Personal Injury Firm Doesn’t Miss a Beat During Shutdowns
Managing Attorney Brandon Osterbind’s mission is straightforward and noble: help injured and disabled people recover money from insurance companies so that they can provide for their families.
Osterbind Law, PLLC
Lynchburg, Virginia
A Bit of Backstory
Managing Attorney Brandon Osterbind’s mission is straightforward and noble: help injured and disabled people recover money from insurance companies so that they can provide for their families.
He and his wife Kelly joined forces in 2017 to start Osterbind Law LLC after their respective tenures at larger firms. Since then, Osterbind Law has grown into a thriving 6-employee firm, capable of managing a large caseload with ease. Brandon shares how MyCase allows him to stay true to the promise of value set forth in his credo.
A Partnership with MyCase
Prior to our current law firm, I was working for what’s often referred to as a “legacy firm” — one of those ancient law firms from the 1930s that’s adverse to change. I’m of the opinion that doing something a certain way “because it’s always been done that way” is not the right way to run a competitive or efficient business. So, I made a point to “slaughter some sacred cows,” such as paper documents, in efforts to modernize.
During COVID-19, we didn’t miss a beat.– Brandon Osterbind, Managing Attorney, Osterbind Law, PLLC
What are the advantages of MyCase over legacy software?
Back in 2000, I worked for a firm that used server-based software. It was really clunky. Every time there was a software update, a computer person would literally have to come to our office and update it on every computer. Then, your computer is down for an hour while it’s getting updated, so the staff is unable to be productive. If you have five lawyers in an office, plus 10 support staff, waiting around for fifteen computers to be updated, that’s ridiculous. It’s just cumbersome and it’s hard to get everything done. I can’t imagine anyone still doing that in 2020 — but law firms still do!
With MyCase you don’t have to update anything — it happens automatically — and since it’s cloud-based, you can take it anywhere.
Tell us about your workplace transition to and from your physical office during COVID-19.
Before COVID-19, we already had one person working remotely from home — our settlement manager. He’s been using MyCase for three years working remotely and can see every document that comes in.
When all the shutdowns happened, our whole office staff was able to shift to remote operations overnight. We all took our computers, scanners, and phones home; that’s all the equipment we needed. Everything is stored on the cloud, so we had full access to all case details, documents, communications, and all of our leads. We didn’t have to pull out a physical file to figure out the next step on a case or the last time we talked to the client. All of that is done in MyCase.
During COVID-19, we didn’t miss a beat. We just kept doing the same thing that we would have done if we were at the office — except we did it from home. It was just easy.
MyCase is a lifeline; it gives me peace of mind that things are being taken care of.– Brandon Osterbind, Managing Attorney, Osterbind Law, PLLC
How did you provide your clients with excellent service during shutdowns?
Clients usually say that we ‘take over.’ That’s the best compliment that we can get. It’s in our best interest to resolve a case quickly, just like it’s in the client’s best interest to have it resolved quickly.
I introduce MyCase to all my new clients by telling them, “If you can use Facebook, you can use MyCase. It’s really that simple.” From there on in, they know they’ll have anytime access to every single document pertaining to their case and that they’ll be notified the instant there’s a case update.
It gives me peace of mind that the client messaging in MyCase back and forth is secure. It’s all protected. I set the expectation pretty early for our clients that we’re going to use MyCase to communicate instead of email, which does not have the same level of protection.
When COVID-19 happened, we started using eSignature and Intake Forms in MyCase because we weren’t sitting face to face with people. For better follow through with appointments, we send MyCase text reminders to both current and prospective clients. I rarely have a no-show.
How were you able to keep up with incoming leads?
I really like the leads dashboard in MyCase. The insights help us understand the conversion rate and progression of leads over any given time frame. If we open up the leads dashboard and see that seven or eight leads are pending, we know to resolve those immediately. The fact that everything is trackable and documented means we have seamless communication across our staff.
For better follow through with appointments, we send MyCase text reminders to both current and prospective clients. I rarely have a no-show.– Brandon Osterbind, Managing Attorney, Osterbind Law, PLLC
How was your staff able to collaborate remotely?
At my old firm, attorneys were siloed and everyone was responsible for his or her caseload. Here, we work as a team, and we’re all working our cases together. If we’re down a person, the next staff member steps up. That frees us up to live life the way we want to live it. If I want to take the afternoon off and go to one of my kids’ performances at school, or just randomly go to the park one day, I can do that, and my staff has that same flexibility.
To make this possible, we use Workflows heavily in our practice. We’ve created them from scratch and now every time a new case comes in, the first thing we do upload the workflow. I don’t think people realize that you can create automated tasks and automated calendar events and documents. With all of those working together, it guarantees that things get done.
We can resolve cases quicker because we work really well together and everyone understands their role. And if something happens to fall through the cracks, we’ll know almost immediately and someone will handle it. There’s a great deal of trust on our team, which is necessary to do the type of work that we do.
What would you say to legal professionals reluctant to adopt modern legal technology?
The harsh way of saying it is “adapt or die.” That’s business; that’s the nature of our world. If you don’t adapt, you go out of business.
I know a lot of attorneys who lament the addition of new attorneys to the local bar because they’re stealing “our business” by providing a modern and streamlined client experience that gets them referrals. Well, number one, it’s not your business. If you’re not going to give clients a great experience, then they’re going to find it elsewhere.
Why recommend MyCase?
In years like 2020, where things are just crazy, you should have a solid foundation for your law firm so that when things like this happen, it doesn’t necessarily disrupt business. Things keep going, people keep calling, and clients still need help.
MyCase is a lifeline; it gives me peace of mind that things are being taken care of. I can see what needs to be done and I can see what has been done. If I’m away or I go on vacation, seeing all the case progress in our activity stream is music to my ears. With the help of MyCase, I always know that things are getting done and money is coming in.
