Eclipse works in conjunction with UCL Consultants Ltd to develop bespoke Proclaim Case Management Software solution

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at UCL Consultants, a wholly-owned subsidiary of University College London (UCL) and one of the UK's leading providers of academic consultancy services.

Offering a bespoke consultancy service, UCL Consultants handles a variety of projects for a range of clients - from small, single day projects, to large, milestone-focused multi-party projects. The team provides organisations with world-class expertise from over 6,000 academic staff across a wide range of disciplines, to help solve the many challenges faced by society and businesses today.

Due to a significant increase in business volume, UCL Consultants recognised the need for a comprehensive system to automate its contract and client relationship management activities. Working in conjunction with Eclipse, UCL Consultants will develop a bespoke Proclaim Case Management system to ensure maximum productivity and streamline the opportunity to contract process.

Additionally, Eclipse's Lead Management tool will aid with overall opportunity management. This will enable the consultants to track, analyse and report upon all live opportunities for academics, as well as provide intelligence as to which companies and academics have previously worked together.

Roger de Montfort (pictured), Managing Director of UCL Consultants, comments:

"As a leading provider for academic consultancy services, we've seen a huge increase in business volume - so much so that we've over doubled in size in the last three years - and as a result, it became clear that we could benefit from enhanced automation of our processes.

"Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management system will be crucial to our business operations by stripping away the time-consuming elements of opportunity and contract management, enabling us to provide an even better service to our clients and support our continued expansion."

Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management Software solution selected by established housing association, Network Homes

Eclipse Legal Systems is implementing its Law Society Endorsed Proclaim Case Management Software solution at Network Homes, one of the country's leading housing association developers.

Founded in 1974, Network Homes has continually grown to become an established organisation, providing homes of all tenures and operating across the entire housing market. It strives to cultivate a forward-thinking, service driven and financially strong operation, and now manages over 20,500 homes throughout London and the Home Counties. Due to its excellent track record in delivering on time and budget, Network Homes is one of seven 'Trusted Partner' housing association developers for the Government's Homes and Communities Agency.

Eclipse will be implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution within the newly formed in-house legal team at Network Homes, in order to streamline processes and help to reduce spends on external solicitor fees. Additionally, Proclaim will centralise all the team's key information into one desktop application, ready to view and extract at the click of a button, providing a seamless and efficient service.

Furthermore, the comprehensive legal software solution will provide unrivalled automation via the Task Server tool, which will serve to significantly reduce administration time by automating routine tasks, and allowing the legal team to concentrate on providing a quality service.

Tabitha Kassem, Head of Legal Services at Network Homes, comments:

"As one of the country's leading housing associations, our in-house legal team needs to be as efficient as possible. With Proclaim, manual document production will be eliminated, ensuring fast processing and the removal of human error. Additionally, thanks to Eclipse and Proclaim's inherent scalability we can continue to develop our property portfolio."

Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management Software solution enables seamless file transfer at Sterling Costs

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at Sterling Costs, a national firm of Costs Lawyers and Law Costs Draftsmen.

The firm, which has offices in Cheshire and London, prides itself on its team of Costs Lawyers and Draftsmen who specialise in all areas of costs law. With clients nationwide, ranging from sole practitioners to large city practices, and separate departments for privately and publically funded matters, Sterling Costs is one of the relatively few firms to offer a full service in relation to Legal Aid costs (including submission to the Legal Aid Agency via CCMS).

Eclipse has implemented an out-of-the-box Proclaim Costs Drafting Software application to integrate a core case management system with reporting and task management, providing a complete solution for the firm's business requirements.

The comprehensive legal software solution will provide unrivalled flexibility in terms of the provision of services offered by Sterling Costs, enabling seamless file transfer between clients, with minimal intervention from staff. Additionally, the team will benefit from Proclaim's ability to assist with a number of aspects for bill creation, including production of a 'red line' bill, which will significantly increase turnaround time.

Louise Carlisle (pictured), Director at Sterling Costs, comments:

"Our decision to implement Proclaim will not only enhance our service to existing clients, but also to prospective clients seeking to instruct costs draftsmen via a 'one-click' inception process. Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management system has eliminated the time-consuming physical file transfer process, resulting in a faster turnaround time for clients, and enabling us to increase our case volume, whilst maintaining high levels of service."

Eclipse implements its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at new start-up firm, McDermott Smith Law

Eclipse Legal Systems is implementing its Law Society Endorsed Proclaim Case Management Software solution at new start-up, McDermott Smith Law.

The Liverpool-based firm has been founded by Andrew Smith and will focus solely on Personal Injury work. Possessing a wealth of experience from larger firms, Andrew took the decision to establish his own practice in order to offer friendly and expert advice, combined with truly individual client service.

As a new start-up within the Personal Injury sector, McDermott Smith Law recognised the need for a comprehensive and centralised software solution. The practice has selected Eclipse's Proclaim Personal Injury Case Management system to ensure maximum productivity from its inception. Furthermore, Proclaim will eliminate a number of administrative duties including document production, and will enable staff to focus on building strong client relationships.

In addition, McDermott Smith will benefit from Proclaim's integration with the MoJ's RTA and EL/PL Claims portals. Access from the desktop application will be 2-way, ensuring a quick and efficient method of processing cases and resulting in full compliance with the MoJ's claims process.

Andrew Smith, Director of McDermott Smith, comments:

"I have worked with Proclaim at previous firms so I knew when starting my own practice that it would provide a solid platform on which to develop and expand.

"The Personal Injury sector is incredibly competitive, and involved considerable volumes of document production. Implementing Proclaim means we can overcome these hurdles and benefit from high levels of automation, ultimately resulting in our time being spent on client relationships and business development."

Client Case Study: Smooth Law

Smooth Law develops bespoke client journey with Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software solution 

Established in July 2015, Smooth Law is a modern progressive law firm providing claimant legal services to a wide range of clients. The firm prides itself on operating as an entirely paperless office, communicating with clients via email, telephone and SMS text messaging for speed and efficiency.

Paul Keelan (pictured), Senior Proclaim Developer at Smooth Law, has worked with Eclipse's Proclaim legal software since 2003 at a variety of firms, and as a result, possesses extensive knowledge of the system. Most recently, Paul has worked with Eclipse to efficiently implement the Proclaim Practice Management software at Smooth Law and now works as practice's primary Proclaim developer.

Why was Eclipse the chosen supplier for Smooth Law?

The partner here had previously worked at a large Liverpool firm which utilised Proclaim heavily so from first-hand experience, it was the solution of choice. As a smaller firm, but with ambitious plans, it's great that Proclaim is not just exclusive to large firms - whether it's a 100+ fee earner practice, or a sole practitioner, Proclaim remains the same and is always just as simple-to-use.

Additionally, the Law Society Endorsement was a factor in our decision. Although Eclipse and its Proclaim solution were already known to us - and we were certain it was the software suited to us - the endorsement announcement just cemented our confidence in the decision. It meant that, to us, Eclipse was continuing to move forward and although it had already conquered the legal sector market, it wasn't resting on its laurels.

Furthermore, the complete flexibility of Proclaim means we can develop the solution entirely in-house, without the need to bring in external IT consultants - I personally have yet to be in a position to say "we can't do that."

Smooth Law originally implemented Eclipse's out-of-the-box Personal Injury system - how has this been configured to fit in with business requirements? 

We did initially take an off-the-shelf Personal Injury solution as that's the area of law we predominantly practice. However, we've recently created our own case type for Holiday Sickness claims, which is an entirely bespoke solution to Smooth Law, and designed completely in-house using the Personal Injury workflow as a platform.

The sheer flexibility of Proclaim means we have the ability to do this. It gives us the boldness to expand and the confidence to know it's a possibility - we now have over 1000 live claims in the system.

How was the transition to the latest iteration of Proclaim (v3.3.1)?

it was very easy. Although we have a small database, there are still a wide range of issues that can occur when upgrading software but this wasn't a problem with Eclipse, it was extremely simple.

I've done a number of migrations throughout my time working with Proclaim and have never had a problem. In my experience, this is down to two things:

1. Good internal planning 
2. Excellent communication 

As part of this second point, Eclipse's Transition Support team is brilliant, as are all the staff and I've found everyone is always happy to help and go that extra mile if needed.

How are you benefiting from Proclaim's new 'Option Images' feature?

This is an absolutely fantastic feature!

One of the main benefits is the ability we now have to develop our client journey. We have two stages of a claim - portal and non-portal - and using Option Images we've been able to create an entirely bespoke yet simple case status feature within FileView (Eclipse's online case tracking tool).

Depending on the stage of the claim, the client's view will differ and due to Proclaim's inherent flexibility, we've been able to build in high-level automation so the stages are instantly updated to correspond with actions taken by our fee earners.

This is an excellent feature for our clients that like instant access to updated information and an at-a-glance view of their case. It's also proven vital for those instances we experience a language barrier - the stages are now displayed in simple images and enable clients to see case changes as and when they need to.

Perhaps best of all, and as with a variety of aspects to our Proclaim solution, this was developed entirely in-house. No additional training was required, nor was support from Eclipse - it was all designed purely using the latest release notes, which supplied a user-friendly, step-by-step guide.

How have Eclipse's additional tools, SecureDocs, FileView and TouchPoint enhanced your service offering?

We've used SecureDocs from day one. The online delivery and acceptance tool has proven vital in enhancing our client on-boarding process as it's now all done with the click of a button. We often receive an initial enquiry in the morning, and by lunch time, they're a client. There is no doubt this is a result of the automation and quick turnaround times supplied by SecureDocs.

Furthermore, we pride ourselves on our ability to operate as an entirely paperless office and offer a wholly transparent service - this simply couldn't be achieved without SecureDocs. It provides peace of mind for our clients by providing a completely secure service to access and action important documents, whilst also resulting in speedier case progression and an enhanced service offering.

With regards to FileView, and as previously mentioned, using this tool we've been able to provide clients with an easy snapshot of their cases. Taking this further, we're using the online case tracking feature to send details of, for example, medical appointments to clients, as well as allow them to upload images of receipts and expenses such as taxi fares. Before FileView this would have involved photocopies or originals being sent to us via post, and in turn, would delay the claims process. With FileView, everything is effortlessly uploaded via smartphone or tablet, ensuring an innovative, instantaneous and device-operated option.

Similarly, we've taken advantage of Eclipse's TouchPoint tool and are going live with it this week (at the time of writing) to further enhance our service and provide clients with a complete self-service experience. As part of this, we've linked it with FileView and SecureDocs for a centralised solution so clients can access everything associated with their case, from correspondence to file status. To use my previous example, once a client has received details of their medical appointment, they can log in to their customised TouchPoint portal and find directions to the appointment through the Google Maps tile.

Essentially, the additional toolsets provide modernised and future-proof approaches to keeping in contact with clients and ensuring we are supplying them with the most relevant and up-to-date information - all with minimal input from our staff. In turn, this means we can concentrate on increasing our case volumes but with the added reassurance our current clients remain informed.

Overall, how well does Proclaim suit your on-going requirements? 

Without a doubt Proclaim suits us down to the ground.

We have ambitious plans for our firm and as part of this we will be looking to develop other avenues of work. With Proclaim ,we no longer need to delay these plans due to software limitations - we can simply design our own case type as and when we need to, to suit our way of working and our future service offering.

With Proclaim the possibilities are endless and in my opinion, its sheer flexibility means the only restriction is imagination!

Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management Software solution proves crucial to client relationships at Williams & Co

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, has been chosen by established firm, Williams & Co, to implement its Proclaim Case Management Software solution.

Established in 1997, Williams & Co is a reputable, local practice operating across West Yorkshire. With an aim to provide a more hands on, personal service, the firm believes in building strong client relationships and guarantees competitive fees and a single point of contact for each client.

Eclipse will implement its out-of-the-box Proclaim Case Management Software solution at Williams & Co, providing fee earners with a streamlined client inception process and a powerful centralised database, enabling the firm to maximise its matter management efficiencies.

In a drive to further enhance client service, Williams & Co will benefit from Proclaim's inbuilt integration with Outlook, ensuring all correspondence is recorded and allocated to the correct client matter. Furthermore, Proclaim will enable staff to find and extract information with ease, whilst its diary and task management facility will link to case activities to provide fee earners with automated reminders, ensuring important events and dates are not overlooked.

Jeremy Garside (pictured), Partner at Williams & Co, comments:

"Having used Proclaim at my previous firm, I knew of its capabilities in enhancing and standardising matter management. For Williams & Co to continue building strong client relationships, we needed a robust legal software solution that could automate our administrative tasks and in turn, enable us to focus solely on our clients - Proclaim will be crucial to this."

Proclaim in Canada - Litwiniuk and Company implements Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software solution

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Practice Management Software solution at Canadian law firm, Litwiniuk and Company.

Founded in 1976, Litwiniuk and Company is a family-run practice that adheres to a simple set of principles - service, trust and hard work. Since its inception, the firm has predominantly focused on Personal Injury law, enabling its lawyers to develop a vast amount of experience and finely honed negotiation skills.

Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software came highly recommended to Litwiniuk and Company via previous Proclaim users, who now work for the firm. The 6-figure deal will see Eclipse conduct a full data migration from the firm's incumbent system, and implement an out-of-the-box Personal Injury Case Management Software solution practice-wide. Staff will benefit from streamlined and automated processes, with a clear and user-friendly interface that will eliminate duplicate data entry and ultimately enable them to focus purely on client service.

The Proclaim practice management and accounting toolset will provide a fully integrated system, providing senior management with a robust reporting facility and access to live financial data and operational performance.

Additionally, in a drive to further enhance the firm's service offering, Eclipse's self-service client portal, TouchPoint, will be implemented to provide a transparent and flexible interactive service, whilst FileView will enable staff to securely display important case information to its clients via the firm's website.

Fredric J.R. Litwiniuk (pictured), Director of Business Development and Marketing at Litwiniuk and Company, comments:

"We'd heard of Proclaim through word of mouth, and after extensive research, we realised Eclipse was the only legal software provider on the market that could provide us with the centralised and integrated practice management solution that we required.

"After a thorough demonstration of Proclaim and its core functionality, we saw the system as a breath of fresh air in comparison to our previous solution. The simple user interface and the vast opportunities for automation mean we can greatly enhance our productivity firm-wide, meeting our clients' needs with exceptional skill and efficiency."