“The major performance metrics many law firms use is the brand of the firm, the name on the wall and the kudos associated with where their partners went to law school, which (respectfully) are not compelling quality metrics� Dan Jansen, NextLaw Labs
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Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
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03
THE EDITOR’S OVERVIEW W
elcome to the latest of Modern Law’s special supplements. In this edition, I speak to our cover star, Dan Jansen, Chief Executive of NextLaw Labs, the start-up technology company launched with the backing of global law firm, Dentons, about how he aims to ‘reinvent the practice of law’, and what he calls a ‘productivity paradox’ in relation to historical charging models in firms. Read the full interview from page 6. I also spoke to the Head of IT at Co-Operative Legal Services (CLS), James Barron, who told me about improving service delivery by utilising technology. The full interview can be found from page 10. Technology and innovation will certainly be high on the agenda at the upcoming Modern Law Conference, this year entitled The UK Legal Powerhouse, which will be
05-14 The interviews
held on 14th June, at Old Trafford, Manchester United. Further details on how to book tickets to the event can be found via the website: www.modernlawevents.co.uk, and for sponsorship enquiries, please contact martin@ charltongrant.co.uk Thank you to all the contributors who have made this supplement possible, in particular, our headline sponsors, InfoTrack. If you have any feedback or comments about this supplement, I’d love to hear from you, please get in touch with me via charlotte.parkinson@charltongrant.co.uk, or call 01765 600909. Happy reading!
Charlotte Parkinson, Group Editor, Modern Law Magazine. 20 Working smarter, not harder
06 Interview with...Dan Jansen
Charlotte Parkinson spoke to the Chief Executive of NextLaw Labs, the technology venture launched by global law firm Dentons, about his aims to reinvent the practice of law, and why historical charging models in firms create a productivity paradox.
22 No stone unturned
10 Interview with...James Barron
Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law spoke to the Head of IT at Cooperative Legal Services (CLS) about whether it’s more difficult to be innovative in a large-scale organisation and the different ways CLS utilises technology to improve service delivery, ultimately, for the benefit of customers.
Technology nowadays is built to adapt to our needs. But while we’re reaping the benefits at home, are we enjoying the same levels of convenience in our professional lives? Scott Bozinis, CEO of conveyancing service provider InfoTrack, takes a look at the answer.
NETprotocol brings pioneering storage solution to Legal sector, with the help of technology partner Nimble Storage.
23 The future of work is already here
Paul Clarke explains the best way to get the most from today’s technology.
25 Technology and the four scales
15-31 The Features 15 Probate - Achieving a Gross Profit Margin in excess of 70%
Gregory van Dyk Watson looks at strategies to ensure profitability from probate work.
16 Robust cyber security strategy “vital for organisations in legal sector”
Darren Gower asks why scalability should be top of the agenda for law firms when implementing a new Case or Practice Management system, and outlines the importance of being able to upscale/downscale systems quickly - particularly in light of extensive consolidation and mergers in certain areas of the legal market.
26 PMS Wasteland?
The legal sector is an attractive target for cyber criminals due to the wealth of sensitive data that many law firms hold. David Hallam explains how to avoid being a target.
Paul Longhurst outlines an alternative approach which can help firms to increase the return on its technology investment by changing some aspects of the way the business operates.
29 The best way to predict the future is to create it 18 Business continuity for law firms: working out the real cost of downtime
Peter Groucutt explains why firms should be implementing strategies for disaster recovery now, rather than waiting until it’s too late.
30 Tesco Law is Dead!
Modern Law Magazine
With widespread media coverage focusing on technology and the future of legal services, Oliver Smith asks, can technology help legal firms conquer anticipated changes in the legal market?
April 2016
Gregory van Dyk Watson explains why ‘Tesco Law’ was never a serious contender for probate work.
31 Case Study
Project Director Kate McKittrick kate@charltongrant.co.uk
Conveyancing is moving on with InfoTrack.
Group Editor Charlotte Parkinson charlotte.parkinson@charltongrant.co.uk Project Manager John Margett john@charltongrant.co.uk
Contact 01765 600909
Cover Photo: Ray Burnside
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
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The Interviews
05-14
The Interviews
05
Photo: Ray Burnside
‘The business model of law hasn’t changed much since the Magna Carta was drafted’
Interview with... Dan Jansen
07
Interview with... Dan Jansen Charlotte Parkinson spoke to the Chief Executive of NextLaw Labs, the technology venture launched by global law firm Dentons, about his aims to reinvent the practice of law, and why historical charging models in firms create a productivity paradox.
Q A
Why did you establish NextLaw Labs and where does it fit in the market in terms of target audience?
Industry after industry are being reinvented and disrupted, and the legal market is no different, though clearly a little behind this trend. However, it is a £400bn global industry and we feel it is ripe for investment and reinvention. Dentons is the largest law firm in the world, and they understood this and decided they wanted to embrace that innovation rather than fall victim to it. They created NextLaw Labs to act as a discrete entity to bring technology to the fore. Our goal is simple: faster, better and cheaper legal solutions for clients and law firms.
Q A
How does the venture aim to achieve its vision to ‘revolutionise the practice of law’?
Our process is simple, we begin by looking at the ‘pain points’, the frustrations and the unmet needs of real lawyers and real law firms, who are practising law and dealing with real clients. We have an internal and external idea generation process and are also frequently on the ground discussing issues with the sector. We then look for opportunities where we think technology can make a real change in the workflows, whether that comes from us investing in an existing company - utilising our venture fund - who are already providing solutions, or co-developing products and solutions directly with clients. We are looking to rethink workflows and find new opportunities where technology can change the game.
Q A
How does the partnership with Dentons work in practice?
Dentons really understood the need for this venture, they recognised the need for a discrete autonomous entity and they are the largest investor and sponsor. They also recognise that we need the opportunity - with
‘The major performance metrics many law firms use is the brand of the firm, the name on the wall and the kudos associated with where their partners went to law school, which (respectfully) are not a compelling quality metrics’ our own management and funds - to be able to identify opportunities and utilise them however is appropriate. We use the firm as a vehicle to help generate our ideas and we currently have over 100 ideas which we have found by using this process. Of the Top 10 ideas which we are actively working on, all but one of them came directly from real clients or partners serving clients. We also work with clients directly to create bespoke products or solutions, and finally, when we find a small company, we bring that company in to Dentons to help pilot, shape and grow the product offering. Our next investment is exactly that model; we will be piloting a product in our UK office, and help shape the product with Dentons. They will benefit from this in two ways, firstly they are able to utilise the leading edge innovation and secondly, they will have an ownership position through NextLaw Labs.
Q A
How long would the piloting process usually take?
This is entirely dependent on what we are trialling, some products are well shaped and already functioning, which means the piloting time is shorter. We would expect a product such as the one we are about to launch to take a few months but in that period, real
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
08
Interview with... Dan Jansen
‘We are now seeing the ‘Uberisation’ of law, where various early stage companies are matching up supply and demand with variable pricing models’ NextLaw Labs The legal profession has not benefitted from technology like other professional services industries. We hope to change that. We are a global collaborative innovation platform focused on developing, deploying, and investing in new technologies and processes to transform the practice of law around the world. We are interested in building relationships with a wide swath of companies, people and other stakeholders focused on advancing the legal profession in any part of the world. Dentons, the global law firm, is our lead supporter and investor, serving as the global testing ground for new products, services and other ideas to be vetted, piloted and scaled. Dentons is driven to provide clients a competitive edge in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2014 Global Elite Brand Index, Dentons is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality in new and inventive ways.
‘The revenue model within law is a challenge, as the billable hour creates a productivity paradox - if someone does a better job in half the time, they may not be rewarded accordingly’
partners and real clients will use it. Last year we announced one of our early partnerships, with ROSS Intelligence, which conducts expert legal research. That product has been in a pilot phase for longer as it is using a cognitive computing platform to conduct expert legal research. For that, we have to teach the machine the specific areas of law. We are the first legal player to invest in ROSS, though they are now rolling out their pilot to a broader range of firms, and expect to go to market soon.
Q A
Are there any specific initiatives that you are currently working on/trialling at the moment?
I have mentioned our focus on expert legal research, and we are also working on matter management opportunities, as well as quality and performance metric opportunities, as the legal industry has surprisingly few quality and KPI performance metrics. We are also working on content aggregation and update tools, as the law changes very quickly. With Dentons being the largest law firm in the world, a pain point they have, is that in specific areas of law, a client might operate in 50, 60 or 100 countries in the world, just staying current in all the different areas is a very important and often challenging task. I can’t go into too much detail about some of our specific ventures, but we have a lot in the pipeline.
Q
Are you noticing any particular trends in relation to technology/innovation in the legal market – have any areas been more successful in implementing new technology – specifically process driven/consumer areas of law?
A
There are some areas of the legal sector that are more mature in terms of how they utilise legal technology, such as e-discovery and document automation. As an example, there are hundreds of e-discovery tools that are used to automate fairly basic and mundane tasks. Accordingly those mature areas
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
will not be a priority for our activities, although we will have our own e-discovery and document automation platforms at some point. We are more cutting-edge in terms of expert legal research, analysis and decision support. We are also closely exploring the automation of compliance and risk management, as well as quality and performance assessment as currently, the major performance metrics many law firms use is the brand of the firm, the name on the wall and the kudos associated with where their partners went to law school, which (respectfully) are not compelling quality metrics. We are now starting to see the ‘Uberisation’ of law, where various early stage companies are matching up supply and demand with variable pricing models. The delivery of legal solutions are going to change, so the questions are, ‘Are you going to own it and drive it?’, or ‘Are you going to fall victim to it?’, because it is going to happen.
Q A
What are the greatest barriers to innovation and why? (In terms of the culture in firms, people, training, budgets etc).
Partially, it is down to inertia - the business model of law hasn’t changed much since the Magna Carta was drafted, which is the apprenticeship model, with partners and associates who ‘learn the craft’ under their tutelage. That traditional pyramid organisational structure is changing and becoming more of a diamond as technology is whittling away a lot of the basic repetitive tasks at the bottom of the legal process, purely because technology can complete the tasks faster and more accurately. The revenue model within law is also a challenge, as the billable hour creates a productivity paradox - if someone does a better job in half the time, they may not be rewarded accordingly. That’s why our mantra is to always begin with the client, and what they want. The question should be about how to drive change, and the best way is to have a client asking for it. Clients are demanding faster, cheaper, better legal solutions.
Interview with... Dan Jansen
09
‘We are in a ‘target rich’ environment and are almost overwhelmed with the amount of opportunities that are out there’ Photo: Ray Burnside
Q A
Are any areas of the legal market more resistant to innovation and if so, why?
The ‘sweet spot’, where legal services are ripe for embracing innovation is the repetitive tasks that don’t require much higherlevel processing. The inverse of that, where the law will never be effected, is the higher level ‘trusted advisor’ services, where Partners have solid relationships with their clients, who look to them for advice. We don’t need to innovate across the entire landscape. It should not be a case of man versus machine, but man and machine working in tandem.
Q A
Do you think artificial intelligence (AI) has a viable long term position in the legal marketplace?
Very much so, in terms of man and machine as opposed to ‘robots taking over’, as some headlines like to make out. AI and cognitive computing can really help in those routine repetitive areas of the law, as the machines can do hundreds of millions of calculations per second. One analogy that may be useful is that of the scalpel; invented thousands of years ago in Egypt, it can still be used by a skilled surgeon today. That said, robotic scalpels in the hands of a skilled surgeon, can generate even better results in many cases. Man plus machine.
Q
Are there any stand out differences between attitudes in the UK towards technology/innovation, and attitudes in the US/oversees? If yes, why do you think this is?
A
This is as much to do with the underlying competitiveness in the market and the UK market is one of the most competitive legal markets I have seen. The partners have clients demanding technology solutions, as well as in panel competitions. As a global business (although we are a start-up company
Dan Jansen Dan Jansen has a rare combination of entrepreneurial and professional services experience. As a serial entrepreneur Dan has helped to conceive, fund, grow and/or sell disruptive businesses in many diverse sectors, including social media, financial services, and online recruiting. He also has almost twenty years of professional services experience including roles leading the Global Media Practice for the Boston Consulting Group and with Arthur Young & Company advising startups.
‘It should not be a case of man versus machine, but man and machine working in tandem’ and have only been running just over a year), a lot of our activity has been occurring in the UK. It is all to do with the competitive intensity and the extent to which clients are demanding change. Another trend which is prevalent in the US and North America, is the growth of legal operations departments within the legal departments of major clients. These new departments are focussing far more on running the legal departments as businesses and are very much an ally of NextLaw Labs.
Q A
What is in the pipeline for NextLaw Labs in the near future?
Over the next few months, we are announcing a new venture investment, two products will go to market and start generating revenue, and we will continue to pilot a number of products within Dentons. We also have a number of co-developed opportunities with our clients in the pipeline. These all relate back to our core goals: faster, cheaper, better legal solutions. Finally, we are also scaling up and making a number of hires. In summary, we are in a ‘target rich’ environment and are excited and almost overwhelmed with the amount of opportunities that are out there. We will continue to focus on reinventing the practice of law.
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
‘AI certainly has a place but how it is used needs to be carefully considered’
Interview with... James Barron
11
Interview with... James Barron Charlotte Parkinson, Modern Law spoke to the Head of IT at Cooperative Legal Services (CLS) about whether it’s more difficult to be innovative in a large-scale organisation and the different ways CLS utilises technology to improve service delivery, ultimately, for the benefit of customers.
Q A
How has technology in the legal sector evolved since you started working in it?
There have been major changes in the technology landscape in the last 10 years. For example paperless case files, better interfaces for communication with clients i.e. text messaging and online portal tracking. The back office side has also seen major changes as systems are now more process and workflow driven, so streamlining the flow of a case but also emitting more management information for the business in order to adapt and continuously improve its service offering and customer focus.
Q A
How have you drawn on your prior industry experience to fulfil your role at the Co-Op?
I have been lucky working for law firms who were willing to be progressive, embrace technology and invest in it for future success. When I began the role at Co-Op, I already had experience of implementing a number of strategic technologies, which had significant impact on the firm and its customers. These included electronic document signing for clients, scanning incoming post and auto allocating them to cases, case tracking portals, centralised printing of documents to the post room, and sending electronic communication via email and text messages to clients. I have drawn on these past experiences and brought them to my role at the Co-Op. To date, we have developed a strategy and created an I.T Roadmap to ensure any technologies we do adopt benefit the provision of legal services, to Co-Op members and customers.
Q A
What is the one piece of technology that has influenced the provision of legal services the most over the years, and why?
Smartphones and tablets have had the greatest impact on the way clients can access legal services. Now practically everyone has access to the Internet and
‘AI could handle lower-end, process driven areas of law intuitively, removing the need for direct contact with case handlers’ email. This accessibility has also led to a rise in older people being able to access online services. Now, twenty-four-seven access to information and data is easier than ever.
Q A
What are your views on Apps in the legal sector, do you think they have a position?
They do have a place but the use of Apps depends entirely on the area of law. Usually, when people use a solicitor, it is to deal with one matter. As Co-Op provide a diverse portfolio of legal services, and offer wills, probate, family and employment law as well as personal injury, clients will often use us again and Apps could have a place here.
Q A
Do you think artificial intelligence (AI) systems have a viable position in legal firms?
Yes I do. Technology is advancing at a rapid rate and current and emerging technologies will be vital to law firms in their interaction with customers. AI could handle lower-end, process driven areas of law intuitively, removing the need for direct contact with case handlers. This would be dependent on the area of law but as AI matures, it will adapt to encompass more complex work - anything is possible. It is important to remember that some clients would prefer to speak to a person, and there are questions around whether AI could be empathetic and fully understand situations and needs in the same way as a human. AI certainly
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Interview with... James Barron
‘The size of the business allows for volume agreements with suppliers to leverage deals for hardware, software and services for the benefit of the whole group and makes it easier to scale as needed’ has a place but how it is used needs to be carefully considered.
Q A
Is there a timescale for when we are likely to see those more sophisticated systems coming into play?
We have already started to see them in some guise with intelligent phone systems, over the next five years more intelligent forms of AI will become more prominent.
Q A
What are the biggest barriers to law firms embracing technology and innovation and why?
Technology and innovation within an organisation is an overhead and expenditure can vary significantly depending on the project and the business case has to be strong showing a definite return on investment. Inherently, law films have shied away from investment in technology due to cost, a lack of
appetite to embrace new technology and unwillingness to support the longterm investment. Many law firms also still utilise legacy systems which are engrained into the practice. Certain changes in legislation, such as the Jackson Reforms, have meant that some areas of law have to do the same or more for less and (in some instances) this has limited firms from investing in technology because of the investment required. Over the years this perception has largely changed especially in large firms, who have accepted that technology and innovation are key enablers to the success of the business.
Q
What are the challenges/ advantages of working in an organisation the size of the Co-Op in relation to new/existing technologies and why?
A
Co-Op is a large organisation with a number of different business units from Insurance
Co-operative Legal Services Co-operative Legal Services has over 300 staff serving customers across England and Wales from offices in London, Manchester and Bristol. We provide a wide range of consumer legal services to both Co-operative members and the general public. As part of The Co-operative, our values of openness, honesty, social responsibility and caring for others are core to the service we provide. Our customers acknowledge the quality of our legal advice and services with satisfaction levels consistently over 90%. Co-operative Legal Services is divided into 6 legal practice service areas: Probate | Wills | Family Law | Personal Injury | Employment | Conveyancing Unlike many other law firms and businesses, we only provide legal services to private individuals. This removes any potential conflict that may exist between providing legal services to individuals and large corporate businesses at the same time. It also enables us to concentrate on developing highly efficient systems and processes which, backed by experienced legal teams, ensures that each client receives the very best customer service and achievable outcome.
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
to Funeral care and Food. This constitutes a large IT technology architecture landscape with a central support function supporting all the different areas and maintaining it, but also dealing with the changing requirements of each area. Keeping the infrastructure of such a large organisation as uniform as possible is advantageous from a support and cost point of view and allows for volume agreements with suppliers to leverage deals for hardware, software and services for the benefit of the whole group making it easier to scale as needed.
Q
Do you find it difficult to innovate and move quickly in a changing marketplace, or does the size of the business represent an advantage in this regard?
A
There’s always something new coming along which can affect the way a law firm operates. It is always best where possible to be as agile as possible, although this might not always be possible due to external factors such as a larger corporate structure. CLS realises that innovation is key to its position within the legal sector, and is moving forward with a number of initiatives as quickly as possible within the constraints of the wider group. The Group appreciated the way CLS needs to operate and is supporting moving our initiatives forward as quickly as possible without compromising the overarching governance, operation and impact on the rest of the group.
Q A
Are there initiatives the Co-Op or CLS are currently focussing on, in relation to technology?
CLS continues to focus on our agreed I.T Roadmap, which encompasses a number of initiatives such as enhanced real-time reporting, customer portals, smart apps, process re-engineering and streamlining and automatic posting of mail allocation direct to cases. Our aim is to focus on serving our members and customers and enhancing our service offerings.
Interview with... James Barron
13
‘CLS realises that innovation is key to its position within the legal sector, and is moving forward with a number of initiatives as quickly as possible within the constraints of the wider group’
Q
How does technology help to improve the customer experience – can you provide some examples of customers benefiting directly from technology/ innovative service delivery?
A
The customer experience or service is becoming more and more important to businesses not just law firms and especially to the customer. The ability for a customer to easily interact with a service provider is becoming more and more a factor in how they will choose who they wish to use. If you can make it easy for a customer to deal with you and keep them informed, provide an overall good and professional service then it is more likely you will get repeat business and/ or they will recommend you to friends/ family etc. Collecting data, feedback and measuring performance are key in order to identify potential areas of improvement, and opportunities that could eventually lead to a unique selling point over competitors. When a client or customer decides to use us, we usually send out the documentation in the post, wait three days and if it doesn’t come back we chase the client. Utilising electronic signatures - which are becoming more and more recognised by legal professionals and courts – we are able to obtain an immediate response from the client as they can sign documents instantaneously.
Q A
What does the future look like for technology in the legal sector?
sector in particular needs to watch the space carefully, who the early adopters are, and how the market responds. Technology will always play a pivotal role within the legal sector and those who are willing to invest and innovate will survive in a competitive market. Those firms who do not will disappear, they will be left behind if they aren’t prepared to invest, innovate, move forward and place the customer at the centre of the services. Technology used correctly can facilitate a competitive advantage but there needs to be a certain amount of caution, given the data law firms possess. Provided customer service can be balanced with the cost of technology, I don’t see why the future for technology within the legal sector shouldn’t be positive.
Q A
Are there any specific pieces of technology we should watch out for that are coming into the sector?
Electronic data interchange between clients, third parties and courts is one to watch. There are certain encryption technologies which will begin to be utilised more, such as with emails, where the technology can detect whether certain information is sensitive or contained personal information and would automatically encrypt it before sending. This can also work the other way, warning a case handler before they send out an email containing sensitive information, and asking them to review and encrypt before sending.
Technology is and will always be moving forward and pushing the boundaries and its impact on the legal sector will be constant. The digital arena is expanding and the legal
‘Technology will always play a pivotal role within the legal sector and those who are willing to invest and innovate will survive in a competitive market’
James Barron James moved to a new role as Head of IT in 2015 for Co-Operative Legal Services. Prior to this, he was Group IT Director at 2020 Legal Ltd. James has been working within the IT arena for more than 30 years, 10 of which are within the legal sector, beginning his career as an apprentice with General Motors where upon completion he decided to follow a career in IT. He has worked in various organisations (FMG, finance/banking, software, pharmaceuticals, retail/ wholesale and legal) comprising small and large, local to worldwide businesses. James’ current role has overall responsibility for support and infrastructure, development, case management, analysis, and IT design and communications. James’ focus is to drive forward IT strategy for the business and enhance the technology behind the delivery of customer service, both internally and externally working closely with all areas of the business. His career also extends to 20 years voluntary service gaining experience within Merseyside Police where he attained the rank of Chief Inspector, managing the Special Constabulary for a number of different areas within the force. James is a graduate of Liverpool John Moores University and is a Chartered IT Professional, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and has also been on the judging panel for the Claims Innovation Awards.
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
15-31 The
Features
Probate - Achieving a Gross Profit Margin in excess of 70% Gregory van Dyk Watson looks at strategies to ensure profitability from probate work. Do you know the Gross Profit Margin (GPM) of your Private Client work? How do you best ensure the profitability of your probate work? Surprisingly, most law firms do not appear to know the gross profit margin of their probate department. Some firms are exceeding 70% GPM Most firms were understandably not willing to discuss their profitability. The firms that were willing to talk to us, revealed that their gross profit margin for probate work is consistently in excess of 70%. How have they achieved these high profit margins? The key question is: how have these high margin firms managed to achieve this level of profitability? What distinguishes them from the low margin firms? In one instance in which the firm was willing to discuss their success openly, the formula appeared to be relatively straightforward. Profitability is a mixture of effective software combined with judicious organisation. Let us examine that in more detail, since both parts are equally important. Software Accounting Database The software needs to be an accounting database designed specifically for probate (and trust) work with the ability to easily record the variety of financial data of the deceaseds estate, including such items as business and agricultural relief, ISAS and PEPS, net or gross taxation of domestic and foreign equities, including double taxation agreements, separating capital and income, post probate adjustments, and abatement of assets, in instances where the estate is a small one with more than just a bank account and a house. Integrated Case Management The software should include a case management component that consists of a workflow with task management, a log of events, and a mailmerge facility that enable a range of standard letters to extract data from the accounting database. The latter enables a range of letters and emails to be produced and sent to banks, building societies, funeral directors, utility companies, executors, beneficiaries, and other related parties. Inputting by lesser qualified team members Inputting data into the accounting database is done by the paralegals and former secretaries working in teams but who are properly trained, and well supported by the software supplier.
Head of the Probate Team uses the software to track and monitor the daily task list Cases are assigned to the paralegals and promoted secretaries. They use the event system in the software to see their ‘to do’ tasks each day. The head of the probate department tracks the progress of the team by ensuring that tasks are completed (‘done’) by the end of each day. By monitoring the work of the team she can assist with difficult tasks, and even choose to work on particularly complex tasks herself. Quote from the Head of the Probate Department “Our probate department has achieved a 72% level of profitability. We are the most profitable department in the firm.” You need more than just software to succeed It is axiomatic that having the software technology available does not inevitably result in the level of profitability achieved by the firm in question. To repeat the key question, how do those customers consistently achieve a gross profit margin in excess of 70%? Organisational Discipline The second component of success is organisational discipline. To quote Charles Christian: “… it helps to have a senior member of the firm in overall charge of the implementation, so that they can compel the fee earners to attend [the training]” and selfevidently to actually use the software. The extreme converse of our profitable firm is where practitioners are permitted to go their own way and revert back to a more manual method of doing the work. Working as a cohesive team appears to be fundamental to success and profitability in this area of work. Advice from Charles Christian - the Doyen of Legal Technology An important adjunct to ensure success is training. To quote Charles Christian the doyen of legal technology in his chapter on ‘Computer and Technology Issues’ in the Probate Practitioner’s Handbook: “… computer systems are just tools whose value derives from how they are used. It therefore follows that if people are not trained in how to use them properly, the firm will not see a satisfactory return on its IT investments.” Profitability Testimonial Even the fee earner working without staff support can achieve the level of profitability suggested in this article. “I am extremely happy with Isokon and don’t know how I accomplished the work properly before using Isokon. I can now undertake double the quantity of Probate work than was possible before adopting Isokon.” Peter Cox, Partner, WBW Solicitors (Exeter, Torquay, Newton Abbot) For further information please contact: Gregory van Dyk Watson, Managing Director of Isokon Limited. Email: gregory@isokon.com or call 020 7482 6555. Alternatively visit www.isokon.com
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The Features
Robust cyber security strategy “vital for organisations in legal sector” The legal sector is an attractive target for cyber criminals due to the wealth of sensitive data that many law firms hold. David Hallam explains how to avoid being a target.
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s custodians of confidential commercial information and intellectual property, law firms are targeted by a range of threat actors from nation states to hacktivists and organised crime groups. Investment in cyber security is vital. Defending against the damage and disruption caused by a cyber attack is expensive and time-consuming. The impact can even paralyse organisations and permanently damage brand value along with consumer confidence. This is why cyber security should be a mandatory business function like HR, payroll and sales for larger firms. For smaller firms that don’t have the resources, this should be outsourced to expert providers. The typical partnership ownership models of most law practices means that investment in non-revenue generating functions can be hard to incentivise. But the legal profession needs to transform the way it thinks about cyber security and resilience so that it can prove to clients and regulators that it is doing all it can to ensure that any data being held is secure. Cyber security should be seen as an executive-level risk and therefore partnerships should have some level of accountability for the cyber resilience of the firm. Under review Keeping IT systems secure can be a complex task but the first stage should be to complete a full review of the data that is held so that you can manage the risks. Implement a cyber incident response plan and make sure you test its effectiveness regularly. Train your staff so they know how to respond if an incident occurs and make sure this is done across all departments including finance, legal, HR and your public relations team. If an incident does occur all departments will need to work together to ensure a suitable outcome. Run regular awareness exercises with staff too. It is vital they know what a phishing attack looks like, or what social engineering consists of, as humans are often the weakest link when it comes to cyber security. And don’t forget about your supply chain either when conducting a review as this can often be an easy way in for criminals. Supply chain attacks are commonplace nowadays so it is important that you review your supply chain’s cyber resilience. The Target breach, which happened in 2013 but is still being talked about today, showed how easy it is for a third party connection into your network to be exploited. Law firms themselves are supply chains for many large organisations, especially those carrying out due diligence during the acquisition process. Ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware that restricts access to systems by encrypting files and demanding a ransom to obtain access. Lincolnshire County Council’s computer systems suffered widespread disruption for a number of days as a result of a ransomware attack in January. The cyber criminals demanded a ransom but the authority didn’t pay.
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‘The legal profession needs to transform the way it thinks about cyber security and resilience so that it can prove to clients and regulators that it is doing all it can to ensure that any data being held is secure’ We come across this type of thing all the time and a lot of small businesses do tend to pay the ransom as they are unsure of what they should do. However, we would advise you not to pay when it comes to ransomware attacks as the vast majority can be fake. Cyber criminals often use screenshots as a means to show they have full control over your system, but that is usually not the case. A security expert should be able to determine whether the ransomware is legitimate or not. Web Application Attacks Poorly configured and unpatched web applications are still the most opportunistic and easily exploited vulnerability that we see at NCC Group. One reason for this is because a lot of businesses now rely on public cloud providers. Using the cloud to store data has many advantages as it is flexible and you can gain access anywhere, but the cloud is not without risk. The responsibility to securely code, configure and manage systems is not just down to the service provider – the user also needs to take responsibility. How secure is your cloud provider? Ensure you have carried out due diligence on your cloud provider. Have they completed any penetration testing of any sort? Do they hold any security certifications such as ISO27001? Payment instruction fraud Most attempts of payment instruction fraud tend to adopt a similar format and involve an email containing fraudulent payment instructions. The emails tend to mimic the language and layout of a genuine email and most
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‘Phishing scams are a lot more complex nowadays and some even include official looking logos that have been taken from legitimate websites’ are perfectly timed so as to be received at a point when payment instructions were expected by the solicitor. These emails are designed to be utterly convincing so as to cause recipients to assume the emails are genuine. If such emails are acted on, fraudsters are able to elicit payment in to bank accounts in their names or under their control. The fraudsters’ timing may be such that the funds have been transferred and withdrawn from destination accounts before the banks and police have been alerted in time to put a stop on the transfer. Last June, a story about a woman who was conned out of her life savings by scammers who sent her a phishing email purporting to be from her solicitors hit the press. Vivian Gabb was in the final stages of buying a house when the scammers struck and she received an email from what she believed to be her solicitor, providing the firm’s bank details and requesting the prearranged deposit of £50,000. She paid the deposit, but four days later it emerged that the money had not gone to her solicitor, but straight into the hands of a scammer. The email was branded in the same style as previous emails from her solicitor and looked nigh on identical to all their previous correspondence, but the fraudulent email address had one ‘s’ missing from the company name. Never assume an email containing transactional information is genuine just because it looks the part. Make sure you take steps to verify the email before acting upon it. This type of cyber scam highlights the importance of employee awareness. If your workforce knows what to look out for the chances of an attack being successful will be greatly reduced. Proper policies and procedures are paramount here they need to be considered, created and most importantly communicated to all staff to ensure a complete companywide approach is followed. Don’t get reeled in by a phisherman NCC Group’s technical team recently conducted a research project which revealed that some 70% of employee’s at large organisations cannot tell a legitimate website from a phishing site. The data came from the Group’s phishing service Piranha and as part of the project, more than 500 emails were sent over a two month period. A total of 22% of recipients clicked through to a malicious site and of these 70% then went on to supply credentials. Armed with this information, an attacker could gain a foothold within an organisation’s infrastructure. The emails were tailored to each target organisation but were not personalised for each individual and yet people still clicked. Phishing scams are a lot more complex nowadays and some even include official looking logos that have been taken from legitimate websites. However, just because it looks official doesn’t mean that it is. Remember to look for typos too. If you spot a couple of typos in an email purporting to be from a professional organisation it is unlikely to contain any spelling errors so that should set alarm bells ringing. You should never click on attachments either unless they have come from a trustworthy source - otherwise you could end up giving the bad guys access to your network.
Phishing calls on the up Cyber criminals also use telephone calls to try and gain access to your network so bear this in mind next time you answer the phone. Attackers will call an organisation claiming to be from the technical support team and if they are lucky they might just strike gold and end up speaking to somebody with a legitimate tech issue. This could have a detrimental impact on the firm in question as the attacker will come across like they are trying to help, but in reality will be getting the user to type commands which will either give them access or launch malware. One of our security consultants received a phishing call recently and had he not been an expert in information security the outcome of the call could have been very different. The caller was trying to remotely access his computer in a bid to infect it with malware. Would you know how to handle such a call? Bogus law firms on the rise Law firms need to take steps to prevent their corporate identities from being stolen and used for criminal gain as according to the Solicitors Regulation Authority there has been a significant rise in the number of reports of bogus law firms in recent months. Cyber criminals create bogus firms to lure people in and they usually clone a genuine firm’s website and steal the corporate identity. The cloned sites are that good that people believe they are dealing with a reputable firm and have no hesitation in sending bank details or other sensitive information. Law firms should conduct regular online searches of their firm to check whether any of their employee (especially partners) details have been displayed on a bogus law firm’s website. Mitigation actions Here are five useful steps when considering mitigation actions: 1. Regular backups should be taken of all critical data and where possible be stored off-line or in a manner which will ensure integrity. 2. Antivirus should be installed and regularly updated on all machines. 3. Patches for operating systems and software (especially web browsers, office suites and common document readers) should be installed as soon as they are available. 4. Corporate laptops should use a VPN connection (with two-factor authentication where appropriate). 5. Restrictive access control should be employed to ensure users can only access the data for their function. Regular on-going security testing should be conducted. 6. Regular monitoring/assessment of the cyber security posture is also recommended so that it can be updated when necessary as new threats emerge. Conclusion This article only includes information about a selection of the most common cyber attacks that occur in the legal sector today. Unfortunately there are many more forms of attack so it is imperative that you take cyber security seriously in order to reduce the risks. David Hallam is Commercial Director of NCC Group.
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Business continuity for law firms: working out the real cost of downtime Peter Groucutt explains why firms should be implementing strategies for disaster recovery now, rather than waiting until it’s too late.
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n our 2015 Data Health Check, a survey of over 400 UK IT decision makers, 78% of law firms we talked to had a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in place, with the remaining 22% planning to implement one in the next 12 months. Despite this, disaster recovery can still be considered an inconvenience to some law firms. To the uninitiated, business continuity planning can appear a costly and complex process that seems to have little or no immediate business benefit. This is because it is easier to do nothing and to hope that nothing happens. But the simple overriding fact remains that business continuity is a common sense approach to managing the unexpected, mitigating loss and recovering the status quo – all of which are of the utmost importance to the legal sector. It’s worth noting the massive digitisation of business in the last 20 years. In professional services in particular, technology is involved in almost every business process. This pervasiveness can lead people to regard IT as merely a cost centre. It doesn’t last long, of course, once they remember the joys of manual dictation, hand writing and filing. A business enabler Technology, when done right, is a business enabler – it lets you automate tasks and makes your business more efficient. However, that also means IT downtime now affects more departments and business functions that ever before. It also means your clients – now used to the increased productivity that IT enables – have raised their expectations. You need to recover as quickly as possible to meet them. The fact that firms are now so dependent on their IT systems has meant that the IT department has traditionally led the way in planning how to recover from an unplanned event. However, since the impact of a disaster is felt by potentially any part of the firm, from partners and feeearners to support staff, the ability to recover business data quickly, easily and within an acceptable time frame is fundamental to the entire organisation, and planning should be a collaborative process. The speed and manner in which modern business is transacted means that a disruption of only a few hours can have a catastrophic impact on the profitability and
‘Business continuity is a common sense approach to managing the unexpected, mitigating loss and recovering the status quo’ ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
Peter Groucutt Peter has a history in understanding and mitigating risk, having spent many years working in risk management roles within the banking sector – particularly developing applications to monitor value-at-risk across the banks treasury and hedged products. Now, Peter’s main focus is to combine Databarracks’ constantly improving disaster recovery, backup and infrastructure services with a continued passion for customer service, promoting the company’s shared belief in ‘treating our customer as we like to be treated ourselves’.
reputation of the affected firm. The internet has introduced many new challenges, with perhaps the biggest being the inflated expectation, or even requirement, that a business is available to customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, lengthy downtime previously associated with a disaster is just not acceptable. Recovery time is key While larger organisations generally have more to lose, and more ways to lose it, than smaller organisations, smaller firms often suffer the most devastating results from seemingly minor business interruptions. Small size imposes stricter limits on the ability of an organisation to absorb losses and respond to interruptions. The key to recovery is time. Following an unplanned event, the organisation which recovers in the shortest time will be in the best possible position.
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‘One of the key reasons any firm works out their cost of downtime is so it will know how much is reasonable to spend to prevent it’ There are certain factors that make business continuity planning in the legal sector even more important. Perhaps most notably, the average legal practice has the highest percentage of revenue generating workers, per company, of any major industry in the world. This results in an even greater need for high productivity and guaranteed uptime due to the hourly billable nature of the legal workplace. While some smaller firms may consider themselves ‘too small’ for business continuity planning, a single outage per year carries a significant price tag. Working out the real cost of IT downtime Working out exactly how much IT downtime can cost your firm – actually putting a figure on it – is a question we are often posed. An SRA report estimates that downtime can cause losses of up to £10,000 per hour, or up to £1million if a full day is lost. It’s a particularly large estimate because it represents the entire sector – your firm’s actual costs may be significantly lower. It’s obviously far more useful to calculate your own figure relative to your size.
‘Smaller firms often suffer the most devastating results from seemingly minor business interruptions’ Putting a figure on it The easiest way to get a figure for an hour of downtime is to take your annual turnover and divide it by the number of hours in the year (8,760). But 3 hours of downtime in the middle of the night on a Saturday doesn’t have the same impact as 3 hours of downtime in the middle of the working week. So for another, equally simple figure, you can instead calculate the cost of downtime per working hour, which is your turnover divided by the number of working hours in the year (2,080). This gives you a figure for maximum lost revenue per hour, but doesn’t tell the whole story. You also need to factor in costs. The most significant cost for law firms is staff. Again, this is a simple calculation: just take the cost of your staff and divide it by the number of hours in the working year for a combined hourly total. Obviously these calculations are quite a blunt instrument and you might want to refine them slightly. You could work out downtime costs per fee-earner for example, or per senior partner or even individual IT system. One of the key reasons any firm works out their cost of downtime is so it will know how much is reasonable to spend to prevent it. By looking at these costs from different perspectives, what you might find is that really, the firm only needs to invest in protection for one key IT system or a particular set of users in order to protect a large portion of income.
Making intangible costs tangible And what about the peripheral costs? These can be tangible costs, such as regulatory fines, or more intangible, like reputational damage. Realistically, fines administered will be in proportion to the kind of downtime the firm has suffered, and how badly your customers were affected. If you have an outage for 3 days and are fortunate to have few issues with your clients, fines are likely to be far less damaging than if you have lost casedata or if you suffered an outage at a sensitive time. It probably isn’t worth including a regulatory penalty in your hourly cost of downtime, but you should definitely be factoring it in to calculations for long periods of downtime. This is also what we suggest for those other “intangible” costs. If you have an hour of downtime, the damage to your reputation is probably negligible. If you’re down and unable to operate for a week however, there will definitely be an effect. From our perspective, the best way to deal with intangible costs is to make them tangible. Do this by working out how much it would cost to lose an average customer (small outage) and then work out the cost of losing your biggest customer (big outage). What would it cost you? We could use the figures from the SRA as an example but, realistically, £1m losses for a day of downtime is only applicable to the largest firms. So we’ll use an example of a £10 million turnover firm. Using our calculations from above, an hour of downtime for a £10m firm would cost them £8,414. Interestingly, this is actually not too far away from the SRA figure of £10,000. That works out at employee costs of just over £3,500 per hour and a loss of revenue of nearly £5,000. The cost for an entire day is about £67,300. That one is quite different to the SRA figure of £1m. As context, a comprehensive disaster recovery solution for a firm of this size to prevent any extended downtime would cost approximately £30,000 per year. Inevitably every firm will experience downtime at some point, so business continuity planning is about mitigating risk and reducing costs. In the past, many disaster recovery plans never really got off the ground due to lack of backing from senior partners and inevitably it becomes ‘something we’ll do next year.’ Now with more guidance from bodies like the SRA, firms understand that the cost of implementing an effective DR solution is a small price to pay against the cost of an outage. Peter Groucutt is Managing Director at Databarracks.
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The Features
Working smarter, not harder Technology nowadays is built to adapt to our needs. But while we’re reaping the benefits at home, are we enjoying the same levels of convenience in our professional lives? Scott Bozinis, CEO of conveyancing service provider InfoTrack, takes a look at the answer.
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o you remember the first time you used the internet? The chances are it was sometime in the 1990s. It could have been at school, university, work or home. You might not have immediately been blown away by it, and you probably couldn’t have foreseen what it would look like and where and how you could use it by the time 2016 came around. Now think about the way you used to perform everyday tasks before the advent of the internet. Say you wanted to check train times. Would you give National Rail Enquiries a call? Or would you consult a paper timetable that you’d picked up from the local station? How about trying to find directions? You’d probably have an A to Z somewhere. Or you could ask somebody and hope that they were reliable. It’s easy to forget how we used to have to do things. The usual ways in which we used to find answers are now gradually passing into history. They’ve often involved fairly mundane items like telephone directories, maps and dictionaries, which are now relegated to a dusty cupboard somewhere, never to be used again. And the same can be said about technology that we used to think of as cutting edge. Have you kept your CD collection but rarely play CDs? When did you chuck out that VCR? Even your DVDs might be rarely used these days. Changing expectations The point is that time doesn’t stand still and the way we live our lives at home and at work is constantly changing. We might not notice it at the time, just as we couldn’t have imagined back in the 1990s how technology would revolutionise our world. It’s a constantly evolving process – and one which doesn’t stop. I remember earlier technology as being difficult to use. In fact, we’d quite often have to adapt to technology and learn how to use systems. You might remember having to programme the thermostat to come on at different times of the day. Get it wrong and there would be no hot water for a shower in the morning. We had to learn to deal with these frustrations – it was the acceptable way. However, since that time a crucial but subtle change has happened - technology is now built to adapt to humans and our behaviours and needs, and this is because as time has passed, our attitudes and expectations have changed. Technology is now completely embedded in our society. There are smart thermostats that conserve energy, maps in the palm of our hand to help us navigate, online banking so we can pay people without leaving our seat.
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‘In our professional lives, we now expect our experiences with technology to mirror those that we have at home’ We’ve come to expect “instant gratification” and crave fast, smart, flexible, easy-to-use technology that’s at our fingertips. And we’re well aware of which technologies make our lives easier and which don’t. As a consequence of this, many service providers are now focussing on “user experience” and ways in which they can essentially make things better for consumers. They are building their service to adapt to us. Take the simple matter of having a parcel delivered. You’ve ordered it online and a few days later you arrive back from a short trip to the shops and notice one of those slips of paper pushed through your letterbox. “Sorry we missed you” it says, before directing you to pick up your parcel at a location that’s several miles drive away.
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‘The world has evolved, technology has changed and it’s time to work smarter, not harder’ To rid us of the frustrations associated with such situations, delivery firms are embracing technology and adapting it to our lives. Not only will they text and email you a one-hour delivery slot, but you can also track the location of your driver online, giving you confidence that the delivery won’t arrive while you’re out.
The audience clearly identified with the problem of not having a centralised hub to access all their conveyancing processes. Whilst we can all identify with the issue of dialup internet being a frustration in the past, the reaction of the audience was to a frustration that exists here and now in 2016.
Responding to customer demand That sense of convenience and improved user experience also extends to the ways in which websites and apps are now developed. Last year, LinkedIn rolled out what it called its “much anticipated new mobile experience” – in other words, it had completely revamped its app, with the intention of adapting it to the needs of users.
So when it comes to legal services, do you remember the first time you carried out a particular process online? No matter how long ago it was, think about whether that process has developed. Are you still doing it in the same way? Is it still a frustration? Now that we’re able to better recognise technologies which make our lives easier and those which don’t, are you able to identify the technologies that are enjoyable to use?
The company had this to say in a blog that accompanied the launch: “We’ve not only rebuilt the new Flagship app from scratch but we have taken everything you love and more to develop a mobile experience that is more intuitive, smarter and dramatically simplifies your LinkedIn experience. We know time is scarce, so we made it as easy as possible for you to connect to your professional network and stay informed about the conversations and content most relevant to you.” Of course, LinkedIn is well known for being a businessorientated social network – and it’s trying to save professionals time while making sure that they have access to what they need in the form of relevant “conversations and content.” Essentially, LinkedIn have identified that customers are now demanding enjoyable technology. Why? I believe that in our professional lives, we now expect our experiences with technology to mirror those that we have at home. The lines between personal and professional have become blurred because we expect to use enjoyable technology. But does that always happen? Has the pace of change been as swift in the legal world so that we naturally co-exist with technology that meets our needs and delivers the convenience and overall experience that we expect? If you remember the days of dial-up internet access, you probably remember times when a phone call would interrupt your browsing session. It seems amusing now that we used to have to put up with such problems.
Up to now, the legal world hasn’t seen the same seismic shifts in technology that we’ve experienced in other areas of our lives. Going forward, the technology that lawyers use needs to adapt, so that frustrations such as trying to remember numerous logins are consigned to history, and it becomes enjoyable to use. Creating a centralised hub for all processes is a prime example of improving user experience – with added convenience and time savings freeing up lawyers within firms to focus on what they do best. Employing intuitive, enjoyable technology in the workplace is essential and represents something different for firms and their staff – a development that can truly streamline and simplify legal processes. It’s only lawyers who can make this happen. By starting to recognise that we expect technology in the workplace to be as enjoyable as the technology we are use in our personal lives, we’re able to satisfy the needs of staff and customers. So let’s stop legal processes being stuck in the past and start delivering enjoyable technology for you, your staff and your customers. The world has evolved, technology has changed and it’s time to work smarter, not harder. Scott Bozinis is CEO of conveyancing service provider InfoTrack.
Focusing on user experience At a recent legal IT conference I attended, there was a lot of discussion about how technology can be used to improve client relationships. There were many interesting insights and a few points that clearly resonated with the audience, one of which was the issue of having to remember various logins for the many websites that lawyers use every day.
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No stone unturned NETprotocol brings pioneering storage solution to Legal sector, with the help of technology partner Nimble Storage.
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ETprotocol has joined forces with Nimble Storage just in time for the launch of their Predictive All Flash Arrays - set to deliver extreme performance for Legal firms in the world of storage. The release of their AF-Series will change the face of the storage market worldwide, in terms of both performance, rack space and technology ROI.
As the only Legal IT specialist to have partnered with Nimble Storage, the All-Flash Arrays will enable NETprotocol to deliver Flash-like performance at Non-Flash costs, offering an ideal and completely unique solution to the highly diverse storage needs of their legal clients nationwide. An all-purpose SAN solution, its resilience has been proven by real world statistics, measured at an unbeatable 99.9997% uptime, with a TCO of up to 66% less than all other All Flash arrays.
As part of the solution, data is protected and a highly efficient replication process takes place which includes failover and failback, minimising bandwidth requirements as a result. Driven by the technology challenges faced by legal firms every day, Nimble’s AF-Series fits perfectly with NETprotocol’s focus on creating scalable solutions, which offer their clients the flexibility to adapt their infrastructure to meet future business needs - without the need to start from scratch every time. Nimble’s Unified Flash Fabric allows a seamless mix of All Flash & Adaptive Flash in one array, allowing firms to scale up at comparatively low cost, with zero downtime. Nimble has clearly left no stone unturned. Demonstrating pure technical brilliance, they started from the ground up when building this architecture, ultimately bringing to market a product which can’t be matched in terms of efficiency and storage footprint. Outperforming the competition by up to 90% in terms of rack space required for comparable storage capacity, users can expect vastly enhanced performance with significant cost savings.
With a range of all-inclusive features built in to the platform (without additional charge), one to highlight is its InfoSight Predictive Analytics which eliminates the risk of disruption and downtime through its 24/7 Proactive Monitoring capabilities. Nine out of ten issues are detected before you even know about them, whilst it also supplies critical data to predict future needs intelligently and forecast budgets accurately.
Transforming businesses NETprotocol has specialised in Legal technology for more than 15 years, designing, deploying and maintaining highly efficient, secure and resilient IT infrastructures on behalf of Top 200 and SMB law firms. “Our experience, combined with Nimble’s recent arrival as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for General Purpose Disk Arrays has enabled us to together build the most credible storage solution on the market, which provides our legal clients with an unrivalled ROI,” says Mike Batters, Technical Director at NETprotocol.
No need to start from scratch In addition to InfoSight, other standard features include encryption and replication, both of which are a prerequisite for organisations handling any form of legal or confidential data.
“Through partnering with Nimble, we are able to offer our clients a top-rate investment opportunity which will transform their business, allowing them to work faster than ever and ultimately drive continued growth.”
‘Nine out of ten issues are detected before you even know about them, whilst it also supplies critical data to predict future needs intelligently and forecast budgets accurately’
Nimble are particularly excited about the potential the new AF-Series offers the Legal sector. Emma Batey, Nimble’s UK Channel Manager confirms, “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with such a specialist partner as NETprotocol – their knowledge and experience of the legal sector is second to none and offers Nimble the opportunity to deliver credible and high performance solutions to the UK legal market with great confidence”. Mike Batters, Technical Director, NETprotocol. For more information on NETprotocol’s storage solutions or Nimble’s recently launched Predictive All Flash Array – please visitwww.netprotocol.net/nimbleflash or contact NETprotocol on 0330 055 3385.
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The future of work is already here Paul Clarke explains the best way to get the most from today’s technology.
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h dear, the noise in here today after a 90 minute drive due to road works, too many distractions...roughly every ten minutes somebody wants my time, they just wander over and start talking. And its stuffy in here as I write this editorial for Modern Law. But is it? As I hear the waves lapping on the near sandy shore, with the occasional wild bird squawking somewhere behind me in the pinewoods. I pause and take a sip of chilled wine before I resume typing this, remembering Charlotte wants it emailing to her by 10am on Wednesday, her editorial deadline.
computers, all of which have been personalised to each user’s preference, in the corner is Angela with Cliff Richard popping up and smiling at every start up and shut down. Justin Bieber is the number one love of Katie and his baseball cap covered shiny face screen saver, dances rhythmically from left to right across her desktop. Fee earners and admin staff alike, have their chosen case management software open and ‘doing its stuff’. All of this remains perfectly achievable in the cloud so that the end user feels like they are working on a machine where everything is stored locally, but it isn’t. Instead, the desktop and all of the associated applications are hosted “in the cloud”.
I’m not sadly typing in a beautiful villa whilst watching the sun bounce of the blue crystal clear sea, I am in the office, but what is life if you can’t dream. No need though to send your employees to sunny climates, I’m sure a cloudy day in Manchester working from home will be just as exciting? Making dreams a reality Hosted Desktop can make your dreams a reality, and you can cut a huge amount of your IT support costs out of your annual budget. • No on premise servers to maintain; • No annual maintenance costs; • No fixes or patches; • No expensive licensing costs; • No network, security and data base upgrades. Like the majority, if not all, cloud computing solutions, hosted desktops are incredibly flexible, highly scalable and a cost effective way to get the best from today’s technology. This means that hosted desktop can grow and shrink with the business, as you only pay for what you are using.
‘No matter where in the world you are, if you have a connection, you can work’ Hosted Desktop are ideal for law firms that want to enjoy the flexibility of employing both home workers and office workers. Additionally, many fee earners have the opportunity to have access to their case management software when attending court via their tablets and mobile phones. Reaching new heights with the cloud Walk around any law firm in the UK and there you will see employees sitting happily, working away on their
Why Host your Desktop? • Large savings on IT support costs; • Secure, instant access to files, applications and email from almost any location; • A fixed monthly fee per user; • Highly secure infrastructure; • Protects your data from walking away on laptops and mobile devices; • Fully redundant data storage and flexible routine back-up; • Full disaster recovery; • Eliminates capital expenditure on servers, networking technology and software; • Full Microsoft Office integration with Case Management Software. No matter where in the world you are, if you have a connection, you can work. This has helped to make work more flexible, collaboration with global partners very easy, and business trips more productive, as you can still work, with all necessary details to hand, even if you’re travelling. Hosted Desktop solutions save businesses money, of that there is no doubt. Not only does it reduce capital expenditure and monthly costs, but it allows smaller businesses to use IT in such a way that was not previously possible. It tends to make you envisage a future which has both physical and virtual offices, just a well-organised network of collaborators from all over the UK and Europe. Or perhaps I am being too futuristic? Paul Clarke is Managing Director at Ashley Clarke. www.ashley-clarke.co.uk
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
e v a H you heard? Proclaim® is the only Practice Management Software solution Endorsed by the Law Society. It speaks volumes that Proclaim, Eclipse’s market-leading system, is the solution of choice for 23,000 legal professionals in 900 organisations. Proclaim encompasses practice, case and matter management, and is now the only system to be endorsed by the Law Society.
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Technology and the four scales Darren Gower asks why scalability should be top of the agenda for law firms when implementing a new Case or Practice Management system, and outlines the importance of being able to upscale/downscale systems quickly - particularly in light of extensive consolidation and mergers in certain areas of the legal market.
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or many, the world of law used to be a stable and predictable place - one where forward plans could be made with certainty, and incomes could be forecasted with a degree of comfort. In the last couple of decades, that world-view started to change, and we are now at a point where - few would argue - market change and legislative pressures are at previously unseen levels. This of course means that law firms need to react differently - and quicker - to external forces, but they also need to plan more appropriately to build in the unexpected… there needs to be more flexibility than ever before in how legal businesses plan out their operations. So what is the impact for a firm investing in a legal software package? These applications are core to daily operations; typically used by every member of staff and representing a not insubstantial investment (regardless of the model opted for, e.g. ‘pay upfront’ or ‘pay monthly’). It goes without saying that planning flexibility into your chosen software solution should be a core part of the purchasing process. There are broadly 4 ‘scalability’ boxes you should be looking to tick… if you can’t tick them all, then proceed with caution. Scale up For growing law firms, the ability for their chosen solution to grow with them is vital. Lots of firms make the decision
‘It is the norm at present for law firms to change their service offerings and adopt new lines of expertise to take advantage of market trends’
to invest in a system that is perfectly usable while they are small but does not have either the technical architecture or the feature set to cope with rapid or sustained growth. Make sure that your chosen system has a track record of usage in larger firms, but - and this is vital - that there are proven examples of the system being adopted by small or even sole practitioners who have then been able to expand their operations. Scale out Diversification - and the ability to adapt - is key. It is the norm at present for law firms to change their service offerings and adopt new lines of expertise to take advantage of market trends. The software solution in use must be able to provide this level of diversity and must not be a ‘one trick pony’. Can the system enable you to adopt new work streams? Or entirely new areas of law? And all without detracting from how it is used in other pre-existing areas? Something to consider carefully! Scale down There may come a time when market trends - or legislation - forces your business to adapt by shrinking (even temporarily) or dropping existing service lines. Not an ideal situation by any means, but one that must be planned for as part of your continuity strategy. Can your system allow you to trim down usage, or will it burden you with overly heavy or complex ways of working? The option to utilise your system in a very different way is a valuable one to have. Scale in The last of our four ‘scales’… ‘Scaling in’ represents the ability for your software system to integrate and bed in with alternative systems, in the event of a merger. Law firm mergers are frequent occurrences now, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that the various software systems in place can present a real barrier to successful operational merging if they cannot ‘talk’ to each other. Make sure that your system is technically able to share data from other systems, and that the ability to do this is not hidden behind months of technical input and expense! Speed is often of the essence in these situations, making for a happy marriage and a smoother merger process. Darren Gower is Marketing Director at Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita Plc. www.eclipselegal.co.uk | 01274 704100
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The Features
PMS Wasteland? Paul Longhurst outlines an alternative approach which can help firms to increase the return on its technology investment by changing some aspects of the way the business operates.
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o here’s the thing – if you were to spend £3,000,000 on a house with six bedrooms, three reception rooms, a large kitchen, a double garage, a pool and tennis courts would you be happy to only ever use three of the rooms and to leave the others empty? No, me neither. However, this is not dissimilar to what some law firms do after investing hefty sums in a new practice management system (PMS). They simply layer the new system over their existing processes and procedures and fail to realise the benefits of their investment by adapting to get the most out of functionality that has been created to make law firms more efficient. Shifting landscape The legal sector, especially here in the UK and Ireland, is currently experiencing an unwelcome upheaval. This has come about because of the ‘perfect storm’ caused by a number of PMS suppliers announcing an end to the support of their products which is giving rise to a raft of PMS replacement projects. Many firms are coming to terms with the realisation that they need to spend a good deal of money on a project which is likely to impact the firm for the next two years or more and this is assuming that, in the rush to change before support evaporates for existing platforms, the necessary resources (eg from the suppliers and/or the wider market) are available at the point each firm wants them. The PMS change is a challenging process akin (to continue my housing analogy) to ripping out all of your existing piping in order to replace it with a new central heating system, whilst still living there. It’s going to be messy and stressful but it needs to be done and the sooner it is, the sooner your heating bills will come down. And you might as well make sure you do a thorough job because it doesn’t make sense to have this disruption twice. That said, some firms have gone down the road of simply replacing their PMS without making any real concession to the way that time is captured, bills are created or financial information is delivered to their lawyers. Equity partners may have foregone a new car for a system that simply replicates what the old one did. And worst of all, any potential for improvement is lost whilst competitors which have embraced change as a part of their own PMS replacement projects - are able to steam ahead. If your firm is looking to replace its PMS, it would be helpful to start setting the expectation that this is first and foremost a business project. In order to get the most
‘If your firm is looking to replace its PMS, it would be helpful to start setting the expectation that this is first and foremost a business project’ ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
out of it, the practice groups will need to be engaged at various points throughout the process and will need to dedicate time to defining how the new system should work. The Finance team will be heavily involved too, but its involvement should reflect the overriding business requirements. Firms often give responsibility for these projects to their IT team, but these are absolutely not IT projects. The IT team is likely to be involved with the definition and provision of the necessary technical infrastructure and may be heavily involved with integrating the new PMS with other systems that the firm operates, but it should not be driving the implementation itself. Changing your way to success Using our extensive experience of PMS replacement projects, 3Kites has developed an approach which helps firms to negotiate through the tricky areas of change. However, the key to success is engaging with the leaders of your firm in order to gain a mandate for change and a commitment to delivering the same. It is crucial to build credibility with the firm’s lawyers when considering areas for improvement. We achieve this by virtue of having former law firm partners as consultants – it is much harder for the firm’s lawyers to avoid difficult discussions when the facilitator is able to share war stories of their own! I would strongly suggest using this tactic if you are serious about introducing real change with your PMS project. Change must be on the agenda right from the start of the project: what is the firm going to gain from the implementation of the new system, and how are those gains going to be achieved? Both the opportunities which the project presents and the objectives that it needs to meet should be clearly articulated at the outset (i.e. in the kick-
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‘The IT team is likely to be involved with the definition and provision of the necessary technical infrastructure and may be heavily involved with integrating the new PMS with other systems that the firm operates, but it should not be driving the implementation itself’ off meeting), otherwise it is all too easy to lose sight of them. The kick-off meeting should be attended by a crossfunctional group including partners (ideally the managing partner should be one of these), the Finance Director, a senior Finance manager who will ideally become the project lead, and other senior support heads. The point should be made about this being a business project first and foremost, and it is worth debating this if any of the partners are in disagreement as the project may flounder without their full and committed support from the outset. Requirements gathering is necessary to understand what the firm likes about the existing system (there is no point in replacing the old PMS with something that fails to match or surpass its key attributes) and, most importantly, what it would like to achieve going forward. This is not simply about maintaining the status quo or trying to meet the current requirements in a more efficient way, it is about anticipating the needs of the firm and its clients over the foreseeable future. Given the speed of change in both the legal sector and the technical capabilities available to it, it is impractical to look across the full 10+ year lifespan of a new PMS. However, looking five years out is perfectly reasonable and provides the required context of a firm’s strategic direction with which a new system should be aligned, e.g. it should be multi-currency, it should cater for significant growth, clients’ ebilling requirements are going to grow, etc. The requirements gathering needs to focus on lawyers at all levels and their immediate support staff such as secretaries. However, it also needs to consider the requirements of the various Finance functions such as billing and credit control along with related (or even included) areas/functionality such as legal process (matter or case management), HR, business development and marketing. Lastly, it needs to fit with the firm’s IT strategy, although the project is so fundamental to the organisation that it might be the catalyst for introducing other changes to this strategy such as hosted solutions. From abstract to reality Whilst it is important to understand requirements in terms of what the firm would like to do better, faster, cheaper and less manually, at some stage these ideas need to be tied to the realities of what today’s PMSs are capable of doing. This is where the demonstration of appropriate products to the project team helps to marry the two together whilst continuing to build an appreciation of what is actually possible.
‘Looking five years out is perfectly reasonable and provides the required context of a firm’s strategic direction with which a new system should be aligned’
This broader understanding of what can be achieved helps as the project moves into the process mapping and policy review phase, which should happen before the implementation commences. Here, members of the back office teams can give an operational view of how processes such as file opening and billing currently work, what their frustrations are and what great would look like. The ideal process, and who has responsibility for which parts of it, can then be debated with members of the practice groups to ensure that what is ultimately delivered will meet the needs of all parts of the business. More fundamental is the review of financial policies such as write offs and expenses. This is a tricky area as it is potentially constraining working practices which have long been left to individual preference if, as in many firms, such policies are not strictly adhered to. Firms who don’t consider reviewing these policies as part of the PMS project are likely to get something baked into the system which is at best the existing policy (along with any shortcomings it may have) and at worst a policy agreed by the implementation team on the hoof and without the necessary consideration. Either way, there is likely to be pushback from the fee earners as they struggle to get to grips with a new system which they feel is imposing unwelcome constraints on them. Agreeing the policies separately and in advance of the implementation of a new system helps to avoid this kind of resistance. As these processes and policies are passed to the implementation team, they will be configured into the new PMS and start to take shape on screens, in reports and in alerts. This is where the ongoing engagement of the practice groups is essential to understand how ideas conceived in the abstract will be presented by the reality of the system - small adjustments (NOT scope changes) at this stage can help to deliver a project that is better able to meet expectations. Having changes explained to the lawyers by other lawyers can help to set these expectations in advance of a deployment and limit the friction that can often attend the adoption of a new system or process. This, in turn, can help to steer teams through the teething problems that are bound to occur in the early stages of deployment, avoiding the negativity that can do so much damage in projects with poor change management. Whilst this article is predicated on a project to replace a PMS, it is also worth noting that existing PMSs can receive a shot in the arm through the application of many of the activities outlined above. So, to paraphrase and slightly adapt the lyrics of one Pete Townshend, “Don’t cry, don’t raise your eye, it’s only PMS wasteland”. Paul Longhurst, Consultant, 3Kites Consulting. 3Kites Consulting is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered number: 5644909. Registered office: Chancery House, 30 St Johns Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21 7SA. www.3kites.com
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
the single platform for all legal
the single platform for all legal An adaptive case and matter management platform helping enterprise legal firms’ future proof their business in a changing professional landscape. sharedo does the job of a myriad of software solutions; providing huge cost savings. It streamlines business processes and reduces the administrative burden for lawyers. sharedo is the platform for business growth
Be second to no-one when it comes to technology Book your sharedo demo today Call 0161 3272192, say hello@sharedo.co.uk or visit sharedo.co.uk
Loved the creativity and innovation displayed by the team. A different approach without the arrogance. A unique view on our world, and very fast learning bridging the gap between understanding process and building software. Richard Jones | Head of Business Transformation, Hill Dickinson I feel that I may have caught a glimpse of the future of law firm technology. Neil Cameron | NCCG
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The best way to predict the future is to create it With widespread media coverage focusing on technology and the future of legal services, Oliver Smith asks, can technology help legal firms conquer anticipated changes in the legal market?
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ny traditional legal firm would be right to be concerned about the projected upheavals within the legal services industry. The landscape is predicted to be very different in 2020 due to factors such as new entrants, changing buying behaviours and wider political agendas. Nobody knows what the future really holds, but one thing is for certain; innovation has little sympathy for tradition. The surest way to survive, according the Charles Darwin, is to be most adaptable. Agility, in order to innovate and intelligently adapt, is the key ingredient for firms responding to new opportunities and threats.
‘Distribute and automate administrative tasks to lower paid employees and leave lawyers to concentrate on the legal aspects to maximise efficiency and improve your firms’ margins to compete on price’ Revolutionising the decision making process So what is the most effective way for a legal firm to innovate their business to conquer the challenges awaiting them? In our opinion, by refining and improving business processes. This is ultimately driven by technological advancement and in particular, an adaptive case and matter management platform. A good case and matter management platform will enable legal firms to set up and manage flexible workflows with associated teams and individuals. Many administrative burdens can be automated and work disaggregated, leaving lawyers free to be lawyers. Because so much data flows through the platform, the legal firm should also have access to big data that can revolutionise their decision making. For example; various reports have stated that changes in buying behaviours will see clients seeking fixed-fee services putting an end to the billable hour. How can technology help firms introduce new fixed-fee services? It’s about knowledge, and technology can provide managing partners with this knowledge in the form of well presented data. Powerful analytics can track the daily tasks, from client on-boarding to document creation. This data can provide business managers with clear visibility of their service costs, across every work type, and can be used to calculate fixedfee services based on actual historical analysis.
The reports also highlight the risks of new entrants breaking into the legal market. This is likely to commoditise many legal services as new entrants adopt innovative new business models to drive client fees down. Technology will help traditional legal firms streamline their processes to compete with new entrants and make it difficult for them to break into the market. The business processes platform should enable firms to disaggregate their workloads to appropriate teams. In short, distribute and automate administrative tasks to lower paid employees and leave lawyers to concentrate on the legal aspects to maximise efficiency and improve your firms’ margins to compete on price. Far from reality Artificial intelligence (AI) will also become a feature of legal technology in the coming years. There are software platforms in the market today that come close to AI using powerful event stream analysis. This analysis monitors actions, events and circumstances such as, individual workloads, service levels, case specifics and client requirements. It then raises recommendations and alerts when situations arise, for example, diverting tasks to other teams when excessive workloads are detected. Eventually, the technology will be used to create a living network of events and tasks that will automatically evolve with the business. It’s easy to worry about technology and the lack of understanding from a lawyer’s point of view, but essentially an IT platform is a servant to users to help them do their jobs and to drive efficiency and business profits. Many lawyers have traditionally been opposed to the thought of technology replacing them. This is not a reality, the human brain is a powerful tool and any legal firm needs lawyers to provide expertise. Technology is about maximising a lawyer’s time so they spend less time on administrative burdens. A legal firm with lawyers has a distinct and competitive advantage over non-lawyers entering the market. So, to answer the initial question, can technology help legal firms conquer the anticipated changes in the legal market? In our opinion, a definite yes. It’s not about changing your business from day one, but being agile enough to anticipate change and innovate your firm to drive business growth. Better processes, efficiencies and client services; working smarter, not harder. Oliver Smith – sharedo, by slicedbread. sharedo is the single platform for all legal and is an adaptive case and matter management platform helping enterprise legal firms future proof their business in a changing legal landscape. sharedo does the job of a myriad of software solutions; providing huge cost savings. It streamlines business processes and reduces the administrative burden for lawyers. Tel: 0161 3272192 Web: www.sharedo.co.uk Email: hello@sharedo.co.uk
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The Features
Tesco Law is Dead! Gregory van Dyk Watson explains why ‘Tesco Law’ was never a serious contender for probate work. Fear of Tesco Law Many lawyers had believed that they would be at risk of losing the bulk of their probate business to a national company, who might invade their marketplace with huge capital investment and a massive media campaign. They referred to this imaginary phenomenon as Tesco Law. The evidence is that this has not manifested itself.
Probate / Estate Administration is primarily a process The basics are relatively straightforward - prove the will, identify and value the assets and liabilities, assess the tax, collect the money and pay the beneficiaries. Of course, this is a gross oversimplification. But the fact remains that probate work is primarily a process.
Your reputation is fundamental The competitor is not Tesco Law, nor the online advert offering a cut price service, nor the teenage son who believes he can do the work just as competently at zero cost. Your reputation is fundamental to securing the work, without which your Will Bank can quickly become a wasted resource.
Accounting and Case Management defeat Tesco Law Competent software consists of an all embracing accounting engine designed to cope with the full variety of assets and liabilities (other than in the most basic estates) together with an integrated case management system with workflows, a calendar of reminder tasks, and a mailmerge facility to extract the data from the accounting database. The two need to work hand in hand with each other. One without the other will not succeed.
Most of us trust the law firm holding dad’s will The facts are that Tesco Law was a chimera. It was never a serious contender for probate work. Most of us will still call our known and trusted law firm when we experience a death in the family. It is after all where Dad’s, Mum’s or Grandad’s will has been safeguarded over the years.
Requirement is for a probate accounting system For the process to be effective, it is axiomatic that a probate accounting system is required to handle the financial details of an estate, where data is entered once only.
The goal is to achieve a 70% Gross Profit Margin The real challenge to the law firm is the law firm itself - to deliver a quality service while keeping costs down. On the surface these appear to be divergent objectives. The goal of the modern efficient law firm should be to achieve a Gross Profit Margin (GPM) of 50% at the very least. And ideally closer to 70%. This is being achieved by a number of probate departments. Profitability via the efficient use of technology The only way to reach these levels of profitability is through efficient use of technology. Almost all articles about probate estate administration deal with the legal issues, with no regard to the actual organisation of the work - the very area in which your profit or loss is determined. Profitability requires more than knowledge of the law Many law firms regard probate work as a legal matter, as opposed to a process. Clearly an overriding knowledge of the law is fundamental to estate administration, but it is insufficient to ensure the profitability of your probate department.
Consequently estate accounts and IHT forms can be produced with the proverbial click of a mouse. Any firm that is not properly organised around well developed competent software is in competition with itself.
Devolving the work equals profitability This technology will enable you to devolve much of the routine work to the lesser qualified members of the team paralegals and secretaries. Properly trained and supervised, they will be able to input financial data and generate letters and documents. Alternatively, the work can be done just as easily by fee earners without the need for support staff. It is a tried and tested business model This business model is proven, and it works. And the cost savings are significant. The time saved will enable the more qualified members of the private client team to devote more time to supervision and client care.
For further information please contact: Gregory van Dyk Watson, Managing Director of Isokon Limited. Email: gregory@isokon.com or call 020 7482 6555. Alternatively visit www.isokon.com Isokon was founded by Gregory van Dyk Watson in 1999. The company has invested 44,000 man hours in development of the product over the last 16 years. Isokon is currently the leading supplier of software for Probate and Private Client work. It is used by 40% of law firms who do private client work. Isokon is used by more than 2,000 individual users for the most complex estates, as well as basic estates. Isokon is based on an accounting database engine with an integrated Isokon case management component.
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Case Study
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Conveyancing is moving on with InfoTrack T
here are several challenges that today’s conveyancers face. Client expectations are growing, workloads are also on the way up, and there’s the issue of working with a number of different systems and processes in order to get everyday tasks done. The need for different logins and windows, as well as multiple invoices from various suppliers, can slow down the work and bring additional costs. There’s now a conveyancing services provider that’s moving conveyancing on by using simple and smart technology to provide a solution to these problems. InfoTrack has identified the need for conveyancers to save time and costs and is bringing these benefits to an increasing number of firms. Smarter and faster With InfoTrack, all the key conveyancing tasks can be performed within a single website, which includes Land Registry Searches, Conveyancing Searches, SDLT Submissions and AP1 Transfers. It’s a solution that removes the need to remember lots of different logins and manage invoices from several suppliers, and keeps all your processes under one roof. It’s easy to use and integrates seamlessly into existing technology such as third party accounting software and most case management systems. And, crucially, InfoTrack’s features mean that conveyancers can work smarter and faster. InfoTrack user Maria Parker of Burtons Solicitors, comments: “Features such as the pre-population of data are already adding value, as with less need to re-key, we can work faster with less errors.” It’s also been recognised by InfoTrack that opening an account to use its services needs to be simple – so it’s a process which can be done in less than half an hour and is supported by training, a dedicated Account Manager and a knowledgeable and friendly Helpdesk team. “Moving to InfoTrack couldn’t be easier,” says Ann Danbury of PHH Solicitors. “A very informative training session is provided, allowing our firm to quickly begin using InfoTrack for all our searches and SDLT Submissions.
‘When it comes to costs, InfoTrack is competitively priced and makes a commitment to never compromise on the service it provides to all its customers’ “Our contact, James, has been extremely helpful and is always on hand to help advise us either by phone or email. I have no hesitation in recommending InfoTrack to other solicitors.” Everything under one roof When it comes to costs, InfoTrack is competitively priced and makes a commitment to never compromise on the service it provides to all its customers. It’s also committed to a transparent approach and ensures that all searches are returned as fast as possible, with an assurance that it will keep customers aware of any delays with local authorities so that they always know what stage client orders are at. Scott Bozinis, CEO of InfoTrack, comments: “We’re the only conveyancing services provider that lets you perform all your key tasks under one roof. InfoTrack is easy to use, easy to switch to and easy to integrate with your existing systems. “We’re providing simple and smart technology to enable conveyancing to evolve. We recognise that conveyancing processes can be complicated, with multiple logins and multiple invoices from suppliers. That must change in order to allow conveyancers to free-up their time and dispense with the hassle of having to juggle several logins and use lots of different websites. “As an industry, we can’t alter the process of buying a house. But as a service provider, we can move conveyancing on by evolving the systems and processes conveyancers work with. It is when our technology is combined with a commitment to customer service that conveyancers can experience arange of benefits through working with us.” InfoTrack user Janit Lawrence, of Quality Solicitors Rose & Rose, confirms: “We’re very pleased with the excellent service that InfoTrack delivers for our firm. We are delighted to be working with them, as they’re not only forward thinking, but also extremely helpful.” To find out more about moving on with InfoTrack, visit infotrack.co.uk/movingon or call 020 7922 5777.
ML // Technology & Innovation Supplement 2016
conveyancing is moving on Times change – so why do systems and processes seem to stay the same? You know there must be ways of saving yourself hassle and making your work easier, it’s just that someone needs to make those things real. That’s where we come in. InfoTrack is a service provider that’s challenging the norm so that conveyancing can evolve. With us, you can carry out all your key tasks – including Searches, SDLT Submissions and AP1 Transfers – within a single website. Times change – and we’re driving those changes, for you.
Land Registry
Searches
To move on with InfoTrack, visit infotrack.co.uk/movingon or call 020 7922 5777
SDLT
AP1