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To increase efficiency in law firms, some tips should be followed such as record work time, coaching, and eliminating distractions

Efficiency is a sometimes invariable factor within law firms. All legal professionals strive to achieve it in their working day. Long working hours, or the stress generated within the office, are causes that undermine efficiency. 

Here are a few tips to keep in mind to increase efficiency: 

Record your time, whether it is time spent for a specific client or time spent entirely in the office. This way, you can analyse at the end of each week how many hours you spend in the office and which tasks you have ended up doing. 

Efficiency also means prioritising. Making a list of daily and weekly tasks is important. Highlighting the highest-priority tasks from that list is crucial. This technique, easy on paper, has to be practised every day and will guarantee in the medium to long term an improvement in efficiency. 

Lawyers are increasingly multitasking professionals. Although lawyers often encounter unforeseen events, it is important not to change tasks during the day, especially if they are a priority. 

Compare and analyse with other colleagues. Efficiency is not, so to speak, an exact science. There is no concrete mechanism that guarantees efficiency. But what you can do is talk to other colleagues in the office and ask them about their methods to increase efficiency. They may provide interesting clues.

Coaching or group meetings can promote efficiency in the firm. It is essential that managers and heads of departments monitor the work of their employees on a weekly basis. Always from a constructive point of view. In these weekly meetings, it is possible to determine which tasks have been completed, which have not been completed and which can be carried out in the coming week. Through these meetings, impressions and tips are shared that can be useful for each employee. 

Removing distractions also increases effectiveness. Whether working from home or from the office, there are countless distractions to avoid. Social media is a good example. 

Another tip that is starting to be practised in the legal sector is to set a time limit for working hours. Although this action contradicts the traditional methods applied by law firms (where long working hours are the norm), limiting working hours helps lawyers to organise themselves more efficiently, and to consider that priority tasks have to be carried out on a given day, working smarter.