As the Strohschein Law Group continued to scale, owner Linda Strohschein began her search for a practice management software that would help her growing staff stay organized. She was hesitant to make an investment as many of her colleagues had told her horror stories about their case management tools. But then she found Smokeball, and it seemed to fit her practice’s needs perfectly.
Linda Strohschein set out to start her own firm to handle probate litigation. After a couple of years, her firm expanded from having only one person on staff to a full house of 14 staff members. Although Strohschein Law Group was able to take on more cases, it became increasingly difficult for the staff to communicate and track all their emails, documents, phone messages, and meetings.
Business was still booming but it was becoming increasingly more difficult for staff to efficiently manage all the communication and tasks surrounding the additional caseload. Linda and her team decided that it was time to make a change. They began an extensive search for a practice management solution that could keep pace with their expanding firm and caseload while also demonstrating an understanding of their area of practice.
With the help of Smokeball, not only has the law firm’s efficiency increased dramatically, its document creation was simplified, communication improved, and most importantly, Strohschein Law Group continued to respond to clients in a timely manner despite the growing caseload.
Growing Pains
After growing from having a single employee to having to 14 employees, the staff found on a day-to-day basis that they lacked details that they needed to execute their tasks well and provide high-quality service to their clients. Strohschein Law Group staff struggled to find a reliable practice management solution that would fit the needs of the firm. Linda wanted to make sure the software solution would serve as a long-term solution that could keep up with their growth.
Then Linda Found Smokeball
After reviewing the Smokeball software, Linda realized that Smokeball was the missing piece that her firm needed. Not only did Smokeball provide a way to consolidate all of the fi rm’s paper case files, but the program’s easy-to-use interface also made it simple for Linda’s employees to streamline communication and collaboration—something that they desperately needed. Smokeball’s Daily Digest feature even ensured that the Strohschein team would have an easy way to track client messages and missed calls, thereby allowing the firm to “serve every client a little bit better.”
The Perfect Match
Today, the team at Strohschein Law Group can manage client issues from anywhere. And because of that, they no longer need to rent storage facilities to house old case files. Now that all of the firm’s files and paperwork are stored electronically, members of the firm can access their files remotely and are now better prepared to take unexpected client calls on almost any issue, even if they don’t have a physical file with them.
Linda’s team members were understandably wary about making the move to new software, but Smokeball’s onboarding team eliminated all the pain points, and employees were up and running in a matter of days. Strohschein attorney, Bridget Wrobel, even describes the transition to Smokeball as “quick, easy, and fun.” According to Wrobel, the onboarding team helped “bridge the gap” between employees and clients providing a clear communication model that will continue to serve the firm as it grows.
