Having opened his law offices back in 1994, Dr. Bill LaTour already had a wealth of experience under his belt, both as a California disability lawyer and a long-time owner of a business. His California law firm ran smoothly, with well-established in-house teams handling client intake, case management, and administrative tasks.
However, when Covid-19 hit, the law office suddenly had to switch to remote work. Making the transition to working virtually was a challenge for the business — but also an opportunity. Soon after the change, Dr. LaTour came to realize that remote work was more efficient than he initially thought, and saw new possibilities in outsourcing his operations to a third-party provider.
That’s when he learned about iFive.
“I heard about iFive from a colleague who’d had a good experience working with them,” Dr. LaTour said. “I was hesitant to try outsourcing at first. I had a lot of anxieties. But knowing my colleague had had a good experience allayed some of my fears.”
So, on the positive recommendation of his colleague, Dr. LaTour decided to take the plunge with iFive.
Dr. LaTour’s goals for outsourcing were straightforward: to cut costs and improve efficiency without sacrificing quality of service. Providing a high level of service to his clients was especially critical for Dr. LaTour. Not only had he handled thousands of Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income claims, he’d also been trained as a licensed psychologist, with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. As both a lawyer and a psychologist, he was deeply familiar with and empathetic about the many physical and mental stresses and challenges the people who called his offices had faced.
For those reasons, Dr. LaTour wanted a team that could be trained to be knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the complicated Social Security system and hold a unique perspective and understanding of what his clients were going through. iFive’s reputation for high-quality training and exemplary service matched the qualities he was looking for in an offshoring partner.
So Dr. LaTour began by adding about a dozen iFive intake specialists, case managers, and administrative assistants to his existing law office staff. This allowed the business to grow its team without having to make significant investments in infrastructure or personnel.
“iFive staff were answering as many calls and doing the same level of work as the U.S.-based staff,” Dr. LaTour said. “Of course, there have been some hiccups along the way. Nothing is ever perfect. But it’s been a real positive experience overall. I’ve been very satisfied with the performance of the team.”
As the firm’s U.S. personnel turned over, more iFive team members were brought on.
“We’ve had lower turnover rates since partnering with iFive,” Dr. LaTour said. “I also like that I no longer have to deal with the HR aspect of running an office so much. iFive takes care of those details.”
Gradually, Dr. LaTour’s law office kept adding iFive team members, growing their head count to 56 — including 28 case managers, 23 intake specialists, one intake processor, and four team leaders.
This partnership with iFive has resulted in significant savings for the law offices. “We save almost 50% on labor costs with iFive,” Dr. LaTour said.
Working with iFive has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for Dr. LaTour, whose initial fears about outsourcing have long since faded away.
“iFive has been a great partner for us and has helped us build a strong team while maintaining high-quality services,” Dr. LaTour said. “We have grown our team significantly since we started working with them, and we plan to continue our partnership in the future.”
