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| AbacusLaw, Version 13 | Case Management |
| About five years ago, I
realized I had added several thousand names and addresses in my MS-DOS shareware personal
information manager (PIM). I had redefined several of the user fields in the PIM to
contain case or client information. However, this was a MS-DOS program, and I had long
converted from using WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS to using a Windows word processor. I also
realized that using a personal information manager for case management was less than
ideal. Thus, I began my search for case-management software built around a Windows
operating environment. Over the next few years, I looked at several products including
AbacusLaw, Amicus, Gryphon, Time Matters and a handful of others. At the time, I was
deeply entrenched into using Timeslips as my time and billing program. Amicus and Time
Matters had both been around for a while, but Abacus was slow to bring its Windows product
to the market. With the release of AbacusLaw, Version 13, I figured it was time to give
the product another look. I’m glad I did. This is a good, mature and easy-to-use
product. AbacusLaw comes in two flavors: the Professional Edition and Advanced Edition. With the Advanced Edition you get workgroup scheduling, links to Timeslips, PCLawJr and HotDocs and an advanced database customization module. The Advanced Edition is available for an additional $100, and in my opinion, it’s clearly worth the additional cost, so much so that for the difference in cost, I recommend you not even bother with the Professional Edition. Installation is a breeze. After loading the software, there is a minimal amount of setup and registration that is required in order to get started. AbacusLaw gives you the ability to modify the screen background and fonts. The Professional Edition comes with a link to your Palm Pilot. For me, this made adding information to AbacusLaw easy. I had all my contact information, as well as “to-do” lists and appointments on my Palm Pilot. Using the link, I was able to synchronize all the information on my Palm Pilot with AbacusLaw in a matter of minutes. In order to test the AbacusLaw import function, I deleted the data from AbacusLaw and exported data from my current case-management software in dBase III format. I created an import into Abacus. Mapping the data from the DBF file into Abacus was painless and straightforward. From start to finish, the import process took only minutes. By default, you open AbacusLaw to the “main screen.” The main screen is comprised of a blank screen with a toolbar at the top. You also have the option of opening to a daily, weekly or monthly calendar, an organizer, or your contact list, matter list or event list. I preferred the startup screen to be the Organizer screen, which is reminiscent of the venerable paper Daytimer. The Organizer screen displays appointments for the day, reminders, things to do and calls to make. You also can browse through your calendar one day at a time or use a drop-down button and go to any other day in the month. Across the top of the screen is a toolbar you can use for accessing the daily, weekly or monthly calendar, a contact list, an appointment list, matter list and a variety of other functions including the sync for a Palm Pilot or if you have the Advanced Edition, icons for HotDocs and Timeslips or PCLawJr. Clicking the name icon on the toolbar brings up a list of contacts. As you scroll down the list of contacts, details for each person appear in a window to the right side of the list of contacts. To view more information about a person, either double-click the mouse button on the person’s name, or highlight then press the Enter key. From the main contact screen, you can see information related to that contact. The Matter screen is similar to the Contact screen in that it has several tabbed pages for related notes, events, people and documents. The first Matter screen, labeled Standard, contains basic information about the matter such as matter name, handling attorney, reference name or number, case code for type of matter and opening and closing dates. There are also four user-defined fields that can be changed to suit your specific requirements. Instead of separate to-do and appointment lists, AbacusLaw considers these “events” and uses a “who, what, when, where” metaphor to distinguish the different types of events. You also can budget time by estimating the amount of time you think the meeting or event will last, as well as set reminders. Next, you chose the person and/or matter related to the event, and set its priority, type and status. You can create forms or exemplars or templates, whatever you want to call them, using AbacusLaw. I created a standard business letter form called “BUS-LETT.” Are you beginning to get a sense that AbacusLaw is easy to use? With this form, I can create a letter to a client by looking up the client’s name in the Contact List, clicking the printer icon and selecting form generation from the menu, choosing the word processor and clicking BUS-LETT. AbacusLaw also has what it refers to as Quick Forms. I really like the fact that I can go to a person’s name in the contact list and click Ctrl+E to print an envelope. I wish the case-management software I use had this feature. With the Advanced Edition of AbacusLaw, you get some really nice features. For example, you can customize any of the primary screens (Contact, Matter or Events) to create additional fields or add additional tabbed pages. For example, the standard contact screen provides spaces for four telephone numbers. Almost everyone I know has at least five numbers. It was a simple task to add a field named Phone5, label it “Pager,” and then edit the contact screen to add the field to the first page of the contact form. I also like tracking both work and home addresses. The standard contact form provides space for only one address, so I just added the fields for a second address, added a tabbed page and included fields and labels for the second address. The Advanced Edition also comes with links to HotDocs, Timeslips (but check which version you are using) and PCLawJr. The HotDocs link gave me the most trouble, but a quick call to AbacusLaw’s excellent technical support folks got me straightened out. Creating the Timeslips link was a matter of pointing and clicking. For test purposes, I used Timeslips, Version 9.1. From within AbacusLaw, I added a contact that I classified as a client. I hit the save button, AbacusLaw asked if I wanted to save the contact to Timeslips. After hitting “yes,” I went into Timeslips and located the new client. There are a few intangibles that I feel I should comment on. I did not have a way to objectively measure the speed of AbacusLaw compared to some of the competing products, but subjectively, AbacusLaw is fast. It opens and performs searches quickly. The interface and screens are simple for users that are still intimidated by computers. Users who want tons of information at their fingertips from the opening screen may find AbacusLaw a little Spartan at first. But, using the Advanced Edition, you’ve got the tools to change it. There were a couple of features that I didn’t have time to evaluate. First, AbacusLaw is network ready out of the box, so all of my comments are based on using the program on a single workstation. Also, I didn’t have a chance to test the PCLaw link. Two of the more significant add-ons I wish I had tried are the Court Rules and Timelines for rapidly automating calendaring. |
Abacus Data Systems Inc. (800) 726-3339 www.abacuslaw.com Windows 95/98/NT/2000; 25 MB of space Professional – $199 per user; Reviewed by Charles Whisonhat, attorney, Newport Beach, Calif. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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