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Last week, Hyperion Research - a unit of Hyperion Global Partners - published a new MarketView™ report: “Business Process Management Solution for Law Firms”. The 81-page report thoroughly evaluates vendors providing Business Process Management (BPM) systems with a specific focus on the legal vertical. Legal IT Professionals received a copy of the full report to review for our global readership.
Following in the footsteps of other industries, law firms are increasingly investigating the possibility of using BPM systems to improve process efficiency, save costs and facilitate regulatory compliance. In its recent report, Hyperion GP identified some law firm specific processes that qualify to be managed by BPM solutions:
Other process identified are (in my view) not specific to law firms.
Law firms still have a long way to go before they are at a similar level to other industries regarding process automation. Processes might be more difficult to identify, law firms might be reluctant to start a project that forces attorneys to work in a structured way, or lawyers might still think that their work is not suitable at all for BPM, but there are several important factors that will make managing partners think twice before rejecting a new BPM initiative. A Hyperion Research Insights Survey identified the main drivers as increased productivity for staff and attorneys, reduced turnaround times, and improved process quality.
The report identifies that law firms are adopting two main approaches. The first is to better utilize the workflow capabilities of existing legacy systems with built-in workflow options such as Document Management systems, Time & Billing systems and Case Management systems.
The second approach is to upgrade workflow to real BPM and implement enterprise-ready BPM solutions. Based on a long list of selection criteria, Hyperion GP identified eight vendors with solutions that provide the most value for the law firm market:
These products were evaluated using Hyperion GP's VendorView™ evaluation process: eight rating categories each with a ten-point scale.
Although Legal IT Professionals is not allowed to reveal the overall score, I was quite surprised by the results of some of the big names in legal IT.
Law firms will consider implementing new BPM systems only if they can see real tangible benefits. Although pricing information was not included in the report, we can safely assume that BPM systems are still quite expensive to implement and maintain. Therefore, although they might be a practical option for large law firms, small firms with only a couple of lawyers would not reap the benefits. But what about the mid-sized law firms? Will they consider implementing and/or can they afford any of the eight systems identified in the report, or are there other products (maybe cloud-based) on the market that are better geared towards smaller firms? That might be a good follow-up topic for Hyperion GP to research.
Overall Hyperion GP has produced another valuable research report which is worth reading, especially if your firm is considering upgrading workflow to true BPM. Apparently there are very good opportunities for vendors of BPM systems. When the new business intake process is considered, a staggering number of 86% of firms is considering upgrading their existing system or selecting and implementing a new system.
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