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CCCA_V4No3_Dept-Technology-V2.qxd:CCCA_V1No2_Dept-CrossBdr-V1.qxd 9/2/10 7:31 AM Page 15 Technology “Practice management systems help us fol- rate increases, while others want to capture system doesn’t happen right away,” says low basic project management principles.” accrual of unbilled time. Thomas. “All this data is available. It’s a Review of past projects offers opportu- While the leading systems cover most of matter of pulling it all together to help nities for improvement, but for many in- these bases and provide reporting tools to counsel see how to change behaviour.” house lawyers, game-changing insights let clients analyze data as they wish, hide behind piles of paper and screens of “sometimes the more strategic use of the Luigi Benetton is a freelance writer inToronto. email. “You can’t manage what you can’t see,”Thomas notes. Practice management systems also enable lawyers to file messages about a Research Solutions matter with other information pertain- ing to the matter,whether they be mes- ® sages created in the systems themselves LexisNexis Quicklaw ® or traditional email. “Up-and-coming attorneys are ‘digi- Corporate Counsel tal natives’ who adopt systems like ours more quickly,but‘digital immigrants’are Give it a trial run the decision makers of today, so tying email to specific matters remains impor- tant,” Matthews says. The next step,according to vendors,is to encourage inside counsel to combine matter management, billing, document TEST OUT LexisNexis Quicklaw Corporate Counsel ® ® management and all other legal project management components into one sys- and get the answers to questions that require certainty. tem “for the workflow to make sense,” This custom research service allows you to: according to Thomas. (Both vendors say their systems are ready for this.) • Save drafting time with Commercial Transactions — “Years ago, clients came to us for e- Canadian Forms and Precedents billing, and people still want to save • Access quantum awards related to wrongful dismissal money on legal bills,”Matthews admits, and breach of contract with Canada Wrongful Dismissal “but every RFP that comes across my Quantums and Canada Breach of Contract Quantums desk has some element of collaborative • View hundreds of news sources like The New York Times, practice management.” On the smartphone front, Matthews The Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail sees data visualization and reporting as • Access the exclusive tools and content you know and trust the first features from CTTyMetrix that from Quicklaw will land in lawyers’ palms. “Currently,my system doesn’t let me Register Now for a FREE 15-Day Trial* approve invoices from my BlackBerry,” of LexisNexis Quicklaw Corporate Counsel says RIM’s Maxwell. “Just that would CALL 1-800-255-5174 or visit www.lexisnexis.ca/corporatecounsel be great.” “I’d like to see more auto-approvals in * Offer valid until October 31, 2010 the workflow, like all invoices that meet certain criteria go straight to approvals,” Maxwell adds. Meanwhile, clients still focus on legal spend. Some want to analyze law firm LexisNexis and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used under licence. Quicklaw is a registered trademark of LexisNexis Canada Inc. © 2010 LexisNexis Canada Inc. All rights reserved. AUTOMNE 2010 CCCA Canadian Corporate Counsel Association 15 CCCA63_053.indd 15 09/08/2010 09:30:21 PM