CaseEnsemble FAQ

Q. Can CaseEnsemble be used to create a complex case management tracking system?

A. Yes. Our extranet is used regularly to manage large, nationwide litigations. We assist clients in the tracking of legal matters, settlement data, defense fees, trial calendars, insurance claim reports, the storage of litigation related documents such as complaints, medical reports, dismissals and settlement agreements, and many other types of data.

Q. Can CaseEnsemble support the creation of a repository of legal documents?

A. Yes. Our extranet is used regularly to host litigation repositories. We store information securely so other law firms, corporate law departments, experts and other authorized parties can work with the documents they need to access. Access is controlled pursuant to each client's requirements.

Q. Can the extranet be customized to be consistent with a law firm or company's public materials and website?

A. Yes. We have the ability to integrate a clients logo and text in our systems. We also have the ability to import full HTML into our main landing page to provide maximum flexibility in this area to our clients.

Q. Can I limit the view of extranet data, reports and functionality available for different classes of system users?

A. Yes. You can determine what extranet tools you wish to make available for your clients on a case by case basis. You may wish to make all features available to some clients; for others, only a few. You have complete control, and you have the flexibility to change feature availability as client needs change.

Q. What types of legal groups benefit from using CaseEnsemble?

A. Any group who wants to work online, organize their data and documents, and share work product in a collaborative manner to promote efficiency can benefit from legal extranet technologies.

Q. Can CaseEnsemble be used to support legal processes requiring workflow engines?

A. Absolutely. We often assist clients in projects where local counsel submit information into a centralized system and the system's workflow engine then shoots out email prompts to the next individual in the workflow process to alert them that their attention is required on a record. We also provide functionality to produce email reminders and ticklers to individuals to help avoid bottlenecks and assist in the project management of a business process.

Q. Can CaseEnsemble be used to track and manage the effectiveness of legal business partners such as expert witnesses and EDD vendors?

A. Yes. We have several systems deployments and templates to help practice groups with needs of this nature.

Q. How secure is data loaded into CaseEnsemble?

A. Very secure. We run our applications in a world class data center with state-of-the-art data center infrastructure including power generators, UPS, cooling system, multi-level security checks, and pre-action fire suppression system. Your servers will be protected from power outages, high temperatures, and fire. Services include locked cages, replication of data to multiple locations and intrusion detection. In addition, the extranet employs granular security within each site, enabling you to assign roles and privileges to users granting them access only to the information they need to see and work with. We also maintain audit logs to monitor the data updates and actions users take on your data. All communications between extranet users are encrypted.

Q. What is the turnaround time to create a legal extranet system?

A. A new collaboration area can be created very quickly. Same day service is the norm, not the exception.

File Rooms

More and more, the use of collaboration systems to develop client file rooms is emerging.

As an example, one can use a file room as a sort of brief bank within a law firm to collect best practice documents to allow attorneys to benefit from the excellent work of one another and not have to work to "reinvent the wheel".

Another interesting use is to construct a "client file room", this being a place where a law firm collects all the information related to a large set of cases and places the information in a single, password protected area making it available to authorized personnel.

And a third use would obviously be to collect all the artifacts and documents related to a specific case.

This information is both operationally valuable (it helps attorneys work more productively by sharing useful work product and data) as well as very, very valuable from the perspective of marketing (a law firm can allow a client to log into a portal or they can demo the portal in a WebEx and either way they can make a very compelling argument that by sharing information and working together they truly have the client's best interests in mind and that they are able to provide strong(er) representation at a more competitive cost).

Managing litigation tasks with legal extranets

It is often difficult to track and manage the different activities that need to be completed by the different law firms working on a case. They can be discussed in conference calls, via email, etc... but often due to the dynamic nature of working through a case the agreed upon task listing become outdated in a very rapid manner. The process of maintaining a task list in Excel or Work and circulating it around via email can result in people working from an outdated set of requirement and deliverables.

However, if a working team is tracking and managing their activities on a commonly available system or database, the management process becomes a bit simpler. Individuals can use a central repository of tasks to get their assignments, mark items complete when appropriate, and case managers can be sure all the critical things "to-do" are addresses as they need to be.

Tasks can be tracked in a number of ways (by the individual(s) they are assigned to, by priority, by due date, or by case). And, as they are coming due or as they are worked on, email notifications can be added to these collaborative work management systems to help alert others when significant updates have occurred to the tasks which are most important to the team members.

Legal extranets (a.k.a law firm extranet systems) provide a strong backbone for this type of management of tasks. All members of a workteam can enter, update, and mark as complete tasks so that the workteam can quickly and efficiently be aware of the status of each and every item without time-consuming teleconferences or meetings.

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Developing additional links between a law firm and client

As we all know, companies often become familiar with a certain set of attorneys and staff within a law firm. So, how can a law firm ensure that business stays with the firm if the key partner retires or leaves the firm for any other reason. One strategy is to provide the client with many additional services over and above the legal and personal services provided by an attorney or group of attorneys.

Technology-based services, such as posting case management information on-line, posting documents on-line, or managing a litigation calendar within an on-line system, are all some examples of how a law firm can provide additional services to a client which might make it more likely they will retain a client or keep a client happy with the services they are receiving from a law firm.