There's a spat erupted in the tech press today about what Mike Lynch of Autonomy may or may not have said to Oracle when they were in acquisition talks – as distinct from what may have been said to HP when they actually bought the business for several gzillion dollars. Follow the link and make up your own minds...
http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/features/please-buy-autonomy-503330.html
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Friday, September 30
Something for the weekend: what Autonomy may have said
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 30 Sep 2011 14:00 BST
UK vendor up for sale ?
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 30 Sep 2011 12:52 BST
We're hearing reports that a large – very large – UK legal IT vendor is up for sale, either as a whole or in constituent parts. We reckon likely buyers include: Thomson Reuters - LexisNexis - Tikit TFB - Aderant plus maybe Pilgrim, SOS, FWBS and Eclipse.
Niche media law firm Wiggin LLP selects IntApp Time Builder
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 30 Sep 2011 08:16 BST
And here's another story you'll read here first... Wiggin LLP, a UK media law firm, has selected IntApp Time Builder to improve time recording practices.
“Our firm pursues a technology strategy focused on adopting industry-leading products best suited to significantly enhance business operations and lawyer productivity. IntApp Time Builder fits this bill on all accounts,” said John Banister, the firm's Chief Operating Officer. “Our experience with the entire IntApp team has been first rate – the project is progressing on schedule, and when the software is rolled out across the entire firm, we expect Time Builder will pay for itself in a matter of weeks.” (Our itals) IntApp Time Builder is a software product that enables law firms to increase revenue by capturing billable time that is missed or under-billed. (AKA 'found time') It does this by providing lawyers with an accurate, consolidated report of their client and matter-related activity, generated by automatically monitoring the key applications they use throughout the day. Tracked systems include document creation, email, calendar, phone and mobile devices. Time Builder integrates information from the firm’s underlying business systems to automatically and accurately match lawyer activity with associated clients and matters. Activity reports are provided to lawyers in a timesheet format that also includes the exact duration of each task. IntApp told the Orange Rag at ILTA that the "intelligent information management capabilities set Time Builder apart from other time capture software tools, which rely on users to manually train software to assign specific activities with specific matters and to record task durations themselves". Time Builder makes this information available in several ways, including: • A web-based interface, which offers an optional "secretary mode" to allow third-party time recording assistance • On mobile devices including Apple iPads and iPhones • Directly through Microsoft Outlook • An automated email • A paper printout The web and Outlook interfaces allow lawyers to group, detail and submit activities directly to financial and time entry software tools including Elite Enterprise, Elite 3E, Aderant/CMS, DTE Axiom and Tikit Carpe Diem. Thursday, September 29
Website designed wanted
by
Charles Christian
on Thu 29 Sep 2011 14:17 BST
The Orange Rag and its companion website LegalTechnology.com requires a website designer to help us redevelop our online platforms. Joomla and WordPress skills essential.
We do not require rocket surgery however the concepts of 'understanding the brief' and 'delivering the project on time' are essential – so please don't respond to this ad if you are are a deluded loonie. (Or if we've already sacked you before.) Email website@legaltechnology.com Wednesday, September 28
New Guru Guide - all you want to know about IT support issues - it was Word that done it!
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 28 Sep 2011 08:48 BST
 Intelliteach has published the 2nd edition of the legal service desk Guru Guide report aggregating independent law firm user support and service desk statistics and metrics. The updated guide provides unique benchmark data relating to the most supported legal applications as well as service desk staffing and service quality ratios pre and post software conversions, among others. The guide is based on 1.2 million service desk tickets collected and analyzed from January 2010 through June 2011 across a variety of law firm sizes, locations and hardware/software configurations.  2nd edition Guru Guide findings include: • Top ticket categories: Over 43% of 1.2 million service desk tickets logged are specific to various versions of Microsoft Office, 20% of those are specific to Microsoft Outlook. 14% of all helpdesk calls, pertained to various firm document management systems; • Increase in Microsoft Office 2007 tickets: Microsoft Office 2007 calls currently account for 51% of all Microsoft Office calls, compared to 22% for the same period 12 months earlier; • Conversions cause a significant increase in volume and add additional strain to existing resources, systems, and service quality. Based on Guru data, ticket volumes increased by 42% during firm-wide upgrades (average tickets per user per month increased from 2 to 2.85 during rollouts) and took an average of 90 days to return to pre-conversion levels; • Live rates: Pre-conversion, the overall live rate (service desk’s ability to respond to user support requests within 20 seconds) is 93%. If staffing is kept the same during conversions, live rates drop by 25%. On a related note, “average wait time in the queue” jumps from 10 seconds to 81 seconds; • Tickets by origin: How are users reaching out to the service desk? 70% used the phone and 27% sent an email describing their technology issues however it seems email is far less efficient for both the user and the service desk: 78% of live (phoned-in) service desk tickets are resolved in that first contact whereas only 11% of email tickets can be resolved in one single contact. Data indicates that, on average, tickets created via Email have a lifespan 6 times longer than those originated by telephone; • Tickets by weekday: Based on 1.2 million analyzed tickets, Tuesday sees the highest call volume (20.52%) and Friday (16.81%) the lowest; You can download the complete guide by clicking on the attached PDF. Intelliteach has setup a web page dedicated to the guide and related service desk resources and information www.intelliteach.com/guru  1 AttachmentsTuesday, September 27
Devon 'super-firm' standardises on SOS - Axxia out
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 27 Sep 2011 09:13 BST
SOS Connect from Solicitors Own Software (SOS) has become the preferred integrated practice and case management system with the merger this month of Hooper & Wollen and Harold Michelmore, two leading Devon law firms. Wollen Michelmore, as it will be known, aims to become the ‘super law firm’ of the area. SOS Connect, which was selected by Hooper & Wollen three years ago, will now also replace the Axxia system currently used by Harold Michelmore.
Consolidating IT is just one of the challenges resulting from any merger but in this instance the future IT strategy proved straightforward as Hooper & Wollen practice manager Clive Meredith explained: “Having successfully rolled out SOS Connect our systems were more up-to-date than our merger partner’s and more flexible to cope with our expansion and the needs of different departments. SOS Connect really sold itself to Harold Michelmore’s IT manager when demonstrated throughout the fact-finding stage of the negotiations.” During the last couple of years Hooper & Wollen has progressively extended the use of SOS Connect for the accounts, document and case management throughout the firm. The software also enables the Torbay walk-in law shop to be accounted for as its own entity following its rebranding under the Quality Solicitors livery. The expanded firm - Wollen Michelmore - will have offices in Torquay, Newton Abbot, Paignton, and Dartmouth, 15 partners and will employ over 100 staff. As well as extending services geographically the new firm will also offer a wider range of specialty skills including those geared around agriculture. Monday, September 26
September's American Legal Technology Insider newsletter out now
by
Charles Christian
on Mon 26 Sep 2011 18:28 BST
The September 2011 edition of the American Legal Technology Insider
newsletter (issue No #38) is out now – and sadly late than we would have like due to contending with 19th Century steam-powered internet access speeds in rural England.
Top stories include: what will Autonomy and HP do next ? and Insider editor Charles Christian asks law firm CIOs and IT directors losing their touch – and their influence ? The next (October) issue of American Legal Technology Insider will be published on 13th October – deadline 5pm (EST) 11th October. Click on the link below to download your free copy as a PDF. To have a copy sent direct to you in-box just send your email address to altisubs@legaltechnology.com Alternatively, if you like Flash page-turning software, read it here... 1 AttachmentsFriday, September 23
Guest article: Rev-Elation time in Nashville
by
Charles Christian
on Fri 23 Sep 2011 09:56 BST
 ILTA Rev-Elation, ILTA’s annual conference in Nashville was attended by 2,654 delegates* from law firms, vendors and in-house legal departments. Joanna Goodman highlights some key themes from the year’s biggest legal technology event. The sheer scale of Rev-Elation brought challenges and benefits. Peggy Wechsler and her team organised over 300 sessions as well as numerous networking opportunities and social activities. The keynotes and peer learning sessions were carefully chosen to reflect the issues facing the legal IT community and identify key challenges and opportunities going forward. Co-chairs Meredith Williams, director of knowledge management at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in Memphis, and Kathy Lentini, director of information systems at Brown Rudnick in Boston, led the conference planning committee of volunteers who developed the content – an impressive undertaking. The difficulty was deciding which sessions and events to attend while meeting leading lights in legal IT from across the globe and exploring the latest trends and offerings in the exhibit hall. Another challenge was navigating the massive Gaylord Opryland Hotel, which is the largest non-casino hotel in the US. I got seriously lost several times. However it is a superb venue and the fact that everyone was in one location facilitated impromptu meetings and conversations. It was also not the worst place to spend an extra 24 hours with colleagues and peers who were also delayed by hurricane Irene. Rev-Elation was an enormous success in terms of peer learning and networking. It struck the perfect balance between education and entertainment and it was a privilege to attend. The keynotes – a concentrated MBA in legal technology As firms recover from the global downturn, they are looking closely at IT as a strategic ongoing investment. The ILTA/Inside Legal Technology Purchasing Survey offers in-depth insights into firms’ purchasing decisions in the US and Canada. The survey found that while IT spending remained significantly down on pre-2009 levels, budgets remained stable, with executive management committees and the C-suite gaining influence over purchasing decisions. http://insidelegal.typepad.com/files/ILTAInsideLegalTechnologyPurchasingSurvey2011.pdf Rev-Elation’ keynote sessions explored the role of technology in defining and delivering strategic priorities and goals. In some ways they resembled a concentrated MBA , focusing on the value of technology in driving innovation and achievement. Chris Trimble, adjunct professor on the MBA programme at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, presented three models for positioning innovation within an organisation; Tom Koulopoulos focused on using IT’s core competences of IT to drive innovation and achievement – memorably describing the internet as a ‘communal toilet’ of information – not in a derogatory way, but via a classical reference to the ancient library at Ephesus. Motivational speaker Robin Crow played the guitar at 8am (unfortunately it was the morning after ILTA’s County Fair party night) and told us about leading Dark Horse Recording Studios from its small beginnings to become one of the biggest recording studios in Nashville. Numerous sessions shared ways firms can save costs and gain efficiencies, including low-cost information management, cloud computing – notably Bradford & Barthel’s Google Apps collaboration programme spearheaded by Eric Hunter – and workflow management. Others focused on future challenges and opportunities, notably Law 2020 and emerging technologies. Apps, iPads and consumerization – from Blackberry to Apple ILTA’s impressive and user-friendly mobile app provided access to an updated conference programme, a live twitter feed and interactive evaluations and polls. It was downloaded 2,909 times, which means on average, people were using it on more than one device. Inside Legal http://insidelegal.typepad.com/files/2011/09/tech-conf-that-utilizes-tech.html provides a breakdown: • 1,024 iPad installations • 984 iPhone installations • 540 Blackberry installations • 361 Android installations • 300+ unique visitors to mobile web version  These figures highlight the legal community’s shift from Blackberry to Apple in the past 12 months, flagging up two of Rev-Elation’s hot topics – social media and iPads. Several sessions discussed social media in law firms, but more significantly, social media tools are changing working practices and working relationships within law firms and between law firms and their clients. iPads were everywhere and if you didn’t have one, you could buy one, win one or hire one for the duration of the conference. The preponderance of iPads illustrated the latest buzzword in legal IT – technology consumerization, which was highlighted in several sessions. As Janet Day of Berwin Leighton Paisner observed in one of the Law 2020 sessions, “For the first time, users are asking for devices”.  Firms are increasingly supporting lawyers’ choice of technology, so while finance and management functions are driving firms’ decisions whether to invest in or upgrade enterprise systems, users are driving the choice of hardware, presumably leaving the IT director in a consultancy/advisory/policy role. Foley & Lardner are following the example set by BP in 2009, giving users individual technology budgets and allowing them to purchase their own devices. Sessions covering ‘60 apps in 60 minutes’ and ‘Using the iPad and other tablets as a PC replacement’ demonstrated that iPads, though desirable, were simply another device to facilitate mobile and remote working – notwithstanding the availability of legal research and trial presentation apps. KM – from knowledge exchange to knowledge dialogue KM sessions and products focused on shared technology to facilitate and leverage knowledge flow between law firm departments and practice areas and between firms and their clients. Collaboration is focused on two channels: technology that firms are sharing with their clients and firms contributing information via their clients’ systems. Social media has moved into the mainstream to become major channel for communication and collaboration and there were sessions on how to manage this effectively. As one presenter pointed out, firms have only recently started to take social media seriously. Extranets have evolved from shared document repositories with editing and collaboration features to include case management and social media tools, including blogs and wikis. More knowledge resources are being offered on a SaaS pay-as-you-go basis, which helps to levels the playing field between large and mid-size firms in terms of technology. Firms are recognising the added value of being able to create bespoke extranets and are increasingly opting for cloud solutions. HighQ Solutions offers the ability to combine different modules to customise extranets to specific cases, topics or practice areas and include different levels of user access. IP-specific First to File’s specially configured user interface reflects and facilitates the patent filing process. Client knowledge and synergy is paramount to business development and effective shared technology underpins client retention. Business process automation is another tool that can foster collaboration between law firms and clients, particularly as businesses are sharply focused on their legal budgets. Firms utilise the client’s IT system to transform the e-billing process into a two-way communication channel. Lisa Girmscheid, legal project manager at Rockwell Automation explained how Bridgeway’s combined e-billing and matter management system which requires external law firms to submit their bills electronically and provide time recording and additional relevant information, is enabling her team to monitor and review legal billing records and control legal spend. The data from the Bridgeway system is used to create reports that allow the legal team to review its performance and that of its external law firms. CRM systems are increasingly interfacing with practice management and accounting systems to provide lawyers and business support professionals with instant access to comprehensive client information, including contacts, history, billing and payment records. Aderant’s acquisition of Compulaw and Client Profiles is an example of technology bringing together these resources, as well as the latest round of consolidation in the legal technology sector which includes HP’s ongoing acquisition of Autonomy. A new game – or just a new season? Technology journalists and PRs commonly refer to new products and releases as ‘game-changers’, but most products showcased at Revelation were developed in response to shifts in user behaviour, firms’ requirements and client demand, as well as corporate and other new entrants changing the legal services marketplace. The ‘emerging technologies’ referred to in the various sessions are generally already deployed in other sectors. The focus is predominantly on using the right technology in a smart way that adds value. However, Rev-Elation highlighted the fact that the law firms globally are focusing on IT as a critical success factor and key players in the legal IT sector are adopting a long-term strategic view, investing carefully in developing and deploying technologies, services and behaviours designed to increase market share and open up new markets. The fantastic turn-out at Rev-Elation demonstrated the value of community and the importance of peer learning in achieving these goals. * About 1000 of the attendees were consultants, media, speakers & vendors, so that's about a 3 : 2 ratio of civilians (law firm & inhouse legal delegates) to professionals ...CC Wednesday, September 21
Fascinating white paper on legal life and legal business
by
Charles Christian
on Wed 21 Sep 2011 07:06 BST
We've got a fascinating white paper here (see attached PDF) from LexisNexis on the pace of change in the Australian legal industry. The paper is based on roundtable discussion LexisNexis held in Sydney earlier this year. The topics covered include...
Social media and the fear of the immediate - Despite the prevalent concerns about its increasing use within legal firms, social media is not only a trend to be observed by the legal industry, it is one to be embraced. The tried and tested methods of proving legal expertise and analysis to the wider profession – authoring journal articles for example – can be complemented with participation and engagement with numerous online communities, providing an opportunity for informal interaction and discussion. - Social media as a real-time channel brings further difficulty for lawyers in the issues of liability and confidentiality. However, whatever the channel, it is a lawyer’s knowledge, analytical thinking and relationships that will provide true value. While social media allows exaggerated response times, the well-researched, considered thinking and clear communication that has always been esteemed will endure. The ‘democratisation of information’ - “I think there’s a super-trend, if you like, which is the democratisation of information. As lawyers, our stock in trade is the fact we’ve got information other people don’t. I think what social media does is it unlocks that and potentially undermines the traditional role of the lawyer as being the person who had sole right or had sole knowledge of the law.” - Nick Abrahams, former Sydney Chairman & partner, Norton Rose - Maintaining an active online profile through continuous engagement is essential to ensure a lawyer’s brand is front of mind during social media best practice discussions. - Clients are suffering from information overload which brings a necessity for improved quality control. Clients require the correct information selected and delivered quickly and clearly, requiring lawyers to now act as knowledge filters akin to newspaper editors. The best counsel will remain concise, timely and relevant, requiring lawyers to become accustomed to information management alongside their other responsibilities. Globalisation driving the niche The globalisation of the legal industry continues to gather pace, driven by the ubiquity and ease of access to materials provided by technology solutions. Developments in technology are not only of benefit to large firms expanding across jurisdictions, providing consistent service. Cloud databases, access to online platforms and information and shared practice management software allows small firms and start-ups to bill from the inception of their practice, driving the growth of niche and specialist firms providing specific solutions in defined areas. We also like the prediction that ultimately "there will only be room for 20 global firms that are truly global" The white paper also discusses issues of industry-wide significance, including: young lawyers’ perception of the legal role versus reality – where day-to-day lawyering proves to be totally removed from the fantasy of legal life portrayed in popular culture; whether a depression-prone personality is a pre-existing issue for new lawyers entering the profession; and the never-ending saga of the pros and cons of the hourly billing model. 1 AttachmentsTuesday, September 20
Another Elite site goes live with Pilgrim LawSoft
by
Charles Christian
on Tue 20 Sep 2011 13:29 BST
Bolt Burdon, Bolt Burdon Kemp and Igloo – two law firms and their independent service partnership – have gone live with Pilgrim LawSoft to replace their legacy Thomson Reuters Elite system.
The law firms are based in Islington, London. Bolt Burdon focuses on both commercial and private client work. Bolt Burdon & Kemp specialises in Personal Injury, Medical Negligence, Professional Negligence and Military Claims. Igloo provides support and back office systems including technology operations for both firms. As well as the functionality and quality of the LawSoft solution, the firms’ selection was based as much on Pilgrim’s ability to migrate and convert one Elite database into three LawSoft systems. To convert an Elite database into a single recipient system is often challenging in itself, given the multi-table nature of its underlying design. To convert and merge one into three requires real perseverance and all round cooperation. Managing Partner of both law firms Lynne Burdon commented, “We have been working with Pilgrim for several months now and to be honest there have been times when I think we wondered if we’d reach the final destination. The project has had its trials and tribulations but thanks in no short order to the combined team’s ‘can do’ attitude, we got there. We now look forward to phase two and to becoming an active member of the LawSoft user community.” Colin Kennedy Pilgrim’s COO said, “I would like to thank Lynne and her team for their pragmatic attitude and desire to succeed. My colleagues that have been directly involved in this project feel a great sense of achievement now that the three firms have gone live. If anyone is thinking of switching from their Elite system soon, come and speak to us about data conversion. I don’t think there is anything we do not know about the subject!” |
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