Eclipse announces the complete client self-service platform - introducing TouchPoint+

Eclipse Legal Systems, the only Law Society Endorsed provider of legal software solutions, has today announced the release of its next generation client self-service platform.

TouchPoint+ builds upon Eclipse's TouchPoint system - a device-independent and interactive experience for legal service providers, their business partners and clients, which uses real-time data from Eclipse's core Proclaim Case and Practice Management solution.

With TouchPoint+, service providers can now deliver a complete portal experience, seamlessly
utilising their own branding and visual identity, encompassing the
core suite of Eclipse's online communication tools.

Providing access to a huge range of live information, TouchPoint+ is an 'always on, always visible' self-service solution which can be configured to provide as much or as little data and interaction as desired.

TouchPoint+ includes the following communication and self-service features:

• Brandable environment allowing service providers to control imagery and overall visual experience 
• 'FileView Interactive' online matter tracking solution, providing real-time and secure access to relevant data 
• 'SecureDocs' online document delivery and acceptance tool 
• Targeted news feeds, social media links, and cross-selling opportunities 
• Configurable, visual KPI and charting data 

Eclipse's Marketing Director, Darren Gower (pictured), explains: 

"TouchPoint+ builds upon our market-leading TouchPoint platform to provide an even more powerful self-service portal. The ability to brand the TouchPoint+ experience in line with your firm's identity, plus the ready-to-go integration of Eclipse's core online tools, provides a market-leading self-service experience for today's increasingly demanding clients and customers." 

JPS Walker implements Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management system for niche litigation work

New litigation firm, JPS Walker, is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution from Eclipse Legal Systems, the Law Society's sole endorsed provider.

Based in Manchester, the firm has been launched by a team of expert solicitors, and will specialise in niche areas of litigation, including financial mis-selling and holiday claims. The boutique firm aims to maintain traditional values, and with proven success and years' worth of experience within its chosen areas of law, the team will be able to offer a first class client service.

JPS Walker is initially implementing Eclipse's ready-to-go Proclaim Case Management system for Financial Claims and Personal Injury work, facilitating a secure approach to individual client files, and bringing with it a high level of efficiency to operations. To ensure the team benefits from a fully centralised system, JPS Walker is also implementing the integrated accounting toolset which will provide a detailed analysis of the firm's financial management data.

Additionally, the practice has selected Eclipse's secure online document delivery and acceptance tool, SecureDocs, to further complement the system. Not only will this reduce turnaround times, and as a result increase caseload volumes, it will also eliminate the risk of sending confidential information to the wrong recipient.

Following the first phase of implementation, JPS Walker will look to work in conjunction with Eclipse and its dedicated Consultancy team to create a bespoke Holiday Claims system, designing and creating specific workflows and documents to cater for all aspects of this complicated area of law.

Michael Walker (pictured), Founding Partner of JPS Walker, comments:

"In order to effectively stay ahead of the competition - both within our chosen areas of law, and the industry as a whole - we need a powerful practice management system that can deliver robust, yet customisable workflows. Proclaim will provide us with unrivalled accuracy, teamed with the ability to handle the increasing workload anticipated.

"Furthermore, Eclipse's extensive knowledge of the industry means we can be confident in working with the team to create a future-proof solution that will serve to enhance efficiencies and ensure the quality of service remains at an optimum level, even as we grow. We're looking forward to a long and fruitful relationship with all at Eclipse."

An appetite for disruption - insurance apps and the industry

How can insurance-based apps disrupt and benefit the industry? 

Over the last decade, the insurance industry has seen a need to change perceptions, particularly when it comes to technological growth. The rapid advancement in technology has taken application development to a new level and there are new huge opportunities for insurance firms to leverage data platforms as a way to improve overall operations and customer service.

To truly benefit and remain relevant, insurers need to start investing in mobile technology as customers are now taking interest in providers that can offer efficient and simple processes - specifically from smartphones, iPads and tablets.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 62% of insurance executives believe mobile technology will be the key disrupter for the industry, bringing with it a number of benefits:

Simplified claims processing - this proves beneficial to both the customer and agent. Apps have been proven to reduce the workload of the insurer by eliminating a number of time-sapping administrative duties - such as filing forms and collating customer data - allowing them to spend their time acquiring and processing a higher volume of customers.

For consumers, the streamlined process ensures claims are handled quickly and efficiently whilst providing the option to track progress, ultimately putting their minds at ease and simultaneously eliminating the number of 'update' calls to providers.

Increased revenue - providing customer-centric options - such as capabilities to buy new policies, renew existing ones and pay bills bills via smartphones - increases the chances for insurers to generate larger profits. Additionally, a number of apps now enable providers to stay connected 24/7, enabling them to process and complete claims, as well as effectively manage potential customers, all from their phone - further serving to drive customer satisfaction and retention.

Accurate and personalised policies - using telematics and wearable technologies, insurers are able to collate real-time information about a customer's driving behaviour or lifestyle, and therefore accurately assess tailored policies. These technologies serve to encourage consumers to drive safely and/or adopt a healthy way of life by offering discounts, deals or reductions in premiums for 'good behaviour'. In theory, this then enables insurers to save on compensation pay-outs.

To conclude, mobile technology is enabling insurers to maintain profitability. From apps that allow customers to claim damages instantly, through to productivity apps that keep agents connected to the office, this new technology is ensuring risks are mitigated, productivity is increased, customer service is enhanced and operational efficiencies are improved.

Modern marketing

Eclipse Legal Systems spoke to Modern Law Magazine about whether law firms are utilising a large enough variety of marketing techniques to promote their practices. 

In the ever-changing legal landscape, law firms need to be quick to adapt and to adopt a holistic approach to marketing campaigns. The client journey often begins online, and the last few years have seen clients become much savvier when selecting and buying legal services. As a result, the number of practices with an in-house marketing team is on the rise; however budgets are still somewhat conservative.

Although law firms are slightly more restricted working within a regulated industry, there are a few key concepts that need to be implemented and executed more efficiently.

Social media  

Most firms are participating in one way or another, and some have developed sophisticated strategies to ensure they truly engage with both prospects and clients. However the fact remains that most are only using it as a one-way channel to distribute content.  

Additionally, law firms need to step away from focusing on conversion in a traditional sense - i.e. turning a prospect into a client. Generally speaking, conversion can be defined as persuading a potential client to interact with an aspect of the website, and as such, there are now softer objectives, such as subscribing to a newsletter or attending an event. 

Responsive websites  

2015 saw Google release an algorithm update to penalise non-responsive sites, with the aim to phase them out of the top search results pages.  

As mobile-only internet is becoming increasingly common, law firms need to ensure websites are optimised and that content can be easily downloaded on a mobile device, yet many firms are still only in the planning stage of this process. 

Multi-channel marketing  

The overall experience across all platforms needs to reflect the service on offer and business branding.  

As part of this, multi-channel marketing is crucial for law firms with regards to image and interfacing with clients - but consistency is key, and this is hugely underestimated within the legal sector. For example, a lot of firms have a beautiful offices in a prime location, yet a poorly designed website and an inconsistent brand message. 

ROI  

A recurring theme among the legal sector is difficulty in measuring the success of a marketing strategy,  

Firms are often collecting the data but they don't take it any further. It's crucial to analyse and act upon those results to derive meaningful business insights and a thorough analysis of a marketing campaign is invaluable in enabling firms to develop better methods of client and prospect engagement. 

Currently, many law firms are missing these key opportunities to expand and develop practices.

Archers Law rolls out Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software solution firm-wide

Archers Law, an established Teesside based firm, has selected the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution in a 6-figure investment with Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

With longstanding roots in the regional area, Archers Law has grown from humble beginnings on the high street to a modern law firm with a 60 strong team. Providing a full range of services to private clients and business organisations, the practice continues to build upon its foundations to offer a responsive, empathetic and reliable service, ensuring clients receive the highest standards in legal advice.

Archers Law has chosen to implement the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution across the firm including case management modules for Conveyancing, Debt Recovery and Probate. The system will serve to provide legal teams with a consistent approach to matter management, whilst the integrated financial platform will enable a seamless approach to billing and overall practice management.

To further enhance client service, Archers Law will implement a number of Eclipse's additional systems and integrations. The lead management system will provide true end-to-end management of all incoming enquiries, and will incorporate the online document delivery and acceptance tool, SecureDocs - serving to streamline all client inception procedures. Following instruction, Archers Law will use FileView as a further option to keep clients and referrers informed, enabling staff to securely display case information on the firm's website, therefore reducing the number of 'update' calls received.

Additionally, Proclaim's integration with the LRBG will allow conveyancing fee earners to access Land Registry services directly from the system, whilst the integration with BigHand will expand the functionality of Proclaim and enhance the current digital dictation solution, including speech recgonition, which the firm already uses.

Vicky Browning (pictured), Practice Director at Archers Law, comments:

"Whilst our current technology is already in advance of some other local firms, we saw an opportunity when developing our business plan to invest further in our IT infrastructure, impacting specifically on enhanced client service and improved internal working practices.

"Our primary goal is to have a system that will expand with our commercial objectives and move us towards a paper-light environment internally. After a thorough selection process, it became clear that Eclipse's Proclaim system will deliver on all accounts, providing us with unrivalled intelligence, detailed reporting, and most importantly, a centralised and consistent solution."

Brown Turner Ross builds upon existing reputation of excellence within Eclipse's Proclaim Practice Management Software solution

Brown Turner Ross, a longstanding law firm in the North West, is implementing the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution from Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.

With offices in Southport, Liverpool and Birkenhead, Brown Turner Ross has been delivering a comprehensive range of legal services across England and Wales for 130 years. The experienced and expert team of solicitors offers a first class service to both private and business clients, and aims to build lasting relationships to ensure Brown Turner Ross is always the law firm of choice.

Eclipse will implement its Proclaim Case Management system throughout the offices and across a number of departments - including Conveyancing, Probate, Personal Injury and Family - serving to streamline efficiencies and standardise working practices. As part of the project, Eclipse will conduct a full accounts conversion from Brown Turner Ross' incumbent system, providing a seamlessly integrated and centralised Proclaim Practice Management Software solution.

Samantha Bushell (pictured), Director at Brown Turner Ross, comments:

"We needed our core practice management system to be as efficient as possible and it was clear to us from the outset that Eclipse offered the best solution, enabling us to build upon our existing reputation of excellence."

To further enhance client inception procedures, Brown Turner Ross will use Eclipse's lead management system, and will benefit from comprehensive management of all incoming enquiries. Staff will be able to nurture on-going prospect relationships, target them with relevant marketing materials - such as event invitations - and when the time is right create a live client file to include all pre-existing data, providing a truly personalised client service experience. To further streamline the inception process and ensure compliance, Eclipse's integration with an ID/AML checking service will allow fee earners to request 'one-click' ID checks directly from Proclaim, with search results returned to the relevant files.

Samantha continues:

"Using Proclaim to streamline the administrative tasks that are often associated with client inception processes will allow us to further perfect our clients' journey, and free up our time to do what we do best - provide the highest quality service and advice."

SNS Solicitors offers high quality service with Eclipse's 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 SNS Solicitors, a new start-up firm based in Cheshire.

Founded by Sarah Singh, an experienced solicitor in complex RTAs and litigation, the boutique firm specialises in a range of services across the personal injury sector - from accidents at work and slips and trips, through to RTAs and holiday sickness. Based in the centre of Altrincham, SNS Solicitors is a professional, modern and dynamic firm, priding itself on its ability to deal with claims efficiently and meticulously, ensuring clients receive the best service possible.

As a new start-up, SNS Solicitors needed to implement the right legal software solution to enable streamlined case progression from day one, ultimately serving to establish a sterling reputation right away. With previous experience of the solution, Sarah knew Eclipse's Proclaim Personal Injury Case Management system could improve case handling and increase the quality of client service, without needing to employ a full team of support staff.

Additionally, Proclaim's inherent flexibility means the system can be tailored - entirely in-house - to suit SNS Solicitors, and any area of personal injury work.

Sarah Singh, Director of SNS Solicitors, comments:

"We need to be able to continually develop our services in order to meet the needs of our clients, and the dynamic personal injury sector. With previous experience of Proclaim, I knew it was the right legal software for us - geared to streamlining the entire case handling process, and eliminating administration time, it's perfect in enabling a new start-up to offer high quality client service whilst efficiently increasing case volume."