CRM Critical for Law Firms

Silvia Coulter and Monica Bay penned an editorial in this month's Law Firm Inc on how important CRM software is to law firms, despite grumbling lawyers and reluctant administrators.  Here's how they ended the story:

"Yes, there are hurdles to overcome before your lawyers will embrace CRM. But trust us on this: If you don't use CRM, you will soon pay the price. Your competitors will not only know the name of BigCompany's GC's latest wife before you do, but they'll also find out that she is the GC of your top client. Don't wait 'til it's too late. "

Solid CRM goes beyond mailing lists and accurate data.  Good data illustrates the connectedness of the people in a firm, and opens doors to "cross-serving", deeper and richer relationships with client and prospect personnel, and can help avoid embarrassing moments, such as when two or more attorneys approach the same client for work simultaneously.  When an enterprise grows so large that its people can't yell across the hall or hang around the same water cooler, it needs a way to know who knows whom.

Here's the link (free registration required):

http://lawfirminc.law.com/display.php/file%3D/texts/0905/dls0905