Lauren Bryant, a probate and estate planning attorney specializing in guardianship and conservatorship matters, is the founding partner of her firm, The Law Offices of Lauren Bryant. Before launching her solo practice, Lauren’s previous firm relied on Time Matters to manage all of their client data. She was frustrated by using a server-based system that tethered her to the office to manage case data and made client intake cumbersome. As a result, Lauren sought out an intuitive, cloud-based firm management solution to help modernize and streamline the business side of her new venture. Lauren found PracticePanther, which saved 30+ hours a month in client intake time while enabling her to manage casework and firm operations from anywhere.
Starting a Solo Firm Made Easy With PracticePanther
Lauren’s background as a social worker fostered a strong passion for advocacy and compassionate representation of children and adults with special needs. Her legal journey in probate and estate planning has been influenced by those past experiences — focusing on special needs trusts, guardianships, and conservatorships.
After spending time as an attorney in an established small firm, she launched her solo practice to have more control over her schedule and take a more modernized approach to probate and estate planning casework.
However, managing the business side of a law firm was completely new to Lauren. Her prior firm took a manual approach to their business operations and relied on Time Matters for case management. Lauren found the server-based platform difficult to navigate, taking hours to enter data manually, and required her to be physically in the office to update client records, enter time, and every other daily activity.
Her past experience prompted a search for a more modern, intuitive solution that allowed her to manage clients without being tied to the office and help make the business side of her new venture feel less overwhelming.
“My old firm used Time Matters, which felt very clunky and cumbersome. Also being tied to an in-office server to do anything was frustrating. When I started my own firm, I prioritized finding a more modern, intuitive practice management software that enabled me to work remotely.”
Lauren Bryant
Founding Partner
After comparing Clio and PracticePanther, Lauren quickly realized that PracticePanther was much easier to use for someone without a technical background or experience running a firm, whereas Clio was not. She found the PracticePanther to be the clear winner due to its emphasis on an intuitive experience, giving her the confidence to manage every aspect of her new business from day one.
“After comparing Clio and PracticePanther, it was immediately clear how much easier PracticePanther was to use for someone just starting out. It felt very intuitive, and there were a ton of videos that answered every question I had.”
Saving 30+ Hours a Month in New Client Onboarding with PracticePanther’s Intake Workflows
Even before her initial onboarding meeting with her dedicated customer success manager, Lauren was amazed by how simple PracticePanther was to use right from the start. As she continued to use the platform, she easily found answers to her questions through the tutorial video library or by chatting with her support specialist. By the time her firm opened, the platform was fully set up and ready to go. The customized intake workflow allowed her to sign her first client faster than she ever expected.
“I figured out the ins and outs of PracticePanther on my own in a couple of hours. Literally the day I opened my firm, I had PracticePanther set up. I signed my first client with the intake form I created and was amazed to see their information auto-populate into their retainer agreement immediately.”
In her past firm, Lauren manually filled out a 35-question intake form for every new client, which took several hours per interview. Now, with PracticePanther’s customizable intake forms, she sends a digital questionnaire to new clients, allowing them to fill it out on their own time. The data is then automatically integrated into documents, like retainer agreements and wills, saving her at least 2 hours per new client — totaling around 30+ hours saved monthly.
“I love the custom intake forms in PracticePanther. I use them every single day. I used to run intake interviews and complete every questionnaire manually, now I just send them a link to the form with explainer bubbles. It’s so easy and efficient for clients to understand and fill out on their own time. I save at least 2 hours on every questionnaire, which ends up being around 30 hours monthly.”
Centralizing All Case Scheduling and Communication in One Place with PracticePanther’s Collaborative Calendaring and Client Portal
The collaborative calendar within PracticePanther has significantly improved how Lauren’s team manages case communications and schedules. The centralized team view eliminates the need for multiple check-in meetings and reduces back-and-forth emails by allowing everyone to see what’s on the schedule at a glance. Also, automatic reminders ensure nothing slips through the cracks, especially for sensitive cases.
“The PracticePanther calendar is very helpful for keeping my team on the same page. I can quickly look and easily know who’s coming or going, what’s coming up, and who is working on what. I love being able to set reminders for events too. When a court hearing is coming up, my staff will add automatic reminders to get calls scheduled before the hearing. I don’t need multiple programs to do all these, it’s all in one place with PracticePanther.”
Additionally, Lauren uses the Client Portal feature to maintain secure client communication and data storage. The collaborative functionality makes it simple for clients to fill out forms, ask questions, and complete payments when it’s convenient for them.
The integration with Gmail and Google Drive also makes it easy to save all past client communication in one place and enables Lauren to find anything quickly from her laptop or phone. If she forgot to copy a team member on an email or if she’s subpoenaed over a contested will, Lauren can quickly surface any record needed to solve the issue. This streamlined approach has been instrumental in maintaining case organization and enhancing client relationships.
“My team loves the convenience of quickly finding any past client communication auto-saved in PracticePanther. If I forget to copy someone on an email or even if we are subpoenaed over a contested will, I can pull up every related communication saved in PracticePanther from anywhere.”
PracticePanther’s Mobile App Enables Lauren Bryant To Stay Up-to-Date on Every Case, Anywhere
Lauren needed a solution that would allow her to stay connected to her firm’s activities, no matter where she was. PracticePanther’s cloud-based functionality and mobile app allow her to stay up-to-date with all her clients, matters, and team activities, even from her phone, giving her the confidence to run her practice effectively from anywhere.
“The ability to successfully run my firm remotely is in large part because of PracticePanther. I’ve always struggled with the balance of parenting three children and being a great attorney. But the extraordinary flexibility of PracticePanther helps me balance those two. It’s given me the confidence to take a long family vacation for the first time in forever. All I need is the internet and with PracticePanther I can see everything related to my clients, matters, and team right from my laptop or phone thanks to their intuitive mobile app. I can get my job done from anywhere.”
Successfully Build Your Remote-First Firm with PracticePanther
After choosing PracticePanther, Lauren confidently managed the business side of her firm and got her new solo practice off the ground. By leveraging the modern, intuitive platform, Lauren quickly set up customized client intake forms and managed all her case information in one place. Resulting in a significant reduction in manual administrative tasks, improved team collaboration, and enhanced client communication — enabling Lauren to run her practice successfully from anywhere.
If you’re interested in seeing how PracticePanther’s case management and automation can help you successfully build your remote-first firm, contact our team. Explore how PracticePanther’s features can reshape the way you practice law!
