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| Time Matters 3.0 | Case Management |
 How would you like each lawyer in your firm
to have an exact duplicate of that lawyer’s files, appointments, To-Dos, billing and
e-mail on a laptop maintained automatically on a daily basis? Time Matters 3.0 does just
that. It’s one of three core programs indispensable to any law office that wants to
be completely automated, and the program in which all of the raw data should be created.
With Time Matters 3.0, Timeslips 10 and Quickbooks (or another suitable accounting
program), complete automation is possible as follows: All information (clients,
appointments, To-Dos, documents and phone calls) are created in or entered into Time
Matters. Each event, To-Do or phone call is billed through Time Matters via the Timeslips
link to Timeslips. The Timeslips link to Quickbooks transfers the billing information to
Quickbooks. The core functions of this program are the integrated calendar, the To-Do list and the contact manager. Largely ignored are some of the most useful features of the program (all of which are integrated) such as the case-management functions, including document management, messaging, reporting functions, its link to Timeslips (and other time and billing programs) and its synchronization with remote Time Matters databases. Version 2.0 of this program was reviewed in the April/May 1999 issue of Law Office Computing. Most of what was said in that review is applicable to Version 3.0 of the program. The calendar, To-Do list and contact manager retain their look and feel, but the program is greatly improved in functionality and stability, and appears to use computer memory resources more economically. Aside from the calendar and To-Do functions, the real strength and beauty of Time Matters lies in its ability to reference every bit of information about a case or a contact in one place. For example, set up properly, Time Matters will show every event (appointments, hearings, etc.), every To-Do, every piece of mail, every e-mail, every billable (or non-billable) charge, every message, every phone call (in and out), every note, every contact (parties, attorneys, adjusters, witnesses, judges), and every document associated with that case. And you can (and should) create each one of these items from within Time Matters. If you do, you’ll be rewarded with a complete history of your case in the tabs on the Case Form. For documents generated by another office, you can scan directly into the docs tab. The feature supports “TWAIN” drivers (which is the standard for scanners). As of this writing, this feature supports only one page scans. Time Matters said that multi-page scanning will be supported in the next service release, which may be available by the time you read this article. In the mean time, you can scan into whatever format you like, and reference the file in the docs tab. It will have the same functionality as if you had initiated your scanning software from within Time Matters. You can just double-click on your case in the Case Reference Sub-list, and there it is. You also can highlight the document you want to see (a description is associated with each file name), click Go To, and it comes up in the appropriate program. This holds true for spreadsheet documents, portable document format (PDF) documents, and anything else referenced in the list. This means that you have an indexed and summarized list of every document pertinent to the case in a list on the docs tab of the Case Form. Time Matters still can synchronize with 3Com’s handheld Palm devices. More importantly, Time Matters can be set to synchronize with a remote Time Matters installation on a notebook computer. Set up appropriately, it can create an exact duplicate of an individual user’s files (or the whole firm if you wish) on the notebook, so that when you’re not connected to your network, you still have all the information you would have if you were in your office. You even can have Time Matters copy the actual files referenced in the docs tab of the Case Form copied to your notebook. When you create a new file or reference an existing file in the docs tab of the Case Form, use an ampersand character to replace the default file location. If the default file location set up in a remote Time Matters database on your laptop is c:\wpdocs, and you want the file saved to c:\wpdocs\client\client1.ltr.wpd, enter the file name “&client\client1.ltr.wpd.” You can edit the file on any computer on your network. Whatever changes are made to the file will be updated to your notebook when you synchronize the next time. Real-time messaging allows the receptionist (or anyone else) to send you a real-time message, which notifies you of a phone call, the arrival of a client, or other event. Because it’s instantaneous, you can get the message even when you’re on the phone, which gives the option to stop what you’re doing to address the new event, or to ignore it until later.
Time Matters contains a document assembly feature that should be sufficient for most firms, eliminating the necessity of purchasing other software. Time Matters also contains extensive auditing features. Time Matters has powerful, sophisticated security features. If you aren’t the only one using the program, use them. Assign one person the task of entering codes and other information. If you don’t, you run the risk of having multiple designations for the same functions, which is counterproductive. For example, I have seen several databases where a user, not seeing the term “lawyer” on the scroll-down list, enters the term “attorney.” Thereafter, some users will characterize some contacts as lawyer, and some as attorney resulting in two dissimilar lists of the same thing, thus making it much more difficult to create an accurate list. One great benefit is its ability to view similar information together; all “deadlines” for example. Fragmenting the database with multiple designations — “due on” for example, nullifies this benefit. |
DATA.TXT Corporation (800) DATATXT www.timematters.com Windows 95/98/NT 4.0/2000 Full product: $350 for first user, $150 for
each additional user. Reviewed by Steve Schmidt, attorney, Singer Smith & Williams, Albuquerque, N.M. PROS CONS VERDICT |
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With the reporting functions and various filters, you can get a list
(with detail if desired) of every phone call received from opposing counsel between
specific dates, for example. You can attach notes to each record and display them later
connected to your case or a contact. If you link to Timeslips Version 10, with proper
setup, creating a new case record in Time Matters creates a new Timeslips record as well,
obviating the need to enter the information twice. Timeslips created in Time Matters still
don’t show the time you switched the timer on, which can be useful. Time Matters
reports that this is a limitation of Timeslips and not Time Matters. But this minor
inconvenience is easily remedied. First, click on the timer button in Time Matters (Time
Matters will record the time you switched on the timer). Then click the “send to
billing” button. In Timeslips, you will see that the recorded time has already been
transferred with the slip. Now, turn on the timer in Timeslips, and you have a start time
that will only be a minute or two behind the actual start time referenced in Time Matters.