Strohman Ford Attorneys is an Oregon-based law firm specializing in estate planning and administration with a commitment to personal, friendly, and precise legal service. Since its founding, the firm has grown from a solo practice to a 14-person team with five attorneys. Smokeball made this growth possible: saving time on document creation, allowing for scalable workflows, and supporting the operational infrastructure to support year-over-year caseload increases.

Finding a scalable software program for a solo firm with ambitious plans for growth

Paralegal Dannee Damerell has years of experience utilizing and optimizing law firm data. When she joined Strohman Ford, she immediately recognized the need for effective case management software. She and the only attorney at the firm at the time had plans to significantly scale the business. Dannee needed a platform that would bridge the gap between basic tools for a solo practice and enterprise software solutions. “The programs that were marketed to small firms were really nothing more than a glorified Rolodex,” says Dannee. When she found Smokeball, she recognized the robust feature set found in other powerhouse programs, but at a scale appropriate for small firm implementation. " Smokeball came out as a clear leader, offering top features while still being reasonable for a small firm,” emphasizes Dannee.

Smokeball’s robust feature set optimizes and standardizes operations

By implementing Smokeball at the firm’s inception, Dannee and her attorney optimized operations and enabled the business to grow. And once she became accustomed to Smokeball’s features, she couldn’t go back. The firm leverages:

• Document automation, reducing time spent on letter drafting by 95%
• Customized workflows to standardize procedures for each matter type
• Remote access to complete file information anywhere at any time
• Automated deadlines and conflict checking to eliminate manual tracking on matters

These features, paired with world-class customer support, allows Strohman Ford to grow alongside Smokeball as their trusted partner. “Whether I'm trying to resolve an issue or looking for ways to enhance our functions in forms and task flows, Smokeball is right there to answer questions, provide support, and help find ways to improve," Dannee adds.

12 added staff members, 95%-time savings, and steady increase in caseload

Strohman Ford has grown from a solo practice with one paralegal to a thriving firm with five attorneys and 9 additional staff members. Smokeball enabled this growth by standardizing processes and creating a consistent repeatable approach to operations. Smokeball delivers a 95%-time savings on document creation while simultaneously building the procedural infrastructure needed to onboard staff quickly and maintain consistency across multiple attorneys. These efficiencies directly enable the firm to handle an ever-increasing caseload year over year. “When looking at the numbers, we’re handling more every year. I know that growth is only possible because of the efficiencies built into Smokeball,” describes Dannee.

But this consistent growth hasn’t come at the expense of work-life balance. “Smokeball knows what I've done and what I need to do, so when I leave at the end of the day, I can leave it with Smokeball,” says Dannee. From solo practitioner to thriving multi-attorney firm, Smokeball didn't just support Strohman Ford's growth, it made it possible.