Scottish firm, Drummond Miller, selects Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management system in a substantial investment

Heavyweight Scottish firm, Drummond Miller, has selected the Proclaim Practice Management system from Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

With offices in 6 locations throughout Scotland, and over 100 staff, Drummond Miller has a long-standing reputation of excellence in various areas of law. The firm recognises the level of importance its clients place on their cases, and is committed to providing a high standard of service - delivering common sense legal advice and practical solutions to all client requirements.

In the 6-figure deal, Drummond Miller will replace its incumbent legal software system with Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software solution. In order to cater for the variety of work areas within the practice, preconfigured case management modules will be rolled out firm-wide for the conveyancing, private client, medical negligence, family law and probate teams, serving to provide a core centralised productivity suite throughout.

As part of the installation process, Eclipse will also conduct a complete data migration, allowing the integrated Proclaim practice accounting and financial toolset to be implemented, resulting in increased efficiency and an 'at-a-glance' view of operational effectiveness.

Ian Hartley (pictured), Chief Operations Officer at Drummond Miller, comments:

"We undertook a thorough selection process. I was impressed from the very first time I saw Eclipse's Proclaim system as it's much more intuitive than its rivals. This is an investment for the long term for us and it was the fact that is it so easy to use, as well as the future-proofing that made it a natural choice."

To accommodate the legislative requirements in Scottish law, Eclipse's experienced in-house consultancy team will work closely with Drummond Miller to ensure that workflows and documents fully cater for all bespoke requirements.

Ian continues:

"The fact that Eclipse has an experienced in-house team with the ability to truly bespoke the system - and in line with Scottish law - goes to show why it's the market-leader. Once implemented, Proclaim will provide us with a comprehensive solution to improve internal efficiencies and seamlessly enhance client service. This is an integral part of our growth strategy."

Eclipse's Sales Director, Chris Buckle, adds:

"As a leading and thoroughly reputable practice, Drummond Miller was quite rightly extremely rigorous in its selection process for a firm-wide solution. The fact that we can provide the practice with what it requires now - and what it aims for moving forward - is a testament to the strength and adaptability of our Proclaim solution and its position in the legal sector market."

Taking advantage of technologies

Eclipse spoke to Modern Law Magazine to discuss how law firms can utilise emerging technologies to cut costs. 

The last decade has witnessed an exponential growth in technology, and change in the legal sector is being driven by both clients and competition from law firms that have begun using technology to do routine work.

This technological advancement now requires strategic focus and top-level support, and has ultimately changed the way in which solicitors work, bringing with it specific technology designed to streamline efficiencies and cut costs across the legal sector.

An increasing trend within the legal profession is big data, providing firms with the ability to quickly determine whether or not it's worth taking a case, and ultimately saving hours of research sifting through years' worth of information and existing cases. For the junior staff who may be conducting this research over a period of months, it leaves them to be productive elsewhere.

It's also a great method of obtaining visibility of a practice as a whole, and therefore the amount of revenue fee earners and cases are bringing in. By understanding staff productivity, it can enable firms to change operational methods to ensure they are maintaining the optimum level of efficiency.

Stemming from this notion, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also becoming a significant focus for law firms, particularly over the next few years. By using AI to automate tasks traditionally undertaken by junior staff, such as research, it allows them to instead focus on complex and higher-value work.

An example is Linklaters' Verifi program, which can sift through 14 UK and European regulatory registers to check client names for banks and processes thousands of names overnight. A junior solicitor would take an average of 12 minutes to search each name.

For document management processes, online document delivery and acceptance tools, such as Eclipse's SecureDocs, are enabling firms to migrate towards paperless working, serving to reduce turnaround times and therefore costs. E-signatures eliminate expenditure on printing, paper, ink, postage and couriers, instead providing a quick, efficient and convenient solution aimed at saving considerably on operational costs.

And finally, remote working within the legal profession is becoming an increasingly popular method of reducing costs. It's now making less commercial sense to maintain offices, and online client portals and case tracking systems mean solicitors can stay connected to their clients 24/7 from anywhere in the world, ultimately serving to offer excellent service at an affordable price, whilst streamlining staffing costs.

Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management system will prove key to longevity at HEDS Law

New start-up, HEDS Law, has selected the Proclaim Practice Management system from Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

Based in Liverpool, HEDS Law specialises in providing Personal Injury services to an already rapidly expanding client base. With a vast range of knowledge and expertise, the firm aims to develop an enviable reputation for excellent client focus and a tailored service, provided by its dedicated team of friendly and knowledgeable solicitors.

Eclipse is implementing its Proclaim Practice Management Software solution to aid case handling and reduce the time spent processing each matter, whilst maintaining a high level of client service. Furthermore, Proclaim will enable the firm to take full advantage of new processes and efficiency gains - ideal for a new practice.

In addition, Proclaim's in-built workflow will ensure that cases are dealt with consistently and in keeping with HEDS Law's standards. Fast and effortless document production will enable staff to generate all relevant documentation automatically at case creation, whilst the integration with the MoJ's Claims Portal will provide a seamless Application-to-Application (A2A) method of submitting claims.

Jon Evans, Director of HEDS Law, comments:

"The Personal Injury sector is highly competitive and as a new start-up, it's vital we have the correct technology in place to remain ahead of the competition.

"With previous experience of Proclaim, we found it to be a fantastic solution - for a centralised practice management system, but also for the additional products available to truly enhance our overall service. With Eclipse and Proclaim, we can now offer further flexibility and efficiency to our clients, which is key to longevity in the legal sector."

Whiplash reforms: the future of RTA claims

We spoke to Modern Claims Magazine to discuss the potential benefits or pitfalls to a fixed tariff system for whiplash compensation, and what this could mean for the legal sector. 

The MoJ's whiplash claims reforms, although significantly challenged by many in the industry, are due to take effect towards the end of 2018.

According to the MoJ, the reforms firstly will crack down on the compensation culture epidemic we are experiencing. Most will be in agreement that those who make fraudulent claims do need to be exposed and prosecuted as such, however introducing a fixed tariff system may not be a guaranteed method of eliminating these claims entirely. There could still be plenty of potential for exaggeration so as to tip the into a higher level of compensation, in theory meaning insurers will still need to identify fraudulent claims, contrary to the Government's proposals.

Many insurance companies are concerned at the amount of fraudulent claims and state this is the reason for increased premiums, however claimant solicitors do not believe that this has been sufficiently evidenced by independent figures. Many are arguing that the number of whiplash claims registered by the Government's Compensation Recovery Unit suggest a decrease in figures. Upon analysis of these statistics, the MoJ believes the differences in the labelling of claims may be responsible, as when soft-tissue injury claims labelled 'back' and 'neck' are combined with 'whiplash' claims, the number increases significantly.

Another benefit to the proposal, as per the MoJ, is a means to end the cycle of honest motorists paying out higher premiums to cover false claims. It's believed that the current 'substantial financial incentives' encourage exaggeration of the severity of injuries sustained, and introducing a fixed tariff system will tackle the issue. Agreeably, banning claims without medical evidence is sure to actively discourage many, and it's expected as a result it will cut car insurance premiums by £40 a year.

These savings can then be passed directly onto insurance companies' customers. However, this has been met with scrutiny from some, as the Government is on record saying they will not force insurance companies to forward the savings, leading to the belief by many that premiums will realistically continue to rise.

Ultimately it remains to be seen how significantly these changes will affect the legal sector as a whole, and more specifically how PI claims will be managed under the new reforms. The next year or so will no doubt provide an interesting insight into the future of RTA claims, and how the legal service market is going to adapt.

K & K Solicitors selects Eclipse's Proclaim Case Management system for its in-built intelligence and market-leading toolsets

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at boutique firm, K & K Solicitors.

Specialising in Conveyancing services, the new start-up will act for private and commercial clients, offering expert advice and guidance through an often complicated process. With ambitious plans for the future, K & K Solicitors aims to rapidly expand its client base through its team of knowledgeable solicitors and friendly, yet practical client service.

Eclipse's Proclaim Conveyancing Case Management Software solution will be rolled out firm-wide ensuring the highest levels of productivity are maintained from the outset. Importantly for the boutique firm, Proclaim's in-built intelligence will produce automated yet personalised client communication and documentation, guaranteeing a truly individual and seamless service offering with minimal intervention from the team, leaving them to be productive elsewhere.

Furthermore, Proclaim's inherent flexibility means K & K Solicitors can benefit from a seamless integration with its incumbent Quill accounting solution, providing the firm with a 'one view' approach to financial management and enabling further analysis of overall productivity and efficiency throughout the practice.

Kiran Phull, Director of K & K Solicitors, comments:

"We need a sophisticated, innovative and flexible legal software solution that can enable us to establish our practice, and remain at the forefront of the Conveyancing sector. The Proclaim Case Management system can effortlessly streamline our processes, and its market-leading toolsets will ensure cases are driven forward in a cost-effective, yet personalised manner.

"Overall, Proclaim will introduce high levels of automation which will enable us to centre our concentration on clients and operational efficiency."

Big Data in law

What are the potential applications of Big Data in the legal sector? 

Big Data has been used in other sectors for some time, serving to identify trends and forecast future market developments and consumer behaviour.

For law firms, it's becoming increasingly difficult to enhance efficiency and productivity whilst standing apart from competition and delivering an excellent client service.

This is where Big Data comes in; providing firms with opportunities to take an analytical approach as to how to stay ahead of the curve. Below are some key applications of Big Data within the legal sector:

Determine profitability of cases 
As part of the research stage, substantial amounts of files and other relevant information from previous cases - often going back years - needs to be collated and organised into meaningful analysis. Making use of Big Data means this can be analysed instantaneously, serving to identify any correlations and leading to new insights and perspectives that may not have been previously considered.

Additionally, algorithms can offer predictions on cases based upon the results of similar cases, quickly determining whether it's worth taking or not and ultimately increasing the chances the of selecting a successful case.

Increase productivity 
Big Data can be a great way to obtain visibility of a practice as a whole. Partners and senior managers are able to see what tasks fee earners and support staff are spending time on, and compare the rate of those tasks to the amount of revenue they generate.

By understanding the productivity of staff, it can enable firms to change how they operate, or if necessary, the role of each employee, to ensure efficiencies are enhanced and maintained.

Recognise trends 
Nowadays, many firms have a fully integrated CRM system within the legal software; however, with multiple channels now available for clients to 'shop around' before instructing a practice, it ca be difficult for firms to truly pin-point where potential clients are coming from.

By combining web analytics with results of marketing campaigns, incoming enquiries and new instructions, law firms can now receive a holistic overview of how their potential clients are interacting with them, and via which channel. Using this in-depth analysis, management can then tailor any future business development strategies to ensure marketing messages are successful in obtaining conversions.

To conclude, investing in Big Data and analytics can - and will - make a significant difference to law firms and their success rates, including substantial savings in time and costs, and an increase in operational efficiencies.

Simply Complete Solicitors takes client service to the next level with Eclipse's Proclaim and TouchPoint+ solutions

Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider, is implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at Gloucestershire firm, Simply Complete Solicitors.

Specialising in Conveyancing and Probate services, Simply Complete has extensive experience in combining expert legal advice with fast, attentive and practical help that's tailored to each client. Offering a friendly and approachable service, the firm prides itself on its ability to work quickly and efficiently, whilst maintaining constant contact from start to finish.

The Proclaim Case Management Software solution will be rolled out across the Conveyancing and Probate departments, serving to provide the team with a consistent approach to work, whilst the in-built automation tools will eliminate a number of time-consuming tasks.

In a move to further personalise its client service offering, Simply Complete has implemented Eclipse's self-service portal, TouchPoint+. Using real-time data from Proclaim - with the ability to display as much or as little as desired - the firm will be able to offer clients case updates within a fully interactive environment, and across a number of devices. Furthermore, the team will be able to style TouchPoint+ entirely in line with the firm's branding, as well as offer targeted news feeds, social media links and cross-selling opportunities.

Fiona Capehorn (pictured), Director of Simply Complete, comments:

"Not only is Proclaim the market-leading solution for case management, but with Eclipse's extensive knowledge of the sector and its latest TouchPoint+ innovation, it means we can truly personalise the experience our clients receive, and enhance our service offering."

TouchPoint+ also includes ready-to-go integration with Eclipse's online communication tools, SecureDocs (an online document delivery and acceptance tool), and FileView (an online matter tracking solution), enabling Simply Complete to provide 24/7 client service from an 'always on, always visible' solution.

Fiona continues:

"Being able to offer all of Eclipse's online communication tools from one centralised portal will really streamline the client journey - in fact, the entire process can now be carried out from clients' sofas should they wish, eliminating the need to visit our office! Ultimately, as a new start-up it's important to us that we're constantly improving the services on offer, and thanks to the sheer flexibility of Proclaim and TouchPoint+, this can be achieved effortlessly."