Six stories for you now featuring Veyo + Opes Consulting + Tikit & Epoq + DocsCorp & LTC4 + Intapp & HighQ + Advanced Legal & Laserform & SLC
VEYO MAKES APPOINTMENT TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Veyo, the conveyancing portal, announces the appointment of Jonathan Smithers as a non-executive member to the Board. Jonathan Smithers is vice-president of the Law Society and a partner at CooperBurnett Solicitors in Tunbridge Wells. Veyo, developed by The Law Society and global IT solutions specialist, Mastek UK will offer an efficient, secure and transparent way of managing the conveyancing process and will be launched soon. The Law Society has exercised its powers under the Shareholders’ Agreement to appoint Jonathan Smithers, as Alan Vallance steps down from Veyo’s Board of Directors.
Des Hudson, Chairman of Veyo, comments; “I am pleased to welcome Jonathan Smithers as a newly appointed member to the Board. Jonathan provides the right balance of skills and experience required to contribute to the Board’s strategy development and governance objectives to help launch the conveyancing portal.”
Jonathan Smithers said: “I am looking forward to joining Veyo’s Board of Directors as a non-executive member. “As vice-president of the Law Society and as a past chair of its Conveyancing and Land Law Committee I will be adding my knowledge and experience to the product launch. Having been part of the team which conceived, developed, and launched CQS, the protocol for which is an integral part of the Veyo workflow, I know how important the development of this product is for the public and for our members. Electronic communication between conveyancers and others in the home moving process, on a common platform, will transform the way our clients buy and sell, and enable the public to have continued access to independent advice from trusted professionals.”
OPES PLANNING FOR LIFE BEYOND WINDOWS SERVER 2003 FOR ELITE USERS
Elite systems specialist Opes Consulting is encouraging Enterprise users still on the Windows Server 2003 platform to take action now in readiness for when Microsoft pulls support for the product in July. Opes has already successfully moved a number of Elite clients to a new environment comprising Windows Server 2012, SQL2012 and Enterprise 3.10 or above. It is currently offering free workshops to firms keen to kick-start the migration process and has developed a straightforward 8-week project plan to underpin a smooth migration.
Opes director Kevin Smith comments: “While Windows Server 2003 based systems will still work after July, there’s obviously a degree of risk in remaining on an unsupported platform with no security patching. That can be completely eliminated by upgrading and we can help secure a seamless, pain-free transition in just eight weeks. July is less than six months away now which is why we’re offering the free workshop to focus firms’ minds on what needs to be done, sooner rather than later.”
www.opesconsulting.co.uk
TIKIT AND EPOQ GET TOGETHER TO DELIVER TIKIT LAWDRAFT
Tikit has announced a strategic partnership with Epoq, the UK’s pioneer in document automation technology. Through the partnership, Tikit will be launching Tikit LawDraft, a sophisticated online digital drafting and collaboration tool which can drive significant improvements to practice efficiency and fee earner productivity whilst capitalising on the increasing demand for client self-service.
Tikit LawDraft utilises Epoq’s online document automation technology, Rapidocs to enable legal professionals to speed up document production by up to 70%. Furthermore, a client and colleague collaboration facility allows for the sharing and co-drafting of documents for greater speed and accuracy. Richard Higgs, Sales Direct at Tikit explains “Any software which demonstrates proven increases in the efficiency of document production falls into the ‘no brainer’ category of legal technology. Adding rich content, intuitive collaboration and client self-service tools into the mix puts Tikit LawDraft at the forefront of document automation.”
“Epoq is delighted to have entered into a partnership with Tikit to create and launch Tikit LawDraft” says Richard Cohen, solicitor and Head of Partnerships at Epoq. “We have been at the forefront of developments in document automation aimed to help law firms work more efficiently. The introduction of our collaboration facility means even greater cost savings are possible, as well as improved client engagement and satisfaction.”
Accessible online and via mobile devices, Tikit LawDraft includes an extensive library of over 800 up-to-date interactive document and form templates, covering family law, wills, powers of attorney, landlord, employment and business law. And, if input from a colleague or a client is needed to complete a document, Tikit LawDraft allows for it to be shared securely online. This function is particularly useful for gathering basic information from clients and helps to cut down the amount of time spent handwriting and transposing information. The system also allows users to append notes to the document, track its progress and communicate with colleagues and clients via email.
DOCSCORP JOINS LTC4
DocsCorp has joined the Legal Technologies Core Competencies Certification Coalition (LTC4), a not-for-profit coalition of leading law firms, legal departments and law schools, who have come together to create standard legal technology core competencies (workflow-based).
Commenting on the news, Dean Sappey, DocsCorp President and co-founder said that he was delighted to be the first software vendor to be accepted into the LTC4. “It is our intention to work closely with the LTC4 group to identify core legal worksflows that can be incorporated into our software productivity suite to ensure ease of use and to enhance efficiency and productivity for all our legal clients globally.”
“We introduced vendor membership at the end of 2014 and are thrilled to welcome DocsCorp as our first software vendor member. Our goal for software vendors is to ensure that their applications reflect the industry standard competencies, “says Bonnie Beuth of Ford & Harrison in Atlanta, LTC4 founding member and Chair of the LTC4 Board
HIGHQ AND INTAPP TEAM UP TO DELIVER DOCUMENT SYNCING
HighQ has announced it has become a technology partner with Intapp, the leading provider of integration and information security software for law firms. This strategic partnership sees two leaders in the legal software space join forces to offer two-way syncing between HighQ’s industry-leading file sharing and extranet platform and HP WorkSite using Intapp Integration Builder technology. The out-of-the-box integration will enable two-way syncing and make it much easier to share documents with clients directly from WorkSite and get new versions back into the DMS in one seamless process.
Stuart Barr, COO at HighQ, explains “We’re delighted to begin this exciting partnership with Intapp and to add significant value to our mutual clients. Two-way WorkSite sync is something that our clients have been asking for and we’re delighted to now be able to offer it. The fact that our clients who already have a full license for Integration Builder can use the template at no additional cost is also a huge bonus, as they’ll be getting a great deal more capability out of both systems. The WorkSite template is just the beginning and we plan to leverage Intapp’s comprehensive library of connectors and our extensive REST APIs to produce other integration templates in the future.”
This partnership will be beneficial to hundreds of law firms, says Barr, “More than 150 law firms worldwide use HighQ Collaborate as their client extranet and secure file sharing platform and over 300 law firms use Intapp Integration Builder, so this partnership has the potential to make life easier for hundreds of firms. We’re very excited to offer great value to HighQ’s and Intapp’s existing customers by expanding both of our technological ecosystems.”
“Adopting cloud services creates new challenges for law firms. Over the past five years, Intapp has worked with leading firms to integrate cloud applications with their existing on-premise software, information and business processes using Integration Builder,” said Mark Bilson, Vice President, Integration Practice, Intapp. “We’re excited to join forces with HighQ to make our shared customers successful in the cloud.”
For HighQ, this is the first step in a wider strategic partnership with Intapp, and the first of many integrations to come for the collaboration software provider. HighQ recently opened up its new REST API to developers, inviting them to build their own connectors for HighQ Collaborate. This paves the way for many more integrations and add-ons with HighQ’s software.
The new HighQ integration templates will be published in Integration Builder alongside the release of HighQ Collaborate 3.4 which will be made available later in Q1 2015, and will be available at no additional cost to existing Intapp customers who have a full Integration Builder license. For those firms who would like to have two-way WorkSite sync with HighQ Collaborate but do not have an existing Intapp license, it is easy to get up and running quickly. Firms can either purchase a full Integration Builder license, which gives them access to Intapp’s entire library of templates, or they can license the cloud file sharing configuration of the product, which includes the HighQ template. The integration templates are between HighQ Collaborate and HP WorkSite initially, with templates for other systems such as Microsoft SharePoint and OpenText eDOCS to follow.
ADVANCED LEGAL ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH SOCIETY OF LICENSED CONVEYANCERS
Advanced Legal just announces its new partnership with the Society of Licensed Conveyancers (SLC). The relationship will give SLC members access to conveyancing forms in a digital format for the first time via Laserform, a solution which provides access to the most comprehensive library of electronic legal forms online, from conveyancing to family law.
SLC was established in the 1980’s and represents more than 200 licensed conveyancers in the UK. The organisation plays a key role in today’s legal market, representing its members interests to Government and other stakeholders, and providing a range of benefits designed to reduce risk, increase income, reduce costs, and generally enhance the standing and reputation of the profession.
The arrangement between the SLC and Advanced Legal will see members benefit from a discount if they purchase the SLC starter pack which incorporates 35 forms, including SOC7 to SOC21. Simon Law, Chairman of the SLC commented, “We are delighted to add Laserform to the portfolio of products we already offer to our members. Advanced Legal is the leading provider of legal forms in the UK and I have no doubt that our members will receive great benefit from our partnership.”