Today's issue of TL NewsWire covers enterprise legal management software for corporate legal departments that goes beyond ebilling and matter management (see article below), an app for scheduling meetings (including paid consultations), case analysis software with document review capabilities, and a virtual desktop service for law firms. Don't miss the next issue.
Traditional enterprise legal management software enables corporate legal departments to manage and track the spending of legal work they outsource to law firms. This is important, but it's just one of hundreds of tasks corporate counsel need to manage.
Onit Enterprise Legal Management … in One Sentence
Onit Enterprise Legal Management is an integrated suite of ebilling and matter management apps designed to tackle the routine tasks of corporate legal departments.
The Killer Feature
There's a saying that every spreadsheet would be better expressed as a software program. Onit co-founder and CEO Eric Elfman found that lawyers in legal departments used a combination of spreadsheets and email to track processes ranging from board minutes to contract review and approval to legal matter assignments and much more.
This explains why Onit goes beyond traditional matter and spend tracking. Onit itself offers what Elfman calls a "process platform" that you can use as your primary system or as a means to augment your core software, including for the tasks noted above. Additionally, your department can create its own custom Onit Apps to fulfill specific needs.
"Traditional process management initiatives take between nine to 12 months to implement," adds Elfman. "By contrast, Onit Apps are configured and implemented in weeks so you can reap the financial and operational savings faster."
Other Notable Features
Onit features a configurable Dashboard comprised of widgets such as Pending, Disputed, and Overdue Invoices, Inactive Matters, Pending Vendor Evaluations, etc. Your view depends on your role in the department.
You create a new matter by entering the name, type, and lawyer managing the matter. You can add metadata such as whether it involves litigation and is a major matter. Selecting the type of matter (e.g., bankruptcy, investigation, real estate, etc.) can automatically add resources such as a paralegal, outside counsel, and vendors. You can upload documents, and set a budget or alternative fee arrangement.
Onit offers an ebilling workflow that adjusts to whatever business rules you have in place. You can create different workflows for special matters such as those involving more than $1M in fees. The workflows you create can proceed in a linear or parallel flow.
Law firms use Onit's BillingPoint service to submit invoices in a LEDES format. The use of a separate Onit App ensures that law firms cannot gain access to your data. Once ebills are submitted, Onit can format them so to look like a traditional invoice. Onit automatically alerts you if an invoice violates a preset requirement. In addition, you can reject invoices, add comments, adjust line items, etc.
Onit includes all the reports you would expect as well as the ability to export the data in Excel format. For richer reports with bubble charts and other data visualizations, Onit integrates with Tableau.
What Else Should You Know?
Onit runs in all web browsers. It also integrates with Outlook via an add-in. When you receive an email alert such as for a new matter, contract or legal service request, you can securely log into Onit from inside the email message to view the details. Learn more about Onit Enterprise Legal Management.
How to Receive TL NewsWire
So many products, so little time. In each issue of TL NewsWire, you'll learn about five new products for the legal profession. Pressed for time? The newsletter's innovative articles enable lawyers and law office administrators to quickly understand the function of a product, and zero in on its most important features. The TL NewsWire newsletter is free so don't miss the next issue. Please subscribe now.
