A Legal Technology Consultant Requires Best-in-Class Entity Management Software
A law school graduate with a technology background, Andy Chiang founded his eponymous firm, Chiang Consulting, to help firms of all sizes retain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving legal field. His primary role is to find and implement best-in-class technology solutions for his
law firm clients. “It's a constant technology arms race between the different firms," he said. "All my clients are law firms, and I do the research for them to find the legal technology that will make them as efficient and competitive as possible."
Chiang finds the optimal technology solution for each client, tailors it to their unique needs, and then oversees the implementation of the new technology. When a client asked him to assist in implementing Athennian, Chiang immediately realized that the platform offered powerful benefits and features that competing business entity management software did not.
Client Challenges Range from Outdated Technology to Inefficient Workflows
Chiang works with a broad array of law firm clients, each with their own unique set of challenges. For entity data management, the solution is often Athennian. During his initial client needs assessment, Chiang often notes multiple time-consuming tasks that increase the firm's non-billable hours, such as director verification and signatures for complex sets of documents. "Imagine dozens of different documents where you have to copy and paste signature blocks for directors," he said. "One of the first things a paralegal would need to do is check the minute book for who the directors are and then populate their names throughout the documents’ signature pages. What a waste of time. Properly implemented, Athennian automatically creates and populates the directors’ signature blocks in seconds. There are many time-consuming processes like that that can be automated."
Chiang also often sees outdated technology used in core elements of his client's workflows. "Some clients rely on static PDF scans of key documents, and others still rely on hard copies for their minute books," he said. "What if it gets lost? There are so many issues with static or physical documents."
Some of Chiang's clients also have partners with a mix of technology aptitudes, making it difficult to implement many other technology solutions. "Sometimes I encounter lawyers who are really tech-oriented, and they'll jump right in," he said. "On the other side of the spectrum, a more traditional lawyer might insist on having everything on paper. Athennian can be adapted to aid both kinds of lawyers."
Athennian Provides Powerful and Customizable Solutions to Increase Efficiency
Chiang finds that Athennian is easily adaptable from the smallest law practice to the largest national firm. "A small firm set up for everyone to work from home needs a different solution than a massive firm where everyone comes into the office every day," Chiang said. "They operate in different ways, but Athennian can work for both."
He often leverages Athennian's document automation features to tailor custom workflows for his clients. "Athennian's automation is powerful yet flexible, both in terms of the work product and the process to create it," he said. "Almost anything you can do in Microsoft Word, you can include in Athennian-generated documents."
The platform also eliminates the additional workload and other issues associated with static documents or physical records like minute books. "Before Athennian, someone had to go find the physical minute book when a client requested it and then figure out how to get it to the client," said Chiang. "Athennian's virtual minute books eliminate that process and give the firm's clients the ability to access it themselves."
Athennian's customer service rapidly responds to Chiang"s requests. "Athennian always replies within hours," he said. "Ive never experienced a single dropped request with them, and they always keep me updated." For example, when Chiang requested specific features, such as time
stamps on custom reports, Athennian added them.
Chiang's Clients Decrease Non-Billable Hours and Increase Revenue with Athennian
Athennian's powerful automation features often result in dramatic efficiency increases for Chiang's clients. "When I'm implementing Athennian, I take very time-consuming processes that previously took hours or even days and convert them to something that can be accomplished with the click of a button," he said. He notes that clients often see significant decreases in non-billable hours after implementing Athennian. Chiang says that Athennian also creates potential new revenue streams for his clients. Some provide virtual minute book access to clients for an additional fee. Others generate additional revenue by automating suites of documents for clients, such as new employee agreements or director's resolutions with pre-generated clauses. "For many firms, we can create awesome templates that minimize workload and make the firm more competitive," said Chiang. "If I have a client with a fixed fee model, for example, they can drop their rate because things get done faster.”
Chiang also appreciates Athennian';s ability to meet users where they are . "I sometimes work with firms where one partner relies heavily on technology and another partner does not," he said. "Athennian's flexibility means I can adapt it for both partners. For example, if a partner who doesn't use technology wants a hard copy of client contact information, I can adapt Athennian's reports to the partner's preferences."
Once Athennian is implemented in one area, Chiang says requests from other practice areas often quickly follow. "Once they see it working so well, other departments want something similar too," he said. "Athennian is not only a fantastic way to minimize costs and increase efficiency, but also actually change the entire firm's perception of what legal technology can do."
Athennian's Role in the Legal Technology Industry Will Continue to Expand
As his client list expands, Chiang anticipates future projects will become more complex as his clients come to appreciate Athennian's full capabilities. "My clients realize that Athennian is so powerful, they can leverage it for other business processes,” he said. He also plans to help his clients use Athennian to automate increasingly complex documents and roll out implementations that leverage the full power of Athennian's integrations, such as invoicing and click-to-pay through DocuSign.
Chiang believes that Athennian will continue to alter the legal technology landscape. "Athennian is disrupting the legal industry because it is so powerful, and its effects are only going to grow over time," he said. "Athennian is now a critical piece in the arms race between law firms."
About Athennian
Athennian is a modern business entity and subsidiary governance platform that powers teams to be transaction, audit, and compliance-ready. Legal, finance, and tax professionals use Athennian to automate workflows for ownership, governance, tax, and corporate compliance.
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