Start Fresh: A Legacy System is the Recycling Bin for All Your Old Business Processes

Most law firms need to update their technology, and many are aware of it. 

 

Of course, that doesn’t mean they will actually update their technology.  A primary reason for the reluctance is simple: data transfers suck.  For example, if you’re thinking of replacing your case management software, one of the main reasons you would hold off is because the data migration seems costly, and time-consuming.  That’s because it is. 



But, what if you just kept your existing system, until it aged out?  That may sound crazy, but hear me out: 

 

If you’re shifting from a premise-based system to a cloud-based system, you’re not actually paying anything any longer for the premise-based system, because it’s not charged on a subscription model, like cloud software is.  So, pick a date for when you’ll adopt your new cloud-based system, and start adding all new clients into that software from that date forward.  Sure, you’ll be running two system (and performing a conflict check across both systems for a time), but eventually that old system will age out – and, those closed cases will get archived.  For some law firms, opting to keep a legacy system around, until its usefulness disappears, while onboarding a new system, is less problematic than the prospect of converting data into a new system – especially when you don’t have to pay for the old system.   

 

So, to migrate or not to migrate?  That is the question.  But, when it comes down it: Neither approach is wrong. 

 

However, if you can’t seem to overcome the daunting process surrounding a data conversion: you have my permission to skip it. 


. . . 

 

If you’re looking to change up your technology infrastructure, and can’t get over the hump, we can help! 

Through a unique partnership between the bar association and Jared Correia's Red Cave Law Firm Consulting, National Creditors' Bar Association members now have access to experienced law practice management consultants at a special discount rate. To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page, and start running your law practice like a business.

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