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| Jr. Partner | Case Management |
 The best graphical interfaces in this roundup belong
to Amicus Attorney and Jr. Partner. The initial screen of Jr. Partner has eight large
buttons, with explanations next to each. You select your desired activity, and are taken
directly to that screen. The original buttons then become the toolbar across the top of
the screen in subsequent views. Each view also includes a second toolbar that includes
only those action items that are relevant to that view.The calendar view offers the traditional view of a spiral-bound organizer, displaying appointments and to-do items. There are tabs on the calendar side that let you click between daily and weekly (but not monthly) views. One very nice feature is the ease with which you can add or review entries. Next to each calendar and to-do item is a button. One click on it either opens an existing entry and displays all the details, or permits entry of a new item. Unfortunately, the program does not let appointments and to-do items be changed to a new date by dragging and dropping. Jr. Partner also does not permit calendaring from rules, or let you display more calendar information by changing to a higher screen resolution. As a result, the appointment and to-do item descriptions are rather truncated. Once you get past the calendaring deficiencies, you will find that the contact features are well-implemented. The "Rolodex" screen shows, in spreadsheet format, the names and phone numbers of all your contacts. This is where you would go to quickly find a number. Double clicking on one of these listings shows you all of the contact information. Unlike many of the programs reviewed here that seem oblivious to the possibility of a second address for a contact, Jr. Partner permits entry of up to seven "alternative" addresses, including home, work, vacation and e-mail addresses. Given the strong contact features, I was disappointed to see that there is no auto-dial feature. Also, it should be standard procedure by now for a contact program to automatically enter the city and state into a record based on the zip code you enter. Inexplicably, none of the programs reviewed here offer that feature. I was most impressed with Jr. Partner's reporting capabilities. With a few clicks you can create a very impressive status report for the client. Also, most of the information you enter into Jr. Partner can be presented graphically. For example, to better target marketing efforts, you could create a chart of all your clients by city or zip code. Other features include a timer that not only keeps track of the time you have spent on a task, but displays the running dollar total much like a taxi meter. Jr. Partner does not have its own billing system, but there is an optional module for linking to Timeslips. Jr. Partner will create documents in Word and WordPerfect through links to those programs, and there is an available module for linking the program to HotDocs. Jr. Partner Plus is also available, and adds a feature called "Roadmapping"--another name for rule-based event scheduling. |
Millennium Software By Aaron P. Morris From the Shopper's Guide to Case Management Software - Dec/Jan '98 |
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