Legal Software

October 11, 2010

Cutting Costs and Improving Service in Trading Standards

Case Management Software for Trading Standards Teams

Local council organizations are being challenged to cut costs whilst the newest Audit Commission report* presses departments to act straight away to “minimize the impact on front line services”. Against this background Trading Standards teams are already coping with larger volumes of inspections, visits, duties and inquiries than ever due to the Consumer Protection Act 2008, meaning they are highly likely to find cost reduction difficult.

Help is available though. Many local councils are investing in computer software in an attempt to reduce costs and reform client service. There is now up-to
-date case management software (with optional Time Recording), which has been designed to save precious dollars whilst amending service delivery. Some IT businesses gain capacity improvements of between 10 and 20% and this lets Trading Standards teams to:

Handle more cases – documentation is automatically completed with frequently used information for example: trader names, addresses and unique document numbers. Together with a shared library of customized document templates, administrative work is confined to a minimum, enabling professionals to focus on front-line work.

Respond faster to developments and queries - secure sharing of documents such as inspection reports, notification letters, emails, contacts database and calendar aids improvements in responsiveness and resilience, regardless of who is on the premises. An advanced search facility allows staff to pinpoint needed information quickly.

Quickly update and distribute advisory information – just one, central library for standard advisory documents allows speedy implementation of changes in line with updated legislation and distribution with the minimum of administrative work.

Stay on top of key dates – integrated diary management makes sure that key events such as visits, notifications and key enforcement are remembered, even if staff members are unavailable. Enable off-site work – secure remote access to central files means that staff can find appropriate information at the touch of a button whether they are on a site visit, at another office or working from home.

Monitor and balance your team’s workload – manage balancing work with decision taking with the aid of detailed management reports, which also provide a source of key information when reporting to performance managers, other departments or external organizations.

Expert local council case management software has helped many pressurized teams to successfully deal with heavy task loads whilst improving responsiveness, governing threats and risks and reducing stress.

Why wait longer to investigate case management systems?

*Surviving the Crunch: Local finances in the recession and beyond, Local Government report, March 2010

October 7, 2010

Legal Software For Public And Private Sectors

The Use Of Legal Software

The adoption of specialist integrated legal software has extended from the legal sector to local government departments and corporate bodies. The gains are most importantly the ability to cut time wastage, cost reductions and increased capacity. More recently governance, risk and compliance have become driving factors in the take-up of integrated legal software. Therefore, it is no mean task pinpointing the most appropriate legal software. Below you will find some aspects that you may want to consider as part of your decision making process.

Choosing the best most suitable legal software solution can be trickier than you think.

Consider These Questions

The first decision is to choose between a single product or multi-package solution.
Which legal software developer has a demonstrable track record?
Is there someone knowledgeable who can discuss your needs with you individually?
Each organisation develops specific working methodologies, ask if the software is sufficiently adaptable to match your needs.
Can the supplier tailor-make the legal software to your individual environment?
As with all software, there will be a future need to update, ask if this is free or an extra cost. Is there sufficient proof of return on investment from implementing a particular legal software package?

Legal Experts’ Legal Software

Here are some of the varied software solutions produced by the majority of the leading suppliers of legal software.

Matter management mechanises time consuming tasks, like document creation, and enables fee earners in in-house legal teams to concentrate on more important work like collaboration with team members and outside specialists to progress matters.

Case management for different sized private legal firms or service companies that improve efficiencies and result in rise in turnover for your law firm or service company. This type of case management system, that produces standardised, natural working methodologies and augments efficiency and provides complete information for control risk, is also extensively used by personal injury practices.

Litigation software for evidence management enhances accuracy through reducing doubling up of documentation and gives professionals time for important work. It is especially expedient during the discovery period as well as facilitating strong collaboration between legal teams and outside experts.

Time tracking software permits experts to automatically track time spent on individualmatters or cases. Modern quality systems retrospectively track time and set off several stopwatches to allow tracking of time when various cases are being dealt with at once. In-depth reports are usually available for personal time management and billing purposes

The vast majority of integrated legal software solutions on the market today offer excellent accordance with other systems and collaborative workspaces, although it is still worthwhile asking. All business packages allow for import and export of the most frequently used document types such as Word and Open Document. All but the cheapest systems offer encrypted document storage.

Research the market and require that the legal software companies show you in what ways their legal software solutions will satisfy your requirements and working methodologies. The expert ones will be able to suggest a demonstration and be willing to clarify the manner in which they provide after sales care to their customers.

August 10, 2010

Case Management Software Fights the Credit Crunch and Delivers for the Public Sector~Case Management Software Delivers Better Services and Helps Public Sector Bodies Save Resouces}

Trading Standards Teams Reap the Benefits of Specialized Case Management Software

Local council teams are being challenged to reduce costs whilst the newest Audit Commission report* urges departments to act immediately to “minimize the impact on front line services”. With these additional pressures Trading Standards teams are already taking on board larger volumes of inspections, visits, duties and inquiries than ever due to the Consumer Protection Act 2008, meaning they are highly likely to find cost reduction difficult.

It is not all bad news, expertise is available to help councils through this challenging period. Many council teams are turning to computer software in the search to save money and reform client service. There is now up-to
-date case management software (with optional Time Recording), which has been produced to save on bills whilst amending service delivery. A few IT firms have produced up to 20% capacity gains and this allows Trading Standards teams to:

Deal with a heavier workload – paper work is automatically populated with frequently used info for example: trader names, addresses and individual document numbers. Together with a shared database of customized document templates, administrative work is kept to a minimum, allowing professionals to manage front-line work.

Respond more quickly to new issues and inquiries - secure sharing of documents such as inspection reports, notification letters, emails, contacts database and calendar helps to improve responsiveness and resilience, never mind who is in the office. An sophisticated search facility lets staff to pinpoint vital information in a speedier fashion.

Quickly update and distribute advisory information – one, centralized library for standard advisory documents enables quick implementation of changes in accordance with updated legislation and distribution with the least possible administrative work.

Stay on top of key dates – integrated diary management ensures that key events such as visits, notifications and key enforcement aren’t overlooked, even if staff members are absent suddenly. Support off-site working – secure remote access to central files means that team members have access to appropriate information at the touch of a button no matter where they are.

Understand your personels’ workload – manage balancing work with decision taking with the help of detailed management reports, which also deliver important information when reporting to performance managers, other departments or external organizations.

Specialist local council case management systems have helped many pressurized teams to manage heavy workloads at the same time improving responsiveness, governing threats and risks and reducing stress.

View a Case Study about case management systems

*Surviving the Crunch: Local finances in the recession and beyond, Local Government report, March 2010

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