Niche technologies

 

How a little extra can bring new levels of efficiency

The use of technology in law firms and other legal organisations has been revolutionary. For fee earners, partners, cashiers, and IT specialists – the introduction of certain software has been a game changer, enabling firms to grow at a faster rate than ever before.

Most good law firms today will have a case or practice management solution in place for staff to use the many time-saving features to increase their efficiencies, take on new business, and generate more revenue for the business.

But aside from programmes used to manage case files and the finances of a firm, what are other technologies that can be used to enhance efficiency? Once you have your Proclaim environment set up, what else can you do?

Smaller technologies with a very specific benefit

We’re a huge advocate of more niche technologies. Smaller pieces of software that do a very specific job. They’re not necessarily going to appeal to everyone, only those who have a very particular task that needs completing.

One such item of software is Arken Professional, which now integrates seamlessly with Proclaim. Arken Professional is an online will creator that walks fee earners through the process of drafting a will for their client, in the quickest, but most effective way possible.

Wills are a small but quickly growing section of the legal sector in the UK. Only fee earners who choose to offer this as a service have anything to do with wills on a day-to-day basis, and Arken is designed with these very people in mind.

Great benefits at a small cost

The great thing about niche technologies is they offer a solution to a very unique problem, but can be quite small in nature and so are relatively inexpensive. Arken, for example, is available as an add-on to

Proclaim – and so doesn’t cost anything close to a stand-alone wills solution.

But the benefits can be huge. These technologies cater to the very specific needs of fee earners in this field, and provide solutions to their challenges. In general, they can make things even more efficient – in ways a general case management software solution is limited to due to its broad scope of requirements.

Existing efficiencies are enhanced further when other niche technologies such as Arken Professional can ‘plug-in’ to your main solution creating a new level of maximum efficiency for your law firm.

Niche technologies aren’t limited to will creation. There are all sorts of different things, suitable for different types of tasks. But the integration with Arken Professional is our latest innovation that we’re particularly excited about here at Eclipse, as it provides a very obvious and fast benefit to our clients.

You can read more about our integration with Arken Professional by clicking here.

Efficiency boost for private client sector as Proclaim integrates with Arken.legal (UK) Ltd

Eclipse Legal Systems, a Law Society partner, has announced integration with Arken.legal’s intuitive, comprehensive document generation solution – Arken Professional.

The integration enables a seamless connection between Proclaim, the Case Management Solution from Eclipse, and Arken Professional – eliminating the need to re-key any data. Information is transferred between the two systems immediately, significantly reducing drafting time, creating greater consistency across documents. Once completed in Arken Professional, the Will and associated documentation (including Lasting Powers of Attorney, General Powers of Attorney, Advance Decisions and Expression of Wishes) are automatically stored into the relevant case history within Proclaim.

The easy-to-use Proclaim interface and secure connection with Arken Professional enables greater fee earner productivity, resulting in faster turnaround and reduced risk across practices.

Award-winning Arken.legal has been leading the way in technology with innovative software for the estate planning industry since 1992. Built by lawyers and developed by technology experts, over 6 million Wills have been drafted using its pioneering software.

Mick Thompson, Technical Director of Eclipse, comments:

“The ability for fee earners to pass client information quickly and securely into Arken.legal’s Will writing software without having to re-key data for a second time will be a huge time saver for law firms. This swift, efficient service is bound to delight clients of law firms using this integration – helping to differentiate from the competition further.”

Dave Newick, Managing Director of Arken.legal, comments:

“This integration is a game changer for anyone in the private client sector who is looking for ways to increase profitability through finding efficiencies. Rebuilding business after COVID-19 is a strong focus for our users right now. Our API integrations allow the busy professional to eliminate the time sink that is re-keying data – letting them focus on crucial areas such as building revenues and client retention. Our partnership with Eclipse – another industry leader – has come at an important time. Lockdown forced professionals to embrace digitisation like never before – from the remote running of their business to delivering services and liaising with clients and colleagues. Many people are entering into their new normal with a stronger trust and appreciation of technology, which we plan to strongly support in our march towards future-proofing the sector. We’re excited to see the immediate benefits this will have for our users.”

Incredible insights with Proclaim BI – Know Your Data

Jack works for a relatively large law firm in Manchester. As a Team Leader, it’s his job to ensure each fee earner in the conveyancing department is working productively, in order to guarantee a high level of efficiency within his team.

It’s important that Jack is always able to see exactly how much work each member of his team has been assigned at any time. Where there are gaps in an individual’s schedule, he can allocate new business that firm has agreed to take on.

As the legal world is quite fast-moving, this can be difficult. But Jack uses Proclaim, and benefits from Proclaim BI – the new business intelligence dashboard that provides vast amounts of insight into key business information including fee earner productivity and the case work they have been doing.

This gives Jack an overview of how the team is performing in terms of efficiency. But in addition to that, it provides key insights into potential issues that could be preventing the team from maximising revenue.

For example, one of Jack’s team – Gary – has taken on lots of different conveyancing cases in the last month, but he hasn’t billed as much as you might expect. Jack looked into the data, and saw that most of these cases hadn’t actually progressed past the searches stage.

This identified a big problem for the team – its search provider was too slow and acting as a bottleneck for conveyancing cases. Jack decided to implement a new search provider, cases were able to move along much quicker, and the number of billings increased.

All because Jack was able to establish what the problem was through knowing his data.

Sophie is a fee earner who works in Jack’s team at a Manchester law firm. She works on conveyancing cases for a variety of different clients, helping people purchase or sell a property. Sophie, as well as the other fee earners, have a target for the number of billings they need to complete every month.

The end of the month is fast approaching, and Sophie is still a little way behind her target. Not too far, but she needs to work hard over the next week or so to get a couple of cases over the line and ensure her goals are met.

One thing she can do is utilise Proclaim BI to analyse the data behind her cases, and the work she has done so far this month.

Sophie does this, and specifically drills down into the details to see which cases of hers are closest to being completed, and which don’t really have a chance of closing before the end of the month. By knowing her data, Sophie knows which cases to prioritise.

She can also see the potential value of each case, and again is able to prioritise those that will help her achieve her targets for that month. Without this information, it would prove much more difficult to generate maximum revenue for her firm.

The importance of analysing data in a law firm

Three ways to avoid being left behind

A law firm isn’t necessarily the type of organisation you would expect needs to focus so much on data and analytics. They take on cases for individuals and businesses, try to reach the best conclusion possible for their clients, and then move on to the next case.

But the underlying statistics create a clear picture of how the entire operation is running, and a thorough analysis can enable firms to improve efficiencies and performance. Taking the time to look at the data, including information on cases, fee earners and accounts, is well worthwhile.

This is what the best law firms are doing today. If you’re not – then you’re being left behind.

Analysing case data

If you want to maximise your output, in terms of completed cases, then it’s important to ensure you’re working near to full capacity as much as possible. Keep your fee earners busy and as soon as a space opens up in their workload, ensure it gets filled with more billable hours.

To do this, you should constantly be reviewing data on how many cases are currently open, which cases have recently closed, and what capacity your fee earners are currently working at. This way you always know where there are gaps that can be filled with new business.

Analysing employee performance

The type of data mentioned above is also incredibly useful when looking at the performance of your fee earners. For example, if they have targets for the number of cases they need to complete in any given time frame, this information will show who is on track, and who isn’t.

Good analytics software will also enable users to breakdown not just the number of cases each fee earner is currently working on, but the value of those cases, so you can easily see which individuals are generating the most revenue for your firm – and which could be doing better.

Analysing financial data

Speaking of revenue, the ability to really drill down into financial analytics is incredibly important from a business perspective. The ability to see the value of each case can provide amazing insights into what sort of clients you should be looking to take on, in order to maximise revenues.

Of course, looking into financial data is already done by law firms – accounting staff need to know what money is coming in and where money is going out. But to specifically attribute those figures to particular clients allows you to see which clients are especially profitable for the firm, and seeing which fee earners are bringing in the most money is useful information to have.

Proclaim BI

With Proclaim BI law firms can easily analyse business efficiency and avoid being left behind by the competition.

Proclaim BI is the new dashboard designed to help law firms know their data and enable them to make more informed business decisions, allowing users to clearly visualise their key business information and access data insight and graphical analysis in real time.

Legal Protection Group selects Proclaim Case Management solution from Eclipse

Bristol-based Legal Protection Group is implementing the Proclaim Case Management solution from Eclipse, the market-leading legal software provider.

The group, led by several industry experts, specialises in legal protection insurance for various areas of law.

Following an in-depth search for a case management solution that could be easily configured to meet specific requirements, Legal Protection Group determined a claims specific version of Proclaim was the standout choice of software. Proclaim will enable employees firm-wide to deliver a consistent approach at each stage of the claims process.

In addition, Legal Protection Group will be implementing TouchPoint+, the client self-service portal from Eclipse. Accessible via smartphones, iPads, tablets or laptops, TouchPoint+ includes Secure online document delivery and signing along with online case tracking and live updates. This will allow the business to process claims more efficiently whilst continuing to provide great client care.

Clare Wright, Operations Manager at Legal Protection Group, comments:

“Proclaim is undoubtedly going to improve efficiencies across our organisation, enabling us to deliver a faster and consistent higher level of service to clients, creating a great platform for the business to grow.

“The addition of TouchPoint+ is a milestone moment in our journey to continually enhance the level of service we offer to our clients – increasing our edge over competitors even further. Overall, we’re delighted to be embracing the power of Proclaim and the benefits it will bring to us and our clients.”

Start-up selects Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse

Start-up law firm Exclusive Law is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

Founded in early 2020, the Manchester-based practice specialises in personal injury cases and boasts fee earners with a wealth of previous experience in delivering an exceptional service to clients in this specialist field.

The firm looked to hit the ground running upon beginning its operations, and sought to implement a fully integrated practice management solution that would ensure maximum efficiencies across the firm whilst enabling the provision of a high-quality of service to clients from day one.

After an in-depth review Exclusive Law selected Proclaim, the inbuilt personal injury workflows and inherent scalability will prove to be a key asset to the business for years to come. The accounting toolset integrated within Proclaim will enable streamlined processes throughout the entire practice.

In addition, Exclusive Law decided to implement TouchPoint+, the device independent self-service portal from Eclipse that allows firms to better connect with their clients. TouchPoint+ displays live information on a particular case in an interactive format, enabling clients to be updated at their own convenience.

Andrew Doyle, Director at Exclusive Law, comments:

“Proclaim is just what we need to help us get up and running. Implementing a solution quickly which will create efficiencies from the start, rather than waiting and transferring to suitable software at a later date, will prove to be a massive time-saver.

“We’re looking forward to the benefits that having a single system firm-wide brings such as a consistent approach to services and a central store of client documentation. With TouchPoint+, it will be even easier for our clients to receive an excellent service – viewing and signing key documents electronically can all be done from the convenience of home without the need to visit our office.”

Enhanced flexibility with Proclaim Go – work anywhere

Jane is a solicitor who works at a law firm in Birmingham. Today, she’s out of the office visiting a client in the centre of London. This used to mean that Jane would have to print key case information in advance or take along a laptop to access Proclaim – not ideal when traveling on several trains.

Thankfully Jane can utilise Proclaim Go – a mobile and tablet friendly application powered by Proclaim, designed especially for fee earners like her, who are often travelling or in client meetings with a need to access accurate live information on their cases and the ability to record events and update information on their cases, on the go.

On the way to the client, Jane gets up to speed with her client’s details through her smartphone – she simply presses the Proclaim Go shortcut icon and uses the favourite cases function to easily find her client’s case history – which includes documents and previous correspondence.

Mid-way through the meeting, which is going well, Jane and her client decide to take a break. Jane steps outside and receives a call on her phone from a different client, asking for some information on his case.

Normally, Jane would have to make a note of her client’s request and get back to them the following day when back in the office with access to Proclaim – if she remembered and the note wasn’t lost.

However, with Proclaim Go, Jane can provide excellent client care instantly all through her smartphone. Jane searches for her client’s case by name and retrieves the requested information for her client all whilst he’s on the phone. Once the call has ended, Jane records the time she spent on the call and the details discussed directly into the case history using Proclaim Go. If in a suitable location, Jane could even use her smartphone’s existing digital dictation functionality to record case notes with Proclaim Go.

Jane returns to her meeting knowing that everything is up to date. After the meeting, on the train journey home, Jane records her time and enters a memo updating the case history with the outcomes of the meeting. After updating the case, Jane sets herself follow up tasks to ensure nothing is missed for her client in the future and views her scheduled tasks for the next day – all on Proclaim Go using her smartphone.

Eclipse launches Proclaim BI – a new dashboard to visualise business intelligence in real time

Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, has announced the launch of Proclaim BI – a business intelligence dashboard integrated within Proclaim case and practice management.

Proclaim BI has been designed to help law firms know their data and enable them to make more informed business decisions, allowing users to clearly visualise their key business information and access data insight and graphical analysis in real time.

Proclaim BI includes dashboards to cater for both case-related information and financial and accounting metrics with the information displayed being unique to the user’s profile.

Data can be aggregated with that from non-Proclaim sources if users wish, and can exported for further analysis if required into 3rd party formats.  Exports can be scheduled to run and distributed automatically at pre-set times.

Mick Thompson, Technical Director at Eclipse, Comments:

“Law firms are under increasing pressure to operate efficient, profitable business models alongside delivering excellent legal services and client care. Our latest innovation – Proclaim BI – gives firms accurate, live business information which is essential when making informed decisions.”

“Proclaim BI boasts a crisp and accessible interface that clearly displays configurable information, through the use of charts, graphs and tables. It’s never been easier to see where your practice is thriving, and where there are areas for improvement.”

Improve fee earner efficiency – make it easier to work from anywhere

Law firms throughout the UK are figuring out how they can become more efficient. Whether that’s through focusing on new markets, implementing new technologies, or other solutions they might have.

The most important thing for them is to get their fee earners working more efficiently. But fee earners are restricted to what they can do by the legal practice they work for – it’s up to the employer to provide their employees with a working environment that enables greater efficiency.

Here at Eclipse, we believe the solution lies within your case management system. A good solution will provide fee earners with the freedom to be more productive than they ever have been – but only if used right. So here’s what to do.

Maximise accessibility

One of the key ways in which you can help fee earners achieve their goals of greater efficiency is by increasing accessibility to their tools. And the most important tool they have is their Case Management solution.

Having it installed on the computers in the office, or in the cloud, is one thing. But fee earners often have to be out of the office visiting clients. So they need to be able to access the details of all their case files remotely and conveniently, be that in the back of a taxi, in a lift, or while dashing between meetings. Time that would have otherwise been lost can be spent productively.

Ensure security

One concern individuals may have about a remote version of a case management system – whether they’re a fee earner, client, or partner at the firm – is that its availability outside of the office makes it less safe, and more susceptible to malicious attacks.

These are fair concerns, and so it’s imperative that any solution that increases accessibility also takes into account security. The fact is, smartphones are just as, if not more secure than any other method – as they usually require a fingerprint scan to access the device itself.

Paper documents can get lost easily, and it’s not uncommon for a laptop to get left behind in a client’s office, or on the back seat of a taxi. This can happen to smartphones too, but their more secure nature – the aforementioned fingerprint or facial scan – makes this less dangerous.

No new product or feature that can access sensitive data should be launched before passing stringent data security tests. Protecting the data contained within case management systems should be of the utmost importance to legal software suppliers – and it is to us.

Proclaim Go

Which brings us to Proclaim Go – a new secure environment which increases the accessibility of the Proclaim case management solution.

Proclaim Go is a mobile and tablet friendly application powered by Proclaim.

It allows fee earners to access case history details (including documents and previous correspondence) while away from their PC or laptop. All they need is an internet connection, and login details to their own personal Proclaim Go portal.

With Proclaim Go, users can record meetings and update information on their cases, such as logging phone calls, creating case notes (using their smartphone’s existing digital dictation functionality), recording time and viewing future tasks – all on the go.

It gives fee earners the extra flexibility they need to help them provide an exceptional service to their clients.

Eclipse launches Proclaim Go – a new application allowing fee earners to work anywhere

Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, has announced the launch of Proclaim Go – a mobile and tablet friendly application powered by Proclaim.

Proclaim Go is designed especially for fee earners who are often travelling or in client meetings, with a need to access accurate live information on their cases. With Proclaim Go, users can record meetings and update information, such as logging phone calls, creating memos, recording time and viewing future tasks – all on the go.

The new secure environment with optional two-factor authentication increases the accessibility of the Proclaim case management solution. As well as access via traditional desktop or cloud channels, fee earners can now access case history details (including documents and previous correspondence) while away from their PC or laptop. All they need is an internet connection, and login details to their own personal Proclaim Go application.

Darren Gower, Sales & Marketing Director at Eclipse, Comments:

“Our latest innovation gives users of the Proclaim case management solution the extra flexibility they need to continue providing an exceptional service away from a traditional desktop or cloud environment. Fee earners can stay up to speed with the latest live information whenever and wherever they take their smartphone, making it even easier to adopt more flexible ways of working.

“Fee earners can provide excellent client care instantly through a smartphone by searching for a client’s case by name and retrieving the requested information all whilst on the phone. Once the call has ended, users can record the time spent on the call and the details discussed directly into the case history using Proclaim Go. Notes can even be added using a smartphone’s existing digital dictation functionality.”

CKE Law selects Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse

Manchester-based CKE Law is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

Providing legal services to both individuals and businesses, CKE Law places high importance on delivering a quality and efficient service to clients, so as to meet all expectations they have.

The firm specialises in a range of legal areas, including personal injury, probate and debt recovery, and so required a solution that would enable the effective management of different case types in the most efficient way possible. Proclaim’s tailored workflows for these particular areas of law will prove to be massively beneficial to the firm.

The Practice Management solution includes an accounting toolset that allows seamless billing procedures, so the software can be used throughout the practice by each department – further boosting efficiency.

Charles Edwards, Solicitor at CKE Law, comments:

“We firmly believe Proclaim will enable growth at our practice over the next few years. The time-saving nature of the inbuilt task automation toolsets, and the increased efficiencies it will bring, are certain to open up more opportunities for us to service a higher number of clients.

“It was important for us to have an accounting toolset so everything can be run through one system, and the Proclaim Accounts solution was exactly what we were looking for. We’re very excited about how this solution will help us deliver an even better service to our clients.”

Bespoke Case Management – how to get the perfect solution

A good case management system will work around you. A bad case management system will expect you to adapt, change your preferred way of working, and make sacrifices in order to use it. Which would you prefer?

Technology is at a point where rigid software is no longer acceptable. Two people using the same piece of software are going to use it in slightly different ways – thousands of people using the same software are going to find even more things to do with it – so these options need to be available.

No two case management systems have to be the same, even if produced by the same supplier. Of course they can be. There are thousands of law firms in the UK, and there will be a lot of overlap in the way they work.

But the ability to have a truly bespoke system will prove to be massively beneficial to those who do require something more than an out of the box solution.

There are a variety of different ways in which you can modify and customise your case management solution.

Workflows

Tailored workflows based on the areas of law you work within are the natural first step towards creating a bespoke system.

Out of the box solutions are available, where fee earners can complete common, generic tasks not exclusive to a particular area of law. But individual workflows allow you to work more efficiently in the unique tasks found in certain specialist fields such as conveyancing, probate, criminal and family law.

Each workflow has its own tailored screens to guide fee earners. And you can implement as many as you like. Pick and choose based on your specialist areas of law.

For example, if you obtain the probate workflow with Proclaim, you can download the latest IHT forms directly from our Client Area into your Proclaim environment – for you to complete and store in the appropriate case file.

Integrations

Case Management developers will always try to build new features they think will benefit their users. But sometimes, it’s easier and more cost effective for everyone if they take something that has already been built, and integrate it into their software.

So instead of something being created from scratch, they can take an already industry-leading product and offer it to their user through their Case Management solution.

Providers will often have a variety of integrations their users can choose to implement. Proclaim has almost a hundred lots to choose from. For example, Legal Bricks – a conveyancing search supplier that enables searches to be conducted directly from within Proclaim.

Again, users can pick and choose which integrations they would like, creating an even more bespoke solution.

Additional Products

You’ve got your Case Management set up, with suitable workflows and a couple of useful integrations that will allow you to add real value to your services. But it can get even better – with the addition of other products that plug into your main system.

These products can do any number of things. At Eclipse, we have a range of products that work seamlessly with our Proclaim Case Management system. Below is a brief overview of some of the things we can offer:

TouchPoint+ – An online portal for a fee earner’s, clients and referrers to view all their case information in a secure, interactive and branded environment.

SecureDocs – An online document delivery and acceptance tool – firms can securely provide clients with documents via an online portal.

FileView – Enables you to securely display Proclaim case information on your firm’s website, for your clients to see once they have logged in.

CaseViewer – Allows you to export case histories from Proclaim, for use in a non-Proclaim Windows environment.

With Proclaim you can choose your own personalised combination of workflows, integrations and additional products. So you can use it in a way that best suits you and your firm.

And with it, you’ll be better placed to deliver an exceptional service to your clients.

TouchPoint+ security and usability enhancements

Create greater confidence in your law firm with increased security

Two-factor authenticationDan needs to obtain the services of a solicitor. He’s buying his first home, and needs to get the conveyancing process started. Unfortunately, the law firm he was going to choose recently suffered a data breach, and sensitive client information was obtained by hackers.

So now he’s worried that if he chooses the wrong solicitor, his information could be compromised.

As such, his search for a conveyancer is very thorough. Dan comes across a law firm that uses TouchPoint+ – an online interactive self-service portal that allows clients of law firms to get updates on case progress at any time and facilitates easier communication between solicitors and their clients.

Dan noticed the law firm uses the latest version of TouchPoint+ that comes with a new security feature. Two-factor authentication, which means there are two things he needs to do before he can login to his account. First, he uses his login details (username and password) as normal. Then he will receive a text message to his phone with a unique code that needs to be entered into the portal.

Without the two-factor authentication – if anyone untoward were to get hold of Dan’s password and login, they will have access to communications between the law firm and Dan, as well as confidential documents regarding the case. Adding this extra layer of security prevents this scenario from occurring and gives Dan peace of mind his personal data will remain secure. If anyone were to steal Dan’s username and password information, they would also need his phone to gain access.

Dan sees this technology as a sign the law firm is dedicated to providing clients with a safe environment from which they can communicate and service his conveyancing needs. Dan hires this law firm to complete the purchase of his property.

Streamline case processing whilst enhancing client care

See all your matters in one placeMid-way through the conveyancing process, Dan has an accident at work and is looking to make a claim. Thankfully, the firm he has chosen to arrange the purchase of his new home also specialises in personal injury law.

So he speaks to the firm and his case is set up in no time. Whilst a different solicitor is handling his personal injury claim, Dan can use the same TouchPoint+ account to view both of the different matters the law firm is looking after.

There’s no need for another account. He can seamlessly switch between viewing the details of his conveyancing and personal injury cases, making everything more efficient. The Solicitors that are looking after Dan’s matters can also log into in to TouchPoint+ and view all the different matters they are working on in the same easy to use interface – helping to provide Dan and others like him with great client care.

Using technology to improve the client experience – but in a safe and secure way

Delivering a good client experience is essential in the legal world. Many who seek the advice or services of a law firm are in a difficult situation, and need the necessary expertise to help finalise their house purchase, handle their personal injury claim, or deal with the sensitive nature of probate work.

People want to pay for legal services that are going to get them the best end result – but they also want to ensure the entire process, whatever their needs might be, is handled smoothly, efficiently and with a certain amount of transparency.

But that could lead to other problems.

The evolution of technology in client services

First, let’s talk about the role technology can play, and has played, in enabling businesses to provide a higher level of customer service.

15 years ago it was becoming essential that every brand, big and small, had a website. They were fantastic platforms for displaying their information, customers could easily get in touch with them, and they helped generate lots of leads. Today brands are discovering ways to improve that experience even more, typically with the development of their own app.

Most individuals have their own smartphone and/or tablet, and so having information available on those platforms with excellent usability features has become very popular. The legal sector has been slow adopting this type of thing, but is beginning to embrace technology more and more when it comes to customer service.

Here’s where the problems start.

Digital solutions could mean less security

Whilst most customers appreciate the way they’re able to better connect with their lawyer, it does require a certain give and take. Having their case information available on an online portal or an app, ready for them to view at any time, is extremely convenient.

They don’t have to constantly phone or email anyone, asking for an update on their circumstances. Everything can be readily available with information provided in real-time. Why would you want to hire a law firm that doesn’t provide that kind of transparency?

But it does mean their case details are going to be available digitally. When it was just on paper, there was very little risk of this information falling into the wrong hands. Now, with news stories about security breaches seemingly quite common, there’s no guarantee everything is safe and secure.

Do your customers want to run the risk that their personal information – details that can be used to defraud them – could be stolen? Absolutely not.

Ensuring a safe and secure environment to protect people’s data

Technology devised to improve the client experience needs suitable security measures in place. One data breach, accidental or malicious, will lose all trust in your services.

TouchPoint+, the self-service portal from Eclipse integrated with the Proclaim Case Management solution, boasts features that ensure a very high level of security. The latest version of this solution now includes two-factor authentication.

It uses SMS text messaging to verify a user’s identity when logging into the portal to view their documents and case status.

That way they can be sure nobody has intercepted anything. Even if a malicious user had their login details, they wouldn’t be able to do or see anything without that text message.

If you’d like to learn more about how TouchPoint+ can securely transform client care at your law firm, you can find out more here.

How Proclaim Practice Management enables growth for the UK’s largest family law firm – Stowe Family Law

Stowe Family Law is the largest specialist family law firm in the UK.

Founded in Leeds in 1982, the practice employs 180 people in 23 different offices, and services around 2,600 clients at any one time. Staff and clients alike enjoy the enormous benefits that come from utilising the Proclaim Practice Management solution.

John Anderson, a digital marketing consultant at Stowe Family Law, spoke to us about how the software has enabled success for the business.

Why Proclaim?

We felt that Eclipse provided a solution in Proclaim that would evolve as the firm did. Stowe Family Law is the UK’s largest specialist family law firm – our goal was to become even bigger and we knew Proclaim would scale along with our own growth.

There was a six-month process to determine which Case Management software to go with. After initial research, we asked four companies to present their solution to our working group – which contained a mix of management, lawyers, finance and secretarial staff. We scored each one based on our requirements, and Eclipse was the clear leading supplier.

Proclaim scored strongly overall, but particularly in the areas of flexibility, scalability and data.

Flexibility-wise, our fee earners appreciated the pre-built workflows, but also were impressed they would be given space to work with the autonomy in a way that suits them.

In terms of scalability, it was clear Proclaim could be built and developed in line with how the business was projected to grow.

And with regards to data, we liked the fact we would have the ability to manage, measure and report on all activity – from initial enquiry through to billing – across a significant number of locations throughout the UK.

Stowe Family Law was paper-based previously. This is our first experience with a Case Management system, and we’re happy to have moved into the current century, removing manual ways of working from our business.

What is the primary use of Proclaim for you?

We do lots with Proclaim. Aside from utilising the standard features such as time recording and billing, which has saved our employees an incredible amount of time and made the firm extremely efficient, Proclaim is also our enquiry and referral management system.

The fact that we can handle enquiries and referrals in the same system we handle cases has proven to be massively beneficial. Our Management Information is also stored in Proclaim, so its use is very widespread throughout the firm.

Each of our family lawyers uses Proclaim, as do their secretaries, the marketing team and the finance department. In total that’s around 180 employees – and our clients, which stands at approximately 2,600, are confident in the way we effectively manage their case due to the efficiency of process, data security and accuracy of billing.

When we initially opted for Proclaim it was launched across 16 locations. Since then we’ve opened several new offices and that number now stands at 23.

What are the benefits of Proclaim?

One of the biggest benefits of Proclaim is the data and insights it has provided to our firm. This information is used to help make key decisions throughout the business – whether it’s determining the outcome of a day-to-day or a boardroom level issue.

The consistency in which our employees can work also enables us to effectively manage risk. The fact that multiple individuals can see the progress of a case means we’re not overly reliant on one person. We’ve also been able to reduce our overall lawyer to secretary ratio due to the efficiencies generated by Proclaim.

How configurable is Proclaim?

We’re very happy with how configurable Proclaim is. We actually recruited a Proclaim developer to work internally, so we can move very quickly to design, build and test new functionality.

If you were to look at our Proclaim system you would see a number of bespoke elements that we consider key to our way of working. For example, our new enquiry management process, an initial client care letter creation feature, and risk assessments.

It’s highly likely we’ll be doing more of this in the future. We constantly review our way of working and tailor the workflows accordingly – and this will continue.

How does Proclaim suit your ongoing needs?

We see Proclaim as the foundation on which we will continue to grow the business.

We’re only two years in. But now we’ve embedded the system and will continue to build on the foundations we’ve created. We’ve found it very easy to train 50+ new users on the system, who all joined the business after implementation.

And it’s that usability that will keep Proclaim as a central part of our company in the years to come.

Core Legal selects Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse

Core Legal is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management solution from Eclipse, the Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

Founded in 2015, the practice has established a strong reputation for providing exceptional legal services at a fair price, and is committed to operating in a way that has a positive economic, social and environmental impact.

Specialising in a range of legal services, including conveyancing and probate, Core Legal has a dedicated legal team with a proven track record. The firm required a fully integrated practice management solution that would enable them to improve internal efficiencies whilst continuing to deliver a high-quality service to clients.

Proclaim was chosen as the best solution to facilitate their business goals. The tailored workflows for Conveyancing, which are enhanced by an integration with the Land Registry Business Gateway, will be key to creating a more efficient working environment and a quicker turnaround for clients.

As part of the project, Eclipse is carrying out a conversion of both case and accounting data from the practice’s incumbent systems.

Matthew Dickenson, Director at Core Legal, said:

“Proclaim will undoubtedly facilitate growth for our firm. The time-saving nature of this solution will allow us to spend more of our efforts on high-priority tasks that add value for our clients and generate more revenue for the business.

“The data conversion from our incumbent case and accounting systems to the single practice-wide Proclaim solution will ensure a seamless continuation in client care from our team.”