We're getting a little cynical about the number of 'social media' experts out there whose main advice appears to be Tweet, tweet, use my consultancy services please – so we were more than a little pleased to receive this new white paper The use of social media in relationship development in the professions (lawyers, accountants & surveyors) by Kim Tasso and Peter Abraham.
The white paper is attached so you can read it yourselves but the key point is this is an objective overview of where professional services are at the moment in their use social media and how they could use it to greater advantage in the future. Given that the regulations governing marketing activities by the professions were liberated a quarter of a century, the chart reveals just how few firms regard themselves as being at the cutting edge in terms of selling and marketing. And as for social media, the vast number still see themselves as absolute beginners.
Section 2 of the white paper – Best practice - defining and aligning social media best practice in professional selling – is the idea starting point/check-list/bluffers guide to take into marketing meetings and impress your colleagues. Seriously, it may help you put your organisation's social media strategy back on track, as distinct from the half-arsed attempts most law firms make of it.
Section 5 – Eleven Key Lessons – is another must-read section and there is also a useful resources and reading list section at the end.
All in all, well worth reading. In fact, if you don't read anything else about social media, read this.
Incidentally, Kim Tasso says "As we are keen to hear comments and questions and continue the research but want to avoid convoluted email exchanges we have set up two LinkedIn groups. The second one is just for the professions and the first is for the topic in the broader markets – but you need to join both:
Here's the main group:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=2079375&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
Here's the sub group for the professions:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3717399&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
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Tuesday, December 21
New white paper on social media - surprisingly good
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 21 Dec 2010 12:24 GMT
 1 AttachmentsMonday, December 20
One quarter of staff fiddle their expenses - who knew?
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 20 Dec 2010 11:42 GMT
GlobalExpense, who specialise in providing expenses management services to, among others, major law firms, has just published the results of a survey which suggests one quarter of expense-claiming employees exaggerate their claims. Who'd have thought it! GlobalExpense say that while this year saw 25% of employees admitting to exaggerating their expenses, last year (2009) the figure was only 15% – so either expense fiddling is on the increase or expense fiddlers are now more open about their activities?
Almost half (47%) of those that admit to having exaggerated expenses claims, inflate claims by up to £10 per month; 13% boost claims by between £11 and £20; 10% enlarge claims by between £21 and £50; and 4% magnify claims by between £51 and £100 per month. Mileage claims are the most likely to be exaggerated (22%) by those who have ever claimed expenses, followed by meals and drinks whilst away from home for work (12%); taxi fares (5%, accommodation (4%) and entertainment claims (3%). “Not only is the number of people exaggerating their expenses on the increase, but the general public’s acceptance of exaggerating expenses claims is creeping back-up to pre-MPs’ expenses scandal levels, too,” says David Vine, CEO of GlobalExpense. According to the GlobalExpense survey, nearly one quarter (22%t) of people think it is acceptable for employees to exaggerate their work expenses when claiming them back from their employer some or all of the time. Immediately after the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009 this figure was 14%: a significant drop on pre-scandal figures of 30% in 2008 and 34% in 2007. Exaggerating expenses claims by up to 10% is considered fair by 22%t of the general public; 5% think up to 20% is acceptable, and three percent tolerate the exaggeration of claims by 21 to 50% of value. Circumstances in which people think it is acceptable to exaggerate claims include: • When the mileage rate paid by the employer doesn’t cover the actual car and fuel costs (34%) • When an employee doesn’t feel they are fully reimbursed for all the costs they have incurred (27 %) • When an employee works long hours but isn’t paid any overtime (23%) • When an employee is not paid a fair salary (16%) • When the employee’s boss claims for luxurious expenses or expenses which aren’t work related (15%) • When an employee has not had a pay rise in line with inflation (11%) GlobalExpense say that of all the people that had ever claimed expenses in the survey, only 16% had had their expense claims queried by their employer for being against the company policy and only 6% had ever had an expenses claim rejected. Other findings of the survey include: • Almost one third of bosses (30%) definitely or probably exaggerate their expenses according to respondents. • Seeing reports in the newspapers about directors that exaggerate their expenses makes 14% of people more inclined to exaggerate their own expenses claims. • 10% of people believe that an employer can afford the addition of a couple of pounds to a mileage claim and that it won’t hurt the company. • Less than a third (29%) of people believe that exaggerating expenses claims should be a sackable offence. • Young workers aged between 18 to 24 have laxest morals when it comes to exaggerating expenses claims: 33% say it is ever acceptable compared with 17% of those aged 55+. The attached PDF contains more details about the survey. 1 AttachmentsThursday, December 16
DMS round-up - revised
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 16 Dec 2010 19:13 GMT
Quick round-up on document management systems news...
• Following our report last time about OpenText announcing Microsoft Office 2010 integration, we've had a couple of legal IT directors and vendors get in touch to say "Actually Autonomy iManage did beat OpenText to Office integration". However OpenText say "No, we were first" and also check out this link – www.advdoc.com/blog/archives/140#comment-1266 – which seems to suggest that Worksite 8.5 SP2 doesn't help much in practice WorkSite 8.5 SP2 was released in mid-October, and in theory supports Office 2010. But a simple install with Office 2010 gave me no integration at all – it behaved just like WorkSite 8.5 (no SP) in terms of errors and lack of integration. • Also, for Sharepoint fans, when have more news on the Clifford Chance Sharepoint DMS project. Latest reports suggest Microsoft has contributed considerably more than £1million to the project. AND the Sword/Lewis Silkin Sharepoint DM presentation on Thursday 13th January in London will also now include a brief session by Tony DeCerce on the potential of Microsoft SharePoint 2010 as a document management system.
Goodman Derrick go with Tikit for outsourcing
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 16 Dec 2010 12:27 GMT
Tikit has just announced a contract with Goodman Derrick LLP to provide all of their IT support and strategic consultation as part of a fully managed service. Tikit provides Goodman Derrick LLP with support for Tikit document production software, including Autonomy iManage and Workshare software coupled with both network infrastructure support and call handling. From Monday 20th December, Tikit will be providing a comprehensive managed service which will combine 1st, 2nd and 3rd line IT support with overall consultancy and strategic management of IT for the firm.
Commenting on the deal, John Raimbach (Director of Finance at Goodman Derrick LLP) said "We needed a single, reliable supplier that could be trusted to provide our growing organisation with a robust IT Service. This was the missing element of service which now completes our IT outsourcing strategy. After evaluating the market, we selected Tikit as our IT partner as the company has a proven track record for delivery and a strong customer service ethic." Tikit managing director David Lumsden adds "Encouragingly, Tikit has seen a major change in firms’ appetites to embrace managed services." Wednesday, December 15
Farleys in DDS swapout
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 15 Dec 2010 11:32 GMT
Manchester-based Farleys Solicitors has selected Bighand to replace its incumbent digital dictation system. The firm has deployed the DDS to 120 users across 6 sites via Terminal Services. Many fee-earners are also using the Bighand Blackberry app for mobile working. Although the announcement does not give the details, the Insider 250 Chart reveals that Farleys’ legacy DDS was a Winscribe system.
Commenting on the reasons for the switch, the firm’s IT manager Steve Garbett said “We had been using our previous DDS for a number of years but the upgrade to the latest version didn’t go smoothly. We encountered numerous technical issues which were exacerbated by us having to communicate via a reseller rather than directly with the software developer. Our reseller didn’t have access to the code required to resolve the issues, they were totally dependent on the developers, who are based on the other side of the world. This intermediary step created even greater delays and we found their lack of influence very frustrating.” • The word on the grapevine is another Winscribe site – Farrer & Co – will shortly be announcing its defection to Bighand. Tuesday, December 14
OpenText now supports Office 2010 - beats iManage
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 14 Dec 2010 06:24 GMT
OpenText has just released eDOCS DM 5.3. There are a whole raft of enhancements in the latest version of the OpenText DMS however probably the most important one is support for Microsoft Office 2010, whereas Autonomy iManage is not expected to deliver Office 2010 support until next year.
OpenText say the integration between eDOCS DM and Microsoft Office has been enhanced to give users the ability to customize their DMS experience by creating their own Microsoft Office Ribbons. This new functionality allows users to create custom Ribbons and include DM actions in them or add DM actions to their Quick Access Toolbar using standard Microsoft Office configuration options. In addition, support has been added for the new Microsoft Backstage interface to help users work with their documents. The Microsoft Word compare and merge integration has also been enhanced to allow users the ability to select from the default Comparison settings. There are more details available on the attached PowerPoint deck. 1 AttachmentsThursday, December 9
Another Eclipse case management deal
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 09 Dec 2010 13:17 GMT
Personal injury practice United Solicitors has chosen Eclipse's Proclaim case management solution for practice-wide rollout. The Manchester-based practice specialises in the full range of accident and injury claims work, including road traffic accidents, MIB (Motor Insurers’ Bureau) claims, employer liability and public liability.
The practice is taking Proclaim Personal Injury to cater for each of these specialised claim types, and is also implementing Proclaim Accounts. As part of the implementation, Eclipse is converting data from the practice’s incumbent accounts system. To assist in process automation, United Solicitors is taking Proclaim’s ATM (Automated Task Manager) tool to provide MI reporting and enable features such as workflow-led SMS text messaging. The firm is also implementing Eclipse’s Proclaim A2A module to facilitate the processing of road traffic accident claims within the Ministry of Justice’s RTA Portal framework. Mohammad Shahid, partner at United Solicitors said "There is a very strong chance that all low-value injury claims will, in future, have to be processed via the MoJ’s Portal. Eclipse is the leader in this type of development and we have the confidence that Proclaim will be up to speed with whatever legislative changes are thrown at us!" * United Solicitors are no relation to Unity Law, another recent Eclipse deal.
Pilgrim pulls off two more IRIS swapouts
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 09 Dec 2010 09:05 GMT
Pilgrim Systems has signed two further new PMS deals. Curtis Davis Garrard in Uxbridge and Thames Valley real estate specialists BrookStreet des Roches LLP of Milton Park, Abingdon are the 16th and 17th new Pilgrim clients of the year. Pilgrim reports that they expect to finish the year with 18 new customers and are just agreeing the finer points of the associated contract.
Curtis Davis Garrard (CDG) differs from the usual LawSoft user. CDG are a 30 user boutique practice specialising in the shipbuilding and offshore oil & gas sectors. The firm is replacing its IRIS AIM Evolution system. CDG was prepared to invest in a system that is normally used by larger practices because it can see the real benefits it will derive from a progressive system that will grow with them as the partners develop the firm. Daniel Callaghan the firm’s Head of IT comments, “LawSoft was by far and away the most advanced system we looked at and had a price tag to match but we focussed on return on investment, and are confident that we will reap significant benefits from using the system in all areas of our business.” BrookStreet des Roches is a 75 people commercial real estate practice replacing an IRIS Videss system. After having ruled out IRIS the firm narrowed down its potential list of suppliers to Pilgrim and one other, eventually opting for Pilgrim’s LawSoft. Joe Hughes the firm’s Practice Manager stated, “We like the breadth of the LawSoft product and take comfort from the fact the system uses Microsoft technology in all its layers.” Colin Kennedy Pilgrim’s COO added "Our pipeline for 2011 is looking even stronger than it did at the beginning of this year and already we are at the preferred supplier stage with a number of firms. We very much believe that we will sustain our current rate of growth next year.” Tuesday, December 7
Survey results: lawyers are early adopters AND more concerned about risk
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 07 Dec 2010 11:04 GMT
Two new sets of survey results to report today: one of ebooks and digital technology, the other on law firms' attitudes towards risk...
A survey commissioned by LexisNexis UK reveals that lawyers are quick to embrace new technology which is seen as essential to their everyday working lives. Almost half of the respondents (47%) regard themselves as either ‘early adopters’ or ‘at the cutting edge’ when it comes to embracing new technologies. The survey Are Lawyers Early Adopters? canvassed the views of 100 lawyers – from sole practitioners to magic circle partners – to learn about their adoption of the latest breed of technology (such as smartphones, mobile applications and ebooks) and how they view these technological tools with regard to accessing information and advice for themselves and their clients. The report uncovered several additional findings including: • More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) favour online or digital resources to ‘traditional paper-based law libraries’ • More than one in ten respondents (11%) have already purchased an Apple iPad, while a similar proportion (10%) had an ebook reader, such as Kindle, specifically to help them do legal work. • Nearly nine in ten respondents (87%) retrieve information from digital sources other than email (such as via smart phones or by downloading eBooks) on a daily basis. • The majority of the profession have embraced the use of smart phone technology and, as an example, two-thirds of respondents (66%) utilise a BlackBerry handset. • Almost three-quarters of respondents (73%) either ‘constantly’ or ‘at least once an hour’ pick-up their email when out of the office. • Eight out of ten respondents (81%) indicated advances in technology speed up legal research and almost three-quarters (73%) identified not having to carry paper work as beneficial. Manwhile IntApp Inc has announced the publication of the 2010 Law Firm Risk Survey Report, an industry study presenting findings collected from 80 law firms. Sponsored by IntApp, the survey was produced by the Risk Roundtable Initiative, an industry association that organizes events and programmes for law firm risk stakeholders to foster dialogue, education and the advancement of best practices. Risk professionals from the 250 largest US-based and the 30 largest Canadian-based law firms were invited to participate. The Law Firm Risk Survey focuses on firm risk management policies, practices and priorities. It examines specific issues including new business intake, attorney lateral hiring and departures, ethical walls management, confidentiality enforcement, internal education, and compliance tracking and verification. The published survey report provides quantitative summaries of overall group response data, as well as samplings of individual responses to questions seeking free-form comments. A selection of key findings include: • Top law firm risk concerns include business intake, records management and confidentiality protection. • Clients continue to raise concerns about the steps firms take to ensure the confidentiality of sensitive business information. • Nearly 90% of firms have been asked by clients to restrict and track internal firm access to sensitive information via ethical walls and other confidentiality controls. • 70% of firms report taking on matters subject to confidentiality controls mandated by external regulations; firms identified the HITECH Act for personal health information, and state and international personal data privacy laws as regulations of greatest concern. • Nearly half of all firms have been audited or received requests for proof of compliance from a client or external agency. • In response to an expanding set of risk management challenges, organizations are increasing the number of internal stakeholders tasked with risk response and compliance. • Supporting this trend, more firms have designated formal budgets earmarked for risk management. More information about the 2010 Law Firm Risk Management Survey is available at www.riskroundtable.com Comment: We think the LexisNexis survey would have carried a little more weight if it had taken a wider sample and had not been conducted by an offshoot of Byfield, one of the PR consultancies for LexisNexis. It would have also been interesting to hear what respondents thought were the main deterrents to the take up of ebooks etc as we suspect one of the reasons (particularly for smaller firms) has been the fact that over the last 20 years legal publishers have traditionally charged more for digital content than for hard-copy editions of the same material. As we've said before – and will no doubt continue saying – the phrase 'dynamic legal publisher' is an oxymoron. Monday, December 6
Mitchell quitting OpenText for DocsCorp
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 06 Dec 2010 10:41 GMT
Ben Mitchell, OpenText's professional services sector manager, is leaving the DMS vendor this month and will be joining DocsCorp as VP of Sales EMEA in January. Grahame Wilkinson takes over from him at OpenText.
Comment: Ben is far too modest to say it but, over the last few years, he has played a major role in rallying the OpenText cause in the face of competition from Autonomy iManage. Ben also introduced the world to the sport of Ruffling-Geoff's-Feathers. In his new role he will no doubt build Boening-Baiting into a spectator sport. |
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