Special focus: Effective integration matters

By Bryan Roberts, vice president of international sales, Aderant

The idea behind matter-centric practice-automation solutions is deceptively simple: create a centralised repository of all information related to a particular matter and make that information readily available to authorised users. In other words, matters become the basis for organising information for professionals.

Matter-centric solutions provide all members of a practice group with a comprehensive, real-time view of each matter. The solutions consolidate important matter-related information from a wide variety of sources, such as documents, e-mails, contacts, matter plans and even financial-management and time-capture applications. This approach contrasts sharply with the reality in most law firms today where professionals must access multiple applications and databases to gain a complete understanding of matters.

Matter-centric practice-automation solutions enable users to fully process, track, manage and analyse a matter from beginning to end. Since they reflect the normal work practices of lawyers, and include tools to automate activities and streamline work flow, these new solutions can generate powerful efficiencies that translate into higher productivity, improved collaboration, fewer errors, more effective oversight and quality control, and higher client satisfaction.

Components of an effective matter-centric solution

Matter-management systems available on the market today differ substantially in terms of scope, capabilities and effectiveness. What sets an effective matter-centric solution apart, however, is its ability to provide professionals with a comprehensive view of their matters – including relevant back-office financial information – from within a single, unified interface and to automate the initiation, processing and closing of a matter.

Firms should look for the following capabilities from a matter-management solution:

A centralised, matter-based data repository that allows professionals to easily create, access and share all of the information related to a matter;
The ability to associate incoming and outgoing emails – including their attachments – with specific matters;
Document management functionality that enables professionals to store and access a wide variety of electronic documents;
The ability to create comprehensive plans for different types of matter, including key stages and associated tasks;
Integrated time capture for every process, task and activity;
The ability for partners, managers and practice group leaders to track and manage the workload
of their teams.

Implementing a matter-centric solution

There is little doubt that matter-centric practice-automation solutions promise substantial benefits, but as with all technology tools, realising those benefits requires effective implementation.

Many factors affect implementation success, from establishing clearly defined goals to getting buy-in from users and providing thorough communication and training. But the most critical factor in implementing a new technology tool – especially a matter-centric solution that’s designed to serve as a law firm’s information nerve center – is integration. Integration with other applications and data sources, integration with the firm’s processes and work flows, and integration with how the firm’s professionals go about their daily tasks. In short, the key to success is finding a solution that will meet the needs of your lawyers and fit within your firm’s business processes and existing technology infrastructure.

Ensuring effective integration

At first glance it may seem like a daunting task to implement a matter-centric solution that seamlessly unites key information from a wide range of disparate applications. Firms’ IT departments are understandably concerned about the potential for conflicts, accompanied by the need to spend more time and money developing special interfaces and additional workflow procedures so that the new system can talk with all the existing ones.

But advanced technology platforms that use industry standards and an open architecture design, such as Microsoft’s leading .NET framework, can greatly simplify a firm’s integration efforts by providing comprehensive inter-application communication capabilities. In fact, Microsoft .NET has rapidly become the connectivity platform of choice for professional applications. That’s why all Aderant’s legal solutions, including the next-generation Expert Matter Center offering, are built from the ground up on the .NET framework and also utilise the latest Microsoft SQL Server database tools. This approach enables Expert Matter Center to consolidate and present matter-related information pulled from a wide range of best-in-class systems.

Matter-centric solutions must also integrate smoothly with a firm’s business processes and their professionals’ work habits. Major adoption challenges can arise if a new solution requires significant changes in how information is processed or if it requires professionals to master complicated new software. To avoid this issue, firms should look for matter-centric practice-automation solutions that can flexibly adapt to existing business processes. For example, Expert Matter Center includes straightforward customisation tools that integrate matter plans, precedents and other firm-specific materials, processes and best practices.

By embedding Expert Matter Center inside Microsoft Office, Aderant has also taken an innovative approach to solving the issue of user adoption. Lawyers and other staff members can access, update and share all matter-related data using contextual tools inside the applications they already use every day. This innovative approach provides seamless integration with normal work behaviours and delivers out-of-the-box functionality.

To learn more about matter-centric solutions, including how to select the right one for your firm, contact Aderant at 020 7038 9621 or visit us on the web at www.aderant.com.

Expert Matter Center is a breakthrough matter-centric practice automation solution that spearheads the front office capabilities of Aderant Expert. Expert Matter Center seamlessly integrates with all Aderant Expert solutions, including our industry-leading time and billing and financial-management applications.