Burgoynes has selected SOS Connect from Bath-based Solicitors Own Software for streamlined and integrated case, workflow and customer relationship management.

Burgoynes is a pre-eminent practice of consulting scientists and engineers specialising in the forensic investigation of fires, explosions, engineering failures and other incidents. The firm operates from eight offices in the UK and others in the USA, Singapore and Hong Kong. As probably the largest practice in the UK, the firm has investigated many disasters including the explosion and fire at Buncefield in 2005. The organisation provides expert witness services to the legal, insurance and commercial sectors.

The firm, which was founded in 1968, decided to replace the existing disparate systems used for recording case instructions and marketing with an integrated solution to improve efficiency and client service. Initially the view was that a CRM (customer relationship management) system would best meet the requirement. However as Burgoynes Partner Peter Jowett said: “On further examination these systems didn’t really hit the mark. Many of our clients are solicitors so we decided to look at the systems that they use. This led us to SOS Connect.”

There are many parallels in Burgoynes’ working practices with those of law firms including taking and recording case instructions, assigning a fee earner to a case, standard business processes, workflows and the use of template letters.  “We chose SOS Connect because we found the software more closely aligned to our business needs than any CRM system, it offered far better value for money as well as the flexibility to create a more tailored solution”.

SOS Connect will be rolled out to Burgoynes’ eight UK offices and is expected to be implemented by summer 2010. Burgoynes will then review extending the use of Connect for accounts and other requirements to create one fully integrated system.

nFlow today announced that Lee & Priestley LLP, a leading Leeds-based law firm, has successfully implemented nFlow Version 5.0, a second generation, Microsoft .NET platform-based Digital Dictation System (DDS). The firm has replaced its digital dictation software with a modern workflow-based DDS across 64 users.  

Following a detailed examination of solutions from the leading digital dictation suppliers, Lee & Priestley chose nFlow Version 5.0 for its .NET technology, ease of use and ability to integrate with third party applications. In the near future, the firm is looking to integrate nFlow Version 5.0 with its Arista Accounting Software. This will deliver additional time savings to fee earners as they will be able to get client and matter descriptions directly from the financial database, eliminating the need to manually input these details into their documentation.  

Since the solution’s deployment, Lee & Priestley has seen a distinct increase in productivity of fee earners and administrative staff.  With nFlow Version 5.0, Lee & Priestley has not only eliminated the need to employ temporary staff, but today 16 secretaries are able to service the 48 fee earners in the practice.

Craig Towers, IT & Telecoms Manager, Lee & Priestley LLP, said, “nFlow has made a huge difference to the way our staff works today. We now have a single platform for digital dictation, which is delivering tremendous efficiency gains to users. Also, we have installed a .NET technology, which is going to be around for the foreseeable future. No other digital dictation supplier was able to offer the level of technical sophistication that nFlow has.”

“nFlow’s approach to customer service is commendable. This came through in our very first meeting and based on our experience of working with them, we know that it was not a sales pitch”, Craig Towers added.

Rob Lancashire, Sales and Marketing Director at nFlow, commented, “.NET is definitely the preferred technology in the market today. Solutions based on the .NET framework are future-proof, offer richer functionality and a greater level of accessibility options and easily integrate with other IT systems deployed within organisations to deliver a consistent and seamless business environment. This reduces IT administration and lowers the total cost of ownership, crucial in today’s difficult economic environment.”

nFlow DDS Version 5.0 is the only enterprise-class digital dictation solution of its kind on the market today. It has been completely re-designed from the ground up based on the Microsoft .NET framework, to deliver an unrivalled low cost of ownership, exceptional functionality and benefits to users and customers alike.  

TFB has today announced that their  practice and case management system, Partner for Windows, now offers integration capability with one of the leading digital dictation solutions, nFlow DDS. The move to integrate with nFlow DDS is part of the wider project to promote a more efficient and integrated approach to managing dictations for both new and existing clients.

 

Sussex-based Rix & Kay Solicitors LLP have worked with TFB and nFlow in the development of the integration. The firm, who have over 100 users across 3 offices, are able to launch the nFlow DDS, which runs on their extensive Citrix network, from Case Manager, Partner for Windows’ case and document management system and via manual or auto time recording. The integration is being developed so that each dictation file will be auto-populated with the appropriate case details including entity, matter and progress file.  When the file is opened in nFlow by the transcriber, Case Manager will open automatically at the relevant entity or matter progress file. At each stage of the process, Partner for Windows captures the time spent, enhancing the firm’s ability to record and bill time associated with dictations.

 

John Kay, IT Partner at Rix & Kay comments, “We wanted to find a way in which we could merge these two leading technologies together and provide a more streamlined and efficient way of managing the dictation process. Following the integration, we hope to see a significant increase in the rate at which dictations are processed and transactional documentation is produced which will have a positive impact on our client service levels. From an operational level, we will no longer encounter the problems of data duplication or data errors in transferring information from one system to another because it all runs from the Partner for Windows database.

From the Law Society Gazette:

 Conveyancing firm Barnetts has launched an iPhone application that allows clients to get an instant quote and follow the progress of their case via their phone.

The in-house IT team at Barnetts developed the software, which other firms will be able to licence and use.

The iClick app is available for free on iTunes by searching using the keyword ‘conveyancing’.

Potential clients can click ‘quote’, enter the price of the property and select whether they are buying or selling. The application then connects to the firm’s live quote system and downloads the latest fee information direct to their phones in seconds.

If a client is happy with the fee and wants to instruct the firm, they enter some basic contact details and will be contacted by Barnetts.

To track their case, clients enter their case reference and a password. Key transaction milestones information will then be displayed, in addition to the text messaging which is sent out at key milestones.

Richard Barnett, senior partner at the firm, said: ‘In the past few years, conveyancers have been challenged to provide the best possible service at the most competitive price. To succeed with this goal, the use of the latest techniques and technologies has to be embraced.’

With the Royal Mail announcing further strikes on Friday 6th and Monday 9th November, many firms will struggle to deal with the associated loss of business that a strike will bring – according to figures published in The Times a national strike will cost the UK economy £1.5billion in terms of lost orders, extra administration and higher delivery costs.

The recent strikes have built up a backlog of mail – reports vary from 2 million items up to 30 million items – and the situation is likely to worsen in the run-up to Christmas. Planning ahead for a postal strike is vital if companies are to reduce the financial implications of documents being delayed.

Quickdox, the Blackburn-based specialist document-signing agency, offers a time-efficient and 100% reliable web-based alternative for documents which require client signatures and are time-sensitive. As Andrew Robson, Operations Manager of New Law Solicitors, said: “We work with Quickdox as they are able to get someone out to see our clients the same day ¬– if not, within days of receiving an instruction. Their representatives will talk through the document with the client, explain anything that is not understood and allay any concerns regarding our fees. This not only improves our client service but has increased our returned pack conversion rate; on some lead sources by nearly 20%.”

The service, which is used by a variety of sectors, including lawyers, financial services providers and claims management companies, ensures that documentation is not only returned on time but is correctly completed, removing the delays which are so frequently caused by forms being incorrectly completed.

Angelo Trapasso, Sales and Marketing Director of Quickdox, explained: “Businesses shouldn’t have to suffer just because the Royal Mail cannot reach an agreement with their workers. It is in times such as these that we realise how dependent upon our delivery systems we all are – orders, contracts, cashflow are all affected and we need to ensure that these are protected and maintained.

“An increasing number of lawyers are relying upon our service in order to gain absolute control over their business correspondence. When legal documents require a client’s signature the firm cannot afford for the process to be delayed due to postal problems – CFAs, witness statements and even financial documents are so often a ‘sticking point’ – but Quickdox can manage that process, providing a guaranteed 100% traceable service and ensure that documents are delivered to the signatory by one of our team and returned to your company within 3 days,” he explained.

Quickdox, provides a quick and efficient document transfer service for the legal, financial and claims management sectors. The Blackburn-based company employs over 500 trained people across the country with fully trained agents available in your area at 2 hours notice. A secure web-based portal ensures that documents are signed and returned to your business within 3 days.

Woolley & Co, the world’s first ‘virtual’ law firm, has strengthened IT support for its virtual operation by adding more users to SOS Connect from Solicitors Own Software and consolidating IT managed service provision with e-know.net to cope with continued growth and rising profits.

Established in 1996 as a family law specialist and the first virtual law firm, Woolley & Co abandoned the high overheads of a bricks and mortar operation with its associated people, IT and running costs. A new virtual practice based upon direct client to lawyer communications and outsourcing all business services developed. In the ensuing years a single man operation has grown to a network of 17 remotely located fee earners and a headcount of around 30, but with no office premises. Even in these recessionary times, Woolley & Co is expanding and taking on more fee earners.

Technology to support the operation is key. Woolley & Co was breaking new ground to find a fully outsourced IT service in the early years and as founder and managing partner, Andrew Woolley admits: “To be honest we struggled with it for a few years and then decided to take advice and review the legal software market properly.”

That review led to the selection of SOS Connect as an integrated case and practice management system and as use of the system grew a move to managed service provider
e-know.net.

SOS Connect offers a flexible and highly integrated case, document and practice management solution enabling users to adhere to common business processes and best practices, even in a business as widely dispersed as Woolley’s.

All of the processes associated with opening a new case, conducting the case, including document management and workflow, automated recording of incoming and outgoing emails and tying them back to the case, automated time recording and automatic bill production have been streamlined. The ability to view files in SOS Connect at all times, also greatly assists with peer file reviews and more in-depth case examinations from quality of advice and client service perspectives as well as business performance monitoring and regulatory compliance.

Andrew Woolley believes that the firm is well-placed to withstand the impact that the Legal Services Act is predicted to have on many high street firms. “I think we are very well equipped to react to new demands. We have driven costs down. They are lower and our personal service is aimed to be higher than the norm. We offer clients the major advantage of a direct connection to highly experienced lawyers. I fear to say it but there will be so many firms going to the wall, larger ones too, that I think there will be more family work around. We have grown from 1 to 17 lawyers because of our growing case load, despite the fall in divorce cases generally, so we must be taking the business away from someone.”

Telford-based e-know.net specialises in dynamic managed services provision which is flexible to the demands of the business and provides Woolley’s with a one-stop shop for their complete IT needs. This includes server space and 24/7/365 technical support for the hosted desktop and all applications, including SOS Connect. The service is charged on a per user, per month basis ensuring that IT spend is aligned to the business.

David Mcnamara, managing director of SOS said: “This is another example of the flexibility of SOS Connect to suit the needs of law firms whether they are set up in a highly distributed virtual model or a traditional one and to deliver real efficiency gains in readiness for the impact of the Legal Services Act.”

Bath-based Virtual Practices, which delivers SOS Connect case and practice management software as a service (SaaS) to law firms, has added Scottish cash management to its outsourced legal cashiering service. Glasgow-based Cameron Macaulay Solicitors is the first Scottish law firm to subscribe.

Cameron Macaulay, a civil court practice, is the second incarnation of the firm which until 2006 operated as a traditional high street practice with its inherent high cost/low margin business model. Following a sabbatical from the business and time for reflecting upon the best way for a lawyer to survive and prosper in the modern, post-Legal Services (Scotland) Act market,  Malcolm Cameron has set up his new operation to rely on outsourced services as far as possible, including IT.

An independent evaluation of software as a service (SaaS) suppliers of legal software led Mr Cameron to Virtual Practices from a short-list which also included IRIS and GB Systems (now also part of IRIS). Virtual Practices was established to give start-ups and smaller firms access to case and practice management software on a monthly subscription model. In addition and uniquely, Virtual Practices offers an outsourced legal cashiering service which means that the small firm can avoid the costs of employing a legal cashier.  “Clearly I was dealing with people who have a stake in and are passionate about their business and are committed to continued development of their software. Virtual Practices people also demonstrated a long-term understanding of the needs of solicitors. The software is state of the art delivering levels of sophistication for both case and practice management that would have been beyond the financial reach of my previous, traditional practice.”

Compliance with cash management reporting requirements in Scotland is more onerous than in England and changes were required to the software. Stephen Parry, business development director at Virtual Practices explained: ”The daily end of day reporting requirements in Scotland place stringent demands on law firms. Even the smallest practice would usually need to employ a legal cashier to ensure that the requirements are met. However due to the flexible, underlying architecture of SOS Connect, we were able to very rapidly add features which generate the reports automatically, effectively removing this administrative burden.”  

Malcolm Cameron commented: “The software as a service model also takes care of back-ups, business continuity and file storage and provides round the clock access, but the single most important benefit that makes this service exceptional is the legal cashiering. All I have to do is enter the credit and debit vouchers into the system and everything else transpires on time and completely accurately..”

“Software as a service (SaaS), or cloud computing, is no longer theoretical,” says Malcolm Cameron. “The technology has reached a point where it is truly transformational in providing the smaller firm with a more profitable business model. I have saved around 25 hours a month which is now available for remunerative work and can organise the business around client service and quality.”

In the past the treadmill of a heavy case load and constant quest for new business to cover high overheads left little time for improving client service. But as Malcolm Cameron now says: “I have reduced overheads by over 80 per cent and have the luxury of time to make service quality the cornerstone of my practice.”

After two days of training, Cameron Macaulay, was live for practice management and time recording, automated time recording of incoming and outgoing emails against the individual matter and is now moving towards full case management.  In fact the firm offers clients a discount if they elect to correspond using emails rather than letters.

 Auctori:law™, a Microsoft Certified Web Content Management System (WCMS), designed specifically for law firms, has recently launched. St. Louis Based Company, Unified Development, Inc. (Unidev®) designed the WCMS in association with several law firms to give attorneys and legal professionals an easy to use, but powerful system to update and maintain their professionally designed website. More...