Rafte

Latest Legal Technology Survey Suggests Law Firms Still Resist Technology Tools

noemail@rafte.com — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:00:00 GMT

ALM Research in partnership with Cogent Research has released the 2007 Legal Technology Market Assessment Survey. The report identifies the factors that drive technology purchases and preferences, differentiate products and brands, and define trends in law firm technology budgets. Nearly 1,400 attorneys responded to the survey, which broke down perceptions in the following five areas: Case/practice management; Document management; E-discovery; Client relationships management/client development; and Online research. The new ALM/Cogent poll, which was split evenly between large and small firms (41 percent large law firms, 38 percent small firms, 14 percent midsize firms and six percent in-house counsel), confirms what we’ve seen in other recent legal technology surveys: that significant resistance to technology remains and that a large number of practicing lawyers in America are still practicing and trying to manage the business of their firms without the benefit...

18-Oct-07 11:00 AM

Law Firm Business and Technology Needs Converge at ILTA '07

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 23:00:00 GMT

For a few days in August, Orlando was the epicenter of legal technology, playing host to the 2007 International Legal Technology Association’s (ILTA) conference. Rafte & Company was well represented. I was honored to speak on two panels on business strategy while others in the firm participated in the various professional development sessions. The amount of information at ILTA ’07 was staggering, but we’ll do our best to offer a synopsis and expand on some of these issues in subsequent articles. Overall, I found it refreshing because the focus of the discussion was on strategic issues related to the success of the law firm. We’ve come a long way far the days when the responsibility of a law firm’s information technology (IT) personnel was primarily break/fix and making sure that the system stays up. I heard a lot of creative thoughts about what firms are doing to better differentiate themselves, what they could do to make it easier for their clients to do business with them and...

1-Oct-07 6:00 PM

ILTA '07 - Getting a Seat at the Table

noemail@rafte.com — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 23:00:00 GMT

Rafte & Company President Dena Rafte participated as a panelist in the session, Getting a Seat at the Table, during ILTA ’07, the annual conference of the International Legal Technology Association. With the permission of ILTA and the event organizers, we have posted the audio from the discussion below. Getting a Seat at the Table explored how some technologists have become key strategic thinkers in order to meet their firms measurable business goals. Recognizing that technology is central to law firm operations, Rafte and other panelists will explore how legal technologists can become key strategists for their firms and discuss their successes as well as steer participants away from potential pitfalls. These are important conversations and I was honored to be selected to participate in ILTA ’07, said Rafte, who established Rafte & Company nearly a quarter century ago. Today Rafte & Company is a leading provider of business strategy and technology solutions for law firms....

6-Sep-07 6:00 PM

ILTA '07 - Understanding the Lawyer-Client Relationship

noemail@rafte.com — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Rafte & Company President Dena Rafte participated as a panelist in a terrific session entitled, Understanding the Lawyer-Client Relationship during ILTA ’07, the annual conference of the International Legal Technology Association. This was an important conversation and Dena, who established Rafte & Company 24 years ago, said she was honored to be selected to participate. She says that creating a client-focused firm is essential for law firm success as more firms implement strategic technologies into their business processes. The ILTA session, Understanding the Lawyer-Client Relationship, delved into how today’s global business environment is creating immense pressures on the lawyer-client relationship. Panelists discussed how emerging practices such as RFPs, risk-sharing agreements and flat-fee pricing are changing the legal environment and will look at the increasing importance of technology in helping law firms succeed. The session also explored how technologists can shape...

6-Sep-07 4:00 PM

The Role of the Legal Administrator in Creating a Client-Focused Firm

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 15:00:00 GMT

The following article, written by Rafte & Company President Dena Rafte, was published in the July/August issues of Legal Management under the title, Open and Accessible, The Legal Administrators Role in Creating a Client-Focused Firm. Download a PDF of the article here. A legal administrator can play a central role in helping ensure the success of technology initiatives that can keep their firm competitive. Without the understanding, support and active involvement of a strong legal administrator in helping drive change, initiatives designed to make it easy for clients to do business with the firm frequently fail to live up to their potential. This is critically important today because forward-looking firms have realized that they need to constantly change and innovate in order to satisfy rapidly evolving client demands. Leading firms have made it their business to identify and leverage new ways of working. It’s one way they are differentiating themselves and attracting...

7-Aug-07 10:00 AM

Rafte & Company shares expertise in American Lawyer

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 16:00:00 GMT

Click here to view PDF
Dena Rafte, CEO of Rafte & Company is featured as an expert in the article, Time is Money, published in a special supplement to the June 2007 edition of American Lawyer. The article, by Robert McGarvey, explores best practices in tracking time. Incredible as it may seem, some experts estimate that 25 percent of small firms are tracking time the old-fashioned way -- with pencil and paper.

Rafte says this reticence to adopt helpful productivity tools results from the belief among many small firms that if it ain't broke you shouldn't fix it.

"Many law firms are using what amounts to IT Band-Aids," said Rafte in the article. "There usually is little interest in investing in new accounting or time tracking software. They think that's just back-office stuff."

Rafte goes on to say that technology investments need to be strategically aligned with the firm's business objectives and work together to improve efficiencies and productivity. For instance, it is essential to make sure the firm's time tracking sofware will smoothly interface with the other applications, such as case management software, Outlook or Quickbooks.

"At the end of the day, all these tools are about making it easier to do business," Rafte said in the article.

The supplement, The Smart Lawyer's Guide to Finance, offers advice about financial management issues confronting small law firms.

9-Jul-07 11:00 AM

A Conversation with Kari Richards about Rafte Application Consulting Services

noemail@rafte.com — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:00:00 GMT

Kari Richards is a member of Rafte & Company’s Application Consulting Service initiative. Kari has a master certification for Microsoft Office, and works in collaboration with the other Rafte team members to provide a ready-to-implement training solution. Rafte’s Application Consulting Service assesses client needs, develops a training plan and implements a customized training curriculum to maximize the effectiveness of the client’s technology and application tools. We sat down with her for a brief conversation about computer application training. Give us the basics about Application Consulting Service. What is it? Rafte & Company’s certified trainers are focused on helping organizations get the greatest return on their technology investment by building the skills and capabilities of their employees. Application Consulting Service accomplishes this through a variety of training formats, including custom and standardized classes, workshops, and one-on-one...

15-Jun-07 10:00 AM

Of Counsel Magazine Includes Tips from Rafte & Company in May Issue

noemail@rafte.com — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:00:00 GMT

An article by Lori Tripoli in Of Counsels May 2007 edition tackles the sticky question of how law firms can tell when its time for a software upgrade. Rafte & Company President Dena Rafte is quoted in the article, saying law firms that fail to include periodic upgrades in their budgets and plans are vulnerable because such a failure can send a negative message to clients. If your law firm has PCs that are operating on Windows 2000, this might be an article youll want to pass around the office: --------------------------------- Are You Losing Clients Because Your Software’s Too Old? . . . Don’t Get Caught with a 1.0 in a 5.0 World When a lawyer at an Of Counsel 700 firm recently emailed a document to a reporter in a circa 1990s version so old it could not be opened, the thought that the publishing industry could possibly be more technologically advanced than firms in the land of the $500 billable hour elicited a bit of a giggle. The reporter was definitely feeling a...

16-May-07 9:00 AM

Rafte & Company's training services featured in BtoB

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 22:00:00 GMT

Rafte & Companys customer-friendly approach to using online tools to create a turnkey training solution that promotes training courses, enables online registration and keeps track of course attendees was featured in this weeks BtoB article, Building Web site a vital event marketing tool, written by Erin Biba. Read the article here. Building Web site a vital event marketing tool By Erin Biba Event attendees have come to expect a Web-based home to locate even the most basic information regarding an event. Companies that go above and beyond the expected Web site design can expect marked benefits—and companies that dont design a site at all may find that their clients perceptions of their business will suffer. Even the most basic Web site can go a long way toward increasing marketing effectiveness and boosting attendance. Dena Rafte, president of Rafte & Co., a legal technology consulting agency that trains lawyers on the use of technology, recently developed a Web site to...

2-Apr-07 5:00 PM

Rafte & Company Helps Houston Zoo Tame Software Training Implementation

noemail@rafte.com — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 18:00:00 GMT

A computer may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Zoo, but modern zoos are now as wired and dependent upon information technology (IT) as any office environment. Chances are your organization has more in common with the Zoo than you ever imagined. But maybe that doesn’t come as a surprise! Rafte & Company delivers the Houston Zoo a software training solution, IS Educate™, to increase the overall effectiveness of the Houston Zoo’s information technology. Rafte designs and implements course offerings aimed at improving the knowledge and capability of employees. The courses focus primarily on the Microsoft Office system of applications, including Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Project and Word, among others, as well as Adobe Photoshop. I’ve actually had guests stop me as I’ve been walking through the Zoo with a piece of computer equipment and express their disbelief that we would have a need for computers, said Alex Rigsby, senior systems administrator with the...

28-Mar-07 1:00 PM

Rafte & Company offers guidance on Vista in "Bankruptcy Court Decisions"

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 14:00:00 GMT

Read this before upgrading to Vista Keeping up with the latest technology is a balancing act. Click here to view the full Bankruptcy Court Decision Wait too long to update and you run the risk of losing touch with the rest of the world. Update too soon, and you run the risk of putting yourself out of business. Consider this: If you’re lured by the promises of increased security and user-friendly features touted in ads for Vista, Microsoft Windows’ first major upgrade in five years, you may find yourself in the very awkward position of not being able to e-file. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Kentucky posted the following on its Web site: Microsoft has released a new version of its Windows software called Vista. Since it is such a major change to previous Windows versions there may be compatibility issues that need to be resolved. Compatibility with CM/ECF has NOT been thoroughly tested and therefore we cannot support your use of it at this time. No...

5-Mar-07 9:00 AM

Survey Finds Technology Security Breaches Remain Big Problem

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 16:00:00 GMT

How pervasive are computer security breaches? If law firms are anything like the rest of corporate America, the problem is a significant drain on time and resources. Three-quarters of respondents to a new survey of security executives in industry and government agencies said that they had at least one security incident in the past 12 months. That’s a lot. The third annual “E-Crime Watch Survey,” released recently by the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, U.S. Secret Service, CSO Magazine and underwritten by Microsoft, states the obvious: companies continue to struggle with electronic crimes. However, the survey also revealed that progress is being made. More than 430 security executives in industry and government agencies responded to the survey covered the period July 2005 through June 2006, and it asked about a range of security problems, including: theft of intellectual property and proprietary information; denial of service attacks; worms...

11-Dec-06 10:00 AM

A Conversation with Dena Rafte about IS Helpdesk

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:00:00 GMT

Q: What is IS Helpdesk? Dena Rafte, president and chief executive officer of Rafte & Company: IS Helpdesk was born from the concept of helping the staff members to be more productive in a cost-effective manner. We have a team here ready to take calls that are specifically oriented to law firm applications. Q: How is it different from other help desk outsourcing options? DR: We’re not a generic technology company trying to break into the legal field. We’re a legal technology company that’s been working with law firms for nearly a quarter of a century. IS Helpdesk is a cost-effective option that is designed specifically with law firms in mind. Q: Can you expand on that? DR: We know that law firms aren’t using Microsoft Word in the generic sense and they’re using sophisticated financial applications tailored for the law firm environment such as Juris. So we can answer their questions with a clear understanding of how they specifically use the various...

10-Oct-06 2:00 PM

Why Matter Centricity?

noemail@rafte.com — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 16:00:00 GMT

Today, we have more electronic information coming at us than ever before. At the same time, the need to manage matters and share knowledge with a geographically dispersed workforce are prompting law firms to seriously consider how they can do a better job of efficiently managing critical content. The exponential growth of data, coupled with client and staff expectations of availability and response time, are forcing law firms to look at how information is shared and how they can provide clients with greater access and a consistent online user experience. While no surprise, many firms have found that information has been tucked away in private data stores, often Outlook inboxes or private Outlook folders, thereby creating informational silos rather than shared repositories. This situation, in large part, grew out of an environment that had effective processes in place to manage data in a hard copy format but not in its corresponding electronic format. For most firms, there were very...

20-Sep-06 11:00 AM

Is Your Firm Keeping Up? A Look at the 2006 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 15:00:00 GMT

We always look forward to seeing how America’s law firms are using technology and the ABA’s annual legal technology survey provides the most thorough report on trends. The 2006 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report does not disappoint, offering a smorgasbord of helpful information that can provide law firms a reality check about whether they keeping up with the Joneses when it comes to utilizing technology investments to achieve their strategic business objectives. The responses echoed something we at Rafte & Company have been advocating: the critical importance of business continuity and disaster recovery planning. It’s been nearly a year since hurricanes Katrina and Rita wreaked havoc on law firms in New Orleans and throughout much of the Gulf Coast region. In that time, lawyers all over the country have embraced the need for a proactive plan to help them maintain continuous operations before during and after a disaster. The 2006 ABA Legal Technology Survey Report,...

5-Sep-06 10:00 AM

On Call Technology Help Can Boost Law Firm Productivity

noemail@rafte.com — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 19:00:00 GMT

In the effort to boost profitability, many law firms have implemented various technology strategies and processes that are designed to increase productivity. In the past decade, these information technology (IT) investments have transformed the way the typical law firm operates and, in the process, technology solutions have become tightly woven into the fabric of law office and practice area management. When properly designed and managed, these systems can provide significant value to a firm both in terms of operational effectiveness and enhanced client service. This translates into strengthening the firms financial health and positioning the firm to deliver real competitive advantage. However, for many firms, technology tools fall short of their promise. Sometimes as a result of faulty equipment, but more often due to a lack of training, technology headaches abound. It can be as simple as formatting a document or as complicated as specialized database reporting but the end result...

28-Jun-06 2:00 PM

Business Continuity Essentials For Law Firms

noemail@rafte.com — Thu, 18 May 2006 15:00:00 GMT

With the beginning of the 2006 hurricane season just weeks away, law firms throughout the Gulf Coast region are gearing up for what some predict will be a ferocious few months. This years hurricane season, which begins June 1 and will last until November, is expected to be intense. Studies show that the majority of businesses have taken action to minimize the impact of a potential disaster on their business operations. Still, a sizable percentage has failed to embrace business continuity planning. In the legal sector, business continuity planning is even more important. If the operations of a law firm are interrupted, it can have a profound ripple effect. For instance, if a law firm that is representing a company in a merger experiences a fire or other prolonged business disruption, it could derail the client company’s merger. Any interruption of a law firm’s operations can have a severe negative impact not only on the law firm, but on every company the firm is...

18-May-06 10:00 AM

Law Firm Vision: Essential For Long-Term Success

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 28 Mar 2006 21:00:00 GMT

Law firm managers are facing intense internal and external pressures that make strategy and innovation more crucial and differentiation more difficult. Forward-thinking law firms understand that they are operating in an increasingly competitive marketplace and that they must transform themselves in order to thrive. The initial step in this transformation for law firms to be successful in the long term is to align a firm’s processes, infrastructure, strategy and culture with a clear understanding of the current and future wants and needs of clients and prospects. Intense Pressures Today’s law firms face significant internal and external challenges as they strive to increase net income per partner and compete for both clients and lawyers in the legal marketplace. Traditional models for law firm success have grown outdated and law firms are realizing the need to reinvent themselves in order to survive. Common pressures facing law firms and law firm management today...

28-Mar-06 4:00 PM

The Importance of Workflow Process Reengineering in Case Management Implementation

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 14:00:00 GMT

Charting the flow of information through a law firm is rarely a pretty picture. Typically, a flowchart of a law firm’s workflow process resembles a tangled web of time consuming and often duplicative tasks, some of which provide little value to the firm or to clients. When done correctly, the process of implementing legal case management software can help a firm identify and fix these workflow trouble spots. However, firms that try to implement case management systems without going through the process of workflow process reengineering rarely realize the full potential return on their investment. A great illustration of this disconnect is the data from the 2004-2005 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey. It found that while 41 percent of respondents reported having case management software available, only 18 percent personally use it. The fact that legal case management software implementation can run into difficulties should not serve as an indictment of the...

7-Mar-06 9:00 AM

Put new technology to work by using case management software

noemail@rafte.com — Fri, 17 Feb 2006 17:00:00 GMT

This article was originally published in the Houston Business Journals February 10, 2006 print edition. Click here to view the published version. Legal case management software is a valuable tool that law firms use to manage legal cases efficiently. However, while the application provides attorneys with a convenient method of effectively managing client and case information, there is a clear disconnect in many law firms that occurs at the point of implementation. Data from the 2004-2005 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey illustrates this disconnect, finding that while 41 percent of respondents reported having case management software available, only 18 percent personally use it. The fact that legal case management software implementation can run into difficulties should not serve as an indictment of the technology. Instead, the way a firm goes about implementing the solution deserves attention. Technology tool Case management applications include centralized...

17-Feb-06 11:00 AM

Biggest Annoyance and Growing Challenge: Spyware and Malware

noemail@rafte.com — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 17:00:00 GMT

A comprehensive study out of the University of Washington, “A Crawler-based Study of Spyware on the Web,” warns that the extensive proliferation of covert and malicious spyware is posing an increasingly significant threat for internet users. Considering that the International Legal Technology Association’s 2005 Technology Survey found that spyware now exceeds spam as the biggest annoyance of law firms, this is not good news. The ITLA survey found that 32 percent of respondents identified spyware as their biggest annoyance, followed by spam (19 percent) and security updates (17 percent). Some of these nuisance programs get onto PCs via e-mail messages that hide the spyware in attachments but others are bundled in with popular software, such as file-sharing programs, and some install automatically if a user visits a booby-trapped Website. Before we get into this subject, it is important to realize the distinction between “spyware” and...

10-Feb-06 11:00 AM

Enabling a Flexible Work Environment in Your Law Firm

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 19:00:00 GMT

In our recent article, “Incorporate Greater Flexibility to Retain Law Firm Associates,” we examined the significant challenges faced by law firms in retaining young talent. While many law firms have resisted significantly adjusting the way they operate to accommodate generational differences, successful firms will look for ways to utilize technology investments and changes in workflow processes to incorporate greater flexibility for their personnel. This article will detail the steps law firms interested in going down this path should take. Although Generation Y associates – those born after 1977 – have been criticized for lacking in loyalty, initiative and energy, studies have found many simply have different priorities and motivations. Money and career take a back seat to “me time” and family. Edge International conducted a study dealing specifically with law firms, which confirmed that 25- to 30-year-olds consider time off to be the prime...

24-Jan-06 1:00 PM

Incorporate Greater Flexibility to Retain Law Firm Associates

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 23:00:00 GMT

Its great to see that the Wall Street Journal has introduced a column devoted specifically to the business and management challenges of law firms. Titled The FLaw and written by Ashby Jones, the new column will particularly emphasize the miscues, peculiarities and strange customs of law firms. The first installment takes aim at the problem of holding onto young talent. At Rafte & Company, we expect the issue of improving morale and retention of associates at law firms will become a priority for partners in 2006. Further, we anticipate that successful firms will look for ways to utilize technology investments and changes in workflow processes to incorporate greater flexibility for their personnel. Why go to all this trouble? According to a study by the NALP Foundation, a group that examines law firm hiring trends and practices, 37 percent of associates at law firms that employ more than 500 lawyers quit their firms by the end of their third years of practice. That data point might...

10-Jan-06 5:00 PM

Early to rise: Rafte & Company featured in Houston Business Journal

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 14:00:00 GMT

The Houston Business Journal featured Rafte & Company in its Dec. 23, 2005 edition. Early to rise, examined the companys move to integrate its core legal technology consulting services with legal business consulting services, which help law firms strategically align their services with the current and future needs of their clients. The complete text of the article, written by Christie Taylor, is available at the Houston Business Journal site. Gifted with a knack for technology, entrepreneur Dena Rafte was visiting retail technology store MicroCenter on a regular basis while most people were still learning what mini computers and word processors were capable of. Now the owner of technology consulting firm Rafte & Co., Rafte distinguished herself early on by offering computer services before they became a fixture on every desktop. Within six months of launching Rafte & Co. from an office in her home in 1983, Rafte had hired her first employee and moved into an outside office. Rafte...

3-Jan-06 8:00 AM

Survey of CEOs Shows Growing Concerns About Outside Legal Counsel

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:00:00 GMT

The way that corporate clients buy legal services has changed – particularly with regard to the Fortune 1,000. Historically, the legal department within corporate America fell outside of the scope of all the other traditional departments within the corporate framework. As a result, they were pretty much left on their own to do their own thing in terms of outside support, process standards and the like. Now, due in large part to the costs of outside counsel, the typical corporate legal department has been brought back into the fold. Contracts for corporate legal are often negotiated by central purchasing and new standards for billing (to the corporation) have been applied. All of this has resulted in the larger law firms bringing their service offerings and work processes in line with the emerging needs of their institutional clients. This translates to more creatively packaging their services – outside contractors, at risk billing structures, etc. Along those lines,...

20-Dec-05 2:00 PM

Law Firms Missing Fundamentals of Business Success: A Client Focus

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 19:00:00 GMT

There were plenty of interesting findings from The American Lawyer’s survey of leaders of Am Law 200 firms, published in the December 2005 issue. As usual, there is a great deal of holiday cheer, with 89 percent of respondents saying they are optimistic about 2006. That’s almost identical to 2003 and 2004. One data point that popped out as we reviewed the findings was the response to this question: “In the last 12 months, how many of the firm’s 20 top-billing clients have you met with to discuss the clients satisfaction with your firm’s performance?” Knowing that in-house lawyers, as reported in the 2005 Litigation Trends Survey from Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., said that poor communication on the part of their law firms was among their biggest pet peeves, we knew that the answer to this question was extremely important. Just one percent of respondents said they had met with all 20 top-billing clients to discuss the firm’s performance....

12-Dec-05 1:00 PM

Further Evidence That Technology Consulting and Business Strategy Are Merging

noemail@rafte.com — Sun, 06 Nov 2005 22:00:00 GMT

At Rafte & Company, we have long believed that technology consulting has a firm foundation in the fundamentals of business strategy. Everything our technology consultants do on behalf of our client law firms and professional services firms takes into account the larger business considerations that command the attention of the men and women in the corner offices. So it was particularly gratifying to be contacted by Allan Hoffman, a technology jobs expert with Monster.com to serve as an expert source for a story about the need for technology experts to acquire business skills in order to deliver value. As Hoffman wrote, todays globally competitive market has led to the integration of corporate strategy and technology solutions. Other firms are now following Rafte & Companys lead by seeking technology professionals with business know-how to help their clients. Here are some excerpts from Hoffmans excellent article: Management consulting firms frequently specialize. Some are...

6-Nov-05 4:00 PM

Survey Shows What Keeps Corporate Counsel Awake At Night

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 16:00:00 GMT

A new survey from Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. sheds new light on what corporate counsel really cares about. The survey offers lessons for law firms and other professional service firms about how to maintain and strengthen client relationships. For instance, Fulbright found that communication, being responsive and delivering information when promised are sure ways for law firms to maintain a positive relationship with their clients. Failures on each of those are among the biggest pet peeves of respondents. Meanwhile, electronic discovery is emerging as a major concern of corporate counsel, as is the burden of their respective document retention programs. Through the strategic use of technology tools we describe as Firm Management applications, your firm can satisfy these client-driven requirements for real-time communications and enhanced integration. These applications include an integrated suite of tools that include the following: Document Management – In many law...

25-Oct-05 11:00 AM

Ideal Case Management Implementation

noemail@rafte.com — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 22:00:00 GMT

Note: This article appeared in the April 2006 edition of LJNs Legal Tech Newsletter. Download a pdf of the published version here. Legal case management software is a valuable tool that law firms use to manage legal cases efficiently. However, while the application provides attorneys with a convenient method of effectively managing client and case information, there is a clear disconnect in many law firms that occurs at the point of implementation. A great illustration of this disconnect is the data from the 2004-2005 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey. It found that while 41 percent of respondents reported having case management software available, only 18 percent personally use it. The fact that legal case management software implementation can run into difficulties should not serve as an indictment of the technology. Instead, the way a firm goes about implementing the solution deserves attention. Firms that choose to trudge forward without the necessary planning and...

13-Oct-05 5:00 PM

ABA Survey Sheds Light On Lawyers’ Limited Strategic Use Of Technology

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 21:00:00 GMT

The 2004-2005 American Bar Association Legal Technology Survey indicates that legal technology is changing the way attorneys do their jobs and connect with clients. However, law firms still have a long way to go to realize the greatest value from technology to support their business strategies. The survey of 1,500 ABA lawyer members in private practice in the United States, is an annual project of the ABAs Legal Technology Resource Center (LTRC). It offers a comprehensive look at how the legal profession uses technology. The survey found that America’s attorneys are increasingly using technology to connect with clients and colleagues while away from the office. In fact, the number of lawyers who say they use wireless technology to connect to the Internet away from the office has more than doubled since 2003. Currently, 19 percent of respondents are using wireless technology to access the Internet away from the office, up more than eight percent from the previous survey. The...

3-Oct-05 4:00 PM

New Standards May Help Professional Services Firms Prepare for Disaster

noemail@rafte.com — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:00:00 GMT

As Hurricane Rita threatens the Texas Coast and with the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina still fresh in the minds of many partners at law firms and other professional services firms, there is a disappointing lack of coordination to help shape standards to guide future preparedness efforts. Not so in other industries. For instance, more than a dozen major financial services firms and leading vendors announced this week they are devising disaster recovery and business continuity standards to help companies gauge their preparedness for future disasters. As reported in ComputerWorld, the Financial Services Technology Consortium (FSTC) is spearheading the effort to create the Resiliency Maturity Model Project. It will, for the first time, create benchmarks and define terms for business continuity planning across all areas of a financial enterprise. Will such a model have utility for law firms and other professional services firms? Only time will tell, but Charles M. Wallen, managing...

21-Sep-05 3:00 PM

Business Continuity Should Be Bigger Priority For Law Firms and Other Professional Services Firms

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 20 Sep 2005 14:00:00 GMT

A national study of America’s businesses shows what many of us suspected: a lot of us are talking the talk but not walking the walk. While many businesses invested the time and money in developing business continuity plans following Sept. 11, relatively few are testing and updating those plans as is recommended. The report from AT&T and the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), found that nearly one-third of U.S. businesses surveyed do not have business continuity plans in place. We at Rafte & Company suspect the same is true for law firms and other professional services firms. The questions asked in the survey should be a topic of conversation for every professional services firm: Does your firm have a business continuity plan? When was the plan last updated? When was the plan last fully tested? What public alerting systems for warnings about terrorist threats or other potential disasters do you monitor? When the Federal government raises the...

20-Sep-05 9:00 AM

Law Offices Turning To Technology In Attempts To Weed Out Spam

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 20:00:00 GMT
Legislative efforts, such as the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 have failed to stop the e-mail assault. When most computer users opened their e-mail application this morning, they had to wade through junk e-mail that was waiting to be sifted, sorted and deleted. To make the problem worse, theyll probably have to do the same thing again tomorrow -- spend time wading through offers for mortgages, watches, drugs or computers. But how many consider the true cost of having attorneys and staff throughout the organization processing this unwanted stuff? In 2002, Ferris Research estimated the total cost of spam to U.S. corporations reached 8.9 billion dollars in lost productivity. A recent study done by the Federal Trade Commission found that 77 percent of all e-mail recipients spend approximately 10 minutes per day dealing with spam in their inbox. If an attorney bills $200 per hour, these 10 minutes equate to $10,000 in lost billable time per year. Theres no question that sending spam is big...

11-Apr-05 3:00 PM

The Great Spam Escape - Solving the Law Firm Spam Problem

noemail@rafte.com — Wed, 30 Mar 2005 20:00:00 GMT
http://www.lawofficecomputing.com/EDC/eloc/march05/consultant.php Many law firms measure their fiscal success in billable hours. But when those billable hours are used for nonbillable tasks, the fiscal health of the firm suffers. That was the case with many of our legal clients when attorneys and staff at the firm were using valuable time sorting and sifting through spam. Houston-based Coats Rose Yale Ryman Lee decided it was time to address the issue and engaged Rafte & Company to assist. The volume of incoming mail was taxing the firm’s Novell GroupWise server severely. The server had been in service for four years. When implemented, it was adequate for the task. However, the demands placed on the server had grown significantly, and it no longer could handle the job. A migration to Microsoft Exchange Enterprise solved the storage problems and resulted in a more stable system. For a while, the spam problem was reduced by some tighter controls on the server, as well as some...

30-Mar-05 3:00 PM

The Help Desk … are you ready?
Top Issues to Consider when Building a Help Desk

noemail@rafte.com — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 21:00:00 GMT
As technology advances, pressure increases on firms to provide more extensive on-site support for their end users. Years ago, when we lived in a more simplistic systems environment, we could survive the on the job learning curve much more gracefully than is possible today. With everything seemingly instantaneous, firms must have an effective end user support system in place to remain competitive. Today, many firms are looking to a more formalized help desk environment to provide users with support on a myriad of applications. Herein lies the challenge…. Determining the expectations and responsibilities of your help desk It is very important that the firm determine the role of the help desk. In doing so, clear boundaries must be set. Is your help desk going to cover all software, hardware and operating systems issues or simply specific applications? What is a hardware, software or training issue? One of the keys to a strong help desk is the ability to determine...

19-Feb-05 3:00 PM

Business Vision + Technology = Competitive Advantage

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 01 Feb 2005 23:00:00 GMT
How does your organization view technology? Is it a necessary evil or a competitive advantage? Where does technology intersect with your firm’s business strategy? Technology is never going to win a case or close a deal on its own, but technology investments can provide a tangible and measurable return when they are aligned with a firm’s strategy and culture. The challenge is how to make that happen. In today’s business environment, organizations that believe technology is a necessary evil typically make IT decisions in isolation. Law firms and other professional services firms that fit this description have the following characteristics: Technology goals and objectives are established without regard to specific business strategy. The technical staff may be aware but not driven by the organization’s goals and strategic objectives. System stability is a driving factor; firm management asks for additional functionality and capability;...

1-Feb-05 5:00 PM

The Challenge and Necessity of Managing E-Mail

noemail@rafte.com — Sun, 09 Feb 2003 21:00:00 GMT
A large percentage of the e-mail messages, voicemail messages and faxes we receive today contain information that could be considered substantive. It has therefore become increasingly important that this influx of e-data be managed firm-wide or corporate-wide, instead of individually. Regardless of how it arrives at your desk, managing these data forms can be a challenging and never-ending, task. Then and Now The legal community is accustomed to managing paper files. In most firms and corporate legal departments, folders are created by client, matter, or case and placed in a filing cabinet. These folders are used to manually file hard copies of correspondence, pleading packets, sub-files for evidence and discovery, contracts, and deeds. This tried and true method of managing critical information worked well for years when primarily inter-office envelopes and the postal service were used to distribute communication. However, with the advent of e-mail systems, voicemail message boxes...

9-Feb-03 3:00 PM

Billing Software Issues for the Mid-Sized Firm

noemail@rafte.com — Thu, 07 Feb 2002 18:00:00 GMT
LETS START with a few basic premises: Consider only systems that can perform all of the standard accounting functions your firm requires. Do not underestimate the importance of this decision. Accounting software tends to have a much longer life span than other software. Look beyond the specific requirements of the accounting department when selecting a system. A global understanding of all the operational processes in your firm is critical in evaluating the long-term suitability of an application. Indeed, some of your current work processes may need to be modified to increase efficiencies throughout the firm. Treat the accounting system as the hub of your firms business intelligence rather than a necessary evil. The Needs Analysis: Examine the output from your current system. Consider your clients billing requirements, your internal and external reporting methodologies, and most importantly information that is being generated outside your current system to meet...

7-Feb-02 12:00 PM

Case Management: Maturing the Next Generation Law Firm

noemail@rafte.com — Tue, 09 Oct 2001 19:00:00 GMT
Case management conjures up some interesting thoughts. Is it an organizational tool, a management spy vehicle, or yet another standard of law office operations? Needless to say, it is different things to different people. In my mind, case management software is basically an organizational tool that allows firms to establish standards for the collection of administrative information surrounding a case. In its simplest form, it is a firmwide Rolodex file. On more advanced levels it can be used for firmwide docketing systems, standardized form generation, detailed discussion threads, extensive relationship cross-referencing, and potential conflict of interest searches. Clearly, we would prefer this application to seamlessly interface with all of our major existing software: accounting / time and billing, document management, record management, e-mail, and conflicts. Sounds pretty simple – doesnt it? Well, its not! Case management, in terms of the application, is not difficult....

9-Oct-01 2:00 PM

Evolution of technology leads to firm's 'silent' partners: clients

noemail@rafte.com — Mon, 23 Jul 2001 20:00:00 GMT
Business communication has undergone a maturation process in law firms, as it has in all businesses. Information once sent via the postal service or a courier, is faxed or e-mailed. Time frames for performance have been severely compressed to the point where anything short of immediate is unacceptable. Law firms, like other businesses, must seek out technological opportunities to enable them to better service their clients. In the legal industry, early technology primarily was limited to administrative functions along with some crude data base applications. As networks and practice-specific applications became more prominent, however, the base of influence shifted to the professional staff. Attorneys wanted to be able to do everything their peers were doing and more. The current environment, in many cases, is heavily guided by the demands of firms clients. From task-based billing to the sharing of the work product, clients are forcing law firms to change the way they do...

23-Jul-01 3:00 PM