Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers a practice management system with customized workflows for six litigation practice areas (see article below), an iOS text editor with automation tools, a practice management system that enables you to bill for email messages, work product stored on Dropbox, and more, and an Exchange add-on for maintaining a firm-wide address book. Don't miss the next issue.
A PRACTICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR LITIGATION
The billable hour has experienced some pressure in so-called predictable practice areas in which clients essentially hire law firms for legal documents. But not in litigation matters, which have more twists and turns than Lombard Street. However, few blank checks exist in litigation so the more efficiently you can handle such matters, the more business you'll get.
ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack … in One Sentence
Launched this week, ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack is a set of litigation-specific workflows for the ActionStep practice management system.
The Killer Feature
Back in the day (i.e., before this week), creating a system of workflows for a litigation practice area required the help of a consultant. This was money well spent assuming your firm had the money to spend. Law firms that couldn't afford such customization used practice management systems out of the box — less than ideal.
ActionStep seeks to make such customization more accessible for small and midsize law firms. ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack includes predefined customization and workflows for six of the most common litigation practice areas — commercial, criminal, DWI, family law, personal injury, and workers' compensation.
You can further tweak these workflows to your exact specifications (e.g., firm policies, jurisdictional requirements, etc.), which will consume much less time than creating everything from scratch.
The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack kicks in when a prospect first contacts your firm, which means it encompasses your intake (and rejection) system. Once a prospect becomes a client, the case type-specific workflow creates a consistent series of steps that the lawyers and staff in your firm can follow with minimal training, thus improving efficiency, eliminating errors (such as missed deadlines), and reducing costs for clients. Everyone working on a case knows its current status and can see the next task (step).
"The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack is a perfect example of how our App Store deliver pre-configured solutions to law firms that they can use as-is or tailor to their needs," ActionStep CEO Ted Jordan told us. "This enables law firms escape the generic one-size-fits-all trap of other practice management systems."
Other Notable Features
The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack is the newest Workflows app you can add to ActionStep but not the only one. ActionStep also offers pre-configured Workflows for other popular practice areas with more in development.
In addition to its Workflows, ActionStep includes calendars, contacts, email, tasks, etc. organized by client and matter, syncing with Google Apps and Microsoft Exchange, document assembly, and document management among other features. A daily "Heads Up" email message lists your deadlines, overdue tasks, and more.
What Else Should You Know?
ActionStep works in all modern web browsers on Windows PCs, Macs, iPads and other tablets, and smartphones. It's mobile-ready, automatically adjusting to the device you're using. ActionStep costs $60 per user per month. The ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack costs $25 per user per month if you want all the practice areas. However, if you don't need all of them, you can buy them individually for $6 per user per month each. Learn more about ActionStep U.S. Litigation Pack.
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