Christy Burke interviewed some interesting visitors / vendors during LegalTech. Listen to the short interviews News menu
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2012 eDiscovery, Info Governance & Data Analytics Forecast from Analyst Firm eDJ Group
| 24 January 2012
2012 is a critical year for the eDiscovery market. Companies have matured and now demand that eDiscovery processes be more predictable, efficient, and less costly. It is not uncommon to see companies connecting eDiscovery with broader information governance (IG) initiatives. Meanwhile, available solutions have evolved. No longer will a simple EDD processing application suffice; companies expect more full-service ECA applications and eDiscovery platforms.
Reflections and Predictions by Solicitors Own Software's Managing Director
| 02 December 2011
David McNamara, managing director of Solicitors Own Software offers his reflections on 2011 and his predictions for 2012
REFLECTIONS
Software supplier consolidation has proved more beneficial than expected for independent providers
During the past year, many of the new software contracts awarded by law firms can clearly be attributed to the impact the consolidation of software suppliers is continuing to have on the profession. For a good many firms, this has meant their incumbent software, under new ownership, is no longer being developed and therefore they have been falling further and further behind in terms of the software functionality needed to drive their businesses forward.
Legal spend: The right metrics with the right technology platform
| 21 November 2011
While there’s no doubt that technology dashboards provide valuable insight into a law department’s business processes, it is ultimately the metrics gleaned from analyzing the data that directs a company’s general counsel toward the current desires of his CEO and his CFO. As corporate law departments continue to emerge as a business center that contributes to corporate growth, their mantra is to improve services while controlling costs and minimizing risks. And, there’s more to the equation than just controlling legal spend.
| 15 November 2011
Quite a few Autonomy customers have implemented 8.5SP1x WorkSite Communication Server (WCS) to take advantage of the enhanced server-side filing features brought in by the new Email Management (EMM) client. Although the legacy “send & file” functionality existed before 8.5, it was a bit clunky & basic. Using the filing toolbar and other neat features bought the fee-earner even closer to matter collaboration and email volumes in WorkSite have increased.
Twitter for Business Development in Law Firms
| 07 September 2011
Whenever I think about new technologies for business development in law firms, I'm reminded of the reaction I got when showing an email broadcast tool to the Head of Marketing for a large firm in San Francisco in early 2002: "Email? Our clients don't want information from us by email!".
Until fairly recently, I would almost certainly have got a similar reaction had I suggested using Twitter for Business Development. But firms of all sizes are realising that Twitter and other social media tools are much more than a passing fad and really can provide some unique benefits for comparatively little resource.
Creating a Legal Value Score: Why the Industry Needs to Look Beyond Hourly Rates
| 30 August 2011
Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal published an article that grabbed the attention of many attorneys: “Pricing Tactic Spooks Lawyers”. The article discussed how some large companies, including Toyota Motor Corp. and GlaxoSmithKline, have been using reverse auctions (also known as competitive bidding) to pit law firms against one another for their business. The goal of these reverse auctions is to reduce costs, especially for high-volume workloads.
At the surface, reverse auctions appear to be a good idea for corporations. The competition it creates forces law firms to lower their rates in order to win work. But, as is frequently the case with legal billing, what we see at the surface isn’t the whole story.
| 19 August 2011
This monster transaction is all about a single word: growth. HP is buying Autonomy so that it may capitalize on growth, especially at a time when HP shareholders, partners and customers, and the analysts covering HP, are becoming increasingly critical of the company’s stagnation. (To be fair to HP, the global economy continues to suffer from its own case of the growth blues...but we digress.)
First, we need to put this transaction in perspective: this is a big deal for all concerned, but none more than HP and its leaders. HP is paying almost twelve times trailing revenue for a technology company that is itself an amalgamation of many acquisitions, from Verity back in 2005 to Neurodynamics, Zantaz, Interwoven, CA’s information governance unit and earlier in 2011 Iron Mountain’s Digital division.
Capturing billable time on mobile devices helps lawyers regain lost revenue
| 17 August 2011
Tips on selecting the best application
Today’s lawyers are constantly on the go, working from home and the office and everywhere in between. This flexibility means greater productivity and better levels of client service but it also poses a challenge in capturing all possible billable time. In fact, it’s estimated that three to four billable hours per timekeeper go unrecorded and unbilled every month. This adds up to billions of dollars industry wide every year.
Does your Workflow for Litigation Matters make Financial, Legal, and Operational Sense?
| 15 July 2011
Eleven reasons why Managed Services are a smart choice for today’s business
Due to the exponential growth in electronic business documents, partnering with a dedicated and competent litigation support services firm for Managed Services is:
- Strategically Smart: It provides a vast knowledge base, systems and processes that solve any procedural gaps that may exist in-house
- Measurably Efficient: It avoids competing for resources that law firms, specialty practices, consulting firms, and other corporations are fighting for
Five Key Considerations for Law Firms Before Moving to the Cloud
| 18 May 2011
The cloud. It seems like everyone is talking about how computing is moving to the cloud. And there is certainly an element of truth to that. Gartner estimates that the cloud market will reach $150-billion by 2013. Among the reasons for this sudden interest are the need for collaboration among the increasing number of remote and mobile attorneys, a desire to improve client service, and the goal of cost-efficiently improving operations.
But should your firm make the switch? To help you decide if you need to move to the cloud, here are five key elements to consider.
| 18 April 2011
About a year and a half ago, Matt Homann of LexThink and BlawgThink fame (an ‘un-conference’ InsideLegal produced for Matt and Dennis Kennedy in 2005) called me up starting the conversation with "JoAnna, I have an idea". Anyone who knows Matt, knows that he is full of them (ideas that is), especially ones that buck the trend and go against the grain when it comes to 'typical' lawyer events and conferences. Matt is the originator of the 'unconference' and that is exactly the concept behind Ignite Law, a 2+ hour event featuring highly accomplished legal industry speakers and their ability (or inability) to deliver 'the future of law practice' within 6 minute (with slides auto-advancing every 18 second) presentations.
10 Steps for Effective Early Case Assessment and Happier Parties
| 13 April 2011
Leading legal teams and litigation support providers are increasingly using investigative review techniques to perform genuine and effective early case assessments (ECA) for their clients. These teams provide their clients with more thoughtful options and greater insights into cases earlier in the litigation process, before significant costs have been incurred.
This trend towards enabling a more thorough evaluation of data early on is enabling litigation support vendors, law firms and in-house counsel to quickly identify critical evidence that the case may turn on, rather than merely figuring out how much data there is.
