Read the latest from our experts:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
LexisNexis in document assembly deal with Business Integrity
August 23rd, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
LexisNexis UK and Business Integrity, a leading provider of document assembly solutions, today announced a strategic partnership to deliver complete document assembly services. Business Integrity’s ContractExpress document automation technology is to be used to power LexisNexis online services. This will allow LexisNexis customers to benefit from increased efficiencies in their document production processes, as well as protecting organisations from the risk of using out-of-date information.
The first product from this partnership will be the addition of the Lexis Smart automated precedents capability to Lexis PSL, the practical guidance solution providing legal intelligence to lawyers across all UK practices. Commenting on the announcement, Josh Bottomley, Managing Director of LexisNexis UK said: “This marks an exciting development for lawyers throughout the UK, and the next step in the delivery of our Legal Intelligence vision. Lexis PSL customers can now access LexisNexis expert content with the ease and simplicity of best-in-class document assembly. This will save them time and effort drafting documents and enable them to cover more issues, in more depth, adding more value to their end clients.”
Richard Newton, VP Europe at Business Integrity added, “We are delighted to work with LexisNexis, and share their vision for the future of legal services. The combination of first-rate content and automated document creation offers lawyers a compelling solution to better meet their clients’ needs.”
Available from September 2010 onwards, the new Lexis Smart capability will automate over 130 frequently-used precedents across nine practice areas, within the Lexis PSL practical guidance service. Using Q&A-style drafting, context-sensitive guidance and drop-down menus speeds up the process of document creation and also enables junior staff to handle more work, helping firms to increase their efficiency and profitability.
The first product from this partnership will be the addition of the Lexis Smart automated precedents capability to Lexis PSL, the practical guidance solution providing legal intelligence to lawyers across all UK practices. Commenting on the announcement, Josh Bottomley, Managing Director of LexisNexis UK said: “This marks an exciting development for lawyers throughout the UK, and the next step in the delivery of our Legal Intelligence vision. Lexis PSL customers can now access LexisNexis expert content with the ease and simplicity of best-in-class document assembly. This will save them time and effort drafting documents and enable them to cover more issues, in more depth, adding more value to their end clients.”
Richard Newton, VP Europe at Business Integrity added, “We are delighted to work with LexisNexis, and share their vision for the future of legal services. The combination of first-rate content and automated document creation offers lawyers a compelling solution to better meet their clients’ needs.”
Available from September 2010 onwards, the new Lexis Smart capability will automate over 130 frequently-used precedents across nine practice areas, within the Lexis PSL practical guidance service. Using Q&A-style drafting, context-sensitive guidance and drop-down menus speeds up the process of document creation and also enables junior staff to handle more work, helping firms to increase their efficiency and profitability.
More new products from Aderant: Expert Matter Planning
August 18th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
Aderant today announced plans to release Expert Matter Planning, a comprehensive application that enables firms to manage the full life cycle of alternative fee arrangements. Matter Planning was developed to address the challenges firms are facing as clients increasingly request non-traditional fee arrangements. The product has been selected for demonstration in the State of the Art Technology Track at ILTA 2010 in Las Vegas on August 23.
Expert Matter Planning enables firms to more easily respond to and manage requests for both standard and alternative fee arrangements. Users can search and collate prior or existing matters and design preconfigured templates to build matter profiles. Matter Planning gives firms the ability to review work performed on prior matters to ascertain the duration, effort, and expertise required for the new engagement. It also brings together hours and roles to produce a fee estimate and a projected P&L so firms can ensure each new matter meets their pre-determined profitability thresholds. The innovative, flexible design handles all types of alternative fee agreements and monitors the matter through the entire life cycle.
“At Sheppard Mullin we understand that in today’s marketplace, a law firm must be flexible and value-driven when pricing client engagements,” says Kevin Combs, Chief Financial Officer for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. “The ability to mine historical information to develop ‘win win’ arrangements is a wave of the future.”
One key advantage of Expert Matter Planning is its full integration with Aderant Expert. Integration allows the use of Expert rates, ranks, timekeepers, phases, and tasks all to be shared, ensuring a seamless movement from the matter planning phase into file opening, time recording, and billing. The tight integration with Aderant Expert also provides streamlined matter inception through cutting edge workflow processes, as well as accurate monitoring of the estimates created in the planning phase against actual time entries and reports on any variances.
Expert Matter Planning enables firms to more easily respond to and manage requests for both standard and alternative fee arrangements. Users can search and collate prior or existing matters and design preconfigured templates to build matter profiles. Matter Planning gives firms the ability to review work performed on prior matters to ascertain the duration, effort, and expertise required for the new engagement. It also brings together hours and roles to produce a fee estimate and a projected P&L so firms can ensure each new matter meets their pre-determined profitability thresholds. The innovative, flexible design handles all types of alternative fee agreements and monitors the matter through the entire life cycle.
“At Sheppard Mullin we understand that in today’s marketplace, a law firm must be flexible and value-driven when pricing client engagements,” says Kevin Combs, Chief Financial Officer for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP. “The ability to mine historical information to develop ‘win win’ arrangements is a wave of the future.”
One key advantage of Expert Matter Planning is its full integration with Aderant Expert. Integration allows the use of Expert rates, ranks, timekeepers, phases, and tasks all to be shared, ensuring a seamless movement from the matter planning phase into file opening, time recording, and billing. The tight integration with Aderant Expert also provides streamlined matter inception through cutting edge workflow processes, as well as accurate monitoring of the estimates created in the planning phase against actual time entries and reports on any variances.
Guest article: is social networking in the workplace a ticking bomb?
August 18th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
by Alistair Purdy, senior partner, Purdy FitzGerald Solicitors
As social networking and collaboration tools that started out in the home start to become more acceptable in the workplace it appears that the business environment as we know it is gradually changing. One thing is certain; a major change in business culture brings new risks. As social data is shared between increasing numbers of sites the question of ownership becomes almost impossible to track. Early signs indicate that employers and employees alike are convinced that they own their social data. Perhaps it is time to ask some pertinent questions. For example, does social networking at work carry hidden legal challenges for both individuals and companies with potential for conflict? Are advances in technology once again outpacing the legal system? And if so, to what extent may companies be sitting on a ticking legal time bomb?
The more business embraces social networking techniques to spread their messages and build their brands the more the dividing lines between personal and company data are becoming blurred. It is not unusual for a piece of information originating from one employee in one company to pass through various social networking sites becoming retouched as it does so. The legal position is at a very early stage of development.
To date legal cases involving disputes between employees and employers over who owns that data have tended to favour the employer. In an early case involved the UK arm of a US business to business media publishing group (PennWell Publishing v Ornstein) it was ruled that the employer owned the Outlook contacts of a former journalist employee even though this list contained both work and personal contacts some of which had been brought to the company by the employee. This blurring between work and personal data has since spread far and wide.
In another case (involving a former Hays employee) a recruitment consultant moved confidential contact information to his LinkedIn account. The court reported that the consultant had planned to set up his own company in direct competition using the contact database concerned. He had thought that once the contacts had been invited to connect to him and they had accepted on LinkedIn, their contact information ceased to be confidential because it had been seen by all his other contacts. This decision was one of the first to highlight the tension between businesses encouraging employees to use social networking websites for work but then claiming that the contacts and content remain confidential information at the end of their employment.
It is a sign of things to come. Sooner or later firms face the very real danger that employees or former employees will routinely contest data ownership issues in the courts.
An audit of 200 SMBs worldwide by the Internet filtering software company SpamTitan Technologies earlier this year revealed significant gaps in the measures firms are taking to protect themselves. Almost every company in the survey allowed Internet access and some social networking applications in the workplace. But while 76.4 percent said Web filtering, which helps companies define and manage policies for Web browsing at work, was important around half (49 per cent) of all respondents admitted not using one. At least 50 per cent of those without filtering said they were taking positive steps to secure themselves against the possibility of either attack or employee misunderstanding in respect of social networking applications. A further 16 per cent who had not yet done anything were intending to do something about it in the next 12 months. This still leaves a significant proportion doing nothing at all.
Developments taking place in the US and the EU could soon provide a greater legal imperative for companies adopt formal social media policies. One such initiative is 2015.eu which calls for a charter of individuals’ Internet rights and aims to entitle Internet users to demand their information is removed from company systems even if it was collected with their consent. Elsewhere the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently warned that even positive statements by employees in social media postings may constitute endorsements or testimonials and create liability for companies. With so much information being posted online and shared the boundaries will continue to become increasingly vague.
Companies need to introduce policies and procedures and deploy technology to help them manage every employee’s Internet usage at the individual level. We are in a new era and it is incumbent on every company to include a corporate social media policy alongside their social networking strategy. Without such clear social media policies many employees will be unaware of their rights and employers risk being drawn into costly legal wrangles with their employees over data ownership disputes.
It is important to take steps well in advance to protect yourself or company. Failure to do so will potentially leave firms with significant data ownership-related legal wrangles. To date legal cases involving disputes between employees and employers over who owns that data have tended to favour the employer, but as we have seen all that could be about to change. Companies need to get to a point where they have sufficient measures in place for managing employee behaviour at the individual level.
As social networking and collaboration tools that started out in the home start to become more acceptable in the workplace it appears that the business environment as we know it is gradually changing. One thing is certain; a major change in business culture brings new risks. As social data is shared between increasing numbers of sites the question of ownership becomes almost impossible to track. Early signs indicate that employers and employees alike are convinced that they own their social data. Perhaps it is time to ask some pertinent questions. For example, does social networking at work carry hidden legal challenges for both individuals and companies with potential for conflict? Are advances in technology once again outpacing the legal system? And if so, to what extent may companies be sitting on a ticking legal time bomb?
The more business embraces social networking techniques to spread their messages and build their brands the more the dividing lines between personal and company data are becoming blurred. It is not unusual for a piece of information originating from one employee in one company to pass through various social networking sites becoming retouched as it does so. The legal position is at a very early stage of development.
To date legal cases involving disputes between employees and employers over who owns that data have tended to favour the employer. In an early case involved the UK arm of a US business to business media publishing group (PennWell Publishing v Ornstein) it was ruled that the employer owned the Outlook contacts of a former journalist employee even though this list contained both work and personal contacts some of which had been brought to the company by the employee. This blurring between work and personal data has since spread far and wide.
In another case (involving a former Hays employee) a recruitment consultant moved confidential contact information to his LinkedIn account. The court reported that the consultant had planned to set up his own company in direct competition using the contact database concerned. He had thought that once the contacts had been invited to connect to him and they had accepted on LinkedIn, their contact information ceased to be confidential because it had been seen by all his other contacts. This decision was one of the first to highlight the tension between businesses encouraging employees to use social networking websites for work but then claiming that the contacts and content remain confidential information at the end of their employment.
It is a sign of things to come. Sooner or later firms face the very real danger that employees or former employees will routinely contest data ownership issues in the courts.
An audit of 200 SMBs worldwide by the Internet filtering software company SpamTitan Technologies earlier this year revealed significant gaps in the measures firms are taking to protect themselves. Almost every company in the survey allowed Internet access and some social networking applications in the workplace. But while 76.4 percent said Web filtering, which helps companies define and manage policies for Web browsing at work, was important around half (49 per cent) of all respondents admitted not using one. At least 50 per cent of those without filtering said they were taking positive steps to secure themselves against the possibility of either attack or employee misunderstanding in respect of social networking applications. A further 16 per cent who had not yet done anything were intending to do something about it in the next 12 months. This still leaves a significant proportion doing nothing at all.
Developments taking place in the US and the EU could soon provide a greater legal imperative for companies adopt formal social media policies. One such initiative is 2015.eu which calls for a charter of individuals’ Internet rights and aims to entitle Internet users to demand their information is removed from company systems even if it was collected with their consent. Elsewhere the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently warned that even positive statements by employees in social media postings may constitute endorsements or testimonials and create liability for companies. With so much information being posted online and shared the boundaries will continue to become increasingly vague.
Companies need to introduce policies and procedures and deploy technology to help them manage every employee’s Internet usage at the individual level. We are in a new era and it is incumbent on every company to include a corporate social media policy alongside their social networking strategy. Without such clear social media policies many employees will be unaware of their rights and employers risk being drawn into costly legal wrangles with their employees over data ownership disputes.
It is important to take steps well in advance to protect yourself or company. Failure to do so will potentially leave firms with significant data ownership-related legal wrangles. To date legal cases involving disputes between employees and employers over who owns that data have tended to favour the employer, but as we have seen all that could be about to change. Companies need to get to a point where they have sufficient measures in place for managing employee behaviour at the individual level.
New white paper from Lexis
August 17th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
The LawyerLocator division of LexisNexis UK has just published a white paper exploring the potential impact of the Legal Services Act 2007. The paper is called The Future of Small Law Firms - Jeopardy or Opportunity? Although the white paper pulls no punches in terms of the threats to the long-term survival of High Street firms, the overall tone is actually optimistic albeit with the warning that small firms will have to gt their proverbial finger out if they are to survive. See attached PDF for the text of the white paper.
Firm turns to Pilgrim to help with volcanic ash trail
August 16th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
City based aerospace and commercial firm Gates & Partners has purchased the pioneering LawSoft graphical Rapid Application Development (RAD) module to develop a specialist tool for claims related to the Iceland volcano ash cloud phenomenon.
Partner Paul Freeman comments “In due course this tool will have a much broader application across the firm but initially it is being designed to assist us with the significant flow of claims we have been dealing with in relation to the Ash Cloud. LawSoft’s workflow application will enable us to process these claims quickly and efficiently, making substantial time savings for both the firm and our clients.”
Pilgrim’s COO Colin Kennedy added “Gates & Partners’ innovative use of LawSoft’s RAD capabilities is an excellent illustration of the flexibility of our software. The graphical nature of this module allows firms to quickly map out and deploy workflow orientated applications to users.”
Partner Paul Freeman comments “In due course this tool will have a much broader application across the firm but initially it is being designed to assist us with the significant flow of claims we have been dealing with in relation to the Ash Cloud. LawSoft’s workflow application will enable us to process these claims quickly and efficiently, making substantial time savings for both the firm and our clients.”
Pilgrim’s COO Colin Kennedy added “Gates & Partners’ innovative use of LawSoft’s RAD capabilities is an excellent illustration of the flexibility of our software. The graphical nature of this module allows firms to quickly map out and deploy workflow orientated applications to users.”
DMS – US firm selects an alternative platform
August 16th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
Minneapolis-based law firm Bowman & Brooke has selected Aderant StarLaw and will implement the integrated suite of document, records, and email management applications in its offices nationwide. An Aderant site since 1997, Bowman & Brooke is integrating StarLaw into its technology portfolio to better streamline the creation and management of critical business documents and records.
StarLaw features integrated document, records, and email management functionality and intelligent categorization of information by clients, matters, practice groups, and attorneys. The product has integration with Microsoft Office 2010, enterprise-wide search, and a flexible, easy-to-use interface. In addition, the product also has robust security and auditing functions, universal retention management, and “Grab and Go” support for offline use.
“StarLaw is the one tool I have found that meets the competing needs inside a law firm,” said the firm's CIO Michael Cammack. “It provides ready access to documents and ease of use for attorneys and legal staff. It also provides reliable document ownership to apply retention rules and storage tiers for IT and Record departments and the ability to quickly apply legal holds and collect appropriate materials when required by Risk Management.”
StarLaw features integrated document, records, and email management functionality and intelligent categorization of information by clients, matters, practice groups, and attorneys. The product has integration with Microsoft Office 2010, enterprise-wide search, and a flexible, easy-to-use interface. In addition, the product also has robust security and auditing functions, universal retention management, and “Grab and Go” support for offline use.
“StarLaw is the one tool I have found that meets the competing needs inside a law firm,” said the firm's CIO Michael Cammack. “It provides ready access to documents and ease of use for attorneys and legal staff. It also provides reliable document ownership to apply retention rules and storage tiers for IT and Record departments and the ability to quickly apply legal holds and collect appropriate materials when required by Risk Management.”
Asia-Pacific news round-up
August 12th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
For those of you who didn't make the Janders Dean Law Firm KM Conference in Sydney on Thursday (12 August) here is a round-up of the latest APAC news...
• Minter Ellison has deployed the InterAction for Smartphone application from Calvis. The solution, developed by Calvis, enables fee earners and mobile workers to conveniently access client, prospect and mandate intelligence stored within LexisNexis InterAction via their BlackBerry and iPhone smartphones while out of the office. Walkers, one of the largest offshore law firms with offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jersey, London and Singapore, has also implemented the Calvis system.
• Australian law firm Freehills has selected Recommind's MindServer Search to deliver next generation information access across the firm. Based on Recommind's CORE (Context Optimised Relevancy Engine) platform, the MindServer Search deployment will form the backbone of Freehill's knowledge infrastructure. Implementation of the solution across its network of 2000 lawyers and support staff, will provide Freehills with capabilities to instantly crawl, index and access information from its Autonomy Worksite document management libraries, Microsoft SharePoint, Aderant Expert PMS and additional sources, as well as Matters & Expertise. Freehills will deploy MindServer Search as the primary search technology making firm information and work product exponentially more usable and actionable across the organisation.
"Our first priority will be to utilise the benefits of MindServer Search across our intranet and knowledge repositories, thereby maximizing the significant investment that we have made to date in these areas,"
said Janet Young, COO/CFO at Freehills. "We believe the ability to find the right information just when you need it is essential for delivering a high quality and timely service to our clients."
Freehills will also implement Recommind's QwikFind search bar which provides instant access to
MindServer Search from within Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel) or from the Windows desktop toolbar, negating the need to launch a separate window or application in order to perform a firm-wide search.
• According to a study in ALB Magazine, Aderant remains the legal industry’s top technology vendor in the region, boasting 70%, or 21 of the top 30 firms across Australia and New Zealand. Aderant also represents half of Australia’s ten fastest growing firms and two major firms in Singapore as recently published by ALB. Since December 2009, seven firms across Australasia have selected Aderant Expert. Allens Arthur Robinson recently completed a major migration from Keystone to Aderant Expert. The project was completed on time and under budget in one year and was implemented across the firm’s global network of offices. Aderant has successfully implemented Expert 7.5 in several additional high profile APAC firms, including Slater & Gordon and Rajah & Tann in Singapore.
• Minter Ellison has deployed the InterAction for Smartphone application from Calvis. The solution, developed by Calvis, enables fee earners and mobile workers to conveniently access client, prospect and mandate intelligence stored within LexisNexis InterAction via their BlackBerry and iPhone smartphones while out of the office. Walkers, one of the largest offshore law firms with offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jersey, London and Singapore, has also implemented the Calvis system.
• Australian law firm Freehills has selected Recommind's MindServer Search to deliver next generation information access across the firm. Based on Recommind's CORE (Context Optimised Relevancy Engine) platform, the MindServer Search deployment will form the backbone of Freehill's knowledge infrastructure. Implementation of the solution across its network of 2000 lawyers and support staff, will provide Freehills with capabilities to instantly crawl, index and access information from its Autonomy Worksite document management libraries, Microsoft SharePoint, Aderant Expert PMS and additional sources, as well as Matters & Expertise. Freehills will deploy MindServer Search as the primary search technology making firm information and work product exponentially more usable and actionable across the organisation.
"Our first priority will be to utilise the benefits of MindServer Search across our intranet and knowledge repositories, thereby maximizing the significant investment that we have made to date in these areas,"
said Janet Young, COO/CFO at Freehills. "We believe the ability to find the right information just when you need it is essential for delivering a high quality and timely service to our clients."
Freehills will also implement Recommind's QwikFind search bar which provides instant access to
MindServer Search from within Microsoft Office applications (Word, Outlook, Excel) or from the Windows desktop toolbar, negating the need to launch a separate window or application in order to perform a firm-wide search.
• According to a study in ALB Magazine, Aderant remains the legal industry’s top technology vendor in the region, boasting 70%, or 21 of the top 30 firms across Australia and New Zealand. Aderant also represents half of Australia’s ten fastest growing firms and two major firms in Singapore as recently published by ALB. Since December 2009, seven firms across Australasia have selected Aderant Expert. Allens Arthur Robinson recently completed a major migration from Keystone to Aderant Expert. The project was completed on time and under budget in one year and was implemented across the firm’s global network of offices. Aderant has successfully implemented Expert 7.5 in several additional high profile APAC firms, including Slater & Gordon and Rajah & Tann in Singapore.
The man for IRIS – the users say ‘yes’
August 11th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
Just over one month ago, Doug Hargrove moved into the hot seat as the managing director of IRIS Software's Legal Services division. Since then we've been getting reports from user firms that have met him – and the feedback is all positive.
Perhaps surprisingly, his track record in retail is seen as a benefit as he is used to managing large companies that have been created by the acquisition of multiple software platforms and which now need consolidation and a clear longer term strategy. Likewise, his retail background is also seen as giving him a clear perspective on the use of IT as a means of delivering value, benefits and services to user firms and their clients – as distinct from merely being a back office administrative overhead.
As the head of administration at one firm, currently on the tipping point of defecting, put it "On the strength of our meeting with Doug Hargrove, we are now prepared to include IRIS on our next ITT whereas previously we would not have even considered them."
Perhaps surprisingly, his track record in retail is seen as a benefit as he is used to managing large companies that have been created by the acquisition of multiple software platforms and which now need consolidation and a clear longer term strategy. Likewise, his retail background is also seen as giving him a clear perspective on the use of IT as a means of delivering value, benefits and services to user firms and their clients – as distinct from merely being a back office administrative overhead.
As the head of administration at one firm, currently on the tipping point of defecting, put it "On the strength of our meeting with Doug Hargrove, we are now prepared to include IRIS on our next ITT whereas previously we would not have even considered them."
STEP calls for cowboy will-writers to be ridden out of town
August 10th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
Interim results from a survey published today by the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), reveal the scale of the threat posed to the consumer from cowboys in the will writing market. The survey found that 75% of STEP members have encountered cases of “incompetence or dishonesty in the will writing market in the last 12 months” and prompted STEP to again call for better consumer protection.
Two thirds of respondents reported coming across hidden fees which were not outlined in the stated price for a will, and 63% had direct experience of cases where will writing companies had gone out of business and disappeared with their clients’ wills. Just over one third had encountered cases where incompetence had led to significant additional tax bills.
Chief Executive David Harvey said: “This research shows how widespread cowboy will writers have become and it is clear those who charge a fee for writing a will should now be regulated. They must have an appropriate qualification, and they must have proper indemnity insurance. Soon the consumer will be protected by new regulation in Scotland and this benefit needs to be extended to cover the rest of the UK."
Examples of malpractice included a company which approached young mothers in shopping malls, telling them their children would be taken into care after they died if they failed to make a will. One consumer was charged £12,000 up-front for executor services only for their family to find the firm involved had gone out of business not long after, disappearing with their wills and money.
In June the Legal Services Board launched a review of the threat posed to consumers in England & Wales by unprofessional will writers and is currently seeking evidence of consumer harm. The Scottish Parliament is currently going through the process of regulating non-lawyer will writers through the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.
Two thirds of respondents reported coming across hidden fees which were not outlined in the stated price for a will, and 63% had direct experience of cases where will writing companies had gone out of business and disappeared with their clients’ wills. Just over one third had encountered cases where incompetence had led to significant additional tax bills.
Chief Executive David Harvey said: “This research shows how widespread cowboy will writers have become and it is clear those who charge a fee for writing a will should now be regulated. They must have an appropriate qualification, and they must have proper indemnity insurance. Soon the consumer will be protected by new regulation in Scotland and this benefit needs to be extended to cover the rest of the UK."
Examples of malpractice included a company which approached young mothers in shopping malls, telling them their children would be taken into care after they died if they failed to make a will. One consumer was charged £12,000 up-front for executor services only for their family to find the firm involved had gone out of business not long after, disappearing with their wills and money.
In June the Legal Services Board launched a review of the threat posed to consumers in England & Wales by unprofessional will writers and is currently seeking evidence of consumer harm. The Scottish Parliament is currently going through the process of regulating non-lawyer will writers through the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill.
Blandy & Blandy roll out Pilgrim DMS
August 10th, 2010 by The Orange Rag
|
Thames Valley law firm Blandy & Blandy, which swapped out Axxia Arista in favour of the Pilgrim LawSoft PMS in late 2006, has now rolled out Pilgrim Client Matter Inception workflows, Probate case management and an ambitious complete installation of LawSoft’s integrated Document Management & Assembly System.
Nick Burrows, Blandy & Blandy joint managing partner said “We were keen to exploit the efficiency and risk management gains afforded by the LawSoft Document Management and Assembly module. Our objective was to have all documents created and saved within LawSoft so that we could ensure consistency of content and presentation, which is difficult to achieve without a tool such as this. This, supplemented by our own in-house development skills, has allowed us to come up with an extremely powerful, flexible and easy to use document management and production solution which, I’m pleased to say, has more than matched our initial vision.”
Applications Manager, DBA & In House Trainer Raheela Fernandes added “The LawSoft document assembly and workflow tools, along with my existing Visual Basic skills, have enabled me to build a system that now means close to 100% of the firm’s documents are created from LawSoft Quick Launch or from a LawSoft workflow. This method of document production has allowed for greater uniformity and consistency across the firm as well as better control over document creation. The accuracy and efficiency gains have been tremendous.”
Nick Burrows, Blandy & Blandy joint managing partner said “We were keen to exploit the efficiency and risk management gains afforded by the LawSoft Document Management and Assembly module. Our objective was to have all documents created and saved within LawSoft so that we could ensure consistency of content and presentation, which is difficult to achieve without a tool such as this. This, supplemented by our own in-house development skills, has allowed us to come up with an extremely powerful, flexible and easy to use document management and production solution which, I’m pleased to say, has more than matched our initial vision.”
Applications Manager, DBA & In House Trainer Raheela Fernandes added “The LawSoft document assembly and workflow tools, along with my existing Visual Basic skills, have enabled me to build a system that now means close to 100% of the firm’s documents are created from LawSoft Quick Launch or from a LawSoft workflow. This method of document production has allowed for greater uniformity and consistency across the firm as well as better control over document creation. The accuracy and efficiency gains have been tremendous.”
