More Case Management
Software Reviews (Continued from page 39)
file. I plan to update all of my lease and real estate files to include more custom pages so that the information I need is readily available. This should avoid trips to the paper file. Each file’s administrative pages are now accessible on the File Brad instead of on a separate screen. I’m not sure that this is an improvement. Previously, you either viewed the file details or worked with the administrative information both of which were on one screen. Now there are four screens of administrative information available from the drop-down menu on the File Brad. There are also new “right click” op-
tions. For example, if you have the Files list displayed, you can right click a file name and select Time Entry to go right to the Time Sheets module to enter time for the file.
Attaching documents to a Files Brad page has also been enhanced. You can now link a file, folder, URL or other document. If you store a URL and click View, you can run your browser to view the link. The Calendar module now includes two small calendars above the To-Do list. By default, it shows the current and next month. There are options for Today, Week, Month, Year and Events. These run along the right side of the daily calendar like tabs on a small notebook calendar. In the Month-at-a-Glance view, you can select from a pop-down list to display Appointments and To-Do’s, just To-Do’s or Appointments. This is a useful en- hancement as you generally don’t want To-Do’s to clutter your screen when you check your Calendar for the month. There are many new Calendar reports and printouts. Several come in color, and you can now print standard Franklin Covey, DayTimer and Day Runner for- mats. I’ve always found Contacts to be somewhat limited in Amicus because of the three card display (i.e., Office, Home and Other cards). This once limited the information I could enter about a person. Fortunately, the limitation has now been lifted. There are now more than 20 cus- tom fields with customizable layouts. There are 20 phone number/communi- cation fields available for each contact. Another useful enhancement to Am- icus is its improved “right click” menu. When you right click on a contact in the
40
program’s Contacts Index, a menu pops up that allows you to call, fax or e-mail your clients. Other options are also avail- able. Thus, you can call someone and have the New Phone Call dialog pop up com- plete with phone number without ever opening the Contact. However, this “right-click” menu doesn’t appear to be available for contacts in other modules. The Time Sheets module includes sup- port for Uniform
Task-Based
Management System codes. There’s also centralized accounting set up which can be accomplished via the Amicus Admin- istrator, if you are using PC Law or Timeslips. Individual users on a network don’t have to post time. Time can be posted for everyone by the Administra- tor. There’s also an enhanced link with TABS III.
Amicus now includes the Seagate Crys-
tal Reports print engine which enhances the reporting capabilities. There are more pre-defined reports, including more than 50 workstation level reports and more than 35 administrator level reports. Ad- ditional report packs are available. You can create your own custom reports if you purchase the Seagate Crystal Reports da- tabase reporting tool. Accessing custom fields in document assembly has been improved. Instead of having to insert something like “Custom Field Page 1, Field 2,” for instance, you can use the ac- tual name of the Custom Field. Document assembly works with MS Word 2000 and WordPerfect 9. There’s a new Custom Fields toolbar for HotDocs. The program’s Administrator module has been enhanced for network users. If there is an update to Amicus, instead of each user separately having to install it from disks, it can be distributed by the Administrator and the update will run the next time you start Amicus Attorney. The new version of Amicus Attorney also contains an improved import/export. A really useful feature in the Client/Server Edition is the program’s ability to sched- ule an automatic backup. Also, backups can be stored in more than one location at the same time.
PROLAW (By Denise P. Ward. This article originally appeared in June/July 1998 Law Office Computing.)
ProLaw Software’s case management, billing and accounting software touts it- self as a single front and back office solution for law firms. The program’s cre-
Trial Reporter
ators assert that it is one program that can do virtually all things for your office. I thought these were some pretty far-reach- ing claims, and I approached this review with some skepticism. I have to concede that I found that ProLaw performed its organizational magic very well indeed, far exceeding my expectations. One of the most unique things about
this program is that its purchase comes wrapped into an on-site training period that includes installation of the program by a ProLaw employee. It is not that the use of the program is so complex (it is not), but that the installation process in- volves customizing information from all areas of your office. It also often involves data conversion from existing programs, so the on-site element makes such a project a much less daunting task. Fundamental to the “front office” fea-
tures of the program is a central address book where every law firm contact imag- inable can be found. More than merely a contact manager, the address book visu- alizes the relationship between a name and your firm as well as the relationship be- tween the name and your cases. Included is built-in telephony together with the ability to track and send e-mail and store Web page addresses. Conflict checking is facile because of the unlimited classifica- tion of people and cases. Document management is a natural in this product as well, automatically indexing any docu- ment sent OR received. A user can also implement event-driven document assem- bly, and I found that creating a word processing form within ProLaw was ac- tually pretty easy.
The calendar tracks everything for the individual user as well as for the firm and includes features such as the generation of calendar entry reminders, notes for such entries and related calendar events that are easily moved and reorganized. What I liked most, though, was the ability to track the entire history of a case through the calendar—from each and every letter and meeting, to the settlement conferences, to the signing of the stipulations. This abil- ity to visualize a case’s progress and processes coupled with the ability to find all the information in one place was sen- sational. A natural outgrowth of the calendar function are the case manage- ment features, especially for firms using Outlook or Groupwise. The unified inte- gration of entries from those programs into ProLaw is brilliant. The creators are well aware of the software that law firms are using and allow for integrating with
Spring 2001
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