LEGAL TECHNOLOGY Insider
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Issue 114 £6.00 CHARLES CHRISTIAN’s LEGAL TECHNOLOGY iNSIDER THE SOURCE FOR INDEPENDENT LEGAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS, COMMENT AND ANALYSIS 92 PERCENT ANTI ASP MORE PORTAL According to independent market research, conducted on FAILURES ON WAY ? behalf of Keystone Solutions, 92 percent of law firms are Speaking at a keynote seminar at this currently reluctant to adopt an ASP (application service month’s Legal IT 2001 event, Baker provider) approach because of concerns about security. Robbins consultant Andrew Levison Keystone chief executive Graeme Frost told the Insider predicted that the next year would see a that although the company had completed development number of other UK legal portals “go the work on an ASP version of its software and was fully same way as Law.com/uk,” which closed confident in the benefits to law firms of being able to lease its content service just before Christmas, or rent software, rather than purchase it, Keystone had at a cost of over 10 jobs and £2 million. decided to delay the launch of an ASP offering “until a Levison said such services - and he move in market acceptance of ASP is detected”. identified one well-known portal - were doomed because they had no obvious business rationale and had to rely on SUPPLIERS FOR SALE - BUT advertising for their sole revenue stream. THE PRICE IS NOT RIGHT The Insider has now identified at least six UK legal systems vendors whose directors or shareholders have in the past LEGAL IT JOBS 12 months expressed an interest in selling their companies, BOARD NOW LIVE or at least the legal IT arms, to third parties. But, if the The Insider has launched the Legal discussions the Insider has had with would-be purchasers Technology Jobs Board, a new facility for is any indication, most are unlikely to find a buyer. legal systems suppliers and law firms One problem is with what has been described as these looking for IT-related staff, including companies’ “ludicrously high” valuations. In the current developers, sales personnel, trainers, web market the most buyers are prepared to offer is five or six designers and support staff. Individuals times annual earnings yet some suppliers are seeking a looking for new jobs are also welcome to sale based on valuations of 30 times annual earnings. submit CV details and can opt to remain A possibly bigger problem is that even if the price is anonymous. There is no charge for right, many suppliers lack a ‘succession management’ posting details, nor any introducer fees structure to run the business when its founders retire. The or agency commissions. Email vacancies result is purchasers are only interested in talking to those to [email protected] and we will companies where the current management is also prepared post them onto the web at: to commit to staying on for a five year buyout period. www.legaltechnology.org EVERYFORM CHANGES HANDS LEGAL Butterworths Tolley has acquired Everyform, the internet TECHNOLOGY iNSIDER service providing lawyers with access to free downloadable www.legaltechnology.org legal forms. Butterworths plan to integrate Everyform with its Law Direct free legal information portal so lawyers Keep up with the latest developments in reading of changes in the law will be able to download legal technology and new media law by copies of the latest forms implementing these changes. visiting the Legal Technology Insider web Butterworths say the Everyform deal will provide lawyers site. Along with regularly updated news, with a compelling reason to use the Butterworths’ portal there are web bookmarks, a diary of legal for all their legal information requirements. Founded 18 IT events, the latest virus reports, an months ago, originally as part of Russell Shepherd’s archive of Insider back issues, extensive Capsoft UK group, Everyform now has 12,200 registered search facilities plus links to the ILCA, users including an estimated 39 percent of all UK law firms. Infolaw, LSSA and Solution Finder sites. 28 February 2001 1 Legal Technology Insider www.legaltechnology.org IS CITRIX TOO COSTLY ? NEWS IN BRIEF Linetime customers Hay & Kilner, which has offices in the 4 COBBETTS CHOSES iMANAGE Tyneside area, and Punch Robson, which has offices on Manchester law firm Cobbetts has Teesside, are among the latest firms to opt for a thin client chosen iManage to replace its GroupWise approach, based on Citrix MetaFrame, to provide remote document management system. The access to centrally stored practice management data. order, for a 300 user contract worth But, while Citrix is an attractive option for users and £136,000, was won by iManage sales suppliers wanting a quick thin client solution that does partner Kramer Lee & Associates. not involve rewriting software as a web based application, the Insider is hearing a lot of complaints about the licence 4 ACUMEN SMALLER FIRMS LAUNCH fees charged by Citrix. John Taylor of Pracctice said the Acumen Business Solutions (020 7486 main reasons he attended the recent Citrix conference in 4956) has launched a new version of its Florida was because he hoped to tackle the company on Aware file tracking document this issue yet at a session where licensing was on the management system for small to medium agenda, he was disappointed to see company officials sized firms. Call Aware Access, it is based refuse to even discuss the pricing policy for MetaFrame. around Microsoft Access and designed for firms with up to 20 partners. In terms of functionality, the only differences DAC LICENCE CASE PLANNER between the Access product and the full Davies Arnold Cooper is to start using a case planning system (already in use in the dispute application called Feesability. The program was developed resolutions department at Freshfields by members of the litigation practice at Lovells and is now Bruckhaus Deringer) are price and the widely used within that firm to provide costs estimates and volume of documents it can handle. case plans to clients. Davies Arnold Cooper is the first firm, other than Lovells, to be licensed to use the software. 4 HUMMINGBIRD IN WESTLAW DEAL Dan Tench, the solicitor who designed Feesability (he is In the USA, Hummingbird has formed an now with Olswang) said: “Feesability was developed very alliance with the legal publisher West much with lawyers in mind. Other project management Group that will see the two companies software is available commercially but we considered it not providing customised research and especially appropriate for use in litigation. We also thought knowledge management portals for law it important that the development of case plans and costs firms and inhouse legal departments. estimates was integrated closely into the normal running The deal involves the integration of of a case. This would not be achieved if technical staff were West’s Westlaw Intranet Solutions range needed to operate the software and the program is with Hummingbird’s EIP enterprise therefore designed for hands on use by practising lawyers.” information portal. The Insider Feesability is written in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0. It understands Westlaw UK is also keen to works on any computer running 32-bit Microsoft Windows forge alliances with portal and intranet 95,98, 2000 or NT and, as an .EXE application it requires suppliers, to ensure the integration of its no software other than Windows to operate. The entry online information services with practice level for pricing is in the region of £100 per user. For more wide networks and know-how systems. details email: [email protected] 4 SOLICITEC SHORTLISTED Solicitec has been shortlisted for this IN SPREADSHEETS WE TRUST year’s northern region Deloitte & Touche According to a new survey of UK law firm private client awards for fast growing IT companies. departments, preparing trust & estate accounts and associated tax returns, almost two-thirds do not use 4 WEIGHTS WEIGHS ANCHOR purpose built applications. The survey, conducted by Ken Weights has taken early retirement Solution 6, found most firms still use Microsoft Excel from Napthen Houghton Craven, in spreadsheets and then re-enter investment details into a Preston, where he had been the firm’s tax package or form-filling software application. practice manager. His successor is Bob By contrast Wilsons in Salisbury estimate that using Kipling. Weights was also the chairman dedicated trust accounting software cuts 25-to-45 percent of the northern branch of the Avenue from the time required to produce accounts, while Legal Systems user group although the integrating the tax and accounts elements can save about firm has been evaluating alternative 30 percent of the normal time taken to produce SA900s. systems suppliers since last summer. 2 28 February 2001 Legal Technology Insider www.legaltechnology.org ANOTHER FM CONVERT NEWS IN BRIEF Copley Clark & Bennett, based in Sutton, Surrey, has 4 DELTAVIEW INCREASES RANGE become the latest UK law firm to convert to the facilities Workshare Technology says the latest management doctrine and outsource its entire IT systems 2.5 version of its DeltaView redlining and and services. The nine partner firm has awarded an initial document comparison software is three year contract to Ramesys Professional Services, who compatible with all Microsoft Office now have responsibility for the day-to-day running and environments from 97 to 2000, Windows ongoing support of a 50 seat network located across three 2000 and WordPerfect versions 6.0 to 9.0. offices. Along with providing the firm with a full time The system can now compare different systems manager for its existing IT, Ramesys will also be versions of a 300+ page document in supplying advice on future system enhancements. under one minute. www.workshare.net BKL SPINS OFF A SINGLEVIEW 4 THE MACS ARE BACK IN TOWN North London-based accountants Berg Kaprow Lewis, who Despite being written off by the legal first appeared on the legal systems scene 18 months ago systems market years ago, the Apple when they previewed their legal intranet-in-a-box system Macintosh is currently enjoying a revival at the old SOLEX show in Manchester, has spun off the in the UK.