Law Firm Technology

I just did a speech for the Association of Legal Administrators on Law Firm Security.  I took a much wider view of security as anything that can cause risk to the law firm.

I have a downloadable document for you to use.  Feel free to email this out to anyone you want.  You might want to tell them too that I will do a teleseminar on this at the http://VirtualLegalShow.com on November 18th.  So, if they sign up for the free newsletter at http://LawFirmTechnology.com I can send them a link to it once the show and the teleseminar go live.   That will be free of course.  Also there will be alot of great guest speakers doing other keynote addresses.  One in particular is related to security.  One of my speakers is an expert in Computer Hacker Forensics and she is going to do something on Ediscovery of Hacking.   In the meantime they can grab the PDF download here:

http://lawfirmtechnology.com/images/lawfirmsecurity.pdf

Longtime document management expert leads the StarLaw product line

About ADERANT
ADERANT, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, is a leading provider of integrated business management software for law firms and other services organizations. The global company offers a comprehensive suite of solutions, consisting of financial, resource, practice, document, and information management software that enables services organizations of all sizes to maximize operational efficiencies. ADERANT provides solutions to the largest and most prominent firms in the world, including Clifford Chance, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), Greenberg Traurig, Clayton Utz, Deloitte Consulting, Allens Arthur Robinson, Herbert Smith, Mayer Brown, Skadden Arps, and Winston & Strawn. ADERANT also has offices in Asia Pacific and Europe. More information is available at www.aderant.com.

Editors Note: The correct usage of the ADERANT name is all capitals.

ADERANT and ADERANT Expert are registered trademarks of ADERANT Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the properties of their respective owners.

ADERANT Contact:

Adam Kincaid
ADERANT Public Relations
Phone: +1 (678) 668-1028
Email: adam.kincaid@aderant.com

Thursday, 18 August 2011

Combined Firm Delivers Best Practices in Consulting, Engineering, & Software for Document Management Systems.

Concord, CA and Plantation, FL– August 04, 2011 – iEnvision Technology, a leader in Information Lifecycle Management consulting, today announced the acquisition of Geller Data Solutions, Inc. (GDSI), incorporating its professional services and software development groups into iEnvision’s existing team of skilled consultants, technical engineers, and support services. Together, the combined experience and technical know-how offers clients broad skills in Document Management Systems and related information management technologies.

iEnvision headquarters will remain in Concord, CA, while maintaining GDSI’s Plantation, FL location. Former GDSI consultants and engineers will share resources, tools, and best-practices with those iEnvision has developed, while adding expertise in delivering matter-based solutions.

“We are pleased to bring GDSI’s respected consultants, engineers, and software developers into iEnvision. Our clients continue to demand the highest quality products and services, and the addition of the GDSI team allows us to meet their expectations,” said Matt Hobbs, founder and president of iEnvision Technology. “This is truly a win-win for iEnvision and our clients.”

Doug Geller, President of GDSI, echoed Mr. Hobbs’ comments. “GDSI has been and will continue to stand for quality and commitment to its clients. Within an industry of well known partners, iEnvision was clearly the best choice to extend those benefits to clients with investments in Document Management Systems.”

About iEnvision
Founded in 1998, iEnvision Technology, Inc. is a leading technology consulting firm providing Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) solutions to law firms, corporate legal departments, health sciences companies, and financial services firms. iEnvision Technology consultants, engineers, and project managers utilize a suite of technical skills and internally developed tools to deliver the best-in-class solutions in support of Autonomy iManage. As ILM experts, iEnvision designs and implements platforms that allow organizations to manage all of their content throughout the entire information lifecycle spectrum. For more information visit www.iEnvision.com.

About GDSI
GDSI has over 15 years of Document Management Systems experience and expertise. GSDI offers a full range of pre-purchase design services, implementation services, training, and advisory and execution consulting. GDSI has developed software solutions which help reduce costs on all aspects of document management system challenges and gaps. GDSI has worked with firms in the legal, corporate legal, real estate, financial, banking, and accounting industries.

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Contact:
Cathy Kenton
858.509.79969
ckenton@lvstrategies.com

Aderant has been making several big moves lately.  Most recently is a new deal to take on the Client Profiles system which will supplement its billing system.  Client Profiles is a great system, but had a weak billing system component, based on the old FSLI billing system.  Aderant fixes this, having one of the best billing systems in the world and combining it with the features of Client Profiles, makes Aderant a significant force in Legal software.  Finally, there will be a true best of breed one stop application for law firms to invest in rather than piecing together 2 or 3 systems which may not talk well with each other. 

I expect the integrated development to take at least a year.  However, the final product will likely be worth the wait.

For the last few years, Google has reiterated that its sole focus was on mobility.  The Android has competed well against the Iphone and has crushed the Palm and Blackberry market shares.  It seems only logical for Google to take a page out of the Apple playbook and start building its own line of cellular products. 

The acquisition may cause anxiety for supporters of Android devices such as HTC.  It may drive some of them to go after Windows 7 mobility in lieu of the Android OS.  However, I expect the development to be aggressive, giving Android fans something to cheer about.

HP, the largest seller of PC’s in the world, made a huge decision to spin off or sell its pc/laptop/tablet line so it could focus on software, servers, networking, integration and other high margin products.  IBM sold off its pc division over 8 years ago to Lenovo and never looked back. IBM has increased business by focusing on the lucrative integration opportunities.  HP looks at IBM as its chief competitor and probably saw it as a way to refocus on the higher paying areas and getting out of the low margin PC sales.  If they can get a good price for the HP computer line, they can refocus the profits on other acquisitions which can help dominate the choicest markets. 

Also, the failure of the PalmOS/WebOS acquisition to make much of a splash against the slide in sales due to IPAD, probably led to HP’s decision.  Who cares if you own the biggest percentage of a constantly shrinking market?  Maybe HP sees the writing on the wall.  It isn’t the death of the pc, but obviously extreme mobility is putting significant pain in the side of PC and Laptop developers.    The on-demand apps found on the Android and Apple Store is something that Windows has not found an answer to yet.

It is the largest Legal software acquisition in history.  HP buys Autonomy, which owns many software packages used at law firms today.  The ever popular Imanage.  Several Ediscovery and Knowledge Management solutions.  It is a very bold move.  One that puts HP in the Legal Software game.  And the various software offerings give HP a portfolio to offer its existing client base, so it can push KM or Document Management to general businesses as well.

It was hard to imagine a few years ago that we would ever have this discussion.  However now with the Xoom and IPAD it seems laptops have become less desirable.  Gartner noted recently that laptops may not be meeting the social-networking demands of users.  However I think it is more to do with the coolness factor.  People want to be seen with the latest gadget.  Yet the IPAD and Xoom have these features that beat out the laptops hands down: Read the rest of this entry

It used to be that Legal IT and the Lawyers stood on opposite sides of the fence when it came to running a law firm.  That is no longer the case.  Gone is the Us and Them mentality that has overrun the law environment for too many years.  Certainly, the smartest corporations realized long ago the importance of including IT in decision making.  They created the C level for IT, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) position so that executives could have a techy who has a business background so they can be on the same page when they attempt to accomplish certain projects.  Still, most law firms man never add IT to board meetings/partner/shareholder meetings (to their detriment), but you will see IT and lawyers working together more and more.  Read the rest of this entry

One of my biggest assets has always been the ability to select great vendors to work with and managing projects using their expert services.  Gone are the days that you need to be an expert at everything relating to IT.  As an IT manager or director, you don’t need to be a Jack of All Trades.  I have always felt that hiring an outside vendor to do services is cheaper and more efficient than trying to have an in-house expert on everything.  There is no question that experts in the field may do certain upgrades on a regular, if not daily basis.  With trial and error comes experience.  The last thing you want is to deploy blindly solutions without knowing the catches, gotchas and workarounds.  This is why, product specific vendors are so essential. Read the rest of this entry