Legal Case Management Software Key Terms

Get familiar with software key terms that streamline your legal case management procedures

Law firms of all sizes are buying software that automates their case management system. Being state of the art in law today involves more than just having your secretaries type letters on a word processing program. It means maintaining electronic files on every client’s case and using software to convert electronic time sheet data into an invoice that goes to the client. Knowing some key terms about legal case management software can help you choose a program that enhances your firm’s document maintenance strategy.

 

Electronic billing

With the electronic billing feature, legal case management software lets you record billable time logged on each case and then that data into printable invoices. You get to set the rules for how time is billed and who are the delegated timekeepers and acceptable rates.
Try: Case Track identifies the benefits of using electronic billing to record billable time on individual cases and even to receive invoices from vendors.

Software integrations

Chances are, your law firm depends on many kinds of software to automate its case management system. Software integrations between these programs are necessary to guarantee that the system as a whole functions smoothly. This means ensuring that e-mailing, task management, billing and word processing programs are integrated.
Try: Because software integrations are so essential to a smooth operation, manufacturers like Needles identify the versions of certain programs that may be incompatible with their software.

Justice integration

Legal case management software with justice integration capability allows you to share data with other law firms, courts and governmental agencies. This firm to agency sharing arrangement requires all those involved to have compatible hardware and software applications.
Try: Companies like Legal Edge offer solutions to your justice integration needs by providing consulting services so you can take part in these data sharing arrangements.

Document management

Most law firms depend on all employees sharing documents on their client's cases. Document management software allows all information on a case to be placed on a shared network equally accessible to lawyers, secretaries, paralegals and other support staff. These programs also supervise this access so that no documents get lost and everyone is working off of the most updated version of a document.
Try: Client Profiles explains key features of their program, which provides full text indexing and customized security.

Database and information conversion

Software with database and information conversion capability allows you to easily transfer data between databases and even to word processing programs. If you're creating fact sheets on individual cases that you combine into a data base program, you'll want software with this feature so you can convert those tables into printable reports for your clients.
Try: One of the more sophisticated programs with database and information conversion features is by Trial Works.

Document scanning and indexing

If you're sharing data between firms and governmental agencies, you're probably receiving hard copies of documents. You'll need a document scanning and indexing program so you can scan the hard copies into your case management system and then place them in the appropriate case files.
Try: Image Protech identifies the documents most often scanned and indexed by this software. It also explains how information from these documents can be extracted and converted to the file locations of your choice.

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