data that is both accurate and easy to read has been a huge deal for me.”

Mobile Timekeeping for Increased Productivity and Profitability:
LMS has allowed SCM the ability to significantly increase the number of billable hours logged by attorneys, ultimately increasing the firm’s productivity and profitability.

“With our previous system, attorneys would jot down their time on whatever they had available and then enter it manually once they were back in the office, resulting in a lot of lost time. Having the ability to track time on the go has been great.”

Cost Savings Through Progressive Efficiencies:

The advanced efficiencies provided by LMS have resulted in significant cost savings for SCM by means of reducing position backfill requirements. With SurePoint, Snow Christensen & Martineau increases productivity through enhanced workflows, captures more billable hours with mobile timekeeping, and continues to make data-driven decisions with accurate reporting.

ABOUT SUREPOINT
SurePoint^® Technologies is the leading provider of award-winning software that improves workflow and maximizes financial performance and profitability for law firms. SurePoint’s solutions integrate client management, practice management, and financial management for powerful relationship-building and knowledge-sharing capability. With a community of more than 100,000 members, SurePoint continues to transform the legal industry by enabling law firms to unlock higher performance, freeing lawyers of administrative burdens so they can spend more time focusing on their clients and their practices. 

Learn more at https://surepoint.com.