*BETA TESTERS NEEDED!*

Attorney's Back Office, Inc. is pleased to announce that the BETA release of Attorney's Back Office 2.0 is scheduled for March 20, 2015. This BETA release will be made available to allow users to test and evaluate the next major version of the Attorney's Back Office application.

Here's a great opportunity to help us make the upcoming release even better.

What's new in Attorney's Back Office 2.0?

The most immediately visible change to Attorney's Back Office 2.0 is the new, redesigned and dynamic calendar with the ability to sync with Google Calendar. A closer look shows that V 2.0 has a myriad of new and greatly improved features. Notable improvements include: custom created filtering for calendar events, a "search & report" processing component, a newer version of the Menu Editor, support for better collaboration through document sharing via the Client Portal, improved Tag Cloud search functionality, an addition of Tasks and Attached Documents in the Client Portal, a "new document folder" creation process, internal document attachment to outgoing emails, increased document size upload capacity to 25 MB, a streamlined accounting process, an addition of different field types in the Module Studio, and much more.
Behind the scenes, Attorney's Back Office 2.0 will support the new OpenDocument Format (ODT) standard, which will drastically improve the Document Generator's capabilities, and its ability to accept files in different formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.). This is in addition to other notable enhancements to the Client Portal. V 2.0 comes also with enhanced login security - it disallows 2 users to be concurrently logged in with the same user name. We’ve also made smooth upgrades from Ext JS 4 to Ext JS 5 in order to improve the application's functionality in the IE browser, and much more.

Bilingual BETA Availability

Attorney's Back Office 2.0 BETA will be immediately available in both US English and Spanish for the front-end and Client Portal.

Help us catch the bugs!

In order to release Attorney's Back Office 2.0 on schedule in July, users of the BETA release are encouraged to report any bugs, issues or errors to the following e-mail address: support@attorneysbackoffice.com

Special Incentives for the testers!

Those who join us in the testing of Attorney's Back Office 2.0 BETA version will be automatically eligible for our very special offer: a one-year, free-of-charge subscription to our services with no limit on the number of added users - an annual value of $360.00 per user. But hurry! Only the first 250 applicants will be eligible for this offer. If you are interested in participating in the BETA testing, please email us with your contact information (first & last name, title, company name and phone number) at support@attorneysbackoffice.com (include BETA TEST in the subject line).

Help us improve Attorney's Back Office!

If you are fluent in Portuguese (Portugal or Brazil), please contact us, as we are looking to add a Portuguese version of Attorney's Back Office by the end of this year. If you're willing to help us, please e-mail us:  info@attorneysbackoffice.com

Our developers look forward to receiving your feedback on this beta release of Attorney's Back Office 2.0!

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Attorney's Back Office
www.attorneysbackoffice.com

What Do You Need to Know About the Rules and Guidelines that Apply to a 

Virtual Law Office – Part 1

In our previous publications, we’ve talked about how a virtual law practice, or a virtual law office, an on-line (“cloud”) software application, like the Attorney’s Back Office, is becoming increasingly popular as an alternative to the traditional, physical law office. The most important components within these software applications are the modules that help manage the entire law practice, including matters, clients, document management, calendaring, e-mail, tasking, accounting, time & billing, and reporting, as well as others. These modules provide an attorney/paralegal access to the software in order to run daily business operations and handle other business transactions related to the delivery of the legal services. 
A virtual law practice, or a virtual law office, also typically involves the use of a secure internet portal to render legal services, communicate with clients on the matters, and exchange documents and information within a digitally secure on-line environment with an end-to-end encryption.

Advocates of this type of approach emphasize decreased office rent and other overhead costs. They say that it helps increase productivity and the attorneys' ability to find that so called “work-life” balance allowing them to spend more time with their families and work from home. 
Critics of this approach stress the need for in-person client meetings to collaborate with them, to manage the firm’s staff on-site to resolve day-to-day issues and problems, and to run daily business operations. 
However, advocates and critics agree on one thing: attorneys practicing in a virtual law office must be in full compliance with the employment laws and the rules of professional conduct.

Under the employment laws, issues related to the operation of a virtual law office are similar to the policies that apply to telecommuting. Law firms that use the virtual law office software should adhere and implement practices and policies to address the following:
• Firm’s clients’ and staff's privacy and safeguarding of confidential information;
• Well-defined methods for time tracking, billing, and reporting;
• Firm’s staff's access to the Internet, computers, and the use of other equipment;
• Firm’s staff's compensation and safety issues.

In the United Stated, most of the State Bar Associations have issued their own Rules of Professional Conduct that the law practitioners must consider when using a virtual law office. These Rules are modeled after the August 2012 ABA-approved recommendations. They are based on the recommendations issued by the Ethics 20/20 Commission in order to amend the Model Rules regarding attorneys’ use of technology. 

In California, for example, there are no special rules of professional conduct that specifically address lawyers practicing and using virtual law office software. The chosen approach is simple – the same exact rules of professional conduct that apply to a traditional law firm apply to a virtual law firm.

The application and the enforcement of the rules, however, bring up some unique questions for virtual law office users, such as unauthorized practice of law, safekeeping clients' confidential information, communication and collaboration with clients, and others.

In our next article we will discuss more details related to the Rules of Professional Conduct.

For more information on the features and functions of the On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application visit our site @ www.attorneysbackoffice.com

How to Successfully Select an On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application in Eight Simple Steps

Since our first article publication, we've received a lot of feedback from both attorneys and paralegals with questions regarding the different strategies on how to select the right type of an On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application.

So, what is an On-line Practice & Case Management Application? It is a web-based software program that represents a wide variety of software tools and modules that provide attorneys, paralegals, and other industry professionals with a convenient method of effectively managing their day-to-day operations, from collecting data from your clients, matters, billing and accounting, to marketing, finance and reporting into a common database so that your law practice can share information, coordinate activities, and collaborate with your clients.

If you’re looking for your first On-line Practice & Case Management Application or looking to upgrade from an existing system, the evaluation, selection and implementation process is a long-term strategic decision for your law firm. Although, there are no perfect off-the-shelf software solutions that will satisfy your requirements completely, you need to be flexible and willing to learn how the program works to use it to the full extent of its capabilities. Work with the provider if you need help and, in some rare cases, to lightly customize the provided application. Those customizations might be the key elements that are missing in the solutions you currently use and might help improve your business workflows and successfully run your business.

The Suggested Steps

We suggest that you follow these eight simple steps before you select the On-line Practice & Case Management Application that is right for your business.

Step 1: Look for the On-line Practice & Case Management Applications with longer trial periods
Providers of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application usually offer trial periods ranging from 1 to 3 months. The longer trial periods, the better it is for you. It gives you more time to make the right decision. Be patient and willing to learn. If you need more time, ask the provider. Attorney’s Back Office ALWAYS extends trial periods up to 9 months in addition to the initial standard 3 months trial offer.

Step 2: Perform the Evaluation of the Software Application
Evaluate the software. You can do this yourself, or you can create a group of end-users from different departments within your company. If needed and budget permitting, hire a consultant to participate in the evaluation process. Establish an evaluation timeline cycle. Throughout the entire selection process, end each cycle with a meeting among all the group members that participated in the evaluation to come to an agreement and acceptance of the application’s functions and features.

Step 3: Make Your Own Assessment
Assess your daily company operations and routines. It will help you identify both your weak and strong points. This analysis and assessment will reveal problems that can be solved with the help and implementation of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application.

Step 4: Establish Your Own Standard Before Selecting the On-line Practice & Case Management Application
You will need to establish and develop your own selection standards to evaluate the available, on-the-market On-line Practice & Case Management Application solutions. The starting point for making a determination must be the applications‘ functions, pricing, platforms, compatibility, accessibility, support, and any other feature(s) that you and/or your application evaluation and selection group can think of. The standard must be set by the importance of the specific functions, features, etc., to your business, i.e. urgent, high, or low. To accomplish this, assign a score from 1 to 10, a progressive scale from 1 to 10 - low to high, to each identified standard in order to establish the assessment and evaluation process.
For example, if you are an immigration attorney practicing law in the Latino community where the majority of your client base speaks Spanish, you will need to determine whether it will be beneficial to both you and your clients to collaborate on-line using the same language. Therefore, during the selection process of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application make sure to find out whether or not the provider offers a multilingual solution.
Attorney’s Back Office is the only provider on the market that offers a BILINGUAL, both English and Spanish, solution for attorneys, paralegals and other industry professionals.

Step 5: Schedule a Demo
Call and set up a 15 – 20 minute phone meeting with an On-line Practice & Case Management Application vendor’s representative. Arrange an on-line demo of the application to obtain a better understanding and insight on the company-provider and the solution they offer. Be prepared to ask the selected On-line Practice & Case Management Application provider questions that will address your needs and concerns.

Step 6: Create a List of Providers
Create a narrowed-down list of up to three On-line Practice & Case Management Application solution providers that best meet your business needs.

Step 7: Contact the Selected Provider
Contact the On-line Practice & Case Management Application providers on your list to schedule an on-line or in-person (if the provider is local) presentation.

Step 8: Verify References
Ask the vendor to provide you with either one or two references where the selected On-line Practice & Case Management Application has been implemented and is being used.

Conclusion
By using and following this simple process, you should now be able to select the On-line Practice & Case Management Application solution for your business.

Call Attorney's Back Office at 818.217.0188 to schedule a free demo of the On-line Practice & Case Management Application. 

For more information on the features and functions of the On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application visit our site @ www.attorneysbackoffice.com

About  the On-line Practice & Case Management Software Applications

An On-line Practice & Case Management Application represents a wide variety of software tools that provide attorneys, paralegals, and other industry professionals with a convenient method of effectively managing their day-to-day operations.

An application usually includes features and functions that help manage client information, matters (both litigation and non-litigation), events, calendaring, tasking, deadlines, docketing and documents, details on the opposing party and their legal representation, and other specifics.

The core of the application is the CRM - Customer Relations Management software. The CRM allows a salesforce-type automation of the law practice eliminating the necessity to enter the same information more than once within the application – once a parent record is created everything else gets linked to it.

Applications are usually multi-user accessible. This means they allow information sharing with other attorneys and firm’s personnel. Nowadays, most of the On-line Practice & Case Management Applications are also mobile device-compatible - users can have easy access to client and matter information, calendar, tasks and schedules and other records anywhere and at any time needed.

On-line Practice & Case Management Applications usually vary in features, types of clients, and the area of law that a firm specializes in. For example, depending on the firm size, which ranges from solo practitioners to large law firms, some of the features might not be suitable for larger firms. However, some of the features might very well fit and serve effectively for a solo practitioner or small firm. Some of the application’s features might not work for an attorney that specializes in the bankruptcy law, but they will be a perfect fit for an immigration or personal injury attorney.

When time comes to select an On-line Practice & Case Management application:

-       Define what your practice management needs first;

-       Determine the features and functions that you and your personnel use daily;

-       Select an application that fits into your budget - pricing is crucial when it comes to On-line Practice & Case Management applications;

-       Make sure that the application provider allows you to have sufficient free trial time for you and your firm’s personnel to try the software and decide on its merits;

-       Select an application that will help enhance your practice effectively and provide you with the ability to collaborate and share matter information and documents with your firm’s clients seamlessly via an independent and secure client portal.

For more information on the features and functions of the On-line Practice & Case Management Software Application visit our site @ www.attorneysbackoffice.com