Flexible Legal Collaboration Software

It's critically important to build software which is flexible and can be adjusted to meet a variety of different needs.

We have used our software recently for many different types of projects in addition to the initial intended use of Litigation Support. Some of these areas include the construction of systems to track internal projects (status, due dates, costs, vendors, etc.). Other uses include change management and task tracking with the the IT discipline as well as other implementation to support business development efforts for some clients.

Thankfully, we are in the position, based on our object oriented method of programming and strong focus on developing reusable code, to adjust our software to meet a wide variety of emerging business needs and client requirements.

Outside Counsel Management

Legal extranets can help corporate counsel track the approved counsel working on a litigation. And, they can also track the list of approved timekeepers (both attorneys and staff) working on the litigation.

They also can provide the capability to distribute messages, via a bulletin board, to all outside firms working on a case. Also, these messages are not only distributed, but also can be stored in a repository so they are available for historical review as a sort of outside counsel policy manual for law firms working on a case on behalf of a client.

This management capability helps to manage and control the costs associated with a litigation, as well as helps to be sure the proper staff (and a consistent set of staff) are representing the client in their legal matter as per agreements reached when the client retained the law firm to represent them.

Business Issues Related To Legal Extranets

Here are a few quick items to consider if you are a law firm and considering putting up a legal extranet system for your clients and if you, for some reason, would not want to contract with the Xerdict Group for your extranet needs ! :)

• Have you considered the need for business insurance.
• Do you have a standard contact you wish to have clients enter into so that issues such as software warranties, data security, indemnification, etc.. are clearly defined.
• Is your legal extranet system name trademarked and source code copyrighted?
• Do you have a privacy policy to govern the data which will be stored on your system?
• Do you have a service level agreement with your clients?
• Do you feel confident that you have the appropriate support structure in place with respect to client support, technical support, customer service.
• Do you have appropriate change management system in place to help you govern the various changes in the various different implementations you will ultimately be delivering to your clients.
• Do you have a structure and technology in place which will allow you to do sales demonstrations and other pre-sales work?
• Do you have a sense of how (or if) you will be recapturing the costs of the system (billing your clients).
• Do you have a methodology for storing and managing your application source code?
• Do you have appropriate backup mechanisms and failover procedures and processes put into place?

These are all items to consider, perhaps some are not applicable to you but I would expect most should be application for most firms.