Smokeball legal blog
Industry-leading Insights, trends, and expertise for the people practising people-law.
Powering People-Law: a new look for who we’ve always been
Discover what "powering people-law" means, and why it hasn't changed who we are.
Same Smokeball, new look: A letter from Hunter Steele
A personal letter from Smokeball CEO Hunter Steele on our new look.
Best legal case management software for small Australian firms: Features that matter most
Discover the essential features small Australian law firms need in legal practice management software to improve efficiency and profitability.
What is the difference between a general AI assistant and legal AI built for law firms?
Discover what separates general AI like ChatGPT from legal AI built for law firms and why Australian lawyers need purpose-built legal AI for client work
How Smokeball & LawY make legal research fast and simple
Watch our latest demonstration to see how powerful our LawY integration is for your legal research.
How Fountain Law works smarter with Archie AI
Smokeball and Archie have truly given Graham peace of mind to remain on top of his daily workload both as a lawyer and as business owner.
From Actionstep to Smokeball: Why Australian law firms are switching legal software in 2026
Compare Actionstep vs Smokeball legal software. See why law firms choose Smokeball for legal AI, practice management, legal document management and legal billing.
5 reasons why Australian lawyers switch from Clio to Smokeball Legal Practice Management Software
Compare Clio vs Smokeball legal software. See why law firms choose Smokeball for legal AI, practice management, legal document management and legal billing.
The next generation of Archie AI has arrived
Archie now works inside Word, Outlook, and your matters with agentic reasoning that delivers reliable answers you can act on.
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Legal AI Tools: A Practical Guide for Australian Lawyers in 2026
Discover the six categories of legal AI tools shaping Australian law firms in 2026, with a practical framework to evaluate, implement and use AI with confidence.
5 Essential Features Every Australian Law Firm Needs in Their Practice Management Software
Discover the five features every Australian law firm and lawyers needs in their legal practice management software to stay compliant, efficient and profitable.
Smokeball Recognised as a 2026 Gartner Digital Markets Leader
Smokeball is a 2026 Gartner Digital Markets Leader for legal practice management software used by Australian law firms with legal AI and more features.
Introducing the All-New Smokeball Dashboard
Introducing Smokeball's all-new Dashboard! Featuring significant enhancements to the way you can view your matter information and manage your workload.
Summit Recap: Supercharge the Productivity of your Matters
As the leading innovators in legal technology, Smokeball and InfoTrack provide a powerful suite of best in market productivity tools that streamline every aspect of your legal matters.
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Smokeball Product Chat: Sneak Peek of the New Smokeball Dashboard
Smokeball's Chief Revenue Officer Jane Oxley and Chief Product Officer Adele Hoyle met virtually to provide an exclusive sneak peek of the brand new dashboard that is coming soon to Smokeball.
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Microsoft Word Tips for Lawyers
Here are Smokeball’s top Microsoft Word tips and tricks that every lawyer should know
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Smokeball Now Integrates Seamlessly with Settify for Family Lawyers
We are excited to announce that Smokeball Legal Practice Management Software and Settify for Family Law have come together in a beautiful and seamless integration.
Summit Recap: New Legal Technology Innovations
We have summarised all the exclusive sneak peeks from Adele’ Hoyle's Virtual Summit session 'New Legal Technology Innovations'
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Lawyer Tech Tips That Actually Help You Disconnect During Non-work Hours
We spend nearly 4 hours a day using smartphone apps — follow these tech tips to cut down that number and focus on your time off.
Smokeball now integrates seamlessly with Securexchange
To celebrate our new integration with Securexchange, you can go in the draw to win a $500 Prezzee gift card just by using the Securexchange feature in September!
Guide to Closing Out the Year For Law Firms
We are constantly rushed through everything, especially at the end of the year. We have created this whitepaper to ensure things don’t get missed in our frantic end of year processes.
Three Pillars of a Successful Law Firm
When it comes to building a successful law firm, there are three pillars that must stand strong for your practice to succeed. The three pillars of success are interdependent and rely on each other. A weakness in one pillar will stress the other pillars to reveal weaknesses in your business.
The Cloud - A Guide for Law Firms
Are you concerned about the security of your data when using cloud technology? Your concerns are reasonable since confidentiality is critical to the running of a law firm.
Re-Spec Your Practice: Get Your Computers in Shape to Properly Support Your Business
Computers are important members of your support staff in your law firm. To be operating at the top of your game, and to be ethically compliant, your computer must be reliably up to date.
From Actionstep to Smokeball: Why Australian law firms are switching legal software in 2026
Compare Actionstep vs Smokeball legal software. See why law firms choose Smokeball for legal AI, practice management, legal document management and legal billing.
5 reasons why Australian lawyers switch from Clio to Smokeball Legal Practice Management Software
Compare Clio vs Smokeball legal software. See why law firms choose Smokeball for legal AI, practice management, legal document management and legal billing.
5 Essential Features Every Australian Law Firm Needs in Their Practice Management Software
Discover the five features every Australian law firm and lawyers needs in their legal practice management software to stay compliant, efficient and profitable.
AML Compliance: A Guide for Australian Law Firms
Your firm's guide to the upcoming AML compliance reforms to help you prepare with confidence.
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8 Strategies to Safeguard your Firm During Economic Downturn
Use these 8 strategies to protect your firm and maintain a robust profit regardless of the fluctuating economy.
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How Legal Technology Can Help Your Firm Grow and Retain Its Client Base
The law firm of the future is one that embraces technology to grow and retain its client base.
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Top 6 Time Management Tips for Busy Lawyers
Improving your time management will enable you to become a more organised, productive and less stressed lawyer. In this blog, we explain how you can master your time management at work.
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How to Ensure Smooth Lawyer-Client Relations from Day 1
Let’s outline the three key areas that lawyers must focus on to effortlessly build strong long-term relationships with their clients.
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3 Ways Automation Tools Boost Your Personal Injury Firm's Success
Let’s look at three steps during each matter where personal injury software automation tools help your firm offer better service.
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5 Ways Legal Technology Boosts Your Client Relationships
Here are five ways legal technology tools boost both the law firm client experience and loyalty.
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8 Easy Steps you can Employ to Keep your Law Firm Clients Happy
Building a book of good law firm clients is essential. Keeping those clients happy and referring others is even more critical. Here are eight easy steps that you can start today.
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How to Boost Your Law Firm Business Development
Smart law firm business development means using what you already know about your practice and clients to generate more success. By narrowing your focus, you increase your chance of success. Here’s how Smokeball can help.
Get paid faster with Smokeball Payments
Create a smoother experience for your clients and a faster, more reliable way to get paid with our new Payments feature.
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Cut out time spent on unbillable administrative work
What can lawyers do to ensure that they’re spending their time on work that both moves their matters forward and contributes to their firm’s bottom line?
Check Financial Cleaning Off Your Firm To-Do List
It’s tough to move forward when your finances are in disarray. That’s why financial cleaning is one of the most important tasks on your law firm to-do list. Let’s get started.
Webinar Recap: Fixed and Value Pricing – Focus on Scoping
Clarissa Rayward recently joined us to continue her fixed fee pricing series, this time with a specific focus on how to scope and how to do it effectively.
Smokeball Product Chat - Legal Billing Innovations
Smokeball CRO Jane Oxley and Global Head of Product Adele Hoyle met virtually to showcase legal software innovations that will simplify the legal billing process.
Why time tracking is vital for running a successful law firm
In this article we address the poisonous seed that grows into a catastrophe for most law firms – uncaptured and unpaid time.
How to Make More Money for your Law Firm
Most small law firm owners would like to make more money and/or work less, of course, but the majority do not know how to accomplish those goals. Data and planning can help immensely, so let’s learn how using KPIs to increase law firm profitability isn’t as hard as you think.
Top 5 Reasons Smokeball Billing is Brilliant
We are proud to introduce our Smokeball Billing expert – Priscilla Lawrence. These are Priscilla's top 5 reasons why Smokeball Billing is brilliant.
Billing what you’re worth: How doubling your revenue is actually a possibility
To tell a law firm that our software can double your revenue sounds like an outlandish marketing claim. So when we started to look at the data and realised that it is not only possible, but it has already happened for many Smokeball clients, we felt uncomfortable shouting it from the rooftops, because it sounds too good to be true.
Tips for Capturing (and Billing) More Time
Capturing and billing more time can take your businesses revenue from mediocre to outstanding. When it comes to tracking time, so many lawyers leave money on the table because they fail to record all the hours they’ve worked.
Smokeball Trust Accounting Now Law Society Approved! The Road to Certification
Just shy of a year ago, we started our journey enhancing Smokeball’s Trust Accounting in preparation for the certification submission with the Law Society of New South Wales.
Automatic Time Tracking + Matter Profitability Tracking: When something that sounds too good to be true is real!
For the past three years, the team at Smokeball has been working on AutoTime. AutoTime is a total revelation for small law firms whether working on time billed or fixed fee (or as is common, a combination of both) as it performs two key functions.
Best legal case management software for small Australian firms: Features that matter most
Discover the essential features small Australian law firms need in legal practice management software to improve efficiency and profitability.
How to improve your firm’s client experience
Improve your firm’s client experience with actionable strategies and set your practice apart from competitors.
How to Use Google My Business for Law Firm Marketing
Improve your law firm marketing with an optimised Google My Business profile to attract local clients and streamline legal client intake.
12 Tips to Transform Your Law Firm in 2025
12 actionable suggestions that you can implement today to help you streamline your workflows, save time, and boost profits.
How to Grow Your Firm: Modern Law Firm Marketing Strategies
Discover how your law firm can cut through the noise and build trust, boost visibility, and drive firm growth.
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Top 4 Tips for Effective Law Firm Referral Marketing
With the right strategy in place, referral marketing can be a great marketing tool that will help you put your law firm on the map without you spending any money on marketers.
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Unlock the Power of Social Media Marketing with Lawyer Thought Leadership
Thought leadership affects brand-building and sales at every stage of a customer’s journey. It not only provides more exposure for yourself and your firm, it also helps to position you as a leader in your industry.
How Fountain Law works smarter with Archie AI
Smokeball and Archie have truly given Graham peace of mind to remain on top of his daily workload both as a lawyer and as business owner.
Law, Community, and Purpose with Tee Legal
Watch the inspiring story of Tendayi Chivunga, Principal Solicitor at Tee Legal, and her commitment to social justice and community impact.
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Liana Mahoney’s rise to Partner at Taits Legal
Being appointed the first female partner in Taits Legal’s 150-year history is a big achievement, and one that Liana Mahoney is proud to have accomplished.
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In Conversation with Sarah Ibrahim
Watch commercial and human rights lawyer Sarah Ibrahim's story.
How Archie AI has helped Loukas Law evolve and thrive
Watch our conversation with Maria Loukas, of Perth-based family law firm Loukas Law, on how she uses Archie AI.
Supercharge Your Practice with AI: Empire Legal
Discover how property law firm Empire Legal saved time with Archie AI, our AI matter assistant.
How Bona Fide Law Use Legal Tech for Exceptional Client Service
We interview WA-based Twistie Venning from Bona Fide Law on using legal tech in their firm.
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On Advancing Racial Justice with Sarah Ibrahim
An insightful interview with Sarah Ibrahim, our 2024 Community Hero Award Winner.
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Smokeball's Marketplace Precedents offering welcomes another new author - Vik Sundar
We are thrilled to introduce Vik Sundar, our newest Marketplace Precedents legal author specialising in estate planning.
Marketplace Precedents gets Bigger and Better with our Newest Author - Rachael Bosnjak
Access all new high-quality immigration precedents through Smokeball's subscription based service - Marketplace Precedents.
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Introducing Marketplace Precedents
Save hours drafting legal documents from scratch and leverage our new high-quality precedent library.
Internal Communication – enough with the emails!
Law firms are telling us that they have more emails than ever. Not only do they have their normal, overwhelming number of emails from clients, other lawyers and so on, now they also have most of their internal conversations through email too.
Smokeball Communicate - Secure file Sharing and messaging securely connecting lawyers with their clients
To combat the threat of cyber crime we have developed Communicate, a secure file sharing and messaging platform and mobile app.
What is Smokeball Communicate and what makes it so secure?
Cyber crime has rapidly increased in recent years, with email fraud being the primary tactic of attackers. In result, email is now deemed insecure.
Communicate: Group chat and file sharing for dispersed teams
There are myriad chat apps on the market. Alternatives to Slack and Microsoft Teams include Google Hangouts Chat, Mattermost, and Flock. But, none unfortunately are truly free. Sure, some remote teams are relying on iMessage and SMS texts in a pinch, but for a decentralised office, consistent and secure communication is a must.
LPI Podcast: The interplay between innovative software and legal practice success with Justin Betar, Betar Lawyers
Lawyer and Smokeball client Justin Betar shares his experience as a recognised innovator in using technology within his legal practice.
Keeping social activities alive in a virtual workplace
Prior to COVID when all 70 Smokeballers worked in the office together, organising the social activities was straight forward. As a social bunch something as simple as Friday beer and pizza, or a monthly birthday cake and song went down well. Though in March, when we suddenly all started working from home, our humble social calendar simply didn’t work. Virtual social drinks were a flop, and singing happy birthday online was plain awkward. So, with much trial and error, here are my tips:
Powering People-Law: a new look for who we’ve always been
Discover what "powering people-law" means, and why it hasn't changed who we are.
Same Smokeball, new look: A letter from Hunter Steele
A personal letter from Smokeball CEO Hunter Steele on our new look.
Smokeball Recognised as a 2026 Gartner Digital Markets Leader
Smokeball is a 2026 Gartner Digital Markets Leader for legal practice management software used by Australian law firms with legal AI and more features.
Carolyn Devries Named 2026 Community Hero Award Winner
Meet Carolyn Devries, the 2026 Smokeball Community Hero Award winner, who has been recognised for her leadership, advocacy, and impact.
Meet our 2026 Community Hero Award finalists
Discover the five finalists for our 2026 Community Hero Award, celebrating legal professionals making a real difference in their communities.
Smokeball wins CSIA Customer Service Team of the Year
Our Client Experience team are x2 CSIA Australian Service Excellent Award winners.
Smokeball Tops the 2024 Best Places to Work List
For the past three years, Smokeball has placed in the top 10 of the WRK+ Best Places to Work list. This year, we took the top spot.
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Navigating Growth, Talent, and AI in the Legal Landscape
Smokeball's State of Law Report unveils the challenges and opportunities facing the legal industry that will shape the year in 2024
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Women-In-Law Embracing Equity – Sarah Smith
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, throughout March we will be shining a special light on our inspiring 2023 Community Hero female finalists, who are forging equity and change within the legal space.
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Women-In-Law Embracing Equity – Sarah Ibrahim
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, throughout March we will be shining a special light on our inspiring 2023 Community Hero female finalists, who are forging equity and change within the legal space.
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Women-In-Law Embracing Equity – Claudia Maclean
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, throughout March we will be shining a special light on our inspiring 2023 Community Hero female finalists, who are forging equity and change within the legal space.
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Women-In-Law Embracing Equity – Sheetal Deo
This March, we are excited to celebrate International Women's Day 2023 by shining a light on the inspiring female finalists from the 2023 Community Hero Awards, who are forging equity and change in the legal sector.
Highlights from Spark 2025
Discover the highlights from Spark 2025, Australia’s leading legal conference for lawyers on legal tech, firm growth & practice management.
6 Best Legal Events for Australian Lawyers in 2026
Discover 6 top legal events for lawyers in Australia to earn CPD points, improve law firm marketing growth, learn legal AI, and enhance legal practice management
Why You Should Attend Spark 2025
Discover why Smokeball Spark is one of the biggest events on the legal calendar.
Highlights from Smokeball Spark: Implementing a Roadmap for Growth
Discover an actionable roadmap that you can leverage to achieve success and growth for your law firm
Empowering Family Law Professionals on How to Best Address Family Violence Matters
Discover practical insights that you can implement in professional practice to help your clients who have been impacted by family violence
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Highlights from Smokeball Spark: Building a Financially Thriving Legal Practice
Discover all the valuable insights from Clayton Oates on building a financially thriving legal practice
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Highlights from Smokeball Spark: Designing a Seamless Legal Client Experience
Discover all the valuable insights from Paul Hugh-Jones Smokeball Spark session on designing a seamless legal experience.
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Takeaways from Smokeball Spark 2023
Inaugural Smokeball Spark Conference for Small Law Firms & Sole Practitioners Hit the Big Topics
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Lighting the Spark for 2023
Smokeball Starts Year Strong with Inaugural Smokeball Spark Conference for Small Law Firms & Sole Practitioners
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Tradition Still Reigns Supreme in Small Law Work Attraction
Uncover the unique findings from the State of Small Law Australia Survey 2022, highlighting the top methods firms are focusing on to attract new clients.
Setting a Spark Alight
We are beyond excited to launch our inaugural Smokeball Spark Conference for small law firms and sole practitioners.
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2022 State of Small Law Australia Survey: The New Normal Is Here to Stay
New findings from Smokeball's 2022 State of Small Law Study show that Australian firms are back to business as usual, but the 'new normal' is here to stay.
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Highlights from Smokeball Spark: 6 Superpowers of High-Performing Happy Lawyers
Uncover the six super powers of high-performing happy lawyers in Clarissa Rayward's enlightening Smokeball Spark session.
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5 Ways Legal Professionals Can Combat Imposter Syndrome
Let’s look at five ways you can manage and eradicate the effects of imposter syndrome— and how to identify it in the first place.
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Leverage Your Firm’s Practice Management Software as Project Management Software
Learn how to leverage your firm's matter management software as a project management tool to get your firm ready for remote work — or to improve your current processes.
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How to Keep Your Hybrid Law Firm Engaged
How can firm leaders ensure staffers remain engaged and productive, producing consistent work while working at a hybrid law firm?
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How to Fight Lawyer Burnout at Your Firm
Lawyer mental health matters—and is an essential part in becoming a better practitioner. Learn how firms can better manage lawyer stress and cultivate supportive work environments.
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How Many Days is Right? Setting Your Law Firm Work-From-Home Policy
It’s time to define your firm’s hybrid policy clearly, so everyone understands expectations — both in and out of the office.
Wellness Webinar Recap: 3 Things We Can All Do Right Now to Make the World a Better Place
To close out the challenging year that was 2021, Clarissa Rayward joined us to share three skills we can implement to bring calm to what can often feel like chaos in our professional and personal worlds as lawyers, but also have a bigger impact on the world we all live in.
Webinar Recap: Three Things I Wish I Realised When I Was 20, Not 40.
Clarissa Rayward recently joined us to share her learnings of what life has been like, and how it differed from her original expectations of being a lawyer.
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Legal Perspective: How Smokeball Can Help Lawyers Sleep Better at Night
Smokeball legal practice management software is designed for lawyer peace of mind. Here are a few ways we can help:
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Setting Communication Boundaries for Healthy Lawyer-Client Relationships
Here are a few helpful tips for setting communication boundaries at any stage of a lawyer-client relationship.
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Burnout: How to Recognise It, and How to Manage it with the Help of Smokeball
How can legal professionals identify burnout in your lives and among your employees, and how can you combat this seemingly ubiquitous problem?
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How Lawyers can Use Their Time Off to Boost Mental Health — Even During COVID-19
Create your own roadmap for effective time off that boosts your mental health and ability to serve your clients — in the long term.
Smokeball and FamilyProperty Present the “State of Family Law Series: Best Practice in Family Violence”
Registrations are now open for the six-part webinar series beginning 31st May.
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Family Lawyers: Make These Updates When a Client’s Child Turns 18
Your role is focused on helping your clients navigate the short-term stresses of these legal arrangements. But engaging in a multi-year relationship means you’ll need to revisit their agreements once a child turns 18.
Family Law Experts Reveal How Effective the New FCFCOA Merger is
The implications of family law professionals and clients working with the newly established Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) were explored at the State of Family Law webinar.
Smokeball Launches Family Mediation Offering for Practitioners
Save time and become more efficient using Smokeball's new Family Mediation offering! You will now be able to automatically capture your client’s details during pre-mediation.
Valuing & Understanding Your Time as a Family Lawyer
Time is a family law firm’s one and only valuable commodity. In this guide, we will explore the importance of valuing your time as you ethically grow your law firm business.
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Keeping your files up-do-date with Court Sync™
We are excited to announce that Smokeball now integrates seamlessly with Court Sync. Once documents, orders and judgements are submitted, clients can click the ‘Court Sync’ button within Smokeball and any updated documents will be automatically saved to the corresponding matter.
How Can Lawyers Witness a Will Remotely?
How can Lawyers Witness a Will Remotely? 27/3/20202 Comments Picture Estate Planning is the bread and butter of many small law firms. Wills, powers of attorney, guardianships and medical directives are important documents that require proper execution. Without the necessary witnessing and execution requirements met, it is easy to contest these documents when they come into effect.
Family Law documents can now be signed electronically
The new “Joint Practice Direction 2 of 2020 - Special Measures in Response to COVID-19” was issued by the Family Law Courts on 31 March 2020 in order to help combat the daily practical challenges now faced by Family Law practitioners as well as prioritise the health and safety of the wider community, Judges and Court staff.
2FA is here to protect you and your firm
Everything you need to know about 2FA and how to activate it in your firm.
5 Benefits of Using 2FA to Protect Your Law Firm & Clients
How 2FA protects sensitive client data, prevents breaches, and ensures compliance.
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How 2FA Protects Sensitive Legal Data
Learn why passwords alone aren’t enough and how two-factor authentication boosts your cybersecurity.
Top 5 Tips for Protecting Your Law Firm Against Cybercrime
Law firms are an extremely attractive target for cyber criminals, considering they are typically small companies that deal with large financial transactions. Fortunately, you can take key steps to improve cyber security efforts.
Explore other resources for your firm
Case studies
Discover how Smokeball empowers law firms of all sizes to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, and achieve greater success.
eBooks & guides
Learn, grow, and elevate your practice with Smokeball's eBooks and guides. Get the insights and tools you need to succeed.
Live and on-demand webinars
Supporting the legal industry with ongoing education to upskill and earn CPD points.
Ready to re-love the law?
Learn how Smokeball powers people-law firms around the world.