Walker Prestons Solicitors

The growth of an Industrial Disease heavyweight

“Proclaim enables us to deliver an excellent level of service, optimising the quality of the client's journey with us every step of the way."

Anser Amin, Partner

Walker Prestons Solicitors is one of the country's leading Industrial Disease firms, providing a full end-to-end claims service. With offices in Blackburn and Sheffield, the firm employs around 60 legal professionals and celebrates its 10^th birthday in 2013.

The Challenge
As a young firm, Walker Prestons was looking for a way to increase claim throughput, without the need to radically scale up its headcount. A system was sought that could automate much of the 'standard' procedure within claims, but which provided the freedom to manage them in the firm's preferred way.

The Solution
Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management system was implemented to provide a complete, centralised desktop solution for the firm's claim handlers and fee earners. Initially implemented to manage RTA claims, staff at Walker Prestons have been able to utilise Proclaim's in-built toolset to create a dedicated Industrial Disease system. This was possible following a short series of Eclipse training courses and some advice from the Eclipse Support Team, and has not necessitated advanced technical knowledge, nor the employment of dedicated IT staff.

The Results
Proclaim is used to manage a huge number and variety of Industrial Disease claims, as well as a consistently high number of RTA cases. Proclaim lends itself to organising complex cases with multiple correspondents and heavy document production - staff can handle more work and benefit from automated task lists and reminders to keep organised.
The firm has expanded from 10 to 60 staff, enjoying a great level of word-of-mouth and recommendation business. Proclaim helps clients of Walker Prestons to stay informed through intelligent (personalised) document production and automated SMS text messaging. The firm has ambitious plans to grow further, with Proclaim at the centre of its operations.

New Alternative Business Structure invests in Eclipse's Proclaim solution

Autonet Law LLP, which was granted its ABS licence by the SRA in April 2013, has selected Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software solution.

Autonet Law has been established by Autonet Insurance Services Ltd to provide a personal injury claims solution for its client base. Formed in 1998, Autonet currently writes over £100 million GWP per annum and employs over 650 staff at its site in Stoke on Trent.

Autonet Law is implementing Proclaim throughout the firm as its core Practice Management solution. Proclaim's integrated Lead Management system is included to provide seamless marketing, file opening, and ongoing adherence to SRA regulations. In addition, Autonet Law is taking advantage of Proclaim's A2A (Application-to-Application) functionality to process low-value RTA (Road Traffic Accident) claims through the Government's Portal system.

Ian Donaldson, Managing Director of Autonet, comments:

"As a newly formed practice, our primary goal was to implement an established and scalable solution that is already proven and in use by other Alternative Business Structures. It’s of vital importance to us that all matters we handle follow our strict quality guidelines, from both a business angle and a compliance one.

Proclaim will allow us to progress claims in an effective and transparent manner, removing any duplication and non-value adding administration. We see Proclaim as an excellent fit for our business moving forward, and see the system as an integral part of our growth strategy."

FTSE 250 company, Carillion, implements Proclaim

Carillion Advice Services (CAS), part of FTSE 250 company, Carillion, has implemented Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management Software solution.

As a group, Carillion employs 40,000 people and generates global revenues of over £4billion. Majoring in construction and investment activities, Carillion has expanded its portfolio to offer legal and advice services, with CAS delivering quality, timely, advice to individuals and organisations. CAS operates in both the public and private sectors and is known for both quality and the competitive rates at which advice is provided. The innovative CAS model and expertise in managed legal service and outsourcing offers a highly scalable platform for growth.

CAS recently won a 5-year contract with the Legal Aid Agency to provide legally aided telephone advice (having last year taken over the contract holder, Eaga). Managed by Carillion Legal, the contract is being run by CAS which is now the country's largest advice provider of its type.

Following an exhaustive selection process, Carillion chose Eclipse's Proclaim system to manage all core CAS advice and matter progression work. Proclaim provides a complete, centralised desktop solution for all CAS fee earners and advisors, managing the full lifecycle of each file, from inception to conclusion.

Helen Ord, who heads CAS, comments:

"Of key importance for us was a solution that provides a slick and user-friendly environment for our advisors, whilst also providing the best possible experience for the people we help. Proclaim fits the bill on both accounts, and in it we have found the perfect framework in which to deliver our service promise."

Eclipse's Chief Business Executive, Russell Thomson, comments:

"We are delighted to welcome Carillion onboard - Proclaim provides a fantastic solution for organisations wanting to deliver an optimum service experience both internally and externally. We look forward to a long and successful relationship."

Proclaim integrates with Lawyer Checker

The UK’s largest independently owned legal IT provider, Eclipse Legal Systems, has announced integration with the new ‘Lawyer Checker’ service.

Lawyer Checker is an online service that allows a purchase conveyancer to gather further information on the seller’s conveyancer.  Specifically, the service identifies if bank account details provided by the buyer’s conveyancer have a track record of use in conveyancing.

Lawyer Checker was born from a need to avoid a growing trend for fraud, whereby a fictitious firm, or disqualified firm, would pose as a legitimate conveyancer.  Some fraudsters have even gone so far as to enter their details into the SRA list of solicitors’ practices, thereby assuming an initial mask of legitimacy.  Lawyer Checker analyses a database of law firm client account numbers to see if the account requesting funds is one that is ‘known’, or if the details appear to be new (or infrequently used).  The service can provide further checks on over ten databases including Land Registry previous transaction data, CQS list and FCA Registers to provide a comprehensive report on the entity associated with that account.

Eclipse’s Proclaim Case and Practice Management Solutions now enable conveyancers to action a Lawyer Checker search at the click of a button – the search can even be triggered automatically as part of a workflow process, at pre-defined points.  The results of the check are then used to judge the risk of sending funds to the suggested account.

Tracy Blencowe, Business Solutions Director at Eclipse, comments:

“Lawyer Checker adds a valuable risk control element to conveyancing.  Our Proclaim Conveyancing systems are in use at over 200 law firms, and this tool is a great fit for practices wanting to add an extra dimension to their risk management processes.”

Eclipse appoints The Black Hole marketing agency

(Reproduced with kind permission from The Black Hole)

Business growth opportunities for the nation’s legal services firms are to be bolstered as the UK’s leading Case Management Software provider, Eclipse Legal Systems, appoints Leeds-based response marketing agency, The Black Hole, to help increase its lead on the competition.

The appointment, following a four-way pitch, supports Eclipse’s ambitious growth plans and work will include a market positioning review, new messaging, branding and customer contact strategies.

Darren Gower, Head of Marketing at Eclipse Legal Systems, said:

“Today’s lawyers must be quick to respond to changing customer requirements & spot new opportunities. Not only is our Proclaim software best in class for effectively managing caseloads, it actively helps develop the client relationship, opening up new avenues for business growth. So we need a marketing partner that can help us to cement our position and open up new business opportunities.

“It is key for us to work with a team offering a proven ability to understand customers and generate significant response, and as a response specialist, The Black Hole is right for us. We were very impressed at the effort and level of understanding displayed by The Black Hole. Not only did the initial creative suggestions stand out for me, but also the agency’s understanding of our market place and how to drive more opportunities from it.”

Ian Feber, Founder and Creative Strategy Director, The Black Hole, said:

“We’re very pleased to be working with a market-leader like Eclipse. The Black Hole brings specialist experience in developing propositions, marketing strategy and creative that grows businesses, providing clear returns on investment, and we look forward to generating significant results with the team at Eclipse.”

Claims Innovation Awards 2013 - The winners!

Congratulations to all who took part in the Claims Innovation Awards (8th May, Hilton Manchester), headline sponsored by Eclipse Legal Systems.

The annual Claims Innovation Awards celebrate how firms, teams and individuals from across the legal services and claims management landscape constantly find new ways of raising standards, growing business and improving access to justice.

The full list of winners is below!

• Best Use of Technology: i-sign
• Client Care Initiative: Ageas Insurance Limited
• Claims Management Company Team of the Year, 1-50 Employees: S&G Response
• Claims Management Company Team of the Year, 51+ Employees: Atrium Legal Services
• Legal Services Team of the Year, 1-10 Partners: Express Solicitors
• Legal Services Team of the Year, 11+ Partners: JMW Solicitors
• Associated Industries Team of the Year, 1-10 Employees: Photofile Ltd
• Associated Industries Team of the Year, 11 - 100 Employees: HARTECuk
• Associated Industries Team of the Year, 101+ Employees: i-sign
• Online Initiative of the Year: Professional Solutions Learning & Development
• Rising Star: Kevin Timms, Garden House Solicitors
• Outstanding Innovator of the Year: Neil Hudgell
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Andrew Twambley

Gedye & Sons takes Hosted Proclaim Matter Management solution

Award winning boutique law firm, Gedye & Sons, has implemented Eclipse's Proclaim Matter Management solution.

With offices in the picturesque Lake District (Cumbria) and Old Bailey in the heart of London, Gedye & Sons provides a range of legal services nationwide. Clients range from private individuals and family trusts, through to small businesses, company boards and multi-national organisations. The practice took the decision to replace its existing solution with one unified system capable of centralising operations and providing universal access to data regardless of fee earner location. With 286-miles between offices, ease of access to consistent, live data was paramount in the decision.

Gedye & Sons has taken a Proclaim Matter Management solution to cater for all work areas, in addition to ready-to-go workflow modules for its conveyancing and probate teams. To provide a single, consistent solution its offices - and to cater for home workers - the firm has opted for a Hosted Proclaim system. As part of the implementation, Eclipse carried out a conversion of data from the firm's incumbent matter management system. Gedye & Sons is also taking Proclaim’s BigHand integration tool for seamless digital dictation functionality.

Nick Davis, Business Relations Manager at Gedye & Sons, comments:

"Our primary goal for implementing Proclaim was to have one consistent system across all of the practice's access points. We wanted to offer our clients instant comment on correspondence regardless of where it was received it or where the fee earner was located at the time. Proclaim enables our north and south locations to share identical data, so matters that are updated are visible instantly to everyone, no matter their location. The Hosted solution also allows our higher fee earners the flexibility to work from home when the need arises. The system we now have ensures that our clients see an already outstanding service enhanced for their benefit - there is complete uniformity of experience despite our disparate geography!"