Today's issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire covers a Web-based practice management system (see article below), a Web-based service that automates scanning tasks, an Android app to speed up text input, and an iOS app for moving information from your computer's Web browser to your iPhone and iPad. Don't miss the next issue.
May the Force.com Be With Your Law Firm
Clouds are deceiving. One minute they float by peacefully, but the next minute they turn dark and threatening — especially in Texas. As they famously say there, if you don't like the weather just wait five minutes. Perhaps Texas' unpredictable weather explains why a Texas-based company took a different approach to cloud-based practice management than its competitors. I recently met online with the founders to learn more about what they cooked up for law firms interested in Web-based practice management but concerned about stormy weather so to speak.
Advologix Practice Management Spring 2011 Release … in One Sentence
Advologix Practice Management Spring 2011 Release (AdvologixPM) is a comprehensive and configurable Web-based practice management system.
The Killer Feature
Many law firms have mixed feelings about Web-based practice management systems. On the one hand, they like the idea of no longer having to deal with locally-installed software, but on the other hand they're wary of four issues — data integrity, response time, security, and scalability.
Rather than build its own infrastructure from the ground up, Advologix addressed these concerns by building AdvologixPM on Salesforce's Force.com platform.
What does that mean? Salesforce is a successful public company that offers a Web-based sales management product. In addition, Salesforce enables software developers to build their own applications atop its infrastructure. As a result, if you use AdvologixPM, your data will reside on Salesforce's infrastructure, thus providing you with the same data integrity, response time, security, and scalability as Salesforce's customers, which include many Fortune 500 companies.
Advologix's use of the Force.com platform has three other advantages as well. First, it enables the company to focus all of its attention on customer support and adding legal-specific features rather than back-end management.
Second, Salesforce's AppExchange is an application store similar in concept to Apple's famous App Store. If AdvologixPM doesn't have a feature you need, you can add that functionality on your own by purchasing add-ons from the AppExchange (your firm can even become a Force.com developer itself).
Third, in addition to being able to access AdvologixPM from any capable browser platform such as the iPad, you can also access it with Salesforce's dedicated iPhone or Blackberry application.
Other Notable Features
Advologix has added a number of new features to its Spring 2011 release. For example, AdvologixPM now has a document management system called "Managed Content." When you view a matter, you see all related documents (you can also link documents to clients and contacts). Managed Content indexes your documents so you can search them. Other tools include the ability to collaborate on documents with others, add annotations and comments, and keep previous versions.
AdvologixPM's new billing technology streamlines the entry of time and expenses. You'll find full support for collections, retainers, and trust accounts. You can assign default billing rates by timekeeper or by client and matter, and override these when reviewing bills if necessary. Stop Loss Billing tells you when you have performed work that you have not billed.
AdvologixPM does not just integrate with apps from the AppExchange, but also with popular software. For example, AdvologixPM's contact management and calendar integrate with Outlook and Google Apps. Also, prospective clients who fill out a form on your site can become a "lead" in AdvologixPM, which can alert you via email so that you can follow up immediately.
AdvologixPM is customizable. You can add fields and make many other modifications to suit your workflow without any programming knowledge. Other features of AdvologixPM include conflict checking, dashboards, and reports.
"The Spring 2011 release of AdvologixPM dramatically extends our leadership in the legal practice management space and will provide our existing customers with many new features along with improved ease-of-use," Advologix CEO Bill Pickard told us. "Our new customers will benefit from our flexible packaging, complete functionality, and rapid time-to-value relative to their practice management needs."
What Else Should You Know?
Advologix offers two versions of AdvologixPM — Essentials and Premium. You can try AdvologixPM free of charge. Learn more about AdvologixPM.
How to Receive TechnoLawyer NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TechnoLawyer NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The "In One Sentence" section describes each product in one sentence, and the "Killer Feature" section describes each product's most compelling feature. The TechnoLawyer NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
