Work has now started on the October issue of the American Legal Technology Insider newsletter – which now includes not just US news but also APAC/global news. The closing date for editorial content is close-of-business PST on Tuesday 5th October – the newsletter will be published on Thursday 7th.
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Thursday, September 30
Work now started on October issue of American Legal Tech Insider
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 30 Sep 2010 20:08 BST
Monday, September 27
Litera running webinar series next week
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 27 Sep 2010 15:00 BST
Paul Hoffbrand of Litera is running a series of webinars next week – they all start 4:15pm on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th of October and run for 30 minutes. They will be demonstrating Litéra new Launchpad product – described by the Orange Rag as “game changing”!
Each meeting is accessed in the same way as follows: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/litera/join?id=S3MCW8&role=attend&pw=H3nN%5D%3E%24%7Bh Telephone number: 0844 545 2500 Participant access code: 26415 Here is some more blurb: Litéra's recently released LaunchPad eliminates the need to integrate with Microsoft Office or Adobe. This technology eliminates headaches and support issues, while increasing productivity and savings. Simon Kosminsky, IT Director at SJ Berwin, said “We looked at Litéra for a long time. We liked the product, the people, the company and the value for money. Our due diligence showed that Litéra met our standards in terms of reliability, ease of use and support.”
Bond Pearce switch to HotDocs for document automation
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 27 Sep 2010 12:00 BST
HotDocs Corporation, the document automation technology specialist, has just announced that Bond Pearce has adopted HotDocs for its document automation needs. The firm had previously been using Microsoft Word macros for the automated generation of custom legal documentation.
Bond Pearce implemented HotDocs to facilitate the replacement of its outdated Microsoft Word templates for standard correspondence. Andrew Honey, IT Development Manager, states "There were two key factors in the selection of the product. The first was the lack of dependence on experienced development staff to develop templates, and, the second, its scope for wider use as a component of business process and case management solutions provided by the flexible command line structure and API."
Another Elite win - and a winning Elite event
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 27 Sep 2010 09:48 BST
Seattle-based Perkins Coie, which has 700+ lawyers, has chosen Elite 3E as its new financial and practice management system. Aware its legacy system was due for an upgrade, Perkins Coie undertook an in-depth evaluation of financial and practice management systems aimed at large law firms. Based on input from legal, administrative, and technical stakeholders within the firm, Perkins selected 3E as its platform to manage the firm's continued growth.
According to Orange Rag data, the firm's legacy system is an older generation Aderant PMS. • Elite report that its UK/EMEA User Group meeting (which took place in London on 16th September) attracted nearly double last year’s attendance with 230 attendees from 66 law firms gathering to learn the latest methods of optimizing their Elite financial and practice management systems. Nine different countries were represented with 17 educational sessions packed in one 12-hour period. There was a shared focus between Elite’s 3E and Enterprise platforms, both of which will be receiving significant new version updates in the coming months. Thursday, September 23
APAC news round-up
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 23 Sep 2010 21:15 BST
• Trio of new case management deals for CaseFlow
CaseFlow has announced three new deals: Carroll & O'Dea in Sydney has signed a deal that will see Caseflow deployed across the firm’s network of five offices. The project has started now and will see 140 users up and running by April 2011. Caseflow will replace the existing LexisNexis Axxia system to improve the firm’s case management and workflow system. Maurice Blackburn have decided to upgrade to their existing Caseflow system and have acquired 300 licences of the top-end Caseflow Outlook Client. Initially the implementation has been rolled out in the NSW and ACT offices with the software progressively being rolled out throughout the entire firm's offices in QLD and VIC over the next couple of months. The implementation will be assisted by Caseflow reseller Red Rain. And Thynne & Macartney in Brisbane has ordered 100 Caseflow Outlook Client Licences. Included in the Outlook Client suite is the Caseflow Enterprise.Net client that provides document assembly and workflow directly from within Microsoft Word as well as the ShowClause Clause Library solution. Thynne & Macartney is a member of the Kennedy Strang legal group (including Russell Kennedy in Melbourne, Kemp Strang in Sydney), all three member firms now use Caseflow as their case management solution. The implementation and training will be delivered by Caseflow reseller i2 Management Pty Ltd. www.caseflow.com.au • Phoenix Business Solutions wins Blake Dawson iManage deal Blake Dawson has selected Phoenix as their global support partner for their Autonomy iManage Worksite and Universal Search environments. The Phoenix team, based out of Sydney, and backed up with offices in London and Johannesburg, will offer global support to the firm which has Australian offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra and Adelaide, international offices in Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo, and an associated office in Jakarta. Chrissy Burns , Director of IT & Knowledge commented “Phoenix’ expertise around the Worksite suite of products, along with their impressive stable of administrator tools, is of significant value to Blake Dawson. Their ability to offer 24/7 support through their different office locations provides the responsiveness we require to support our lawyers in every location”. (Phoenix opened their Australian office in January of this year and have been providing assistance to firms in the area around their core competencies of Document and Knowledge Management, Enterprise Search and Time Recording.) • LexisNexis appoints two new directors LexisNexis Australia has announced the appointment of two new directors to the LexisNexis Pacific team. The new appointments will help advance the strategic direction for customer centricity and support future growth plans in Australia and New Zealand. Effective immediately, both directors will report directly to TJ Viljoen, CEO of LexisNexis Pacific and will be based in Sydney Chris Cook joins LexisNexis as Director of Practice Management, and is responsible for delivering content-enabled workflow solutions to meet the needs of legal professionals. He will undertake initiatives to create workflow and research integration to enable clients to increase productivity and profitability. Prior to joining LexisNexis, Chris held senior management roles at leading information and technology brands, servicing customers in the Natural Resources, Government, Financial Services and Manufacturing industries. Chris previously was Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vice President at Computer Sciences Corporation and earlier held management positions with IBM and Fujitsu. Simon Wilkins joins LexisNexis as Director of Sales, and will partner with clients to deliver products and services that best meet the needs of legal, government and corporate professionals. He will work to develop deep customer insights to ensure that LexisNexis acts as a valued solutions partner. Most recently, Simon held a senior executive position at CCH Australia overseeing sales, operations and marketing strategy. He has in-depth understanding of technology, content and information solutions. • New Australian legal dictionary app for iPhone LexisNexis Australia has announced the launch of LexisNexis Butterworths Concise Australian Legal Dictionary (3rd Edition), a software application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch mobile devices. The new app offers law students, lawyers and the general public the ability to immediately look up more than 7600 legal words and phrases in any location from their mobile device. The Dictionary is edited by Peter Butt, Professor at Faculty of Law, University of Sydney, and consulting solicitor to the New South Wales government and the High Court of Australia. The main features of the app include citations of current Australian judicial and legislative authority, extensive cross-referencing to make finding related terms quick and easy, a ‘History’ tab to quickly refer back to recent searches, and cross-references to Butterworths Australian Legal Words and Phrases. “The practice of law requires precise definitions of legal terms, some of which are complex and difficult to remember. The new app gives you a quick reference, so you don’t need a large dictionary or computer on hand – the definition you need is right at your fingertips,” says Butt. The app is now available on the Apple iTunes Store for purchase at AUD$19.99 (US$16.99).
September issue of Legal Technology Insider newsletter out now
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 23 Sep 2010 11:52 BST
The September issue of the Legal Technology Insider newsletter (UK & EMEA edition) is out now. The latest issue contains over 60 separate news items, with top stories including:
• Is the iPad disruptive technology? • FWBS wins Nabarro deal • Is the Legal Services Commission still fit for purpose? (The short answer is no, it's rubbish) • Phoenix push the international borders • Recruitment boom: good times here again? • Team Cannings back with JumpTo + Neil Cameron and Tim Hyman feature in our 10 years ago feature And digital dictation specialist OutSec is offering readers a free trial of its services. To qualify for the transcription of a maximum of 20 minutes dictation, open an account online before 30 November using the offer code 20MLT2010 - www.outsec.co.uk/newclient.php Here are two of those stories in more detail... FWBS wins Nabarro deal Nabarro LLP last week signed a deal to purchase the MatterCentre case and matter management system from FWBS. The software will be used to enable legal process improvements, including managing workflow, team working and document assembly, across a range of legal case types. The FWBS application will also be integrated with the firm’s iManage DMS. According to Insider records, this is the first top-25 win for FWBS, as well as its first implementation at a firm running an Elite PMS. The FWBS software already runs at Aderant, Miles 33, Tikit Firmware, Axxia and Paragon sites. Team Cannings back with JumpTo Back in the 1990s, one of the big names in litigation support, OCR and ESI was Bill Cannings’ Valid Information Systems with its flagship product R/KYV. Seven years ago Cannings sold Valid to Hummingbird (now part of Open Text) and trotted off into retirement. Now he’s back as the chairman of Chase Information Technology Services, a company run by Ben Shellie and Cannings’ son Nigel, who is a lawyer. Chase has created what Cannings describes as the holy grail of voice recognition, namely a forensic compliance system that can store, analyse and retrieve video and audio recordings, with the same ease that document archives can now be searched. Called JumpTo, the product uses a multi algorithm learning engine to process audio records without using phoneme spotting or having to train staff to use traditional boolean logic-type search engine methods. Chase see the JumpTo system, which is being offered on a SaaS basis, as an ideal tool for compliance departments having to sift through thousands of hours of recorded telephone calls but without having to replay and listen to every recording or else have them physically transcribed and then read. Other possible uses include media related litigation, elearning and training and public inquiry work. As a proof of concept, Chase has a number of sample video and audio files on its website, including John Prestcott’s testimony at the Iraq Inquiry, this year’s Budget Speech, a Slaughter & May ‘come and be a trainee’ podcast (Nigel Cannings used to work at the firm) and even – to show how JumpTo will work even with poor quality source material – a video cassette recording of the BBC news report of the death of Princess Diana, that has subsequently been digitised and uploaded onto YouTube. www.chaseits.co.uk/?vid=Prescott.flv http://tinyurl.com/chasesm http://tinyurl.com/dianavid1 www.chaseits.co.uk Tuesday, September 21
Datacert rings the right bell for Carillion
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 21 Sep 2010 08:05 BST
Carillion plc, one of the UK’s leading support services companies employing approximately 50,000 people, has become the first organisation in Europe to select Datacert Passport, a new patent-pending technology matter and spend management platform for inhouse legal departments.
“Effective collaboration on legal matters will be a central focus for Carillion as we continue to grow our business through expanding into new markets and we are confident Passport will help us achieve this strategic objective,” said Richard Tapp, general counsel, Carillion. “The system offers unparalleled flexibility and features such as Outlook integration, make the management and sharing information, internally and with outside counsel, easier and more efficient.” Carillion is one of the few companies with a corporate legal department that has Lexcel certification, the Law Society’s practice management standard. Passport will help uphold the strict Lexcel accreditation criteria by providing Carillion with a technology solution that streamlines reporting, improves visibility, and increases collaboration. “As a Lexcel-certified legal department, we are charged with maintaining the highest management standards and Passport, with its options for custom configurations combined with matter and spend management capabilities, make it the comprehensive technology solution needed to complement our efforts and enhance process efficiency,” said Tapp. Monday, September 20
Guest article: how to reduce help desk calls
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 20 Sep 2010 14:39 BST
by Joanne Humber, head of legal IT training at Phoenix Business Solutions
The best possible way to achieve this is by training people to really effectively use the systems and software that the firm has invested in and to understand their business benefits. Of course this has always been a challenge. Classroom sessions are increasingly unpopular and can prove costly when fee earning staff are tied up in training. Training effectiveness can be much improved if sessions are kept short, are role-specific and are backed up by some of the new technologies now available. Generally IT training is geared to the roll out of new or changed systems. Unfortunately much of this – whether it is delivered in the classroom or on-line – is forgotten if the skills learned are not used immediately or on a day to day basis. Today’s users benefit most if they can get support at the point of need ie when they have a problem, when something goes wrong or when they have forgotten something. That’s when training is most effective or else the Help Desk calls start to build. A recent white paper Ensuring Project Success: Building a Business Case for Performance Support Solutions prepared by learning & development 'guru' Bob Mosher says "we need to enable our employees to successfully adopt and apply [these] new processes, skills, tasks, systems, and policies. However, when we examine the effectiveness of our current training and support systems, we generally agree our current programs aren’t very effective in achieving either an immediate or sustainable impact on employee adoption of our mission critical business processes and applications. In summary, our current learning programs focus too much on training and too little on how to effectively support users after we’ve trained them. We need to develop new workplace solutions that focus on the long term application of knowledge (performance) rather than the short-term retention of information (training)." There are some really effective new solutions designed to address these issues: • Providing users with help precisely when they need it and making sure that it makes sense to them. Context-sensitive help tools have come a long way since Microsoft's annoying little paper clip. Now the IT help desk team and/or trainers can pinpoint the most common problem areas in any application on the desktop and easily add a link to a quick tip, an e-learning module or any other inhouse resource. • Making any training that is delivered really relevant is vital, particularly for high earning fee earners. There are now ways to neatly pinpoint exactly what skills an individual needs to perform his or her role effectively within the firm and can even identify how they prefer to work. Then a customized training plan can be instantly prepared, directing them to a scheduled workshop, a web-based training session, a quick reference guide, a nugget of e-learning or simply an FAQ that will help them. • Changing working practices is far more easily achieved when staff are kept informed during the project’s development phase, understand why changes are happening, are involved in some of the key decisions and given an opportunity to feedback to IT when they have comments or concerns. This can be done using the on-line forums incorporated into many learning management systems, via the firm’s intranet or just via a simple email link. It is important not to underestimate the value of explaining the reasons why changes are occurring, what the benefits are and ensuring that everyone, at every level, takes ownership of the project. • Induction training has been transformed in many firms by making it role-specific, task-based and designed to reflect a typical 'day in the life' of the new starter. It allows the trainer to tailor inductions to suit individuals rather than potentially subject them to hours of training which may not be relevant to the work they will be doing. Trainers spending time within departments and understanding the way they work can have enormous benefits. • Web-based training has become increasingly popular as it appears to be far more cost effective than sending trainers around the country or across the globe. However training delivered this way needs to be carefully designed and monitored to ensure that its recipients are actually gaining the knowledge they need. Again the provision of additional on-going support at the point of need is vital. For more information about any of the above – the new context-sensitive help and diagnostic tools, learning management systems and Phoenix’s training consultancy service contact Joanne Humber on 0207 680 4450. Friday, September 17
Something for the weekend - earliest known Facebook postings discovered
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 17 Sep 2010 14:46 BST
Our thanks to one of our readers for drawing our attention to this file, which was recently uncovered during an ediscovery project. Are these some of the earliest FaceBook postings on record? And also a big thanks to visual artist Deb Prado http://debprado.mixform.com
 Wednesday, September 15
APAC news: latest from Swerdlove
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 15 Sep 2010 17:58 BST
Derek Giles of Swerdlove has been in touch to say:
• Well Piper Alderman went live on Monday with their upgrade to Aderant Expert. This has been a two year project for Swerdlove, including a whole new Risk Management implementation. • We will be getting the first site for 3BClean cloud-based metadata removal service in Australia shortly, this is a UK product we have been working with for several months, it is nice as it is purely server based. The pilot site is installed using our virtual appliance installation. |
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