Here's a couple of stories to ponder, while we consider whether we are in the middle of a recession, economic blip or dead-cat bounce...

• According to The Times newspaper (in a report by Jill Sherman, Richard Ford and Frances Gibb)... there is a memo floating around the UK's Ministry of Justice (aka the old Lord Chancellor's Department) proposing that the department can save £49.3 million by cancelling an electronic filing and document management system intended to cut paperwork and manage cases in the family and civil courts. (This would be the same case & document management system the courts have been waiting for since the 'Woolf' civil justice procedural reforms were first mooted in the mid-1990s.)

• And, according to the research consultancy Gartner... global IT spending will drop in 2009, with hardware sales down 4%, telecoms growing by 3.9% and software increasing by a mere 8.6%, compared with a 13.5% increase this year. IT spending in North America will climb a by 0.5% compared to a previous forecast of 5.3%, Asia Pacific will see IT spending increase by 8.3%, down from an earlier 11% growth prediction, and in Western Europe IT spending will drop 0.8% – whereas Garner had previously forecast spending to grow 2.8% in this region.

So, the recession is here – or at least its in the lobby hanging up its dirty raincoat – but what impact will this have on IT purchasing decisions?

This month Legal Technology Insider's Readers' Poll is back with a series of questions that both law firms and vendors (whether UK, European, American or Asia-Pacific-based) can respond to. We want to check out some of the reports, myths and urban legends surrounding the downturn in IT procurement over the past few weeks.

For example, are organisations really putting their IT plans on hold or even cutting back? And what is the true motivation behind this: concerns about the future – or concern that it doesn’t look good to be investing in IT at a time when you may have to lay off staff?

Visit our www.legaltechnology.com site and follow the Latest Readers Poll link in the top menu bar. As ever, all responses are strictly anonymous – and we’ll publish the results next month.

Client Profiles has announced and begun delivery of its new version 4.0 of CRM4Legal CRM software based on the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform. The company has also launched a new licensing and pricing model. “One of the challenges that we have experienced in the past involved pricing,” said Whit McIsaac, President & CEO of Client Profiles. “After 8 months of collaboration on this issue, Microsoft and Client Profiles have delivered a pricing model that fits the law firm needs of today – low cost, easy-to-use licensing for attorneys and light users, and comprehensive licensing for power users.”

In addition, Client Profiles will be showing CRM4Legal at the Australian Legal Practice Management Association Conference (Sydney 10-11 October) and in Hong Kong at Excelsior Hotel on 4-6 November.

The third issue – October '08 – of the American Legal Technology Insider newsletter is out now. Click on the link to download your free copy as a 378k PDF file.

Top stories include Aderant winning its second Elite site in as many months.

You can also register to receive it direct to your desktop as an email file attachment – just email to altisubs@legaltechnology.com with the word subscribe in the subject line. The next issue will be published on Wednesday 5 November.

Recommind, a supplier of enterprise search, email management and e-discovery systems, has just announced that it has secured the first institutional funding – for a total of $7.5 million – in the company's 7 year history. Kennet Partners, a global investment firm focused exclusively on mid-stage, high-growth companies in strategically critical markets, led the round. Experiencing dramatic growth across all product lines and geographies, Recommind is tapping into private equity in order to quickly ramp its global operations and acquire additional product and market breadth through acquisition.

"We are very proud of Recommind's track record of strong, organic growth and profitability over these past 7 years. But with the tremendous demand we have experienced, which has only accelerated with the recent financial market crisis, access to significant capital will be a key ingredient of our ability to fulfill exploding demand organically and through acquisitions going forward," said Robert Tennant, CEO, Recommind.

"At Kennet Partners, we focus on well run, capital efficient companies with strong franchises that have shown a consistent track record of sustained revenue growth. Recommind is directly in our sweet spot and we are pleased to be the first institutional investors in the company," said Eric Filipek, Principal at Kennet Partners. "Recommind is following a similar path taken by some of the most successful technology companies to date by becoming a key supplier of strategically critical technology to a rapidly expanding vertical industry. We are excited to be a part of what is a tremendous success story that continues to gain momentum, even in turbulent times such as these."

Baker & McKenzie has appointed Martin Telfer as its new Global Director of Information Systems. Telfer was the firm’s Asia Pacific Regional IT Director and Global Head of In-Sourcing for Global Services Manila. He will be based in Chicago beginning January 2009.

As Asia Pacific Regional IT Director, Telfer was responsible for managing technology systems across 14 offices in the region and a team of 90 IT professionals. As Head of Global Services Manila, he oversaw a 400-strong team that provides a wide variety of business processes and legal services to the firm.

Telfer joined Baker & McKenzie from Minter Ellison in 2005, where he was Chief Information Officer. Prior to Minter Ellison, he was at Mallesons Stephen Jaques from 1997 to 2001 as Executive Director of Information & Technology where he implemented a completely new infrastructure and application set to 2000 staff across eight offices in three countries. At Masons (Solicitors) in London, as IT director from 1990 to 1997, he worked with Professor Richard Susskind pioneering the use of today's commonplace techniques such as hypertext and electronic litigation support. His career in technology began in 1985, when he joined Ernst & Young, holding a variety of internal senior management positions before moving on to consulting, offering technology advice to small and medium businesses.

What is believed to be the UK's first, free-to-attend, event focused on green technology practices and sustainable computing – Green IT Expo 2008 – will take place at the Barbican Exhibition Centre* in London on 4th and 5th November.

The blurb says "the two-day event will be a unique combination of seminars, supplier briefings and networking opportunities. Seminars will cover the key challenges for the industry, the latest legislation and government directives and significant developments at local and international level."

The keynote line up includes Chris Chant, CIO at the Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA); Steve Bowden, Chief Technology Officer at Green Computing, IBM; Nigel Montgomery, Research Director at AMR Research; and, Miriam Kennet, Director at The Green Economics Institute.
Further information regarding Green IT Expo including a full programme, can be found at www.greenitexpo.co.uk

* The Barbican Exhibition Centre – home to all those SOLEX events in days of yore – is an appropriate location as the venue is itself a recycled car park.

Maritime lawyers Winter Scott are investing in a Linetime Liberate practice and document management system to replace their Axxia software. An element in securing the contract was Linetime’s ability to migrate the existing data.

The organisers of the Legal IT Forum in Wales in a fortnight's time have announced an additional speaker. He is Paul Lippe, CEO, LegalOnRamp. They add "In an extremely rare European public appearance, you now have the opportunity to hear and discuss directly with Paul the cutting-edge practicalities and budgetary implications of how law firms and their clients can improve legal quality and efficiency through collaboration, automation and process re-engineering via online collaboration and social platforms."

For more details visit www.icbi-events.com/KN2201LTIEM

• 3E win for Elite in NZ
The New Zealand Crown Law Office has chosen to implement Elite 3E, becoming the second legal organisation in the country to do so, following Aukland law firm Hesketh Henry in May this year. Crown Law's practice manager Diana Pryde, says she is eagerly anticipating the improved matter management processes Elite’s integrated financial and practice management system will provide once it is implemented. “The flexible case and calendaring capabilities of 3E will allow us to efficiently organise, track and manage information needed throughout the entire lifecycle of every matter,” says Pryde.

Acting as the Government’s legal arm, Crown Law undertakes work for government departments and associated agencies. The office has over 200 staff, half of which are lawyers. Based in the capital Wellington, the office primarily practices public and constitutional law as well as providing support for Crown Solicitors that work on its behalf undertaking prosecutions. The decision to implement a new system followed a review by an external consultant into Crown Law’s existing business software packages. The resulting report recommended Crown Law not only replace its legacy financial software, but also urged it to change its practice management system.

“Essentially our two systems were no longer fit for purpose, and the lack of integration between the two was proving detrimental to our day-to-day performance,” says Pryde. “While we were reporting monthly, it was a manually intensive process and we had difficulty extracting timely management information. We needed much quicker and more accurate updates as to where we stood in terms of fees collection and work in progress.”

Elite was one of three systems successfully short-listed after Crown Law issued a tender for an integrated practice and financial management system. “In reality there weren’t a huge number of viable solutions available. Our evaluation team, made up of lawyers, secretaries and finance staff, undertook a very thorough evaluation of the final three.”

• Caseflow and Interlegal part company
Brian Smith, lead architect and designer of the Australian Caseflow case management system, has resigned as a director of Interlegal to launch a new company, which will be focussed on the continued growth of Caseflow. Smith said the time had come to separate the Interlegal business in order for both Interlegal as a services business and Caseflow the product to achieve their maximum potential. The new company Caseflow Pty Ltd is now the owner of the Caseflow software and will take responsibility for the development, maintenance and support of the product. This will see Interlegal continue to provide first-level support and training for its' Caseflow clients.
 
Bruce Fallaver and Andrew Calladine will continue to own and run the re-aligned Interlegal and have marked the new phase of their business by signing a landmark seven year Caseflow Reseller Agreement. This will secure the ongoing relationship with the Caseflow product and allow the company to continue to provide exceptional project delivery services to their clients. Caseflow Pty Ltd will be based out of new premises at Level 3, 695 Burke Road East Hawthorn. One of the first objectives of the new business will be developing new relationships with Legal IT suppliers with the aim of signing additional resellers in Australia. On a broader scale, the company will also be preparing the product for a major international launch in 2009. Caseflow has a great client base and an outstanding underlying technology. There will now be a dedicated focus to expand its Australian presence and compete in offshore markets.
www.caseflow.com.au

(Interlegal began life in Australia as an Elite partner however when that deal ended, they became an Interwoven implementer.)

• Reckon signs Corporate Services and BillBack purchase deal
Reckon Ltd has announced that it has signed the share sale agreement to allow it to buy Corporate Services and BillBack from Espreon for $24 million. The acquisition is conditional on the completion of a scheme of arrangement between Vectis and Espreon. That proposal remains subject to regulatory approval of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, court orders and shareholder approval. See earlier postings on The Orange Rag for background.

• Two new regional LinkedIn groups
An Australian/Asia Pacific Legal IT Professionals group, consisting of IT Directors, CIO's and technology department personnel from law firms that operate in Australia/Asia Pacific has just been formed on LinkedIn. Peter Campbell, the CIO of Sparke Hellmore, and Miles Ashcroft at Freehills, will manage the group. For details visit www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=36514

In addition to this group, an APAC Legal KM Professionals group has also been set up, with Simon Gilchrist of Gilbert+Tobin taking responsibility for getting it going. For details visit www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=816107

• Australian Lawtech winners
And, finally, we've just had the results in from last week's 3rd Annual Lawtech Summit & Awards that took place at Byron Bay, NSW. Here they are...

- LAWTECH AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN LEGAL IT  – LIIFT (MINTER ELLISON SA)
 
- LAWTECH AWARD FOR BEST PRACTICE IN KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT – KELLS THE LAWYERS
 
- LAWTECH AWARD FOR SECURITY AND RISK MANAGEMENT – ABL (ARNOLD BLOCH LEIBLER)
 
- LAWTECH AWARD FOR LEGAL IT TEAM OF THE YEAR – SMALL TO MEDIUM FIRM – ANDERSSEN LAWYERS BRISBANE
 
- LAWTECH AWARD FOR LEGAL IT TEAM OF THE YEAR – LARGE FIRM
* NO AWARD GIVEN FOR THIS CATEGORY AS THE JUDGES FELT NONE OF THE NOMINATIONS FILLED THE REQUIRED CRITERIA
 
- LAWTECH AWARD FOR MOST INNOVATIVE IN-HOUSE TECHNOLOGY PROJECT – AUSTRALIAN GOVT SOLICITOR

The awards are run by Chilli Marketing – and we like the fact they declined to make an award in the large firms category. www.chillimarketing.com.au