Challenges

Hundreds of meetings scheduled manually

Mike Morse Law Firm, Michigan’s largest personal injury law firm, takes pride in providing clients with the best and most engaged legal representation.

Receiving over 500 calls a day, the firm is always in high demand, and like many law firms, operated too long using outdated procedures.

“We were doing things the old way and needed to change,” says John Georgatos, Chief Information Officer.

The firm’s phone and practice management systems struggled to keep up with the volume. Sometimes, meetings just disappeared from calendars, or conference calls glitched, which wasn’t good for the firm’s clients or reputation.

Booking meetings required clients to call an administrative assistant, who then had to track down a lawyer to schedule a call.

Multiple calls and emails were also common.

“We sometimes had email chains going back and forth 20 times just to book a meeting,” says John.

Both lawyers and clients were frustrated by the tedious process.

Lawyers tried to avoid red tape by giving clients their direct phone numbers, but that quickly became overwhelming. “Lawyers would get flooded with calls. There were no barriers to protect their time.”

A more efficient digital solution was in order.

The firm wanted to set a new industry standard by transforming their digital workflow to engage with clients more productively. This was important as law firms around the country rely on operational advice from Fireproof Performance, Mike Morse Law Firm’s subsidiary consulting business.

John and the team transformed the law firm’s operations in just 90 days.

Old desktop computers were replaced with portable devices, and work was migrated into the cloud using Microsoft Azure. Zoom was introduced to handle virtual meetings, team chats, and phone calls.

The firm’s entire workflow became more efficient, but one piece of the puzzle was missing — a simpler way to schedule meetings.

John looked for a tool that would fit into the firm’s new tech ecosystem and found Calendly.

“We didn’t want clients to feel like they had to climb a mountain just to speak to an attorney,” says John. “We love Calendly because it is very user-friendly and has multiple integration options.”

Calendly plugged into Mike Morse Law Firm’s new operating system and instantly created a seamless booking experience for clients and lawyers.

Solution

Building a foundation for growth

John chose Calendly’s Enterprise plan to set a strong foundation for future growth. “We’re a small business that’s planning to double in size and revenue,” says John. “We want to start thinking about being an enterprise and need to adopt secure and efficient tools to support us.”

At first, attorneys were unsure how the solution would impact client relations. But, after a small team did a Calendly trial and got time-saving results, adoption soared to 100%.

Providing simpler access to attorneys with one-on-one meetings

Clients need to meet with attorneys for a range of reasons from early discussions to quick check-ins before a settlement.

It’s now simpler to schedule these calls with Calendly’s one-on-one events.

Clients now book calls directly through Calendly.

Attorneys take control of their schedules by pre-setting available meeting times. “My favorite part about Calendly is that you have full control over your calendar,” says Kate Nachazel, Business Coach at Fireproof Performance. “You set the times you are available and everything else is blocked off, giving you space for focused work.”

Adding time limits to meetings also helps attorneys manage their workload and spread time evenly across clients.

Automating coordination with Workflows and Meeting Polls

Calendly Workflows automate meeting reminders to reduce no-shows and maintain client relations.

“You can customize reminders to be sent at any time before your meeting,” says Kate. “We usually send an email 24 hours beforehand and find it reduces missed appointments.”

Meeting Polls help teams find the best time for group calls without the need for long email chains. “I love Calendly Meeting Polls,” says Kate. “I send a poll and get automatic results so I know when everyone is going to be available for a meeting.”

Overall, automation has given administrative staff more time to do work like proofread legal documents and organize court dates. “Our staff has more time, and they no longer need to handle the minutiae of dealing with calendars,” says John.

Connecting easily into existing tech stack

Calendly connects to other tools in the law firm’s digital ecosystem, including Microsoft Azure and Outlook, Hubspot,  and Zoom.

“Calendly auto-generates Zoom links and Outlook meetings without me having to think about it,” says Kate. “I appreciate anything that makes my life simpler when I’m juggling many, many meetings and emails.”

John utilizes Calendly’s security features including Azure single sign-on, which allows employees to use their organization credentials to log onto the platform. This reduces the risk of weak passwords and gives IT teams more control over access. “Calendly is what I call a ‘new gen’ tool. It adapts to what we need with multiple integration options and features like single sign-on.”

Results

12 hours per month saved

Many companies have to wait months or even years before they see a return on investment (ROI) from technology products.

Mike Morse Law Firm didn’t have that problem. “We saw ROI almost instantly,” says John.

As soon as Calendly was implemented, long email chains and back-and-forth phone calls were eliminated. “We’ve given clients more accessibility to our lawyers,” says John.

Attorneys also love using the platform. This includes those who work at Mike Morse Law Firm and those who consult with Fireproof Performance. “Lawyers have court appearances and depositions to attend. Their calendars don’t have much wiggle room,” says Kate. “They love being able to book a meeting right from my calendar at a time that suits them best.”

For employees, Calendly has reduced a lot of stress. So far, the platform has helped save 12 hours of work per month. Administrative staff now have more time to assist lawyers with their casework.

“Calendly has saved me a lot of time and stress,” says Kate. “It’s a no-brainer for anyone looking to upgrade their scheduling and create a more efficient workflow.”

John agrees, pointing out that Calendly was the scheduling solution their organization needed. "Wearing my CIO hat, this was the perfect tool to pick when we think about today's world and how it integrates into our ecosystem. This was one of the best decisions and investments that we've made."

Ready to explore what Calendly can do for your bottom line? Contact our Sales team today.