Staying ahead of a rapidly moving legal industry

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Keeping track of constant changes in law and procedure is no easy task. Here’s how By Lawyers provides lawyers with all the latest developments at their fingertips

AT A time when the legal industry is facing constant and rapid change, law firms often find themselves straining under the weight of staying on top of the latest developments. With a new coalition government just four months into its term, the rate of change is only going to intensify. These changes include amendments to legislation, new bills passing through parliament, and court rulings and procedures that could affect a firm’s practice. Staying abreast of this is stressful and time-consuming. Enter By Lawyers – an innovative platform that offers comprehensive guides, precedents, and automated tools designed to take the stress out of legal practice.

Law firms using LEAP legal software enjoy the full benefits of a state-of-the-art practice management system, as well as legal accounting, document assembly and management, and legal publishing assets – all in one integrated solution. A trusted partner to more than 61,000 lawyers across the globe, LEAP provides a legal practice productivity solution that empowers law firms to maximise profitability through the efficient and innovative delivery of legal services to its clients. With offices in the US, Canada, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, LEAP is leading the world in the development of integrated legal technology for law firms.

“It’s not just about precedents – we also have sequential matter plans and detailed commentary on how to run a matter. It’s focused on providing the kind of detail that helps lawyers serve their clients in a practical, day-to-day sense”

Brad Watts, By Lawyers

By Lawyers is an online publisher offered exclusively as part of the LEAP Legal Practice Productivity Solution, and it has recently expanded its footprint into New Zealand. According to Brad Watts, managing editor at By Lawyers, its key aim is to support legal practitioners by cutting down on the time, effort, and resources they need to proceed through a matter. “Our content, combined with LEAP’s automation, means lawyers can save a lot of time and money, and be a lot more efficient,” Watts tells NZ Lawyer. “It’s not just about precedents – we also have sequential matter plans and detailed commentary on how to run a matter. You’ll find all the nitty-gritty detail on how to do a conveyance, for example, or how to do a drink driving plea in court, or create a shareholders’ agreement. Our publications are focused on providing the kind of detail that helps lawyers serve their clients in a practical, day-to-day sense.”

Central to the offering is By Lawyers’ matter plan – a comprehensive roadmap that contains all of the necessary commentary and precedents that a practitioner will need at each stage of a matter. By Lawyers currently has 253 matter plans in Australia, which are a result of its two decades of experience in the industry. Its in-house team is constantly monitoring amendments to law through parliament, the courts, law societies, and the general legal and wider media, making sure that all of the latest information is at its users’ fingertips.

“We follow bills as they pass through parliament to become Acts, and whenever a change is on the horizon, we decide whether it’s going to impact our content and subscribers,” Watts explains. “Where necessary, we’ll liaise with the courts about significant changes to practice, and we make amendments to our commentary in real time. There aren’t any committees that need to meet, and no books that need to be republished. This means we can be very agile at making changes when necessary.” Watts notes that the real strength in By Lawyers is its authors, all of whom are at the coalface of day-to-day practice. As a result, the content it produces is highly practical and relevant to everyone from firm principals to practice managers, through to HR departments and junior lawyers. “There’s a great depth and breadth to the content, and we’re going to be adding to that all the time. There’s something there for everyone, no matter what level you are at the firm.” If junior lawyers are unfamiliar with a practice area, they can access the matter plan for how to start off a matter and which documents they need to use. Their managers can be confident that they’ll be using the correct documents and procedures, freeing up the senior lawyers to complete their own tasks until the juniors are ready to take the next steps. “When a lawyer gets a call from a client wanting urgent advice about an esoteric or unusual question, they can jump into the commentary and do a quick search for a keyword to quickly have the answer,” Watts adds. “And with the precedents being automated, you don’t have to input client and matter details every time you produce a letter or document – the relevant information will just come up.”

By Lawyers already operates in Australia, the UK, and Canada – and now New Zealand has joined the ranks. Watts highlights that the provision of legal resources underlies By Lawyers’ mission. The ultimate goal is to alleviate the stress associated with legal practice – something of which all By Lawyers staff have personal knowledge and understanding.

“All of us at By Lawyers have long histories of practice ourselves, and we know how stressful it is to serve clients while trying to keep up to date”

BRAD WATTS, BY LAWYERS

“Practicality is the first and most important thing – we help lawyers help their clients,” Watts says. “All of us at By Lawyers have long histories of practice ourselves, and we know how stressful it is to serve clients while trying to keep up to date. We try to reduce that stress and help them enjoy their practice more.” Watts notes that the platform has also thrived on its collegiality, and By Lawyers always welcomes feedback from users looking to engage on any of its content. The priority is to keep New Zealand subscribers consistently up to date, and Watts says that users can expect to see a substantial increase in content in the coming years.

“What By Lawyers users have now will keep growing,” Watts says. “In Australia, we have over 250 matter plans because we’ve been going for over 20 years and we’re always growing and enhancing. New Zealand users can look forward to the same increase in the value of the offering.” “Matter plans, commentary, and precedents all work together,” he concludes. “With the magic of automation and LEAP’s technology, the self-populating precedents are a really powerful and profitable addition to any practice.” To find out more about By Lawyers and how to access its content through LEAP Legal, click here.

Innovation through automation

Starting the journey in New Zealand

Published 08 Apr 2024

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Access to forms and documents, automatically populated with matter information

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Brad Watts, By Lawyers

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