By: Simon Lewis

Simon Lewis — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 07:55:34 +0000

Great blog, particularly emphasising case management and document assembly. However, I would de-emphasize standalone document management programs, and disagree with Dan’s comment re picking such programs first. That is a “tail wag the dog” approach like accounting in the 1980′s and CRM more recently. You first need a lawyer-empowering practice/case management system, not “afterthought” functionality. A lawyer’s focus is client work and involves phone calls, meetings, emails, research, time recording etc AND documents. It should be matter-centric, not just document-centric. Document management, like accounting, is just one component and needs to be put into perspective.
This was highlighted in an extract from the visionery 1989 book “Computerizing for Personal Productivity: A Guide for the High Performance Lawyer” by S Michael Brookes: http://tinyurl.com/fa3d2. Better legal practice management systems do document management, while giving you an option to integrate a full-blown document management system. However, as the document management capabilities of practice management systems improve, the need for a separate system diminishes, particurly in smaller firms.
BTW Here is an ad featuring Michael well before his book: http://tinyurl.com/obxrd. Interestingly, it also features Dale Wainwright who is now the Product Manager at Gavel & Gown, one company that does get the lawyer-first approach.

By: Dan O'Leary

Dan O'Leary — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 07:38:38 +0000

The first step to me would be to pick a best of class document management solution, and combine it with a practice management solution. Since I work in the industry, I’ll withhold my personal judgement. My recommendation would be to Google “Document Management” and contact a few vendors for an overview.
Cheers,
Dan
http://documentmanagementnews.blogspot.com

Comments on: By Request Week: Are there any software tools specifically designed for commercial lawyers?

By: Simon Lewis

By: Dan O'Leary