LawBite

1. Streamline existing processes

After mapping out the current enquiry to quote journey (see above) it was clear that we could eliminate a number of manual processes and automate others which would reduce admin churn and decrease the turnaround time. By creating new flows which showed how we could automate processes by using notifications we quickly realised that the current portal had no apparent way to identify whether a particular task had been completed or a case had a status change. To facilitate this lo-fi wires were scamped up in order to show how statuses and actions could be added to the portal. Based on this output new portal features were then identified and added to the product roadmap.

2. Improve client sign up

When streamlining the current enquiry to quote flows we wanted to understand whether adding a triage feature would negatively impact the initial enquiry journey. After running moderated comparative tests with new users I realised that instead SME owners weren't confident in the enquiry category selections that they were making, they also didn't fully understand what would happen after submitting the enquiry. As a result I re-worked the enquiry process to include an onboarding page outlining next steps. Category selection also included a 'not sure/other' option which would hand the user off to the OPS team to clarify their enquiry. All of which positively impacted the number of completed enquiries and correct lawyer assignments leading to higher quote conversions.

Subscriptions were also performing poorly and so as part of a wider project, plans were simplified and their prices modified. To support, this I ran surveys with clients in order to understand current plan perceptions. Additionally, concepts were tested with new and existing users to understand what their expectations were and what they understood. Feedback indicated that we needed to clarify that lawyer calls did not include legal advice, which was a particular flash point, and that users needed to understand roughly how much their enquiry would cost before committing to a plan. Whilst we could never predict the cost of a legal enquiry, we could provide typical ballpark costs and timeframes for common enquiries. By creating a cost slider the user could see how much their enquiry might cost and how much they could save with a plan versus paying a typical high street law firm.

3. Support lawyer case management

After talking with lawyers it was clear that their daily work routines were varied at best. Predominantly their focus was on the client and providing legal advice but they also had to field enquiries, create quotes whilst manage other organisations outside of LawBite at the same time. In short, lawyers needed to know quickly what had changed on their cases and what they needed to complete that day so that they're successfully managing their workload and meeting client expectations. As it stood they already had a number of ways of organising themselves outside the platform, from using Excel and iOS Reminders through to jotting notes each morning.

In exploring how the portal could provide a better lawyer experience, I prototyped a dashboard which provided latest case updates, upcoming tasks (both system and lawyer generated) as well as a list of client calls for any given day. A number of lawyers also indicated that striking off completed tasks was highly satisfying, so task items on the dashboard could also be marked as complete and removed from view. The lawyer experience was further enhanced by providing a billing area, which was indicated by lawyers as a highly beneficial feature, which would allow the lawyer to view invoice amounts, see cases converted and enquiries received over time.