Legal Files 4.5 - Feb/Mar '00

Legal Files 4.5 (Case Management Groupware)

Legal Files 4.5 is an ambitious case-management system. Designed primarily for medium to large firms, Legal Files has all of the basic features of a case manager, including calendar, contacts, tickler system and basic file information, plus internal e-mail, document management, mail tracking, a delegation tracking system to keep track of assignments made to others, a very nice settlement calculation feature, an employee information section, and interestingly enough, a marketing information section that tracks advertising budgets and expenditures, as well as the number of calls and referrals attributed to each advertising source.

The program allows task chaining (called "wizards"), and creation of custom checklists and information screens for any number of matter types. Each matter type can have an unlimited number of custom screens, with up to 150 user-definable fields per screen. The program ships with dozens of pre-made screens you can use as is, or as templates to build your own. While there are powerful customization tools, it was frustrating that the basic case information screens cannot be edited, and contain some fields of questionable value for most firms (such as the marital status and "ethnicity" of the client -- a field the company says was requested by non-profit groups). Legal Files' roots as custom software really show in the way some of its features are designed, and company representatives indicate that they still will program custom features for clients if necessary to meet their needs.

The program has a nice group scheduling module, a separate database for contacts who do not become clients, and also provides basic trust accounting, including interest and cost/expense tracking, on an individual file basis. In appropriate files, the expense information can be included in settlement screens, along with the accumulated or contingent attorney fee, to calculate net settlement amounts to clients automatically. The settlement feature also allows for bill tracking -- complete with lien information, late payment charges, interest calculation, and partial payments -- and the total is entered into settlement screens in appropriate cases, along with any lost wages.

Mobile users and managing attorneys will appreciate the fact that the replication feature can copy not only the database, but the associated documents and scanned images to a laptop or remote database, which means that you can have your entire client file set, complete with copies of all exhibits, pleadings, written correspondence and e-mail, with you on the road or at home.

Legal Files has fairly standard document assembly features: templates built in Legal Files that work with Word or Word Perfect merge. It also has a built-in document management feature, which automatically saves the document and prompts for a document name, description and so on, so you don't necessarily need a separate document management program. In Windows NT, all saved documents are full-text searchable as well. The document management functions are nice, but Legal Files' approach to storing saved documents (with numeric case names in folders organized by month the document was produced, instead of in any kind of logical case-associated fashion or in a database) is somewhat worrisome from a technical standpoint. However, it is probably a trade-off for the convenience of having documents included in the replication feature.

What is particularly nice, however, is Legal Files' "routing" function. Most screens, including scheduling and document assembly screens, provide a routing button that allows you to instantly notify other users of appointments or documents as you make them. Routing a document sends a link to the document to the user (not an actual copy of the document), and is far easier than creating an e-mail and attaching the document.

Legal Files clearly tries to cover all the bases in electronic law office management. There are screens and features for virtually any practice type, and in this reviewer's opinion, the product seems particularly well-designed for plaintiff personal injury practices. However, the program still seems a little immature for the price ($995 per user, $1,000 per training day, and 20 percent of the purchase price per year for maintenance), when there are more established products such as ProLaw or more customizable products like LawBase, available in the same range. That said, Legal Files does have several unique features and is certainly worth considering.

Legal Files 4.5 (scheduled to ship this month) will include new links to QuickBooks, TABS III, Juris, Sum-
mation and a two-way link to Outlook for calendaring, contacts, e-mail and things to do. It will also include an improved Timeslips link, updated calendars (they've added the ability to schedule resources and recurring events), and more powerful custom screens and tabs.

Legal Files Software Inc.
(800) 500-0537
www.legalfiles.com

Windows 95, 98, NT,

4x/2000 and Novell
$995 per user

Reviewed by Sheryn Bruehl, managing partner, Bruehl & Chapman, PC, Norman, Okla.

Feb/Mar '00 Issue

PROS
Extraordinarily full-featured; lots of really unique options and capabilities.

CONS
Document management approach is technically worrisome; some of the default field labels are strange.

VERDICT
Definitely worth a look; might be the perfect program for some firms.