Legal Software and Information Technology Suppliers E to J
Information on software suppliers, IT consultants and companies associated with legal software, maintained by Delia Venables.
These descriptions are based partly on Delia's own notes and partly on the information provided by the suppliers themselves.
E
Easy Convey is a web-based conveyancing case management system
designed specifically for small firms, generally with less than 10 fee-earners.
There are several products involved, that can fit together in various ways.
The firm runs the case management software
(called Conveyancing Administration Software Application, or CASA for short) on their own system
and can then provide case tracking information for their clients by exporting data to a secure site
managed by Easy Convey. This case tracking process is called Track-A-Matter and can be customised
to provide a style chosen by the firm.
There can also be links at the front end of the system by providing online quotations to potential
clients, also based on the easy convey site but containing the firms own charges and presentation style.
This part of the system, called Online L@wyer Instruction,
is designed particularly for local estate agents to look at the costs and instructions can then be received online.
The system has now been designed to use any of the NLIS channels for the searches and also includes a
gazetteer of over 25,800 towns, villages and districts linked to their local authority and district land
registry (this part of the system is free to all to use, on the site).
There is also a facility to decide whether a property is exempt from stamp duty and an extensive set
of links to property-based web sites.
Easy Convey is one of two software developers to have been accredited by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
to submit Land Transaction Returns via the Internet. The process uses the Government's "gateway" process
(requiring registration) and also uses encryption to send the forms. This is all part of the Government's
push towards e-conveyancing.
Featured in the Law Society's Software Solutions Guide 2009 Member of the Legal Software Suppliers Assocation Winner, 'Integrated System of the Year', Legal Technology Awards 2008 Eclipse Legal Systems is a privately owned company with a staff of over
80 and over 450 firms amongst its clients, representing 10,000 individual users.
The 2009 Law Society Software Solutions Guides rates Eclipse 1st in 7 of the overall categories researched
by the Law Society's independent team. This research revealed that 93% of the firm's clients actively recommend them.
Proclaim is used by firms encompassing the whole range of legal services: private practice, corporate legal
departments, accident management firms, insurers, licensed conveyancing firms, medical legal agencies
and costs draftsmen. Proclaim integrates all accounting, time recording, diary, task lists, reporting and
document management functions and can be web-enabled to allow clients and referrers to securely view their
live case files online or receive SMS text messages.
Eclipse can provide solutions ranging from an out-of-the-box package to a fully tailored bespoke system
and can be installed for practices spread over multiple sites with hundreds of staff, to high-street
firms wanting a departmental solution, or new start-ups of just one or two users.
The firm's client list includes DLA Piper, Hill Dickinson, Co-operative Legal Services (CLS), and Goldsmith Williams.
Member of the Legal Software Suppliers Assocation Edgebyte was
formed in 1990 by three experienced computer analysts/programmers
and has since then built
up a user-base of over 400 legal practices. The software is
called "Lawbyte" and covers accounts and time recording software
and also case management. It is simple to use and very cost effective.
e-know.net is a dynamic UK managed service provider, delivering
Application Hosting, Software as a Service (SaaS) and Business Continuity to clients in 20 countries
around the world. They take responsibility for all aspects of the customer's IT infrastructure,
including communications, networks, applications, support, even strategy. An established Microsoft Gold
Certified partner, e-know.net is based in Telford with state of the art £5 million server farms and has
over 250 clients and 7,500 users logging on daily around the world, with a proven track record within
the professional services arena and many customers within the Legal sector itself. By providing users with
access to their business systems anywhere at any time, with a 99+% uptime guarantee and SLA, efficiency
within the organisation is maximised and all business continuity and disaster recovery requirements
are met as standard.
emis intellectual technology legal systems
have been developed by a team led by a practising solicitor with over 25 years IT experience and a
dedicated group of external testers from an independent law firm. Focusing on trust, value and simplicity,
emis intellectual technology aims to deliver easy-to-implement timesaving for lawyers and support staff
through its cutting edge Seneca CM software. As legal specialists, emis has designed a software system
that can adapt to each firm's working practices, as every firm is unique. Everything a firm needs is
included within Seneca CM as part of the standard purchase price. This includes document management
and creation (incorporating fully integrated digital dictation); workflow; CRM; an integrated accounting
suite; web publishing and many other areas of powerful functionality. emis it fully manages the implementation
of any new system as part of the standard purchase price with no hidden consultancy costs.
emis is already the market leader in the primary healthcare market, supplying clinical systems to 56 per
cent of GPs in the UK. Every day, over 39 million patient records are trusted to an emis clinical system.
enSynergy International Ltd
offers "enVisual SQL" - a range of accounting
and administration software products for the professional sector. (The name
comes from Greek synergos - "working together"). Their case/practice
management module "enPractice SQL" includes engagement management, visual
based document management, contact / marketing management client
time/expense capture, complete work in progress ledgers, integrated
multi-currency invoicing and sales ledger, and reporting and statistics
modules. enPractice optionally integrates with their enAccount SQL
multi-currency nominal ledger modules. There is also Company Secretarial,
Document Custody and Portfolio Management software. All of enSynergy's
software products support VAT and multi-currency and are written for
client-server architecture. enSynergy have offices in London, Yorkshire,
Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Monaco and Bermuda.
F
Ferret Information Systems offers welfare benefits and tax credits calculation
software suitable for all levels of experience. The software is available for a variety
of platforms including PC, Pocket PC (PDA), public access terminals, internet and
intranet. Ferret also produces Fintal software and offers a pay-per-case service,
which help advisers selling equity release to meet the FSA rules in respect of
benefits, tax and funding methods. Ferret publishes Social Security and Child
Support Law, a comprehensive library of legislation, precedent, guidance and
commentary, which is available on a CD. Ferret also carries out training and
consultancy.
Firmex Deal Room is a complete, collaborative, web-based deal management
application. It focuses on making multiparty transactions more efficient, more cost-effective, more secure
and more accessible. Key benefits include 24/7 access, document versioning and real-time activity reports.
Firmex Deal Room’s aggregation of searchable deal information allows corporations and their advisors to
selectively publish digital record books and due diligence information for future reference and accountability.
Unlike 3rd party virtual data rooms, Firmex Deal Room™ does not limit Law Firms to just the reviewing of due
diligence information online. Firmex users can also post and comment on transaction drafts, close deals in
a virtual environment and publish record books to DVD from their deal room web site.
See also
here for the way that law firms use the product.
Firmex is based in Toronto and the UK representative is Joel Lessem.
Flax is a powerful enterprise search solution platform,
open source licensed under the GPL (General Public License).
It can build searchable indexes of millions of documents in common formats, of web pages or of items
from existing databases, which can then be searched using a customisable interface to meet specific needs.
Flax is cross-platform, integrates with existing infrastructure and provides highly accurate and relevant results.
Being open source, Flax software is free to download and use.
Users may also modify the Flax source code to suit specific needs.
Lemur Consulting, the developers of Flax, undertake customisation work
for clients as required.
Flax offers a high-performing, secure and stable search infrastructure with all the benefits of
open source software, backed by expert support and maintenance. There is more information on the Flax site,
including a legal environment for the software.
Footsteps Management Solutions is a Business and People Consultancy
for Chambers run by Jonathan & Jackie Maskew.
Their services include offering advice, guidance and support in
Human Resource Management, Recruitment and Selection, Coaching and Mentoring,
Project and Interim Management, Business Development and Marketing, Quality Compliance and
Investors in People Consultancy. Relating to software training, Footsteps can offer training in
graduated fees, both criminal and family, the efficient use of Outlook, email and Sage
FWBS (FWBS) is a
Northampton company offering Office Management Software Solutions for Solicitors,
Accountants and Professional Services. Their Document Management System
covers everything from simple word processed documents through to email
management and desktop faxing. Case Manager provides progress reports
by clients and matter to link with on-line case tracking for bulk work providers using
the company's own secure server. Interactive law is the product umbrella for a
number of web services that have been designed for law firms to get
"interactive" with their web site.
Griersons Limited provide the Griersons Office Manager range of
solicitors software including Accounts, Time Recording, Document Storage & Retrieval, Computer Telephony,
File Management, Practice Management, Crime Manager and Case Management software. Written in 1996 the
software has continued to evolve and runs under any Microsoft platform using Microsoft Access as its
core database. Griersons Ltd is a software and Hardware supplier and can provide a full bespoke solution
from designing the initial system, providing hardware, software, cabling and support through to the final
commissioning. They are happy to integrate with other suppliers or can become the 'one-stop' IT supplier.
The software provides an automated "Unique File Number" for Crime matters and is fully integrated with HotDocs.
Griersons Limited can also provide a comprehensive web design and development service which includes an
e-commerce element should that be required. To that end, Griersons offers a family of easy to use,
feature-rich e-commerce software solutions that can grow with the business; backed up by a comprehensive
range of support options.
Hillhead Associates provide software called
COURTMAN, designed specifically for Scottish Litigators. It ensures compliance with
ordinary case rules, calculates critical dates and warnings, generates standard court forms and
replaces the firm's court diary. It works either as a standalone solution or in a network and is
designed to work "out of the box" with minimal configuration.
Designed by solicitors for solicitors, it has already been
sold to several firms in Aberdeen and Glasgow.
HotDocs Ltd is the leading document generation software in the world,
with 400,000 users worldwide.
HotDocs is the new name of the Edinburgh based developer of document automation software and services
previously known as Capsoft.
I
Iken Business Ltd is a specialist case management,
time recording, workflow and document management application for public and private sector lawyers.
It has been selling its system since 2000 and is currently the fastest growing supplier of legal
case management to local government with sales to 70 councils in the UK. It also has an automated court
bundling system in use with 30 councils. Iken has private sector legal clients and clients outside the
legal sector including case management in central government, and has users in North America and the
Republic of Ireland. Iken has a strong commitment to the English Law Society's Lexcel standard and
offers a complete working environment covering all forms of legal work from unstructured "solicitor-led"
to structured "process-led" types, which simplifies the task of compliance and risk management.
iManage (Autonomy iManage) is a worldwide company offering document
management, content management, intranets, collaborative workspaces and portal software
for major firms. The major software suite is called The Interwoven 6 Product Suite.
Infographics is the UK distribution partner for FloSuite business
process and case management software, used by UK Legal 200 and major
international corporate law firms (see also the
FloSuite product website).
Built on .NET technology, FloSuite
enables legal specialists to define, deploy and continually evolve core
business processes in real time, directly from the desktop, without any
IT development requirement. This flexibility allows FloSuite to support
cross-discipline legal case management and team-based collaboration, as
well as automating processes like new file opening.
infolaw provides a full range of electronic publishing services
for the legal sector, plus electronic forms and precedents and document assembly solutions using HotDocs.
Inpractice UK Limited is a new legal IT and business consultancy,
resulting from the merger of the established consultancies of Inpractice, run by Allan Carton, and
Professional Choice Consultancy
, run by Bill Kirby. The new firm brings together 9 specialist consultants
with expertise in IT, Marketing, HR, Quality systems, risk management and compliance.
Many of the members of the new team have been working
independently at a high level with law firms across the UK and Ireland throughout the past 20 years.
As well as being available for consultancy in all these topics, the new firm has launched with 3 focused offers:
* A half day business development workshop in-house at a fee of £500
* A cost reduction investigation at £1000 with fee claw back
* A half day staff empowerment review to enable business change at a fee of £500
InQuisita Law, now acquired by Iris, offers a comprehensive chambers management solution for chambers.
It was launched as a new entrant to the barristers market in 2003/2004, designed from the ground-up in
collaboration with a number of users to anticipate the changing and increasingly demanding needs of a modern chambers.
There are now around 40 chambers who use the InQuisita software.
The system is a browser based application enabling simplistic support and
upgrading and offers both fee notes and invoice processing in multi-currency for case billing.
InQuisita Law is also available with a CRM component, can be fully integrated with Exchange for Outlook
users, has the option for an online data security service called IQ Guardian and is provided as
standard with a contractual SLA for the support services.
Interface Software was bought by LexisNexis.
See entry on these pages under
LexisNexis Interaction.
Iris Legal is a major UK software company which last year bought out the
Computer Software Group - which itself had acquired several leading names in the legal software world over the
previous couple of years, including AIM, Videss, Mountain, Laserform and Opsis. Now, Iris has announced its product
strategy for practice and case management.
They will be concentrating their development on the Videss system (for larger firms) and Mountain's new "Connected"
product (for smaller firms). In fact the Connected product is itself based on Mountain's system for Chambers,
since Mountain bought out the prevous leader in the barristers' market, Meridian Law, a few years ago.
Customers of AIM and TPS (The Partnership Suite, strong in Scotland) will continue to be fully supported until July 2011 and
will be offered a free software upgrade to Iris Law when they are ready.
The company has said that it would be investing £5 million in developing their legal systems
over the next few years.
More recently, Iris Legal has acquired
AlphaLaw, a leading software supplier with over 1,600 firms
using their software, and also
InQuisita Law, softwre for chambers.
Isokon is a leading supplier of software for trust and probate work
with software which can be scaled for large firms or small ones (there are
over 500 individual users of the software). Areas covered include Estate and Probate Administration,
Executry (for Scotland), Trusts Management and Administration,
Investment and Portfolio Management for Trusts and Estates,
Taxation - Inheritance Tax (IHT),
Taxation - Capital Gains Tax (CGT),
Private Client Investment Management for Individuals,
Financial Statement Production for Trusts and Estates and
Forms Production (Tax Returns and IHT Forms)
Jim Chase Consultancy is a new IT consultancy for lawyers, formed
by Jim Chase, former MD of AIM. Jim has worked with many law firms, user communities and legal IT providers
over the last 20 years. He is now providing management consultancy services to both the suppliers and
users of business IT systems. For law firms, he believes that he has the experience needed to create the right IT and
operational service framework to support the business, develop appropriate strategies and
select and manage the right business partners. He says "There is a major shake-up taking place
in the legal services profession with law firms and legal IT suppliers alike re-evaluating their business
models".
JMC IT (previously JM Computing and also jmc.it) is a well
respected computer supplier based in Manchester. JM supply other market sectors as well
as solicitors and have considerable networking experience.
They work with about 170 Practices, supporting them with dedicated Case Management
Solutions, Practice Management Solutions, and word processing systems.
In addition they design and implement inter-office links, e-mail systems,
both internal and external, and X400 mail solutions. For the legal
software, they offer software from Mountain Software, see next software page.
Jordans offer a range of company
formation and compliance software.
Formations Online is web-based software allowing you to form limited
companies electronically within 24 hours. No paper forms or signatures are
required. When the company is incorporated you can downloaded all the
incorporation details into PCSec, Jordans' company secretarial compliance
software, ready for ongoing administration. PCSec enables you to undertake
the administration of any number of companies, monitoring time-critical
annual events, producing all statutory documentation including forms,
resolutions, minutes and statutory registers.
j t-w consulting ltd helps lawyers implement quality and
risk management systems. The company provides qualified professionals who are experts in Lexcel, QMS4LAW®, ISO9001:2008,
BARMARK® and IIP. Further support includes training in Management, Quality Management, Appraisal, and other related subjects,
all SRA approved for CPD.
The name of the firm comes from founder and key consultant Jay Tayler-Webb.
