BigHand today announced that Chattanooga-based law firm, Chambliss Bahner & Stophel PC (Chambliss) has successfully reorganized its office-based support team in conjunction with BigHand and improved document turnaround times and attorney to support staff ratios.
Cindy Lea, the firm's F.A.S.T. Manager, explained BigHand’s impact on the firm’s team-based approach, “BigHand’s streamlined workflow flexibility has been instrumental in promoting better teamwork as we developed our new F.A.S.T. approach, as well as our ‘Buddy’ system. F.A.S.T. stands for Firm Administrative Support Team. This is not your traditional wordprocessing team. This is a team of experts who have extensive experience in creating long and complex documents and offering creative solutions to sometimes demanding challenges. BigHand’s ability to easily transfer complicated documents and requests to our FAST team meant they were getting sent back to the attorney quicker, who in turn could service clients more efficiently.”
Rhonda Glenn, IT Director, continued “BigHand’s customizable workflow capabilities allowed us to easily and quickly share work amongst secretaries. We created a ‘Buddy’ system” where secretarial support is grouped together with the attorneys they support. If one secretary is overloaded with tasks or another is out of the office for a period of time, a 'buddy' can easily pick up their work, ensuring documents are turned around in a timely manner and instructions are actioned quickly. The teamwork culture developed amongst the secretaries was a facilitator for a more hands-on approach to providing clients with the highest level of service, something that is at the heart of Chambliss' client care philosophy. The support teams look out for each other and, if needed, the work can be transferred to F.A.S.T. for completion.”
Firm Administrator, Jim Boney, concluded with the tangible results that are emerging as a result of the BigHand implementation: “While the initial goal was not to immediately change our attorney to support staff ratio, it has been a benefit we are beginning to realize, moving to a higher number of attorneys supported by each legal assistant and providing potential cost savings for the firm. It will definitely be a win-win situation, with BigHand helping us achieve the efficiencies we're after and provide better client support.”
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Monday, October 31
Chattanooga law firm FAST-tracks its Buddy system with Bighand
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 31 Oct 2011 12:31 GMT
Eversheds renews IT managed services deal with Computacenter
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 31 Oct 2011 09:44 GMT
Computacenter and international law firm Eversheds has renewed its ground-breaking IT services contract, which was first signed in 2007.
The five-year contract will give Eversheds access to leading technology and the ability to ensure that members of staff can access core systems, regardless of their location. The service includes cradle-to-grave lifecycle management for desktop devices, end user support, datacenter hosting and remote management. Computacenter will also provide services to 25 of Eversheds’ 46 international offices across the globe. Founded on a utility billing and on-demand model, the contract will enable Eversheds to modify or terminate aspects of service delivery in line with its changing business needs, giving the firm greater flexibility. Paul Caris, Chief Information Officer at Eversheds, said: “We have been working with Computacenter for the last five years, and were keen to maintain the high service levels and quality of systems while facilitating greater agility within the contract, thereby allowing Eversheds to stay ahead of the pack as new and better technologies come to market.” Mike Norris, Chief Executive Officer at Computacenter commented: “The framework agreement will enable Eversheds to flex its IT services based on business demand. As a result, it will only pay for the IT that it needs while at the same time ensuring it has the solid foundations needed to support the innovations in technology that the firm has traditionally driven through the business.” Via an onsite service desk, Computacenter will provide request, change, problem and incident management to more than 4,000 users around the world. Based on industrialised processes developed by Computacenter’s Shared Services Factory, the service ensures staff receive a rapid response to IT issues that could otherwise impact productivity. The contract also features gain share mechanisms that incentivise both Computacenter and Eversheds to enable cost savings through IT transformation projects such as a planned datacenter refresh programme. (Our itals) “The structure of the new contract means we can initiate IT transformation projects at a pace that suits the business and pick and choose the services that will support our IT strategy with complete transparency around risk and cost,” said Caris. Eversheds renewed its contract with Computacenter following a benchmarking exercise that proved the agreement provided value for money as well as flexibility. The new agreement starts on 1 January 2012. Friday, October 28
Something for the weekend: Postcards from the edge
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 28 Oct 2011 12:00 BST
 Chrome River has launched a series of tongue-in-cheek Truth Hurts e-postcards that customers can use and send on to other people. Follow the link, pick a card (they are proper postcard size) complete it and e-send it – well it could prove to be a neat viral marketing idea. www.chromeriver.com/postcards/  Here's another postcard, this time from last month's Alternative Legal IT Show when e-know.net used this sweet counter to highlight their pick 'n' mix approach to the range of outsourcing services they can offer. There again, as it was a legal IT event, perhaps they should have been offering booze rather than candies?  Finally, ever wonder what happened to Hummingbird when they sold their DMS business to OpenText? Apparently, as this postcard from Wardour Street in London suggests, they moved into the bakery business. Maybe there's more dough in it? Have a good weekend.
Friday Quiz: what do these have in common ?
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 28 Oct 2011 05:20 BST
What do Michael Jackson’s You are not alone, Microsoft Windows 95, eBay and the Legal Technology Insider newsletter all have in common?
Answer: they were all born in 1995. Happy Birthday the Orange One – you can now have sex, get married, apply for a full-time job and buy a lottery ticket. Enjoy. Thursday, October 27
October Legal Tech Insider out now
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 27 Oct 2011 19:07 BST
The October issue of the Legal Technology Insider* newsletter (UK & EMEA edition) is out now. Top stories include...
• Neil Cameron (& others) on the calm before the Legal Services Act storm – law firms go back to your partners and prepare to IPO • Latest LSA-related survey results • Ten – yes 10 – CRM vendors say "I am Spartacus" in the UK legal IT market • QR codes are on their way • New product launches for risk & compliance management and videoconferencing • Knowledge management in Sweden • Cloud service providers – is your data safe on their servers? Coming soon... we have a round-up of Australia news on Monday 31st October - the next issue of American Legal Technology Insider is out on Thursday 10 November – and the next UK & EMEA Insider is out on 24th November. * The UK & EMEA Insider is a subscription only publication Tuesday, October 25
Lovetts become first UK law firm to go with Aderant CRM4Legal
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 25 Oct 2011 19:52 BST
UK law firm Lovetts Plc has selected Aderant CRM4Legal 2011 for its client relationship management (CRM) and business development needs. Lovetts becomes the first business in the United Kingdom to implement the latest version of this award-winning software built on the Microsoft Dynamics platform. Lovetts Plc chose the software due to its advanced Microsoft Outlook and Office integration and ability to organize and share client relationship data across the firm. With a graphical user interface and hundreds of features and visual enhancements, CRM4Legal 2011 can be customized to meet the unique requirements of the firm’s practice. Its intuitive work environment also helped set it apart from the competition.
“CRM4Legal 2011 allows us to more easily share up-to-date information and knowledge of clients and business prospects throughout the staff,” said Charles Wilson, chairman & managing director of Lovetts. “The software provides access to critical business intelligence that can help us improve client service and resource management, ensuring superior service and advice.” “When we found out there was a Microsoft product that had been customized for lawyers, it seemed like an obvious choice,” said Chris Hunter, marketing & client relationship manager for Lovetts. “We wanted a technology that would pull everything together and harmonize with our own software. CRM4Legal 2011 is very intuitive. After half an hour of playing around with it, you get a good idea of how the navigation works and how easy it is to use.” CRM4Legal 2011 was launched in April of this year, shortly after Microsoft’s new Dynamics CRM 2011 made its “on premise” debut. The 2011 version includes a host of new features including role-tailored forms, real-time dashboards, team-based ownership capabilities, enhanced navigation, and a fluent user interface. (Aderant acquired Client Profiles, the developers of CRM4Legal in August this year.) Lovetts will be phasing in company-wide implementation of the software over the course of a few months, but expects the client side to be fully operational within the next four to eight weeks. Monday, October 24
Mitratech publishes US inhouse legal IT budget survey - cloud & ediscovery not popular
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 24 Oct 2011 14:19 BST
Mitratech, provider of applications for the inhouse legal department sector (including matter management, e-billing, and GRC management automation) today announced the results of its 2011 Legal IT Spending Survey. This found that legal department IT budgets will increase or remain the same despite the current economic slowdown. Mitratech's 2011 survey polled legal departments across the United States about their IT spending plans, including questions about the technologies they currently invest in and which technologies they plan on investing in the next 12-18 months.
"More than ever, corporate legal departments realize that they need to increase their efficiency while delivering measurable business value to their organizations," said Afshin Behnia, Mitratech CEO. "This survey shows that continued investment in technology, even in this economic environment, is seen as a key to performing more efficiently and effectively. But at the same time, the survey also reveals that legal departments are still mostly focused on more traditional areas such as e-billing and matter management, with newer areas including GRC integration, e-discovery and cloud computing still remaining areas for future, not immediate, consideration." When asked about departmental spending in the next 12-18 months, 82% of the respondents said they expect spending to increase or remain the same, with 72% focusing their technology spending on matter management solutions. "Over the years, we have had to streamline our legal operations to run more efficiently and part of that has been investing in new technologies," said Danette Gallatin, Legal & Regulatory Affairs Business Manager, The Williams Companies, Inc. "In 2011, we decided to upgrade our matter management system because our prior system lacked the ability to quickly search for, compile and review matter information. It also made our timekeeping a time-consuming process." Another key finding of the Mitratech’s Legal IT Spending Survey was that 49% of respondents said their companies keep their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) and legal activities completely separate, with only 21% responding that they are fully integrated and operate collaboratively. "Companies that keep their GRC and legal activities separate are missing a great opportunity to manage risks and legal exposure more effectively," said Behnia. "Corporations are under a great deal of scrutiny from investors and government agencies so they need to find ways to manage their compliance efforts that satisfy that intense scrutiny. By unifying their collaborative compliance efforts into a single location, corporations gain a complete view of liability across the enterprise ensuring investor confidence and satisfying government regulations." Return on Investment (ROI) was another topic addressed in the survey. When asked which technology has given them the most ROI, 40% of the respondents said matter management followed by e-billing with 30% and contract management with 24%. eDiscovery was far behind with 18%. Despite the growing popularity of cloud technology in the enterprise, Mitratech's survey found that legal departments are still hesitant to adopt cloud technology for legal operations. Only 29% of companies polled currently employ cloud or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology in their legal departments and another 29% said they have no plans to adopt the technology. www.mitratech.com
Taylor Wessing heads into Tech City
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 24 Oct 2011 10:40 BST
Although we normally focus on the technology law firms use, rather than the technology law services firms deliver, we're making an exception today for this technology developer/vendor-specific announcement by Taylor Wessing that it has opened a dedicated Tech City office in the heart of east London.
The announcement is made following the steps taken by companies such as Google to locate in the area. Taylor Wessing currently acts for a number of the fastest growing technology businesses in the UK as listed in the UK Deloitte Technology Fast 50, which they also sponsor and support. The office, where partners and associates from teams across the firm will rotate occupancy, is based in east London's Tech City. The teams that are initially rotating at the premises (which holds four workstations) include TMT, Venture Capital, Intellectual Property, Tax and Incentives, Inward Investment and Employment. Drop in clinics for each of these specialist areas will be available for technology companies in the area to obtain legal support. In addition to fee-earners working in the area, Taylor Wessing is offering technology firms an online legal resource through its TWTechFocus* website, and is also hosting regular events in Tech City, most recently at The Trampery on setting up a company and how to secure funding where the team was joined by guest speakers including Eric van der Kleij (CEO of the Tech City Investment Organisation) and Anil Hansjee (ex-Head of Corporate Development, EMEA, Google). Simon Walker, partner leading the dedicated Tech City team adds "Entrepreneurship is increasingly recognised as an important driver of economic growth and innovation. As such, we see companies in Tech City as an area in need of dedicated investment. Our office in Tech City brings us closer to the businesses of tomorrow and allows us to help them grow by sharing our experience and understanding of the issues they face. We want to ensure we are supporting these firms from the centre, not the sidelines." * www.taylorwessing.com/twtechfocus/ Friday, October 21
Problems with your redaction Admiral? Have we got a white paper for you
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 21 Oct 2011 10:25 BST
Following on from the recent story that the UK Ministry of Defence released not one but two improperly redacted documents – on nuclear submarines and military radar – DocsCorp has published a white paper looking at the reasons why so many people continue to get it so wrong!
For example, masking text using the commenting or annotation tools in your PDF application is a typical, but not a foolproof method of redaction. Copying the hidden text in the PDF document back into Word for example, displays the masked text. Equally important but less obvious is the actual construction of the PDF document. Depending on how the PDF was generated (a Word document converted to PDF or a scanned document output as a PDF) there may be more than one layer of information that needs to be redacted. Follow the link to download the white paper http://www.docscorp.com/public/downloadTrial/RedactionWhitepaperPDFT.cfm Thursday, October 20
Latest event to check out...
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 20 Oct 2011 14:38 BST
Here's some advance notice of a couple of events you might want to check out...
• Mimecast and Tikit are running a series of executive briefings to explore some of the email challenges faced by UK law firms planning a migration to a new email platform such as Exchange 2010 or Office 365, or have concerns about the burden of mergers on an IT team. The dates and locations are: London - SJ Berwin Wednesday 2nd November - 3pm - 5.30pm Liverpool - Hill Dickinson Thursday 3rd November - 3pm - 5.30pm Bristol - Bond Pearce Wednesday 9th November - 3pm - 5.30pm To register follow this link http://www.mimecast.com/Microsites/Exclusive-Road-show-for-UK-Law-Firms/ • Understanding IT - a Guide for Commercial Lawyers - CLT is running a conference in London on 6th December. The event is chaired by TOR editor Charles Christian and includes sessions by Susan Hall of Cobbetts, Andy Lucas of Field Fisher Waterhouse and social-media expert Chrissie Lightfoot. Click on attached PDF for the full programme.  1 Attachments |
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