With some people working from home and others moving in and out of the office in shifts, it has become more challenging to run matters effectively, track all the issues, and know who’s working on what. You’re probably spending ages scrolling through your inbox looking for updates. But it doesn’t have to be so hard… You’re probably ready for an online matter management board - a highly visual, quick, and easy way to manage your client files more effectively, more efficiently, and with less stress.

Welcome to Gimbal’s Tip of the Week, where you get practical, actionable advice you can use right away to start building a more productive and profitable legal practice.

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Last month, [link to first February tip: https://gimbalcanada.com/0/team-work-group/] our tips focused on working effectively in a post-COVID world. We believe remote teams are here to stay, even when things return somewhat to “normal.”

This month, we’ve focused on matter management, sharing tips for using visual matter management boards to run your deals and cases more effectively. If you still need help setting up your board, go ahead and download our Matter Management Quick-Start Guide for step-by-step instructions. 

Matter management boards work because they go beyond the to-do list and the day planner, and help you display longer term, complex tasks in a simple, systematic way. They’re great for staying on top of your own work…but where these boards really shine is coordinating and staying on top of work that has been delegated across a whole team. And matter management boards are a game-changer when your team works from different locations.

Online matter management boards give remote teams a central place to see what’s going on at “the office.” The board communicates roles, responsibilities, and tasks to each team member. Digital cards display critical information like due dates, task assignments, links to templates, next steps, and follow-ups. Team members get notifications and reminders.

Anyone can check a board any time and from any where to see the progress of a matter. People know what they have to do, when they have to do it, the resources available to help them do it, and how their work fits into the overall matter. They get structure and clarity. All things we know are essential for effective remote teams. [Insert the link to the first post in February again right here (use “effective remote teams” as the anchor for the link).]

There are lots of great platforms out there, but if you use a legal-specific platform like Legalboards, for example, you’ll be able to integrate your matter management boards directly into a practice management system such as Clio, and save even more time and effort.

This week’s tip: go digital. Set your remote team up for success by creating and using online matter management boards. Lawyers who use matter management boards find it much easier to manage client files on time and on budget with a whole lot less effort and stress.

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Thanks, everyone!