Workload and availability for law firms
Partners and practice managers see who has room for new work, today and in the weeks ahead. Lawyers keep it current with one click in Teams, Outlook or on their iPhone.
Wemble began inside Mannheimer Swartling, one of the largest law firms in northern Europe, and is one of five companies in MSA Innovation Lab, the firm’s legal tech incubator, alongside Legora, Stilta and others.
We replaced outdated Excel spreadsheets with live updates. This has given us a much better overview of our workload and made delegation easier.
In use since 2020A simple tool for distributing assignments efficiently and ensuring the right workload. We have been actively using Wemble for years.
SelmerUsing Wemble for more than five yearsUrgent matters staffed in one to two hours, down from half a day.
Read the case studyWemble gives me visibility into who in our firm has both the availability and the expertise to take on projects. The information is accurate and timely, streamlining our project teams.
Before Wemble
Show what was billed last week. They cannot say who has room for a matter that starts on Monday.
Reach the lawyers a partner already knows. People with room in other groups and offices are not asked.
Out of date after one client call. A firm’s own tools fade when updating is a chore, and the calls start again.
Wemble is pinned in Teams, opens inside Outlook and runs on the iPhone. An associate sets how busy they are today and in the weeks ahead, and every partner’s screen updates at once.
Madison updates once on her iPhone. Her card in a partner’s Teams shows it at once.
People who keep their status current are never reminded. When updates slip, Wemble reminds them in Teams, on the iPhone or by email, and the firm chooses which. The email has one button per level: one click updates the status, without signing in.
Where partners staff from Wemble, they look for people who have room and have done similar work, and contact them directly. Reporting room is how associates are offered the matters they want; reporting a full week keeps new ones away.
Once the firm’s time-recording system is connected, Wemble turns time entries into hours by client, work type, industry and practice area. Nobody writes a profile. Associates star the work they want more of, and partners see the stars next to the hours.
For partners and practice managers
Filter the firm by availability and by experience from time entries. Each result shows the hours behind it and whether the person wants more of that work.
Today, next week and further ahead, with short comments such as “Back from vacation, ramping up”.
Client, work type, industry, practice area or responsible partner, over three months, a year or all time.
Stars show who wants more of a kind of work, so partners can offer it to the people asking for it.
Wemble’s statistics put the two side by side, so the firm sees who is carrying more than the hours show. Associates see their own; who else sees statistics is set per role.
The same practice can be stretched in one office and waiting for work in another. Wemble puts both on one screen.
Associates with room sit in another office or group while the same few people take on more. Work gets turned down, or lands on the people who already have the most.
Calls, emails and Monday meetings to find out who is free. At Faber Daeufer & Itrato, staffing an urgent matter went from half a day to one to two hours with Wemble.
Overload drives associates out, and so does too little work. The NALP Foundation puts the cost of one departing associate at up to $500,000, counting recruiting, onboarding and the months before a replacement is fully productive.
The NALP Foundation, Update on Associate Attrition, CY 2017
Wemble reads time entries from the time-recording system, signs people in with Microsoft and puts the update where lawyers already work.
An administrator can pin the Teams app for everyone.
Read-only. The Aderant connection is in development.
Single sign-on. Accounts are created when people first sign in.
Partners can run the rollout with your IT team.
Set Wemble up for one group. After a month, ask one question: are people still keeping it current?
