16 November 2011 - Thomson Reuters Launches Feature-Rich eBooks
Thomson Reuters is this week announcing its 2012 Tax and Law Annuals. Following customer demand, the entire range will be available as eBooks for the first time, delivered via Thomson Reuters ProView™, a unique professional eReader app specifically developed for the needs of legal and tax practitioners. Read more
9 November 2011 - LEAP’s Best Kept Secret Revealed
Stephen Wood, Managing Director of LEAP Searching has told Legal Practice Intelligence that LEAP's searching service is the company's “best kept secret”.
LEAP Legal Software Pty Ltd is famously known for its practice management software which is used by thousands of legal practices across Australia. These thousands of firms also benefit from the searching functionality accessible through the practice management software.
According to Stephen Wood, this has led to a commonly held misconception that LEAP Searching is only available for LEAP practice management software users.
Stephen Wood knows the searching business. In the late 1980s he was one of a handful of people involved in the establishment of the pioneering Lawpoint service.
His passion for product development and client satisfaction has not diminished over the years. He proudly recounts how the service has been responsive to client feedback. LEAP Searching recently released a new service that allows clients to order title related searches along with all the relevant certificates required to produce a contract of sale.
“This feature was suggested to us by Marina Eyeington of Village Green Conveyancing and other clients, and we are pleased that after investing in developing this functionality, that clients are very happy with how easy it is to use and the time and money it saves them on every matter. This type of innovation is one of the ways LEAP Searching has separated itself from the competitors” said Stephen Wood.
Stephen Wood
Managing Director - Leap Searching
Other recent initiatives from LEAP Searching include obtaining a private ATO ruling so that NSW authority fees can be passed on to firms GST Free. The service now also includes the ability to arrange settlement agents and order reports such as building reports with just a few clicks of the mouse.
The secret's out and Stephen Wood is inviting all legal practices, no matter what practice management software they use, to try out LEAP Searching. www.leapsearching.com.au
7 November 2011 - WillPoint Brings Wills to Life
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Willpoint provides real benefits for law firms including:
•Daily notifications of intention to seek grant of probate or letters of administration for individuals that match wills in your firm's database. This represents the first known automated solution to the Hawkins v Clayton liability law firms may incur as will custodians. (For more information from a professional insurer on what this duty comprises, please see this Risk Alert to law firms).
•Notification to firms of death notices that may relate to wills held in your safe custody.
•A secure, live, custodial database of wills showing historical entries as well as current safe custody holdings.
•A streamlined connection with authorised executors searching for a deceased client’s will.
Background to the establishment of WillPoint
1 November 2011 - New Version of Lexis Affinity Library Improves Law Firm Reporting
LexisNexis® Australia, a leading provider of content and technology solutions, today announced significant new innovations to its Lexis® Affinity Library practice management system, addressing the need for legal professionals to improve performance reporting and workflow efficiency.
"Lexis Affinity Library version 3.0 is an example of the LexisNexis commitment to helping customers achieve better business outcomes. Ongoing feedback from customers was used to create the advanced tools to help minimise risk, gain key insights and make informed decisions," said Chris Cook, director of Practice Management, LexisNexis Pacific.
The new version was developed from a series of customer advisory boards and in collaboration with practice managers, who helped scope and recommend key software requirements needed to run a legal business, improve day-to-day operations and increase profitability. Customers used a BETA version to test functionality and usability.
The Report Developer function is the main improvement to Lexis Affinity Library. It gives firms the ability to build their own reports, use existing data schemas and leverage a new suite of reports and dashboards which they can modify to suit their business needs.
"The advanced report development functionality allows firms to manipulate the view of their data and gain further insight into how they are performing, from practice area performance to year-on-year financial trends and profitability reports," said Cook.
Key advancements also include:
- Dashboard templates to help managers bring together information from across the business into an overview of its overall performance. The feature also increases efficiencies and flexibility by exporting reports in various formats, including Microsoft® Excel spreadsheets and PDFs.
- Searchable Help function for an improved trouble-shooting experience.
- Compatibility with Microsoft Exchange 2010 server to allow smooth flow of information between the two systems, managing staff and fee earners time more efficiently. Link to Lexis Affinity
20 October 2011 - Melbourne Firm Kliger Partners Selects BigHand
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Victorian law firm Kliger Partners has chosen BigHand4 voice productivity technology across the firm, following a rigorous selection process.
Australian law firms use BigHand software to expedite document turnaround times, improve client service, support fee earner mobility and promote firm-wide administrative efficiency.
Sean Stephens, Sales Director, Asia Pacific at BigHand, commented: “.... Kligers were looking beyond their immediate needs and well in to the future - our solution had to be scalable, meeting enterprise class requirements whilst still providing a level of agility that Kligers demanded. With a dynamic team such as theirs, we needed to ensure their legal professionals were equipped with the right tools, allowing them to connect to internal staff where ever they may be, and also give support staff the ability to prioritise incoming requests and dictations. Our Smartphone solution coupled with Advanced Workflow and Analytics will give them the ability to achieve this, as well as provide visibility to continually improve internal performance and communication.”
Kliger Partners General Manager Paul Khan adds: “We have some very clear business objectives here at Kliger Partners; the systems we implement and business partnerships we form today, have to be as reliable and long lasting as the client relationships we have formed over the years. The quality of our services rival the very best in the country, and in order to continue to deliver this to our clients, we have to partner with organisations who are equally “leading class‟ - BigHand has proved to be the logical choice in this instance, and we look forward to a solid and long lasting relationship.” www.bighand.com.au
14 October 2011 - Invaulta is Revolutionising Safe Custody Management
Invaulta is a feature-rich software system for managing documents held in safe custody. Not only does it store details (metadata) about documents but it is designed to store complete scanned versions of the documents themselves. Once scanned by an OCR-capable scanner, the documents become searchable within the system.
Being cloud-based, Invaulta takes advantage of the benefits available with the cloud. Documents can be made viewable not only by the law firm but by other parties such as the client and the client's other professional advisors.
There is the facility to store 35 different document types. The system can become a central organising point for a person or business' important documents. For example, an accountant or financial planner might upload a trust deed.
Invaulta is the creation of Brisbane-based lawyer Craig Spink, aided by a team of programmers. Mr Spink brings to Invaulta more than ten years of experience in the field of estate law.
The software has been in development for a number of years. Up until recently, it has only been made available to a small number of firms, one of which is a large specialist estate law firm. The system is now available to all law firms.
Annual subscription costs are modest with pricing based on storage used. Already packed with innovative features, ongoing development plans point to a revolution in the making for safe custody systems.
View video below and apply for a free trial at www.invaulta.com.au
Invaulta from Craig Spink on Vimeo.
10 October 2011 - ADERANT Acquires RainMaker Software
From the official press release: ATLANTA–Oct. 7, 2011 – ADERANT, a comprehensive business management software provider for law and professional services firms of all sizes, today announced that it has acquired RainMaker Software, a well-respected company with more than 40 years of legal industry experience and developer of financial and practice management software for mid to large sized law firms.
RainMaker Software, founded in 1969, is a privately held company based in Blue Bell, Pa. ADERANT will continue to support and enhance the RainMaker financial management products used by nearly 300 firms across the United States, Canada, and Latin America.
In August of this year, ADERANT acquired CompuLaw and Client Profiles (including CRM4Legal). Now with the acquisition of RainMaker Software, nearly 2,800 law and professional services firms around the world, including more than 60 percent of the AmLaw 200, benefit from ADERANT's complete suite of business management software. The company is the largest independent provider of software and services for the legal industry. The breadth and depth of the products ADERANT provides give firms a single-vendor solution for many of the core systems they require to manage, grow, and protect their businesses. This lowers a firm's total cost of ownership while providing best practices and superior client service throughout the lifetime of the engagement.
"With this latest acquisition, ADERANT further strengthens our commitment to the legal and professional services market," said ADERANT Chief Executive Officer Chris Giglio. "The combined market share, industry expertise, and comprehensive suite of proven products and services now under the ADERANT umbrella truly make us the go-to partner for firms worldwide."
"This is an exciting time for RainMaker clients and employees," said James Hammond, vice president of RainMaker Solutions (formerly president of RainMaker Software). "ADERANT shares our core values of quality, reliability, and service. By becoming part of the ADERANT family, our clients will gain access to new products, innovative technology, and the highest levels of service and support."
7 October 2011 - TAMCO Now Integrates Office VoIP Telephone Systems with Smartphones
TAMCO has announced the release of major enhancements to its VoIP telephone systems product offering. Now available is integration with iPhone and Android phones to enable users out of the office to see who is busy on a call in the office; the ability to use a smartphone to dial via the office phone system; play office voicemail messages on an iPhone and see missed office calls.
About TAMCO: TAMCO is a communications company that is solution oriented and has a history of over 20 years of designing systems to meet customer’s needs. TAMCO works with key industry leading suppliers like Siemens, Enterasys and ADC Krone and has the ability to custom design products to meet individual situations. www.tamco.com.au
4 October 2011 - Elite Acquires FWBS to Offer Clients Expanded Access to Matter Management Data
From the official press release:
Acquisition Also Extends Elite’s Growing International Presence
LOS ANGELES, October 3, 2011 – Elite, part of Thomson Reuters, has acquired FWBS, a provider of software solutions that allow lawyers to manage their practice work streams, contacts, and other materials in a matter-centric view. The deal will enable Elite to extend its financial management applications with a robust core matter management capability, as well as strengthen the company’s growing presence in the APAC and EMEA regions. Read more
Practice Management & Technology July to September 2011
© 2009-2011 Legal Practice Intelligence
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) was previously Chief Operating Officer at e.law Asia Pacific and headed e.law’s flagship ecourts division. She has over a decade of experience in this field. 
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