SharePoint Portals for Law Firms

PRODUCTS

MODULES

EXPANSION MODULES

Matter Centricity Module

KM and Categorization Engine

DMS Integration

SharePoint Data Connection

LP Forms Designer (LawPort kmBuilder)

CUSTOMIZABLE MODULES

Experience (Experts) Module

ExtraNet Module

Deal Tracker

The Matter Centricity Module

Effectively manage your firm’s client and matter information to enable efficient retrieval of relevant data from a single source. Lawyers have numerous clients and matters that they work on simultaneously. The Matter Centricity Module helps law firms manage information about these clients and matters effectively, streamlining the delivery and centralizing the information. With LawPort for SharePoint directly integrated into the firm’s existing data sources or systems, the Matter Centricity Module builds pages for each client and each matter dynamically without user intervention. A client page has all the client related information an attorney would need at his fingertips, such as the client contact information. A matter page has all the matter related information an attorney would need, such as key financial statistics on the matter, names of lawyers and clients working on the matter, similar matters, and documents produced and delivered for clients.

Module Features:

Automated creation of new matter and client pages with integration to the financial system
Secure integration with firm’s primary matter systems: Finance (ex: Elite WebView and CMS.Net), DMS (ex: Interwoven, Hummingbird) and CRM (ex: Interaction)

Automatic RSS Feeds bring pertinent client and legal topic news
Instant extranets for any matter or client workspace
Categorization of Matters (This requires the KM and Categorization Engine)
Web parts for collaboration with team and clients (discussion threads, DMS, questionnaires)
Quick Search and Advanced Search

Business Benifits
Using the Matter Centricity Module, law firms have a powerful tool for managing client and matter information in one place. LawPort for SharePoint integrates with various enterprise systems common in the legal industry and automatically delivers Matter and Client Views when opened in the firm’s financial system. Since the Matter Centricity Module unifies pertinent information and content from various sources into one central location for convenient and efficient retrieval, attorneys can access information in one single step, increasing productivity and billable time.

KM and Categorization Engine

LawPort provides a taxonomy “out of the box” that has been specifically designed for law firms. The taxonomy can be modified by our clients at any time (before, during, or after) the implementation to ensure it is always relevant. As part of the implementation, LawPort can import any taxonomy currently used by your firm, should the firm not want to use our default version. Classification can be done by document type, jurisdiction, geography, language, areas of law, and more.

The taxonomy provides a starting point for categorizing the content distributed through the Publishing Wizard. It enables search and display information to be sorted by categories and related categories, so that you can always find the most relevant content available. Features and benefits include:

LawPort provides a Web Part for browsing the taxonomy (e.g. Broader to Narrower), which can filter the results on the page.
By clicking on a term, you can retrieve all content distributed throughout the intranet (by LawPort) without having to conduct a search.
Because of the underlying taxonomy which is used to classify the pages managed by LawPort, staff will be automatically prompted to use approved terms (authority control) when publishing content to pages. In effect, LawPort “suggests” the terms the person should use when distributing content.

DMS Integration

Allows document publishing to a wide variety of Document Management Systems, including Interwoven and Hummingbird. Benefits include:

Ability to publish a document from the DMS through the Publishing Wizard, and once in the Pub. Wizard, there are many benefits: distribution, security, categorization, and searching for the document is easier and improved
LP Web Parts for managing the documents in SharePoint, providing you with the benefit of being able to use DMS functions (e.g. versions, “get copy”)
LawPort performs QA testing on your DMS vendor (e.g. when your vendor provides a new release, LawPort tests the release for compatibility, etc.) This is a major benefit to firms, because our QA testing reduces the cost of maintaining integration between your intranet and your DMS vendor.
User interface for managing the integration between LawPort and the DMS, making life easier for the administrator (e.g. no configuration files, coding).

SharePoint Data connection

It’s a fact that SharePoint was not designed for law firms. Now you can optimize and accelerate your SharePoint implementation, because LawPort can teach SharePoint to function in a way that mirrors the workflow and processes of attorneys, legal staff and law firms. For example, a law firm specific “entity value” such as a client number can be used in SharePoint data filters via web part connection. Here’s how it works:

Imagine yourself on a client page in your SharePoint intranet. There will be a combination of SharePoint and LawPort web parts. A SharePoint web part may be used to provide a calendar of events for the firm, but you don’t want to see all of the firm-wide events on the client page. You only want to see client meetings and so on. Without LawPort, your website administrator may decide to configure another calendar web part specific to that client, but doing this is impractical because of the number of clients and would consume significant resources.

The SharePoint Data Connection, in tandem with our Context Provider, makes it possible for the SharePoint suite of web parts to use the data in LawPort (client number, for example) to filter the results – for example, to display only the calendar events relevant to client 5432. This results in a customized view that includes only what users need and want to see.

While it is simple enough for a vendor to filter its own web parts, an important element of LawPort’s distinctiveness is our ability to filter SharePoint’s web parts. SharePoint may not know what a “client number” means, but LawPort’s Data Connection capability will tell SharePoint how to use the client number to filter data stored in SharePoint web parts and present a personalized result.

LP Forms Designer (LawPort kmBuilder)

Databases are invaluable as a way to share knowledge, but who has the time and resources to create, maintain and improve them? With LP Forms Designer (a customized version of the original SydneyPLUS kmBuilder), you can easily build the databases you need – databases matching your workflow requirements and managing any conceivable type of information. Once you’ve decided on your priorities and desired end goal, you can use the Forms Designer to create the exact databases you desire, working on the tables and fields within LawPort. Not only can you ultimately improve search and retrieval, (quality in equals quality out), but you can eliminate dependency on external consultants, software engineers, and programmers. In less than a day, the system you’ve been dreaming about could be up and running. Benefits include:

the ability to add and remove tables and fields, change the order of the fields, and configure the behavior of fields (e.g. link to a website, attachment, etc.)
customize the forms used in the Publishing Wizard to meet the workflow of staff (e.g. change the order of the fields for data entry)
create new forms for capturing your important documents, know how, etc.
makes it possible for non-IT staff to have some control over how data is captured

LP Quick Publisher

The Quick Publisher serves as an “on demand” editor, for data entry and cataloging, and allows end users to create new records or add data to existing records in your portal (as opposed to importing content in bulk via the Publishing Wizard). Simply by clicking “add” you have the data entry form without the Publishing Wizard, and you can then add, edit, or delete records. Power users can perform data entry quickly without using the step-by-step process necessary when using Publishing Wizard. End users with appropriate permissions can also leverage the Quick Publisher, thereby furthering the strategy of fostering a culture of contributors, which is such a critical element of knowledge management. Benefits also include:

satisfy the requirements of a practice group or marketing department that wants to “get the data in the system” quickly; e.g. “just give me a form”
quick and easy error correction – spot it and fix it
With some creativity, the LP Quick Publisher can provide the basic functionality of a DMS. If your firm does not use a DMS, then the LP Quick Publisher may deliver a good substitute via a standardized data entry form, advanced search options, including the attachment field with full-text searching, the ability to save searches, with an Active Directory or other security model

LP Mobile

LawPort Mobile leverages the portability of SharePoint by providing support for mobile access to LawPort content and data feeds. LawPort provides a user interface that makes RSS feed generation easy for non-technical staff. Because LawPort is the destination for content from your DMS, financial systems, CRM, etc., if desired, you can deliver information from any of your core databases through RSS, enabling remote access as and when needed.

Recovery Manager

The Recovery Manager captures comprehensive data on your online research usage, enabling you to recover costs and maximize revenue. Benefits include:

With realtime usage and pricing report generation, you get information tailored to your library, knowledge management department or information centre, so you don’t have to try to work with canned reports that only make sense in other functional areas.
Use the Recovery Manager to optimize digital collection management - you can either market or cancel underutilized resources. You can easily see who your users/practices are and can see which of those you are not influencing, and then develop targeted marketing strategies to penetrate those practices.
Saves time spent on researching client/matter information for prebills
Can be used with any digital resource to which the firm subscribes
Will spotlight unused/underutilized resources for cancellation and expense savings, which is invaluable at budget time.
Reporting makes pricing of individual resources transparent and easy to explain to clients
Allows you to provide accurate, timely prebill information upon request
Eliminates need to remember passwords or c/m numbers

Recovery Manager Press release

IM Portal Designer

Allows you to leverage the power of SydneyPLUS’ Information Manager, which was designed for law firms needing a portal that is easy for non-technical staff to maintain, but powerful enough to push and refresh information. Information Manager allows your portal administrator to create a non-SharePoint portal and customize its look and feel, across your intranet or external web site.

Mid-sized firms that have not adopted SharePoint will find the IM Portal Designer compelling, and firms that are on a SharePoint platform may want the ability to allow some departments and staff the ability to build their own portals quickly and easily. For example, if your Library or Information Centre already uses the SydneyPLUS library system, you may want to create an online catalog of resources (OPAC) or other library portal. Because the data in any IM portal is stored in the same database as your entire intranet (i.e. LawPort 5) you can be assured of consistent quality and updating.

Even if you do not purchase IM, we will use it to build a portal to your specifications called the Publishing Center. As part of LawPort 5, we build this portal to demonstrate our advanced searching, saved searching, statistics, etc. You will find the Publishing Center to be a major benefit, because it can warn you when pages on your intranet are stale, when someone provided content without selecting a category, etc. It’s your quality control secret agent.

CUSTOMIZABLE MODULES

Experience (Experts) Module

This is an experts database that can be added to your LawPort suite, thereby providing a robust experience tracking function. Benefits include:

The ability to customize an experience rating system on firm-wide basis
Transparent collection of experience information allows you to determine which attorneys have expertise in various practices, areas of law, or with specific clients, based on time billed to matters, for example, or self-profiled
Lawyers can rank their own experience along firm-set levels, and add comments
You can easily find internal experts based for example on areas of law, industries, countries, or languages spoken, using the LawPort categories taxonomy

Extranet Module

Our LawPort Extranet Module allows you to extend your internal client and matter pages (and other content) externally to clients or co-counsel based on permissions and parameters that you specify. It provides a framework for making Extranets a part of the daily flow of information and communication with clients. Most Extranets are islands of information that have to be separately maintained and fed. This leads to extra work for IT, and unfortunately, for lawyers and others who are forced to take significant additional actions to feed information to an Extranet. Managing and maintaining a number of Extranets can be cumbersome and confusing. LawPort 5.0 eliminates barriers to implementation and delivers an architecture that provides secured access to data and views extracted from your Intranet, but tailored for external users, with a few easy design element changes, such as adding a client logo and providing a welcome to the external user. We provide logical connections between the way lawyers work internally and how they will work and extend to external users. The ability to create an external view is quick and efficient for both the lawyers and for IT staff. Benefits include:

Extranets can be set up in minutes
Access to documents respects DMS security
The ability to publish resources to the Extranet in an integrated manner when publishing to the Intranet and/or Internet site
You can include case notes, news, events, forms or models
Built in design flexibility to add logos and other branding to external views, thus easily customizing each Extranet for each client
Clear identification of externally exposed items

Deal Tracker

The SydneyPLUS Deal Tracker contains information vital to crafting marketing pitches that win new business and increase billing to existing clients. It is the single most effective means of connecting your firm’s expertise and experience with customer requirements.

Exceptionally easy to search, Deal Tracker contains all the data on every deal your firm has participated in (M&A, Securities, Real Estate, etc.). As your firm’s definitive source of deal information, it replaces the myriad of databases, spreadsheets, file-folders and electronic documents that people sort through when looking for examples of specific transactions that resonate with your client or prospect’s needs. Benefits include:

Easily retrieve corporate knowledge. Deal Tracker provides a single template to your staff, structuring information in a way that every attorney can use. It is the only screen you need to search, retrieve, sort, and print your data. Deal Tracker provides a firm-wide view of all of your deals eliminating duplicate efforts, and ensuring everyone is using the most current information.
Provides partners with statistics to assist in project and workflow management. Deal Tracker tells you what information has been consulted, and how frequently a person has retrieved it. With Deal Tracker, you will know what deals are in the pipeline.
Create representative matters lists in a fraction of the time you currently spend when doing this manually. SydneyPLUS clients estimate savings of up to 12 hours per presentation. Marketing staff state that Deal Tracker is capable of producing, on demand, reports that would normally have taken them days to put together