Abacus Solicitors has decided to standardise on SOS Connect from Solicitors Own Software to gain the efficiencies of running one integrated case and practice management system throughout the firm. More...

London firm Kerman & Co, has selected LawSoft from Pilgrim Systems as its next generation Practice Management System. More...

LexisNexis have announced that Aberdein Considine, a leading Scottish law firm, has selected LexisNexis Axxia dna as its single, integrated practice management system of choice. The firm will also act as a showcase reference site for LexisNexis Axxia dna in Scotland. In addition, Russell-Cooke LLP, a top 100 legal firm, has chosen to upgrade from legacy accounting and billing solution Personal Knowledge Centre (PKC), to LexisNexis Axxia dna.  More...

New Somerset firm Williamsons Solicitors has selected SOS Connect from Solicitors Own Software for its first practice, matter and case management system. Williamsons Solicitors' new website http://www.mrw-law.co.uk/ launches today.

The litigation firm which began operating in December 2009 is specialising in dispute resolution, personal injury and employment law. By taking advantage of technology, integrated case and practice management systems together with digital media, the goal is to provide high quality, streamlined and ‘crisp’ services to clients.

Founding principal Michael Williamson spun-out the new firm from The Stokes Partnership where, as managing partner, he headed up litigation for 11 years: “I welcome the opportunity to start with a blank sheet of paper and in particular to install and develop the technology that I believe will give us an edge in service delivery”, he said, “and the SOS software is a key part of that.“

SOS Connect delivers the flexibility, scripting tools and building blocks that Williamsons was looking for, which will enable lawyers to modify and create their own new workflows as required and without delay. As Williamson commented: “SOS Connect is to case management what content management systems are to web sites. In other words we can respond rapidly to dynamically changing business needs.”

Familiar with SOS from the old firm, Williamsons also took advice from IT colleagues and carried out its own research into available software suppliers, before opting for SOS Connect. Starting afresh with contemporary software is a major advantage in creating efficient processes and managing the business effectively.

Already live on accounts, client and matter management, Williamsons expect to commission the extensive additional features of the new software in the very near future.

David McNamara, managing director of SOS said: “SOS Connect is a powerful tool for helping any new law firm to manage its business effectively and to maximise performance right from the off. We’d like to wish Williamsons every success in their new venture.”

Personal Injury specialists, Irvings Solicitors, have chosen TFB plc to provide their new case and practice management system in place of Axxia. The system is scheduled to go live in April 2010 to coincide with their new financial year.

Irvings, who have been based in Liverpool for the past 30 years, had been using Axxia’s Artiion system, but following a system review upon the appointment of their new IT Manager, Scott O’Brien, identified the need for a system which would allow them to make greater use of case management and enhanced report automation. They reviewed an upgrade offer from Axxia to their new DNA system, as well as proposals from Eclipse, before selecting TFB’s Partner for Windows as their system of choice.

Scott and his team were immediately impressed with the breadth of Partner for Windows’ flexibility, allowing them to easily configure the system to fit within their existing IT infrastructure. This, coupled with Partner TaskCentre, a business process automation tool, will significantly increase the firm’s ability to extract and circulate management information to key individuals as well as increase the overall efficiency of the business.

Scott comments, ‘Moving to any new system can be unsettling, but with the depth of Partner for Windows’ functionality, the strength of TFB’s installed user base and their ‘can do’ attitude, we are confident we have chosen a system and supplier that will consistently deliver results and develop with the firm over time.’

Richard Higgs, Sales Director comments, ‘Irvings are a client who will always be keen to push the boundaries of Partner for Windows’ functionality which makes this an exciting and challenging project for TFB. We look forward to working with the team at Irvings for many years to come whilst helping them to fulfil their ambitious plans for the business.’

Birmingham-based Blakemores Solicitors have swapped out their IRIS practice management system in favour of TFB’s Partner for Windows, to help streamline their accounts and internal reporting processes. In addition, the firm is anticipating significant efficiency gains for the processing of their LSC family and immigration work thanks to the comprehensive legal aid functionality of Partner for Windows.

 

Blakemores, who were previously using IRIS AlphaLaw for accounts, will be rolling out a 180-user Partner for Windows practice management system across the firm whilst implementing case management within their family, probate and immigration departments. They have also chosen to implement Partner TaskCentre, a business process management tool, which will allow them to provide timely and specific management information to key personnel.

 

Robert Palmer, IT Manager at Blakemores comments, ‘When we decided to replace our IRIS AlphaLaw Accounts System, we were looking for a flexible, intuitive and easy to use system. Partner for Windows meets all these requirements and more. From a user perspective, our cashiers particularly favoured it because of the comprehensive in-built LSC functionality and our Head of Finance, Kerry Sherrad, liked its flexible management reporting. From an IT perspective, its ability to work seamlessly within our existing infrastructure and integrate with other leading technologies means the system can grow with the firm and help us embrace new ways of working such as the growing market of online services.’

 

‘We were all so impressed with its all round capabilities that we decided to take a look at TFB’s case management system for the firms main LSC users. It made sense as its integration with the accounts system was seamless and our Partners were so impressed by the functionality that the decision to implement TFB case management was an automatic one’.

 

Richard Higgs, Sales Director at TFB comments, ‘Blakemores is an ambitious, forward-thinking practice with a strong reputation in the Midlands and we are delighted to have been selected to support their key business functions with Partner for Windows.”

Mercers, a long established and leading Thames Valley firm of solicitors and established LawNet member firm, has selected Linetime to replace their existing AIM Evolution system after a comprehensive evaluation process.

Linetime will be supplying Liberate Practice Management and Case Management software to all users in the firm.

Mercers' commitment to offering a quality service, as evidenced by attaining ISO9001, has been a key factor in its continued success.  Accordingly the firm sees investing in the latest information technology as a means of ensuring that the needs and expectations of its clients continue to be met and even exceeded.

Mercers' success has in part been based on recommendations and the firm adopted the same approach in selecting Linetime as its software supplier.

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.

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.

Leading Jersey law firm, Le Gallais & Luce, has selected Eclipse’s Proclaim Practice Management software solution.

Le Gallais & Luce traces its roots back to 1870, and today provides a full suite of private client and corporate services.  The practice aims to provide traditional service values with a focus on fast, responsive and transparent delivery.  This client-focused approach has led to a continuing increase in instructions which has fuelled the need to analyse the firm's existing core software systems.

An in-depth review of the market's leading offerings resulted in Le Gallais & Luce selecting Eclipse's Proclaim system for a practice-wide implementation.

As well as the core Proclaim Case Management system, the firm is implementing Proclaim Accounts to form a fully-integrated Practice Management solution.  Eclipse will be tailoring the delivered system to take into account both the wide range of casetypes managed by Le Gallais & Luce and the unique elements of property law in Jersey, one of the firm's key offerings.

Martin Orchard, Practice Manager at Le Gallais & Luce, comments on his firm's selection:

“We are fiercely proud of the way we deliver our legal services, and to build on our position we needed a software solution aligned with our core ethos of speed, quality and transparency.  Eclipse's Proclaim system stood out in a number of areas when held up against its peers, not least in terms of the way it organises information and streamlines administrative tasks.

Proclaim provides the perfect platform for us to further improve our offerings.  The software will enable our fee earners to access a broader range of information more quickly, which will benefit our staff and our clients."

Thursfields Solicitors has successfully completed the first phase implementation of SOS Connect, the integrated case, document and practice management solution from Solicitors Own Software (SOS). In a ‘big bang’ roll-out to around 110 people in three offices, ageing, disparate IT systems, no longer supported by the previous supplier, and many manual operations have now been replaced. This has been a huge transformation of the business into an efficient and streamlined operation.

The joint Thursfields’ and Solicitors Own Software implementation team succeeded in bringing in this major project on-time and on budget. Moreover the team has created a new IT infrastructure which has enthused the whole firm with determination to improve efficiency, customer service and agility in the post-Legal Services Act marketplace. A dramatic leap forward in automated processes and real-time, interactive working has been achieved within six months, for the entire firm.

Thursfields is one of the largest practices in Worcestershire with a team of around 110 people, 10 partners and offices in Worcester, Kidderminster and Stourport providing a wide range of legal services for the individual and business client alike.

This major investment is part of Thursfields plans to modernise the firm and to provide clients with the best possible service in the future. A key ingredient of the successful project has been the wide involvement of staff at every level within the firm, not only in the initial selection of SOS, but in its implementation. Thursfields appointed super users who received additional training in using the SOS Connect scripting tools and workflows to tailor the solution and who were given the time to champion the system and then transfer knowledge within the organisation.

Phase one has included creating a centralised database, achieved by SOS’s conversion team converting and amalgamating 10 separate databases into a single SOS database; providing real-time access to the data to everyone; implementing practice management for the accounts and debt collection for all offices and enabling generic case management with the use of templates for standard letters and procedures for the entire firm.  

There have been a number of quick returns on investment (ROI) wins especially from the many newly automated business processes; improved access and flow of information; accurate time recording, especially of emails; better business performance information and the introduction, for the first time of customer relationship management. But the longer term ROI will be greatly enhanced because the people at Thursfields are so highly motivated to use the software extensively and take advantage of the innovative technology architecture for building their own workflows.

Phase two is on schedule with the Head of Probate, Trust and Tax spearheading the goal to get the most out of the system and to create workflows for almost any process with several steps, as well as roll out case management to probate, conveyancing and personal injury. The bigger picture is that the system will enable best practice to be captured and be used consistently throughout the firm. More...