Case Study: How Our Business Transformation Drove a 15% Increase in Billable Hours at a Miami Law Firm

Client: “Diaz & Partners,” a successful and highly respected litigation firm in Miami, Florida. Service Area: Business Transformation & Strategy Consulting Challenge: The firm’s operational infrastructure was stuck in the past. An over-reliance on manual processes and outdated technology meant partners were losing valuable time to administrative work, case preparation was inefficient, and they were beginning to lose clients to more modern competitors. Solution: We architected a complete business transformation, implementing a modern, cloud-based case management system, automating key workflows, and restructuring their support staff. This unlocked significant partner capacity and created a more agile, client-focused, and profitable firm.

Introduction

Diaz & Partners built its reputation on the legal brilliance of its senior partners. They were winning big cases, but they were working too hard for it. The firm operated much as it had for 20 years: paper files, manual billing, and minimal technology. This “old school” approach was once a point of pride, but it had become a significant business liability in a world where clients expected digital access and efficiency.

The Problem: Brilliant Lawyers, Broken Processes

The firm’s operational inefficiency was a major drag on performance:

• Wasted Partner Time: Senior partners were spending an estimated 10 hours per week on non-billable administrative tasks—chasing documents, manually reviewing invoices, and overseeing administrative staff—time that could have been spent on high-value legal work.
• Slow Case Progression: The discovery phase of their cases was notoriously slow. Paralegals spent countless hours manually organizing paper documents, a process that was both time-consuming and prone to error.
• Loss of Competitive Edge: They lacked a secure client portal or any digital method for case collaboration. This made them appear outdated and was a growing point of friction for their corporate clients.

The Catalyst for Change: A Wake-Up Call from a Key Client

The firm was shaken when a major corporate client, who had been with them for over a decade, moved their multi-million dollar litigation portfolio to a competitor. The reason given was direct: the competitor’s modern technology platform, which included a secure client portal for real-time case updates and document sharing, offered a level of transparency and efficiency Diaz & Partners couldn’t match.

Our Strategic Solution

We were engaged to modernize the firm from the inside out.

1. Operational Diagnostic & Workflow Redesign: We began by mapping every process, from client intake to final billing. We identified dozens of bottlenecks and redundancies and designed new, streamlined digital workflows.
2. Technology Selection & Implementation: We guided the firm through the selection of a new, cloud-based case management system. We managed the entire implementation and data migration process and, crucially, developed and delivered a comprehensive training program to ensure adoption by every lawyer and staff member.
3. Support Staff Restructuring: We restructured the paralegal and administrative support teams. Instead of generalists assigned to partners, we created specialized pods focused on e-discovery, filings, and client relations, creating deeper expertise and greater efficiency.

The Transformation: The Firm of the Future

Our business transformation initiative repositioned Diaz & Partners for the next decade of growth.

• Increased Firm-Wide Billable Hours by 15%: By automating administrative tasks and freeing up senior partners, the firm captured thousands of additional billable hours per year without hiring more lawyers.
• Accelerated Case Timelines: The new e-discovery process and streamlined workflows shortened the pre-trial phase of their average case by 30 days, delighting clients and improving cash flow.
• New Client Acquisition: The firm’s new, secure client portal became a major selling point. They successfully leveraged it to win two major new corporate clients within six months of launch, more than replacing the revenue from the client they had lost.