How to build better user experience in law firms with M365

When it comes to end users, IT professionals have three key roles:

Secure the user so that they don’t endanger themselves or the firm
Empower the user with the tools that enable them to do their job better
Facilitate the user with help when they need us

In the SMB legal space, where firms often compete on service quality and agility, end user experience is a differentiator.

A good technology experience for staff boosts productivity and efficiency, reduces onboarding time and reduces attrition.

Through a combination of understanding your users and understanding which technologies best support their day-to-day working lives to reduce friction and increase efficiency, we can deliver the best possible user experience for staff in law firms and legal sector organisations.

Understanding user personas in the legal sector

Firms have distinct sets of users that have different requirements. The role of IT is to facilitate and empower each type of users with a standard, common platform.

Support staff

Work from a fixed location
Require local asset access, e.g. printing
Require consistent access to firm systems
Time pressure attached to most actions required to support fee earners.

Fee earners

Roam between primary office and courts as required
Require access to all information relevant to their cases
Require easy communication methods to admin staff
Need ability to meet clients, both virtually and in person

Partners

Roam between all offices
Require system access as required, usually on a time constrained basis
Need ability to speak to all staff in easy methods, sometimes whilst roaming with no case management access

What happens when we get user experience right?

Improved productivity and focus

When technology supports rather than frustrates, staff can focus on legal work rather than navigating support processes. Reducing interaction with IT teams means more billiable hours, better client outcomes and improved morale across the firm.

Consistent workflow across devices

Whether working from chambers, home or court, a consistent experience ensures that users can pick up where they left off – supporting hybrid work without productivity loss.

Streamlined access to tools and information

Intuitive collaboration tools reduce friction between fee-earners, support staff and partners. This ensures smooth ways of working, clear communication and faster case progression.

Microsoft 365 for law firms

When it comes to delivering consistent, efficient user experience across every role in the firm, Microsoft 365 plays a central role. Its suite of tools brings together communication, collaboration and document management in a single, secure environment – supporting users wherever they work.

For support staff, applications like Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive remove barriers to sharing and version control, ensuring the right information reaches the right people quickly. Fee earners can access case materials securely from any location, meet clients virtually, and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues and admin staff. Partners benefit from a joined-up view of the firm, with the ability to connect and communicate easily while maintaining oversight of ongoing matters.

But while M365 provides the foundation for law firms, the real value comes from how it’s implemented and managed. Out of the box, these tools are powerful, but in a legal context, they need to be configured to reflect how the firm actually works. That means ensuring compliance and data security are baked in, workflows are streamlined, and integrations with practice management systems function smoothly.

This is where a specialist partner like LIMA makes the difference. With extensive experience delivering M365 solutions for law firms, LIMA understands the pressures of the legal environment – where uptime, confidentiality and user experience are non-negotiable. Our expertise ensures M365 isn’t just deployed, but optimised to support every user persona within the firm, enabling staff to work more efficiently and deliver a better service to clients.

With the right partner, M365 becomes more than a collection of productivity tools, it becomes the backbone of a modern, connected legal workforce.

LIMA specialises in delivering IT services to legal organisations, helping them put technology at the centre of their business strategy.

Read LIMA’s new whitepaper, outlining our full blueprint for driving greater efficiency in legal organisations: Whitepaper: The law firm of the future – LIMA – Insight-led IT services

Contact the team at 0345 345 1110 or enquiries@lima.co.uk