Reports from the coalface
Today’s manically paced edisclosure agenda seems persistently dominated by the launch of this or that latest software development or technological gizmo, with the occasional interruption from the courts with a spot of case law or influential judgment. But there is an infuriating lack of formal reports from the coalface, so to speak, charting what organisations actually do with the tools available to them and the potentially transformational effect they have on capacity, capability and ultimately compliance.
Legal inc is keen to redress that balance with the first of a series of case studies that focuses on the sharp end of edisclosure and how technology, process and people can be harnessed to deliver projects that would have been inconceivable even 18 months ago. Entitled ‘Legal Inc and Clearwell – Cutting complex projects down to size’, it provides graphic illustration of just what is achievable in terms of data processing and review, and provides implicit encouragement for all those seeking equality of arms in regulatory, investigatory and litigation battles.
The case study is available at http://www.legalinc.co.uk/index.php?q=206
InTechnology sales into New Year with network offer
With cost pressures still part of the legal landscape, data, network and telephony management specialist InTechnology has launched its own New Year sale with a value-packed bandwidth offer for new customers.
Between January and April 2010, any firm taking a new network connection of a minimum of 10Mb of bandwidth will automatically qualify for the following bundled deal:
· 10 SIP Channels - Giving immediate cost savings on phone bills of up to 45% through replacing existing ISDN lines with InTechnology’s SIP trunk channels. Alternatively, the free SIP channels can be used as additional lines for back-up purposes or to meet extra demand
· 2Mb of Internet - Providing 2Mb free via InTechnology’s secure, highly resilient and secure network
· 100GB of data backup - Protect your critical data for free with 100GB data backup storage when you store an initial 100GB with InTechnology
In addition, London-based law firms may qualify for a free 100Mb circuit install depending on location and site survey.
For further details on these offers and on our range of cloud-based services including online data back-up, hosted IP telephony and Unified Communications, email legal.sales@intechnology.com or contact a sales team member on 0800 983 2522
Legal Inc launch IncSpots podcast series
Litigation support and technology specialist Legal Inc has launched a new podcast series, kicking off with an introduction to edisclosure featuring leading industry commentator Chris Dale.
The comprehensive overview will run over ten episodes of IncSpots, and will include items on the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), the practice direction, seminal cases such as Digicel and Abela, how to prepare for case management conferences, the use of external suppliers, best practice, problem areas, global trends and pending developments within the disclosure arena.
Legal Inc director Lisa Burton is joined by head of the eDisclosure Information Project, Chris Dale, for all ten episodes as they offer their respective thoughts on each issue, Lisa drawing on her practical experience at the coal-face to add to Chris’s in-depth, incisive understanding of the subject.
Commenting on the new podcast, Lisa Burton said: “edisclosure is becoming an increasingly hot topic, with conferences, articles and blogs discussing and debating the complexities and finer points. But we thought it would be useful to start off by taking a step back and providing a basic grounding on where exactly we are at, where we are heading, obligations and requirements, mechanics and methodologies and some honest appraisal of where the reality is falling short of the rule-book, where the practice is not quite in accordance with the theory.
We also aim to provide some pragmatic advice on how to deal with the CPR and practice direction, how best to avoid some of the common pitfalls of the disclosure process, and how to leverage the expertise of external consultants and support providers.”
The first three episodes of IncSpots can be downloaded now from the Legal Inc website – www.legalinc.co.uk. These and future episodes are also available via iTunes.
Legal market finds voice as InTechnology launches first unified communications solution with integrated IP telephony
Data, network and telephony management specialist InTechnology has announced the launch of the legal sector’s first Unified Communications (UC) solution with integrated IP telephony.
Until now, voice has been the missing link in all UC systems but InTechnology has brought together hosted Microsoft Office Communication Server and its enterprise class telephony service at the desktop. It estimates that law firm users will realize a 50% saving in unwanted or superfluous email and voice messages, greatly reducing communication latency, dramatically accelerating the decision-making process and improving employee interaction.
The launch comes at a time when both IT departments and lawyers are struggling to cope efficiently with a growing number of discrete devices and applications and associated messages and calls. A typical user may have a desktop PC or laptop, mobile phone or PDA, office desk phone and instant messaging, all of which are managed separately with multiple contact lists and inboxes.
Add to this the ever increasing quantity of e-mails, phone calls and voicemails to both fixed and mobile devices every day, many of which are generated as a result of email/telephone tag with no decisive outcome, and you risk growing user frustration, technical overload and an unnecessary drain on time and resources.
Available on a pay as you go basis, InTechnology’s Hosted Unified Communications Service provides businesses with a unique set of integrated services including e-mail, instant messaging, presence, shared calendars, shared desktops, video calling, conferencing and IP telephony.
Richard Quine, InTechnology’s director of product management, comments:
“The goal of UC is to reduce the time, cost and frustration associated with unnecessary delays in decision making - to bring together all the tools of communication which we use, thereby allowing users to make decisions on how to interact with one another based on the presence status of their contacts.
What’s significant about the addition of voice to the UC offer is that it has the genuine potential to transform how lawyers communicate and collaborate with one another, with their clients and with counsel. This goes beyond the inherent efficiencies of a unified inbox or utilizing the ‘presence’ concept to accelerate the decision making process.
Firms can now leverage new capabilities such as high definition online video and conferencing - these will enable them to save costs, time and carbon emissions by offering a high quality alternative to face-to-face meetings and conferences. It is estimated that regular business travellers spend eleven days a year on avoidable or unnecessary travel – strip out the associated costs, factor in the extra fee-earning time returned to the practice and you are looking at a very substantial return on your investment. And that’s before you even add in the gains and savings to be had from the newly streamlined communication process afforded by the hosted UC platform.”
e-know.net adds CRM to hosted portfolio
Managed service and SaaS specialist e-know.net has announced the launch of a new offering for SME law firms keen to leverage client relationship management and marketing software, but wary of the levels of financial investment and IT expertise required.
CRM Plus is based around Microsoft Dynamics CRM and can be delivered in two ways: as an addition to e-know.net’s managed desktop as part of a fully outsourced solution, or on a Software as a Service basis for those firms looking only to out-task certain applications. Back-end system administration and technical support are included within the monthly subscription, which is priced at £35 per user; the underlying SQL Server platform and licenses are rolled in at no extra cost.
Consultancy days can be bundled into a wraparound package at the initial implementation stage, with e-know.net specialists able to offer hands-on assistance with any particular configuration, migration or training issues.
Nigel Redwood, e-know.net’s managing director, knows that small to medium sized law firms want to take advantage of CRM tools but are concerned about costs and the availability of the requisite IT skills in-house. “Microsoft Dynamics is a big ticket item in most SMEs’ eyes and the necessary SQL know-how is not always accessible or affordable. CRM Plus gives firms a low cost, no-risk way of bringing vital functionality into their businesses, where they can focus on managing the client rather than mastering the technology, on developing the prospect rather than draining the profits.”
