Double TimeAuthor(s): JAMES WEBERSource: ABA Journal, Vol. 75, No. 11 (NOVEMBER 1989), p. 126Published by: American Bar AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20760768 .

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Management Solutions

Double Time BY JAMES WEBER

Doubled productivity and less paperwork?these are the major ben

efits of LawBase (Apogee Computer Systems Inc., Arlington, Texas), a new client-management system being used at the law firm of Dushman & Friedman in Fort Worth, Texas.

The new system records all in formation related to client cases, pro vides instant access to the data and automatically produces legal docu ments at the touch of one or two keys.

"In a conventional law office, lawyers don't do just lawyer work and legal secretaries don't do just secre tarial work," says partner Jack Fried

man. "We therefore reorganized so that lawyers would do lawyer work such as trying lawsuits and evaluat ing settlements, legal secretaries

would perform secretarial functions such as preparing legal documents, and paralegal and clerical personnel would handle other jobs.

"We also began looking for a

computerized system that would en able each of us to achieve increased productivity within this new organi zational framework."

According to Friedman, three basic criteria were established for the computerized system. One, it had to be built around a data base capable of giving all law firm personnel in stant access to client information and case activity. Second, it had to be in tegrated with a word-processing ca

pability for producing legal docu ments. Third, it had to be easy to use. The answer was LawBase.

"Since the system was installed, we've grown from 12 or 14 people with three lawyers to 34 personnel including four attorneys," says Friedman. "But, during this same time, our case load has grown even faster. We'd need 65 to 70 people to handle our case load if we didn't have the system, but in fact, we're able to operate with only half this number."

Client service also has improved since the arrival of LawBase, says Friedman. "When clients call, for ex

ample, we can immediately respond to questions by using the system to

James Weber is a free-lance writer in Chicago.

access their files," he says. "The same fast response is possible in taking calls from defendant lawyers, adjusters, court personnel or anyone else in volved in a case."

Friedman adds that the menu oriented system is very easy to use. In fact, "It's addictive," he says. "The

more information you put in the sys tem, the more useful it is and the

more you want to use it."

Dushman & Friedman uses LawBase to establish a data base for all cases in its personal-injury prac tice. Information is entered in the system through different data-base screens. Three screens are used for

personal and demographic informa tion related to clients. One screen is used for premises-liability and work ers-compensation cases. Two more

screens involve general liability or collision cases. Another two screens are used to enter data related to the initial stages of negotiations or claims. Two other screens are used to record lawsuit-related information.

Totally user-definable, the data base and screens can be revised at any time to meet changing needs. These revisions can be made quickly and easily without affecting previously entered information.

Cases are initially set up in the system based on information provid ed by clients. All activities associated with cases are then recorded as they occur. When "instant" letters or doc

uments are produced, for example, the system automatically makes an

entry in a client's computer file list ing the type of document, sender, and date and time. Activities such as

phone calls, meetings, correspond ence and legal filings are similarly re corded by lawyers and other person nel.

Kept on file for each case, this data base of information and activity can be instantly accessed from any terminal. An attorney, for example, can call up a case to respond to a

phone request for specific informa tion. The information is always avail able in the data base?it is never out of-file?and can be used by more than one person at the same time. In ad dition, attorneys can log on to the data base from their homes or even from the courthouse.

LawBase also can print more than 300 different documents at the touch of a few keys. By merging case information with a prestored library of documents such as letters, forms, pleadings, petitions and affidavits, this function eliminates the need for dictation and manual typing of 90 to 95 percent of all routine documents. This library is user-created; any doc ument can quickly and easily be cre ated and added to it.

The system has an advanced query capability to search and sort cases by any combination of fields. For example, a list of all cases being handled by a particular opposing at torney or law firm that involve a cer tain witness can be produced in seconds.

LawBase also records expense data in client files at the same time that it writes checks to pay client-re lated expenses. The detailed, up-to the-minute record of these expenses

makes it e?sier to recapture all costs and fees associated with each case.

Other system features include intra-office electronic mail and an automatic rolodex file containing the names and addresses of attorneys, doctors, hospitals, insurance compa nies, courts and other parties related to cases.

"We now get increased satisfac tion out of our role as attorneys be cause the system gives us the freedom to perform more lawyerlike serv ices," says Friedman.

"We have a greater feeling that we're practicing law rather than sim ply chasing paper," he adds.

126 ABA JOURNAL / NOVEMBER 1989 Joseph manzo

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