How Codence Can Help Your Law Firm Eliminate Manual Processing

Still buried in paperwork and repeated tasks? Codence helps law firms take the manual work off their plate with custom FileMaker apps. The result? Less time chasing files, fewer errors, and more focus on what matters: your cases.

Manual processes can slow down even the most efficient legal team. Whether you’re tracking deadlines, managing case files, or juggling billing and client communication, all that repetitive work eats away at time and energy. And for a busy law firm, time is money.

This article shows how Codence works with legal teams to streamline operations using Claris FileMaker. Through custom apps and smart integration with your existing tools, Codence helps eliminate manual steps and boost your team’s performance.

How Manual Work Cuts Into Your Firm’s Productivity

Every firm hits that moment: someone asks, “Why are we still doing it this way?” Whether it’s hunting through folders for a file or realizing a client’s info hasn’t been updated, these small inefficiencies make it harder to improve law firm efficiency over time.

Here’s how routine admin work can turn into real business problems:

Decreased Billable Hours

Time spent updating spreadsheets or tracking down paperwork is time not billed. Manual work cuts directly into your revenue. Multiply those minutes over a week or month, and you’re missing real income and reducing time spent on higher-value legal work.

Employee Burnout and Turnover

Legal professionals already operate under pressure. Piling on repetitive tasks adds frustration and leads to burnout. Eventually, good people leave. That means more hiring, more training, and more disruption.

In other industries, automation has helped reduce this kind of stress. A 2024 study published in the South East European Journal of Economics and Business found that automated tools significantly lowered emotional exhaustion in employees. Law firms can benefit from the same.

Client Dissatisfaction

Clients expect quick, clear communication and fast results. When your systems are slow or scattered, response times drop, mistakes creep in, and clients lose confidence. Manual processes often create these delays, especially when the task could be automated.

Why Generic Legal Software Falls Short

A one-size-fits-all legal software package might seem like an easy fix. But after implementation, it often becomes clear: the software isn’t built for how your firm works.

That’s the catch. These tools are designed for the average firm. But legal work is anything but average. Complex workflows, sensitive data, firm-specific routines, off-the-shelf platforms tend to fall short.

Custom FileMaker apps built with Codence are tailored to your team’s processes. You don’t adjust your firm to fit the tool. You get tools that fit your firm.

A Strategic Partner, Not Just a Software Vendor

Codence starts with a deep look at your day-to-day operations. How does your team work? What slows you down? Where do you lose time or make avoidable mistakes?

Instead of offering a pre-built template, Codence builds a custom Claris FileMaker app around your workflows. Think of it as collaborative software design: your input shapes the tool.

As your processes evolve, the app evolves with them. Whether you need better tracking, reporting, or system integrations, the solution is always grounded in what makes your team faster and more effective.

The result isn’t just software. It’s a smarter, more focused way to run your firm.

Success Story: Transforming Legal Operations with Codence

When a legal firm saw their legacy DOS-based system struggling, they called Codence. With over 30,000 clients exposed to toxic substances, the firm needed a faster way to manage thousands of settlement checks each month.

Codence built a custom FileMaker application that automated critical workflows, including fund tracking, legal fee calculations, and final disbursements. The system also connected with Codence’s Genesis accounting platform for seamless financial management.

Here’s what changed:

• No more manual processing of thousands of settlement checks;
• Hundreds of hours saved each month;
• Operational capacity increased by over 300 percent;
• Multi-user access improved transparency and collaboration.

This is what it looks like when your software works for you, not against you.

Start Small, Win Big: Simple Steps to Automation

You don’t have to overhaul everything at once. In fact, most successful transformations start with just one question: What’s the one task that wastes the most time right now?

Focusing on that single pain point lets your team see quick wins and builds trust in the new system. From there, you can expand. Add features. Connect systems. Automate more.

With Codence and FileMaker, you set the pace. And each improvement moves your firm forward.

The momentum is already here: according to the 2024 Future of Professionals Report by Thomson Reuters, 77 percent of legal professionals expect major changes in their work within five years, mostly driven by automation. The goal? Less busywork. More real legal work.

Want To See What’s Possible? Let’s Talk

Technology should work for your firm, not the other way around. Codence helps law firms stop the cycle of patching together outdated processes and start building smarter systems.

Whether you’re looking to fix one broken workflow or rethink your entire operation, we’re here to help.

Request a consultation and let’s explore how your team can move faster, with fewer errors, and more time to focus on what matters most.