The rise of subscription software (also called “software as a service,” or SaaS) has revolutionized small law firms’ access to powerful practice management applications that once were affordable only for much larger firms with deeper resources.
… David Houlihan, principal analyst with Blue Hill Research in Boston, estimates that adopting state-of-the-art practice management applications saves 48 to 96 hours per year per attorney. Of the firms he studied for a recent report, the smallest one converted nearly all of that saved time into billable hours. Houlihan calculates the likely annual return (increased revenue minus software subscription fees) between $2,264 and $21,895 per attorney, based on a national average billing rate of $234 per hour.
