The Creator of GrowPath’s Legal CMS
A High Volume Firm Executive Develops the Law Practice Management Software of His Dreams
Meet Eric Sanchez. In 2010, he had his sleeves rolled up and was in the middle of organizing one of the largest civil rights cases in US history. That case: In re Black Farmers Discrimination Litigation. The presiding judge for the case awarded $1.25 billion in awards to 18,400 farmers for discrimination by the United States government.
To handle a case of such magnitude, Eric had to think outside the box:
“How does one get that many clients and lawyers knee-to-knee all over the country in an efficient, systematic way? Indeed, the sheer volume of data that needed to be compiled, accessed and secured was mind-boggling.”
Over his 20-year tenure with the Law Offices of James Scott Farrin, Eric witnessed the firm grow from 6 to over 200 people. Intimately involved in every phase of the firm’s growth, Eric earned a reputation as an expert in operational efficiency. To accomplish this, he developed processes, workflows and the technology stack needed for a law firm to run at its best. Now, as Vice President of Strategy & Innovation with one of the Southeast’s largest plaintiffs’ firms, Eric continues to help the Farrin firm operate at high volume and great efficiency. Of course, successfully operating at this level requires a systematic approach to the practice of law.
The Old and the New
At the time of In re Black Farmers, Eric was piecemealing together components. For example, he created his own algorithms, built several databases and manually created reports used in the management and operations of the firm. He further expanded on the piecemealing in order to manage the volume of In re Black Farmers. Struggling with this convoluted and archaic system, Eric ultimately decided to find something better.
After researching the existing case management solutions, Eric knew he had no choice but to build what his firm needed to handle cases at any scale. His firm was sufficiently capitalized following the resolution of the Black Farmers case. As a result, he achieved his goal of building the type of personal injury case management software he wished had been available for that case.
So, he assembled a team of engineers to create his vision of a software solution. He insisted that the software address workflow inefficiencies, compile necessary data for reporting and eliminate unnecessary and repetitive steps. Both then and now, he strives to bring on the best and brightest minds to tackle issues, find the right solutions, and transform the firm. Eventually, the firm shed its old case management and convoluted reporting mechanisms and adopted the newly created software.
The Buzz Grows
Fast forward to 2017. In the course of consulting with several firms handling similar caseloads, Eric impressed with his new law practice management software. In fact, firms wanted it for their own practices. For the first time, Eric realized that this new platform, one developed and perfected within the walls of his own firm, was a commercially viable product. Eric thus decided to share his creative, scalable SaaS-based product. To this end, he founded GrowPath.
“Built it. Used it. Perfected it. Now we share it. That’s the story in a nutshell of how GrowPath came to be.”
A Comprehensive Solution to Legal Practice Management Software
As Eric discovered long ago, growth and productivity come from operational efficiencies. That’s why each one of GrowPath’s features keeps this fundamental concept in mind. Knowing that firms need an all-in-one platform, Eric made sure GrowPath incorporated the best intake, case management and reporting solutions.
Let’s take a look at some of the features found within the GrowPath legal case management software. Many of these features are covered by current patents or pending applications:
Buzzwords
Buzzwords alerts and notifications are one of the flagship features of GrowPath’s personal injury case management software. When triggered, they provide real-time inline prompts. Thanks to these prompts, staff can ask the right questions and uncover potential mass torts within the firm’s existing caseload.
“Law firms love the Buzzwords feature because it removes the need for paralegals to remember the names of all the drugs or other indicators of cases the firm may be interested in pursuing. The software automatically alerts the staff in real time of such Buzzwords so they can uncover derivative cases, often large scale mass torts.’ – Eric Sanchez, Founder of GrowPath
Case Summary
The Case Summary feature compiles the important details of a case in a quickly scannable header. Consequently, anyone in the firm can get up to speed on any case and speak intelligently about it off the cuff.
“Our old system was not satisfying our need for client intake and case evaluation. Customer support and development were also lacking. GrowPath is clean, user-friendly, and technologically advanced.” – Lead Paralegal
Matter Trackers
Matter Trackers allow firm management to see all open cases at a glance. In addition, potential issues are flagged in red to alert the user.
“GrowPath gives my team a road map. It leaves a lot less room for error.” – Tabitha S., Legal Operations Manager
Superior Analytics
An essential function of legal practice management software is the ability to organize firm data into highly-configurable reports. Due to this functionality, law firms can run like a business and correctly use data to drive decisions. “Having the right information at your fingertips is essential in today’s competitive legal environment; GrowPath makes it easy and intuitive to get those answers quickly,” explains Sanchez.
Watch the full interview of Eric Sanchez. Meet the founder and learn from him how he brought this robust solution to the law firm marketplace.