Tracking Legal Technology

No, it’s not “Saturday night”, it’s only Tuesday.  But all of us at Eastern Legal Systems were excited by what we learned at the Legal Tech New York show, which began on Monday. 

 Our first stop was at the Worldox booth, sponsored by World Software Corporation.  At LegalTech NYC Worldox  formally announced the release of their Productivity Suite for Worldox GX2.  Worldox already has the reputation for being the gold standard for document management software.  Add in its ability to manage emails and what more could you want?  Apparently, plenty – and they’ve given plenty to their users with this new add-on.

 Do you circulate files for approvals, comments and revisions?

Check out the Workflow feature in this suite – it allows the user to set up routing for documents, soliciting approvals and reviews, and all within the program.  No cover pages to be marked up, subjecting your important files to wrinkles and smudges.  Users can monitor progress and optionally receive email updates on progress.

Do you schedule  document-related meetings or set up tasks in Outlook?

 Now you can do that within Worldox without having to switch over to Outlook – set up tasks and follow-ups without having to switch programs.  Reminders are file-based, include links to the files, and can be sent to one or more participants.  It’s easy!

 Would you like to be alerted when a document or scanned file is added to Workox for a particular client – or by a particular user?

 Receive automatic notification of actions taken with tagged files and folders – either by user or by group.  This real-time feature follows document actions and changes.

 How about being able to exchange instant messages with my colleagues?

 The new Chat feature inside of the Productivity Suite allows you to instantly communicate with colleagues in a secure environment, within your organization’s firewall. 

 I’d like to be able to compare versions of our documents.

 The compareDocs feature gives the user the ability to compare Microsoft Word documents and choose whether the output should be redlined, or use the option to Track Changes , with the resulting output in Word or .PDF format.  You may also choose to upgrade to the Professional Version of compareDocs to expand this feature to .PDF and scanned documents.

 I’d also like to create PDF documents without having to invest in a separate software program.

 The Productivity Suite includes core features from the bestselling software, pdfDocs, which fully integrates into Worldox and Microsoft Office.  Now you can create, combine, secure and save your documents without having to invest in yet one more piece of software.

The Productivity Suite works with Worldox GX2 to help you do more and work even smarter.  You can read more about this on the Worldox site at http://www.worldox.com/news/Worldox-Productivity-Suite

 Or

 You can contact Eastern Legal Systems at 1-877-ELS-0555 (or visit our web site at http://www.easternlegalsystems.com) to find a local consultant to assist you.

Here you are in 2011 and the year-end pause is over. You are already ramped up, dealing with deadlines, client development, and administrative work. Where is the work/life balance that you promised yourself was just a matter of reaching the target number of clients?  And how can you make your staff as efficient as possible?

As legal technology consultants, we know that while systems can’t do it all, they can offer peace of mind by organizing the office and by improving workflow. Once you have implemented trusted systems, you and your staff will stop wasting time looking for information. One vendor suggested that the average attorney spends up to 40 minutes a day just looking for information in an office that is not automated. If you take 40 minutes multiplied by your billing rate, then multiply by the number of days in the year and number of people in your office, you can see that there is a financial cost to searching for information.

Do you have an efficient workflow for entering new matters into your system, or are you or your staff entering new matters separately into the calendar system, the billing system, and document management system? How many steps does it take to complete the intake process? Would better integration of your systems help your office to work faster with fewer errors? Are you confident that your conflict checking process is working?

• Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to do some serious technology planning to streamline your office and to support your client development efforts. Schedule a technology check up to go over your key software systems including billing and accounting systems, practice/case management including client information tracking, docketing, document assembly capabilities, document and email management, practice area automation, conflicts checking.
• In addition, get some help with your paper management and scanning efforts. Storing paper files is expensive, while the cost of disk storage is getting cheaper every day.  
• Consider getting some training in the systems you already have, for the people in your office. Make sure you have a plan in place to cross-train your people. Can you help them be more effective by designing better workflows or by automating repetitive steps or documents?

Talk to your local consultant at Eastern Legal Systems about scheduling an evaluation of your technology.  With over 100 years of combined experience as legal technology professionals,  we can help you to identify the hardware and software best suited to your practice. Our focus is to work with you and your firm to implement technology that will increase your productivity and enhance your efficiency.

Got a question? Email us at info@EasternLegalSystems.com, or give us a call at 877-ELS-0555.

Season’s Greetings!  It’s December.  There is a crispness to the air.  Lights are everywhere.  Music is playing in the streets. And Section 179 of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 179), allows a taxpayer to elect to deduct the cost of certain types of property on their income taxes as an expense up to $500,000.00 for property purchased in 2010.  It is time to focus on the year’s end. Spend it now, get a break on your taxes from Uncle Sam in 2011.

 How are you positioned to wrap up your year?  What reports are you required to produce from your billing or accounting software to keep your accountant happy?  How about for your clients? There are lots of year-end maintenance tasks you can perform in your billing and accounting software that will both provide useful analytic information for 2010, and help you start the new year on a better footing, with a “leaner, cleaner” database. 

 Have you met with your accountant or financial advisor yet to plan your organization’s tax strategy?  Can you make any last-minute purchases to maximize your present tax position? Have you been considering adding new technology to your practice?

 How well is your network and hardware functioning?  Do your year-end plans include upgrades?  How would new equipment – and the new Windows 7 operating system — impact your existing programs and applications?

 Is it time to upgrade your software?  Many hardware and software vendors face their own end of the year, and offer sales and discounts to boost their revenues.  Do you know about these hidden gems? Dell seems to be particularly focused on “year-end specials” (we get 3-4 pieces of mail per day from them in December). If you are considering a hardware purchase, this is a great time to shop for the best prices.

 The consultants at Eastern Legal Systems support a variety of software and hardware products, and can work with you to get the best pricing on software upgrades and new technology purchases.  We can also work with you in the areas of implementation, customization and training, so you can get the most out of the programs you own.  And those services are also often able to be “bundled” into a Section 179 recapture, if purchased in conjunction with an upgrade.

 Call us at 1-877-ELS-0555 for more information on leveraging your technology purchases and saving on your tax bill.