A legal eagle rises. Julie Breen began her legal career as a legal secretary and had worked her way to the very top, learning one or two things along the way.
Background
Julie Breen Solicitors LLP is a full-service law firm with offices in both Ferns and Enniscorthy in County Wexford, providing expert legal advice and services to private and commercial clients.
Julie began her legal career as legal secretary and a legal executive in different firms before qualifying as a solicitor in 2005 and then setting up her own firm in 2012. She is living proof of the rewards that hard work and dedication can bring and Keyhouse is proud to have worked with her since she started her practice.
Challenge
With invaluable experience from the coalface, Julie knew what it would take to run an efficient law firm. As a result, she knew exactly what she needed from a practice management system and, for her, the most important thing is integration. The system must integrate file management and accounts together as nobody has time to keep switching between two separate systems. A practice management system should also be intuitive, with an easy-to-use interface, and immediate first-class support is crucial. Knowing Keyhouse was always there if needed has meant that the relationship is more like a partnership, according to Julie.
Solution
Julie started her journey with us in 2012 and was determined to do things right from the beginning by investing in Keyhouse Accounts and Keyhouse Case Management. This investment gave the practice a firm office standard for storing and managing emails and documents and soon afterwards she added Keyhouse Digital Dictation to streamline the dictation process and increase productivity through faster document turnaround.
Result
Eight years later we asked Julie about her experiences with Keyhouse and about COVID-19 and its impact on the legal sector and her plans for the future.
Even today, Julie still says the main benefit of a good practice management is “pure integration, everything you need about a file in the one place”. This, along with its easy-to-use interface, makes Keyhouse a winner with her team. The seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook has to be one of its best features and when it comes to PII renewal time, she says “the accounts system comes into its own with the comprehensive suite of reports breaking down fees by department and work types to even include percentages”, simplifying the process of completing the renewal forms and also saving time.
As for the future, for Julie it’s all about up-skilling in remote and on-line technology to enable more effective collaboration with colleagues and clients alike. COVID has meant moving more of the business online, Julie has already taken the first step by providing an appointment booking system on her website. From now on, it’s all about mobility and being able to work from anywhere at any time and keeping that all-important connectivity with the client through multiple channels.
In terms of remote working, the Keyhouse Mobile App has been a great help, particularly when it comes to dictating when out of the office. Julie adds: “the convenience it gives is second-to-none in terms of how you can quickly log in to check something on a file as you always have your phone at hand”.
We asked Julie to describe Keyhouse in three words:
“Efficient, supportive, top of their game.”
The impromptu text received recently perhaps says it all: “I got all sorted with the app and dictation this evening I am really impressed. I have to say Keyhouse has been the one constant since I opened and have always been ahead of the game and deliver a great service to me and the team with no pain.”
What advice would Julie give to a firm looking to implement a new practice management system?
Interestingly, first off is to “talk to your colleagues, take their recommendations, chat to them about their experiences with support in particular.” She recommends you see how opening conversations go with the supplier, is there a fit? Can you both work together? Then move on and ask for a demonstration to look at the system to check it meets your needs. Be confident that the support is there and take all of the training you can get which, although an outlay at the time, is really an investment: “You get back what you put in.”
“it’s important that the supplier you go with understands your business and work processes which Keyhouse undoubtably does.”
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