Tech-driven success: How Legl reshaped Hedges Law’s client onboarding

The problem

Hedges Law, a long-standing and rapidly growing law firm, with an emphasis on family dispute resolution, property and private client matters, faced significant operational challenges around client onboarding and payment processing. The traditional approach they were using was archaic and time-consuming, relying heavily on PDFs, Word documents and emails for client data collection.

Additionally, their legacy payment system didn’t meet their needs for a no-counterparty-risk, fast-settlement, and around-the-clock accessible solution. They also recognised the potential benefits of blockchain technology for their payments infrastructure and wanted to align with a technology that could offer this advanced solution. Overall, Hedges Law needed a more streamlined and efficient way to onboard clients, capture necessary data, validate IDs and process payments.

The solution

Hedges Law implemented Legl, a SaaS solution that integrates with their existing Actionstep infrastructure. Legl provided the firm with a simple, intuitive user interface that ticked all the boxes: payment processing, verified ID verification, and data collection. Furthermore, its 24/7 availability meant it could serve clients whenever they needed to make a payment.

The Legl solution also extended the firm’s capabilities in terms of client onboarding. The process shifted from a clunky email-PDF workflow to a slick, web-based system where clients could click on a link and complete the onboarding process independently, including ID checks and payments. Hedges Law recognised the simplicity of the Legl solution and its potential to remove barriers in client interactions.

The results

The introduction of Legl saw immediate improvements in both the payment processing and client onboarding areas. The firm could provide a smoother, more efficient client experience with fewer barriers to engagement, which had been a significant challenge with their previous solutions. The technology’s around-the-clock availability empowered clients to make payments and onboard whenever suited them best.

While Hedges Law did not measure specific metrics, the difference in efficiency was evident, and feedback from clients indicated a significant improvement in their experience. The new client onboarding system was significantly faster than before, depending on the user’s motivation, and reduced the time clients spent on administrative tasks, enabling them to focus more on their legal matters. The shift to a more advanced, reliable and easily accessible payment system was also a notable improvement.

Looking ahead, Hedges Law sees potential for further innovation, particularly in relation to blockchain technologies in their payment infrastructure. The successful implementation of Legl in their operations sets the stage for potential future collaborations in this arena.

Favourite feature

From the users’ perspective, the ease and speed with which they can request a payment (money on account), request an ID check from a client is an extremely valuable feature of the Legl platform. From the practice perspective, the simplicity and intuitive user interface (UI) of Legl is greatly appreciated. The platform’s roadmap, which outlines the future direction of the technology, also stands out as a favourite aspect, allowing Hedges Law to contribute to the system’s evolution and continually improve the experience for their clients and team.

Risk and Compliance

While the firm hasn’t carried out a detailed comparative analysis, they believe Legl has helped them level up their risk and compliance requirements. One standout feature in this regard is the capacity to integrate the platform with their existing Actionstep infrastructure through APIs.

Internal Business Processes and Efficiencies

Hedges Law acknowledges the importance of Legl’s customer success team, who have been instrumental in training and supporting the firm to use the platform effectively. They believe that while having good technology is important, understanding, practising, and using it to improve is crucial. Legl’s client success team, especially Eve, has been integral in enabling Hedges Law to quickly migrate from their old process and maximise the benefits of the platform, with minimal disruption.

Client Feedback

Client feedback about the switch to Legl has been mixed but generally positive. Some older or less tech-savvy clients have encountered difficulties adjusting to the new system. However, many other clients have commented on the system’s ease of use. Though explicit praise for the new process isn’t frequent, the firm has noticed a decrease in complaints, which they interpret as a positive sign. The firm is comfortable stating that, overall, their clients appreciate the Legl platform, despite not having hard data to back up this assertion.

Ease and Efficiency

The focus of Hedges Law is on reducing barriers and making processes easier for their clients. They believe that by simplifying their processes using Legl, they have improved the client experience, even if they can’t quantify the increase in conversions. Their business intelligence (BI) from Cloudify Legal suggests faster client onboarding results.

Embracing Technology

When it comes to law firms not embracing technology to improve client experience and business efficiency, Hedges Law takes a very straightforward stance: firms that refuse to evolve with technology will eventually go out of business. The shrinking number of law firms in the UK is seen as a clear indication of this trend. Firms that resist technological innovation out of fear of change may struggle to survive in the long term. The adoption of cloud-based solutions is considered a necessary step for successful and secure operation in today’s legal industry.

Partnership with Legl

Hedges Law views Legl as a strong, integral, and strategic industry partner. They break down their legal service delivery into three phases: onboarding, providing the service, and off-boarding or cycling clients back through for additional services. The onboarding process is deemed crucial, where making it easy for clients to engage, provide data, and navigate necessary legal hurdles is paramount. The firm anticipates their partnership with Legl will continue to grow as it remains an efficient, cost-effective solution for streamlining these processes.