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Top 10 in this issue of Legal Technology
Insider:
1. IRIS
Legal makes another acquisition
2. June's big deals
3. Product launch of the month: Version 5 from nFlow - is this DDS 2.0?
4. Editorial: Insider launches legal IT spend survey
5. Thought Leader: Why does IT training matter?
6. Eclipse joins the SaaS generation
7. It's a green machine
8. Insider to launch North American edition
9. Readers' poll: Is digital dictation just an interim technology?
10. Transcription closed shop warning
Or log in to read this issue online: www.legaltechnology.com/latest
> Editorial
> Headline stories
> Other stories
> News in brief
> People & places
> Digital dictation news in brief
> Fresh on the radar
> Marketing IT news in brief
> Job of the week
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Regulars
Useful links
> Legal Technology
web site
> Contact us
>
Jobs
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Latest events
> The Orange Rag
blog
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All about the Insider
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Editorial:
The Insider launches legal IT spend survey ... with Charles Christian
During the course of the past few days, the IT heads of the UK’s
300 largest law firms will have received an invitation to take part in the
Insider’s (and, as far as we know, the UK legal market’s) first
major survey into law firm IT spending patterns.
We are looking at not just the technologies now on firm’s
shopping lists (for example, just how much interest is there really in
Microsoft Sharepoint) but also how this year’s budgets relate both
to last year’s figures and next year’s planned IT spend.
The results of the survey, which will be published in
various formats free of charge in October, will hopefully dispel some
of the myths surrounding the legal IT sector in the UK today, including:
is it in recession, do firms spend so much on staff and routine maintenance/support
that they cannot afford new stuff, and, is training the Cinderella of
the legal IT world? Along with all this, the results will also provide
a valuable peer-to-peer benchmark, as firms will be able to look at the
data to see not only which technologies similar sized firms are investing
in but also how much (in real terms or as a percentage of turnover) they
have spent, are spending and are planning to spend.
To simplify the management
of the survey and collation of data, survey forms are being distributed
electronically via Tikit’s eMarketing Solution system running on
Interaction. However, strict Chinese walls are in place, with data only
being seen by myself and the identity of all respondents remaining strictly
confidential.
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Headline
stories
IRIS Legal makes another acquisition
The IRIS Software Group has announced the acquisition of OPSIS Limited.
Headquartered in Dublin, OPSIS has a strong presence in the Northern Ireland
and Republic of Ireland legal software markets, as well as selling into
English and Welsh law firms. The official statement says “The acquisition
will enable IRIS to significantly extend its customer footprint in Ireland
and at the same time, it marks a further step forward towards IRIS’
goal to provide the legal profession with the widest range of quality
software products to suit every size and type of practice.”
Although OPSIS is
probably best known in the UK market for its 1-to-5 user Small Practice
System and its Millennium Solo system for sole practitioners it also has
PMS and case management offerings suitable for firms in the small-to-mid
size range. The UK offices are in Stamford, which OPSIS took on after
acquiring the old Stukeley Computers business.
The official statement
from IRIS goes on to say “As IRIS Legal have done with GB Systems
in Scotland, there are no plans to consolidate the product range within
IRIS Legal and the business will continue to be run independently by its
existing management team, who are remaining with the business.”
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June's big deals
Five
Interwoven DMS and search wins
Two more law firms – Rickerbys and Kennedys – have signed
up for the Worksite DMS from Interwoven, while three more – Bond
Pearce, Osborne Clarke and Taylor Wessing – have ordered the Professional
Edition of Interwoven’s Universal Search (IUS) system. Phoenix Business
Solutions are implementing IUS at Osborne Clarke, in a project that will
also see IUS integrated with Sharepoint.
Seddons upgrade to
FWBS Matter Centre
West End commercial firm Seddons has upgraded its existing OMS 2K matter
management software to the new FWBS Matter Centre system. The upgrade
followed a full market evaluation that saw a long list of five suppliers
come down to a short-list of FWBS and LexisNexis Axxia DNA. The project
also includes a move from Paragon accounts to the Indigo PMS.
OchreSoft gets Gordon
Brown
Law firm Gordon Brown Associates, which has offices across the North East,
including three estate agencies, has selected OchreSoft Technologies’
Intelliworks conveyancing case management system for its property business.
The firm will also be using Intelliworks new facility for the online submission
of SDLT returns.
Reed Smith new KM
solution
Reed Smith LLP, currently ranked one of the 15 largest law firms on the
planet, has selected Recommind’s MindServer Legal system to provide
the backbone for the firm’s knowledge management platform. The firm
has also selected Recommind’s Decisiv email filing management system.
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Product launch of the month: Version 5 from nFlow - is this DDS
2.0?
DDS workflow systems developer nFlow used its recent user conference as
the forum in which to preview Version 5 of its software. This is a product
nFlow sees as the start of what it calls ‘DDS 2.0’ because
“all current DDS systems are incremental updates to first generation
products” whereas “nFlow v5 is the first system in its class
planned and built from the ground up on a mature understanding and experience
of what firms want.” nFlow’s Rob Lancashire said this may
seem a bold claim but “we are passionate about what we do.”
The new system, which
is currently in beta and due to start shipping in September, has been
two years in development with nFow engineers working with Microsoft consultants
to create a .NET system that nFlow believe will not only create a technical
differential between them and the rest of the market but also give firms
a system that is easier to implement, support and use. There is insufficient
space here to go into the under-the-bonnet stuff about support for SaaS,
Web parts for Sharepoint and Silverlight however what should be of immediate
appeal is that other than a technical upgrade charge of £1400 per
firm there are no other upgrade costs. In addition, because both the current
v4 and the new v5 systems use the same data core and can coexist on the
same network, there are also no data migration costs. Upgrade training
is available online but nFlow say the interface is so intuitive that many
users will not require any retraining, thus providing another saving.
Thought Leader: Why does IT training matter?
by Joanne Humber, director, Phoenix Business Solutions
Put simply: an IT
system implementation can only be measured as a success by assessing the
competence of its users. Investment in new systems or software is justified
if it shows a return on that investment in terms of improved business
processes, whether they are intended for the IT department or used throughout
the firm. If you are introducing a new email archiving system and need
the IT team trained or moving to a new DMS and need to train everyone
– ensuring that users are able to competently and confidently work
with the new technology is essential.
Involving your training
team, whether in house or outsourced, at an early stage makes good business
sense for many reasons. Trainers are often the ‘acceptable face
of IT.’ They are the people who will be up there in front of the
users, delivering the message. Bringing them onto the project team helps
provide early feedback and assessment of the impact of any changes on
working practices.
Identifying change
management issues before they begin to bite can make the difference between
acceptance and rejection of technology changes. Training staff can communicate
with the eventual users of a system during the project, with an emphasis
on the positive benefits both for the individual and the firm, and explain
the likely impact and the proposed timescales. Areas where training can
play an important part:
• Testing –
trainers can be used to test new systems effectively by providing a realistic
approach to the issues. They work with users constantly, they understand
where proposed changes will impact most.
• Preparation
– Support materials should be prepared and tailored to suit the
different ways that individuals learn. Some people feel most comfortable
referring to a full detailed manual and others work best with a quick
guide and intranet links to computer based demos.
• Delivery –
all training should start with the IT support team so that they are fully
conversant with the system before other users are trained. Classroom,
workshop, seminar, desk-side sessions, e-learning... the method of delivery
needs to be flexible, again to suit individual learning styles.
• Follow up
floor walking/support – ideally undertaken by the trainers, encourages
users to feel confident that any issues are dealt with quickly. E-learning
or computer based modules provide valuable back up to trainer-led sessions
or can be used to deliver a step-by-step introduction to even the most
difficult concepts when trainers are not available. Professional trainers/training
organisations will be able to advise and deliver a full range of options.
• Scheduling
– needs to be sensible. Half an hour is not long enough to communicate
a complex concept but it may be fine to show a simple new workflow. The
professional trainer is the person who will know how long it will take
to deliver a message in the most effective way.
• Review –
after a new system is implemented and its users have received their initial
training, it is important to review their competence. Help Desk calls
can reveal areas where users are struggling and where help is needed.
Training matters –
carefully planned and totally relevant – without it much of the
investment in IT projects is wasted!
Eclipse joins
the SaaS generation
Eclipse Legal Systems is the latest vendor to offer a software as a service
(SaaS) option. Although Eclipse has been offering both client/server and
thin client (Terminal Services or Citix) implementations of its Proclaim
case management for some time, the new version is a fully hosted option,
delivered via a browser, complete with new pricing structure to maximise
its availability to smaller firms. Commenting on the move, Eclipse sales
director Russell Thomson said “Vendors have seen a lot of stop start
in this area, with hosted solutions, ASP and services of this ilk being
taken up somewhat tentatively. We held fire in providing an SaaS option
until both technological maturity and market needs are present together.
We have listened to existing and prospective users and are now able to
provide an SaaS solution that maximises the inherent efficiencies of the
model, while keeping costs at a practical and attractive level for all
shapes and sizes of law firm.”
In other SaaS
related news...
• Managed services specialist e-know.net has launched ShareHost,
a new hosting and back-up service, including consultancy and disaster
recovery, for law firms keen to take advantage of Microsoft Sharepoint.
For details call Michael Pickford on 01952 236236.
• Kingsley Napley has rolled out a new hosted/SaaS-based CRM system
from Really Simple Systems (0870 383 1247). The firm’s marketing
exec Dani Harrod said the firm looked at a range of CRM systems before
opting for RSS, which they felt was quicker, easier and more cost effective
to set up. Really Simple say their hosted CRM system is suitable for organisations
with between 5 and 200 users. www.reallysimplesystems.com
It's a green
machine
This looks as if it could be the start of a whole new thread in Insider
news coverage. After carrying very few stories on ‘green’
issues, last month started the ball rolling and there’s more this
month, beginning with the news that Taylor Wessing has become the first
UK law firm to be awarded BSI ISO 14001 environmental certification.
Commenting on the
award, partner Simon Walker (who heads the firm’s environmental
awareness committee) said “Carbon offsetting is fine but in a way
is a bit of a cop-out. We wanted to take a more proactive approach.”
Measures the firm has taken include recycling, a more rigourous approach
to switching off electrical equipment, and taking the train instead of
the plane (or using internet conferencing) for internal meetings in Paris
and Brussels.
• We mentioned
Irwin Mitchell’s use of Verdiem power management systems last time,
now here’s another. It is called PC Power Down (0808 137 1010) costs
from £175 per computer (it can also handle peripherals) and there
is also a network version available.
www.pcpowerdown.com
• Finally, make a date for the Green IT Expo, which takes place
at The Barbican in London on 4 & 5 November. This is a free conference
looking at green business IT strategies.
www.greenitexpo.com
Insider to
launch North American edition
Legal Technology Insider is launching an American edition of the Insider
focusing on the large firms sector of the US and Canadian legal IT industry.
Called American Legal Technology Insider, it will follow the UK newsletter’s
approach to content and formula of covering vendor and industry news as
real news. Initial responses have been positive, attracting comments such
as “we definitely need one of these for North America,” “a
much needed addition to the legal IT media panorama over here given the
consolidation” and – our favourite – “awesome”.
American Legal Technology
Insider will be published in a digital only format – as a PDF file
– and will be available free of charge either as a download from
the Insider and 3rd party websites (including www.insidelegal.com)
or delivered directly to your email in-box as a file attachment –
to subscribe just email altisubs@legltechnology.com
with the word subscribe in the subject line. Issue #1 will be published
on Thursday 7 August 2008 and then monthly from Wednesday 10 September.
www.americanlegaltechnologyinsider.com – from mid July.
Readers'
poll: Is digital dictation just an interim technology?
For our latest Readers’ Poll, we asked whether digital dictation
is a transitory, interim technology* that will be rendered redundant by
newer developments? We had a good response that saw some very definite
views expressed.
• The first
question was ‘are self typing lawyers more cost effective than lawyers
who dictate’ – which produced a resounding ‘no’
from 68% of respondents. That said, 60% did say they believed law students
should be taught touch typing at law school – although we are not
sure why as almost the same number (56%) said incoming trainees should
not be tested for their typing ability.
• There was
also an almost unanimous (83%) verdict that lawyers should not be deprived
of secretaries just because they are adequate self typists, which does
make sense because a good legal secretary has always done a lot more than
type.
• We also asked
about training, with 72% of respondents saying dictation training should
become a standard part of induction at all firms, and 62% saying law firms
should not teach trainees to touch type.
• Turning to
future trends...
– 63% said they did not think a growing generation of computer literate
lawyers would make dictation obsolete in 10 years;
– 72% said they did not think speech recognition would make dictation
obsolete in 10 years; and
– 65% said they did not think speech recognition would make self
typing obsolete in 10 years.
So, forget speech
recognition and keep on dictating.
* And yes we realise
that all technologies are transitory – however while some may have
had a relatively short lifespan (like the audio cassette tape midway between
vinyl albums and CDs – and yes we know CDs are themselves threathened
by MP3 file downloads) – others enjoy a surprising longevity. For
example, the QWERTY/Sholes keyboard was patented in 1874 to prevent the
most frequently used keys on a mechanical, spring-driven typewriter keyboard
from jamming. 134 years later it is still in use despite the fact the
digital keyboard on a PC has no such jamming problems. (For the record,
Thomas Edison invented the first dictation recorder in 1877.)
Readers' Poll will
be back in the autumn after we have completed our Legal IT Spend Survey.
Transcription
closed shop warning
Richard Phillips, a founding director of transcription bureau OutSec is
concerned law firms are not considering the issue of soundfile format
when selecting DDS workflow systems. “Does the workflow software
convert files from a standard format to a proprietary one for internal
distribution? If so,” he warns, “it will have to be re-converted
in order for it to be read externally. Some DDS suppliers charge for this
service or charge the transcription company receiving the work a licence
to convert the files.”
“The question
of licences and charging,” he adds, “is important in considering
how workflow systems can offer maximum flexibility to firms wanting to
outsource. Some workflow suppliers charge by the typist, by the hour of
dictation or by author. It is vital to ensure no additional costs are
incurred when the decision to outsource is taken as this will be a considerable
barrier to free choice and may jeopardise the whole project.”
“There are even
some workflow suppliers who have an approved list of online transcription
companies and take a monthly commission from them, based on the amount
of work submitted by their customers to them. Other transcription companies
who do not sign up for this are effectively barred from handling any work
for these customers. In this instance, the firm is in effect paying twice
for the workflow process and being restricted in its choice of outsourced
typing bureau.”
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Other
stories
Two
new consultancies
News of two new consultancies in the market... Legal IT industry veteran
and former AIM managing director Jim Chase has launched the Jim Chase
Consultancy (07775 917846) to provide strategic advice to law firms on
their business objectives, operational models and change management. And,
Bill Kirby and Allan Carton have formed the Managed Services Consultancy
to help firms evaluate the options for outsourcing all or part of their
IT and, where appropriate, to procure and manage the transition from inhouse
to managed. Kirby and Carton will continue working with their existing
consultancies (respectively Professional Choice and Inpractice).
www.jimchase.co.uk
www.managedservicesconsultancy.com
Tikit enhances
its emarketing system
Tikit has launched a new and more intuitive version of its eMarketing
Solution. Enhancements to the Tikit system include a web console management
utility, advanced link tracking and graphical campaign reporting. The
Tikit system, which is effectively a campaign management tool that integrates
with the LexisNexis Interaction CRM, is now used by over 140 organisations
as a way of using their CRM data to drive customised e-marketing campaigns,
including newsletters and event invitations, direct to the recipients’
email in-boxes.
Simon Ellison-Bunce,
the head of Tikit’s CRM product development, said the new functionality
was designed to provide feedback that users could build into future campaigns.
For example, once a newsletter or email shot has been sent, the link tracking
functionality will quickly and easily enable firms to see how many of
the emails have been opened, by whom and how many users clicked on a link.
The firm is also able to see how long it took users to interact with a
piece of content and whether repeated clicking on a particular link suggests
they tailor their next communication to focus on that topic. “The
new functionality,” said Ellison-Bunce, “is about more than
just counting emails. It is about giving a real and strategic insight
into the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.”
All change
for wills
Following the decision by LexisNexis Butterworths to drop its Will Creator
software, users of the system can now obtain support direct from Documents
Plus Ltd (DPL – 01732 867792), who are the people who developed
the product in the first place. DPL have enhanced the product, so it now
also generates a context-sensitive plain English commentary explaining
to clients what the various clauses in their wills actually mean. The
enhancement was prompted by user comments that it sometimes took longer
to explain the provisions of wills than it did to draft them. The upgraded
version of the product is available both from DPL and from Sweet &
Maxwell, who market the product as Express Wills. Express Wills also contains
extensive will precedents and lasting power of attorney forms.
Aderant building
up local domain expertise
Following the success of its relationship with Timesoft in the Benelux
zone, Aderant head of sales & marketing Don Howren said the company
was extending this ‘go to market strategy’ of ‘regional
domain expertise’ by forming a similar relationship with Auckland
(New Zealand) based IT implementation consultancy Jiggy Interactive.
Jiggy has been working
on Aderant CMS and Keystone projects since 2001 and, as well as having
a similar relationship with Interwoven, has also developed its ‘Open’
range of PMS and DMS add-on utilities, including its OpenCounsel matter
management system for inhouse legal departments.
www.jiggyinteractivecom
The Insider has also
been catching up with Timesoft since the MBO earlier this year from founder
Martijn Voorhuis. Jeroen Kersten, one of the team of three directors involved
in the MBO, said that while it was very much business as usual, the one
difference Timesoft customers would start to notice was a greater focus
on the provision of services. He added that Timesoft would continue to
develop specific products both for the Benelux and broader Aderant markets.
The porfolio already includes a dedupe utility for data cleansing, a fixed
asset module and software for notaries.
Separately, Voorhuis
told the Insider that after 12 years it was time to move on and he was
taking the summer off to consider the “many options” that
had opened up.
• Lawyers and
notaries Dijkstra Voermans have become the latest Dutch legal practice
to select Aderant Expert as its new PMS. The sale and implementation is
being handled by Timesoft.
Law firm
gathers some MOSS
As part of a longer term project, Farrer & Co has become one of the
first firms in London to use Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007 Enterprise
(MOSS) as the key technology platform for its new intranet. The firm describes
its existing system as ‘a difficult and expensive to maintain ASP-based
intranet, custom SQL database driven meeting room booking system, long
range events system and other home-grown databases’ and recognised
the need for a new system that would ‘improve internal communications,
enhance efficiency and effectiveness and ease the editorial process’.
Farrer & Co, who
have now released details of the first phase of the project, identified
MOSS as the platform and engaged ICS Solutions (01256 403867) to design
and build both the intranet and the new host server-farm. In addition,
ICS also configured the Sharepoint security and user groups, as well as
standard and built-in approval workflow processes. As Farrers were anxious
for existing methodologies and practices to be maintained when the new
system went live, ICS also migrated the functionality of a number of the
firm’s core business applications. MOSS Search was also configured
to support searches from intranet content and to work alongside Sysero*
federated search to encompass the firm’s knowledge and document
management systems.
Commenting on the
project, Anthony Stables (who leads the inhouse IT team at Farrer &
Co) said “The advantage of using MOSS is its a well grounded technology
Microsoft are committed to, one that will continue to evolve and invade
the ECM (enterprise content management) as well as portal and workflow
technology arenas. The ability to search all areas of a firm’s knowledge
from a central point highlights the hidden value of unstructured data
sources.”
* The SyseroKS (knowledge search) system is sold and supported in the
UK by UC Logic. Other legal market users include Freshfields, Bird &
Bird and Martineau Johnson.
www.uclogic.com
Climb every
mountain
Nathan Hayes, the head of infrastructure and technology at Osborne
Clarke, is heading off to the Alps in early July to climb Mont Blanc in
order to raise money for Scope, the cerebral palsy charity. Hayes, who
has already scaled some peaks in the Alps to raise money for Scope, has
now decided to climb a ‘real’ mountain. He already has some
commercial sponsorship, courtesy Mimecast, Phoenix Business Solutions
and PureTech, but you can help him raise more by visiting www.justgiving.com/natmontblanc
Still in the realms
of charitable endeavour, admiration and congratulations to Quill’s
southern account manager Clare Tuck, who raised £1000 for breast
cancer charities in last month’s Playtex Moon Walk late night marathon-length
walk around London; and to the seven members of nFlow who recently took
part in the 5K Race for Business in Chelmsford, to raise money for the
Helen Rollason Heal Cancer Charity trust.
Quote, unquote
“It’s like the Waltons out there, they’re all really
happy and settled in their firms. Or could it be they’re staying
put because of the state of the economy?” ...a London law firm IT
director on why there are so few vacancies at the moment.
10 years
ago today...
June 1998 was an exciting time. AIM, now part of the IRIS Legal Group,
had just lost its second managing director (Peter Garton) in less than
a year (John Wilde was Garton’s predecessor). AIM’s deputy
chairman Mike Booth said this was “business as usual”. Axxia
and Microsoft became involved in a war of words after Axxia described
Windows NT 4 and SQL Server 6.5 as “unstable”. Microsoft’s
UK development manager told the Insider this was typical “propaganda”
from systems houses “struggling” to port their Unix applications
to NT. And, Keystone (now part of Aderant) was entering what would become
its annus horriblis when its flagship UK site – Ashurst Morris Crisp
(now Ashurst) – dropped its Keystone implementation and switched
to CMS Open (now also Aderant) amid what was described at the time as
a ‘bloodbath’ among the firm’s senior management.
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News
in brief
Lewis
Silkin swap in Copitrak
Lewis Silkin is replacing its incumbent Equitrac technology with new cost
recovery software and terminals supplied by Copitrak Systems.
Two more sign
up for Laserforms
Two more London firms – Kemp Little LLP and Lawrence Stephens –
have signed up for the IRIS Laserform catalogue of electronic legal forms.
PM Law upgrade
with Linetime
Long-time Linetime users PM Law (Proddow Mackay) are upgrading from their
incumbent Linetime Practice 2 system to the supplier’s newer Liberate
product. The firm is also taking Linetime’s new .NET case management
system, which will be rolled out to 175 users and replace an inhouse developed
system.
SoftDesign
win outsourcing deal
SoftDesign Services (020 8293 3123) has agreed an outsourcing arrangement
with Buss Murton Solicitors that, whilst still at an early stage, is already
resulting in major savings in overall IT spend.
ECHR overhauls
service desk function
The European Court of Human Rights has overhauled its IT help desk operation
with the installation of ICCM’s e-Service Desk.
New services
from Legal Inc
Lit support specialist Legal Inc has agreed terms to become a strategic
hosting partner for Anacomp’s CaseLogistix software. Legal Inc has
also been appointed sole UK-based AP for the FTI Ringtail system and announced
a joint venture with Millnet – called SmartCode – to improve
the quality, speed and affordability of document coding services.
NetworkLaw
goes virtual
Thames Valley virtual firm NetworkLaw, which was set up by Marcus O’Leary,
has turned to Intercept IT to provide a pay-as-you go hosted ‘online
desktop’ so staff can work from any location at any time.
www.intercept-it.com
Tollers revamp
website
Tollers LLP has revamped its website around a new content management system
and an ‘info-docks’ feature that allows regular visitors to
customise the information they view on the site. The new site was designed
in conjunction with BSolve IT Limited (01536 723253).
www.tollers.co.uk
Email quarantine
– just say no
Ashurst is the latest large firm to switch to Mimecast’s SaaS approach
to email management as a way of avoiding the problem of ever increasing
numbers of spam and false positive messages waiting for review in quarantine.
The firm’s IT systems manager Paolo Picone said key factors in the
Mimecast service that were decisive in its selection were support for
a rolling 10 year archive of all emails, that Ashurst retained policy
control, and a tamper-proof record of emails with a data trail for compliance
purposes.
New source
for audio visual
Reseller AK-IT Solutions UK has partnered with audio-visual (AV) specialists
Design Integration to offer a more innovative approach to AV pojects within
the legal sector. The companies have already worked with Berwin Leighton
Paisner and foresee other legal applications, such as using video technology
to record discussions and conferences between legal teams and clients,
and to then store the footage in matter files within their document management
systems.
www.akon-line.com
DMC working
with LexisNexis legal
Print and scanning systems supplier DMC Business Machines is working with
LexisNexis UK’s legal software arm (Axxia and Visualfiles) to develop
a document scanning management ‘connector’ that can be directly
embedded within the Visualfiles cases management and Axxia DNA practice
management systems. The work with Visualfiles is already complete and
the Axxia project is underway.
www.dmcplc.co.uk
BCM Hanby
Wallace select Phoenix + Interwoven
Irish law firm BCM Hanby Wallace has awarded Phoenix Business Solutions
a contract to implement its document, email, records and know-how management
infrastructure based on Interwoven’s Worksite, Records Manager and
Universal Search products.
• On 15 July, Phoenix is holding a presentation at its London offices
on the DTE Axiom time capture system.
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The
Insider web site
For the latest legal IT news, jobs, events and information, visit the
Insider web site - www.legaltechnology.com,
described by The Times newspaper as "the definitive online resource
for legal technology information".
And don't forget our breaking news blog The
Orange Rag.
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People
& places
Holiday over so soon?
Well that didn’t take long? Last month we reported that Neil Renfrew
had departed from Tikit to enjoy a life of hedonistic pleasure –
but now he has decided to go ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’ and
will be joining Thomas Eggar as the 550 user firm’s head of IT,
starting in July.
New alliances
veep at Equitrac
As part of a new initiative to expand support for channel resellers (including
Canon, HP, Sharp, Ricoh and Xerox) Equitrac has appointed Noel O’Dwyer
as vice president of marketing & strategic alliances. O’Dwyer,
who will also oversee Equitrac’s new global alliance marketing team,
is described as ‘an office equipment industry veteran’ whose
recent track record includes a similar role at eCopy. IDC analyst Michael
Orasin said the appointment showed Equitrac was “broadening its
strategy to address office solutions beyond document accounting.”
Other appointments
& moves
Billback Systems has appointed Lucia Romeu as its newest sales consultant
– her territory will include Spain as well as parts of the UK. Solcara
has appointed three senior sales managers, including Mark Harding (previously
with Bighand) who will have responsibility for the legal and professional
services market. Legal IT marketing agency PureTech has recruited Michelle
Gunter as an account director. Vendors she has worked with in the past
include Metastorm and Informix.
Rebranding
for TTL
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Cheltenham-based Total Telecommunications
Ltd is rebranding. The company originally used the TTL brand to distinguish
itself from sister company TNC but from 1st July both trading arms will
become one company: Total Ltd. There are no changes to the company’s
business or ownership.
Ron Goodman
We’re sad to report that Ron Goodman, who we first encountered at
Pilgrim and, more recently, at Timeslice, died in April as a result of
pulmonary fibrosis. An added poignancy is that he had only retired a few
months previously.
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Digital dictation news in brief
SRC
to integrate DDS with firm’s Interwoven Worksite
Top 250 firm Boyes Turner has selected SRC Winscribe as its DDS platform.
The firm said key factors were the support for mobile working and the
ability to integrate with Interwoven DMS.
Mullis &
Peake go with nFlow
Mullis & Peake has rolled out nFlow DDS in its Romford office and
will be deploying it in other offices via Citrix.
New dictation
platforms available
Grundig’s range of digital dictation products now support Linux-based
thin clients within a Citrix environment. Bighand has launched a Windows
Mobile (5.0, 6.0 and 6.1) edition of its DDS software. And, Winscribe’s
own mobility suite, which already supports Blackberry and Windows Mobile
devices, has been extended to support the Symbian platform, starting with
the Nokia N95.
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Fresh on the radar
Serco
The last time we encountered John Pitman, he was helping LexisNexis Butterworths
get its online services act together. Since then he has been working outside
of legal but is now back with the ‘excellence gateway’ division
of the services and government outsourcing multinational Serco. This division
has recently been busy in the education sector, pulling together diverse
online content offerings within one unified delivery portal and is now
talking to organisations within the legal sector about similar projects.
He can be contacted at 07738 894388 and john.pitman@serco.com
http://excellence.qia.org.uk
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Marketing IT news in brief
Taylor
Wessing expanding CRM with ContactNet
Taylor Wessing is expanding the scope of its Interaction CRM software
by rolling out a ContactNet enterprise relationship management (ERM) system
from Contact Networks (now part of Thomson Reuters). ContactNet analyses
data found in email traffic records and repositories such as billing systems
to identify potentially valuable ‘hidden’ relationships with
clients and third parties that have not been entered into Outlook address
books. The system is being implemented by Tikit.
Three new
Interaction wins
Three more law firms – Burges Salmon, Thorntons Law and Penningtons
– have purchased LexisNexis Interaction as their CRM system. Penningtons,
who are working with Tikit on their rollout, have also purchased Tikit’s
eMarketing Solution and have retained Tikit’s data cleansing subsidiary
Shamrock Marketing to check the quality of the data being fed into the
new system.
New proposal
generator from Hubbard One
Hubbard One, the marketing IT and consultancy arm of the Thomson Elite
group, has released Marketing Center 6.2 – the latest version of
its proposal generator module. New features include enhanced opportunity
tracking and multi-lingual capabilities.
www.hubbardonenews.com
Tikit + Insider
CRM webinar
Insider editor Charles Christian is chairing a webinar hosted by Tikit
on cost effective CRM strategies for uncertain times. The live version
takes place on 1st July and it will be available on the Tikit website
from 2nd July. The login details are http://mediazone.brighttalk.com/event/Tikit/52947e0ade-1612-registration
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Insider jobs of the week
Sales
Engineer - Legal & Professional Services, Interwoven
Interwoven is a global leader in content management solutions. Our software
and services enable organizations to maximise online businessperformance
and organise, find, and govern business content. Our solutions unlock
the value of content by delivering the right content to the right person
in the right context at the right time. We are currently looking for a
Sales Engineer in Interwoven's PSIS Sales Group to work closely with Sales
Managers, Partner Managers & Marketing Representatives to qualify,
model and close new and existing accounts. This highly visible role involves
owning accounts from all aspects of the technical sales cycle including
process discovery, demo, RFP, proof-of-concept development and demonstration.
Relationship building, process mapping, sales cycle management and a passion
for success are necessary skills in this role. The ideal candidate will
have experience of working in the technology area of a legal or professional
services organisation. Superior relationship building and consultative
sales abilities is a definite plus. Interested candidates should apply
via email to chris.clamp@interwoven.com
Full details on these and other vacancies can be found on the Insider
jobsboard
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