This week has brought news of a new CEO for Kim Technologies (which powers Riverview Law virtual assistants), as well as a new COO for UK top 30 firm Holman Fenwick Willan. Encompass Corporation has partnered with Equifax, iManage partner Tiger Eye Consulting has launched new knowledge management solution Blueprint, Iphelion has released the latest version of its template management and document assembly tool Outline and Kroll Ontrack has launched a new corporate legal projects offering, while in wider industry news, PwC Legal has become integrated in the wider UK business. There’s also news of a win for Eclipse Legal Systems and certifications for Everlaw and Netmaster Solutions.
Appointments
Kim Technologies, which powers Riverview Law Virtual Assistants, has appointed Bob Farina as its CEO. Bob has over 30 years’ experience in leading venture capital-backed start-ups, turnarounds and high growth enterprises. His previous CEO and vice president roles include at corporate philanthropic group JK Group Inc (2012-2016), employee time management provider Cybershift (2002-2011) and software management company USInternetworking (2000-2002).
Riverview Law Virtual Assistants manage the work coming in to in-house teams and triage it, while also acting as a workflow/case management tool.
Karl Chapman, chairman of Kim’s board and CEO of Riverview Law – the lead investor in Kim Technologies – said: “This comes at a key stage in the development of Kim Technologies as we move onto the next phase in its evolution. This includes refining the Kim business model, market positioning and to-market strategy, continuing to evolve the Kim platform and products further, winning more customers and building a global sales pipeline.”
International law firm Holman Fenwick Willan has appointed a new chief operating officer, Justin Young, who joined the firm on 26 September.
Young has extensive experience in addressing the key strategic and operational challenges facing professional services firms, in particular law firms. He joins from Clifford Chance where, for the past six years, he was the regional general manager for South East Asia.
Holman Fenwick’s managing partner Marcus Bowman, said of Young’s arrival: “Despite some difficult market conditions, he joins at a time of continued growth for the firm and his experience of implementing new operating models and creating structures to support growth will ensure we continue to focus on running our business in the most effective and efficient way.”
Wins and deals
Encompass Corporation, which visually aggregates data for professional services organisations and financial institutions, has partnered with Equifax, the consumer and business insights expert.
Encompass users will now be able to check data on more than 820 million consumers and 91 million businesses worldwide for company or director credit reports and scores, including confirmation of address, director validation, credit scores, credit agreements, CCJs, accounting and connection Information.
Eclipse Legal Systems is implementing its Proclaim Case Management Software solution at new Bognor Regis-based probate firm MJR Solicitors.
The Proclaim Probate Case Management system will eliminate time-consuming duplicate data entry through its integrated document management system. MJR Solicitors will benefit from fast document production, including hundreds of precedents that can be added to and amended whenever required. Additionally, any incoming mail can be quickly scanned and linked to the relevant client matter.
Product launches and updates
UK iManage partner Tiger Eye has launched Blueprint, a new knowledge management companion product for iManage Work, led by strategy & innovation director Matt Cleverdon.
Cleverdon, who joined from Autonomy/HP in March 2015, said: “The message I was getting was loud and clear: ‘Forget the bells and whistles we don’t want or ever use, and instead give us a toolkit that enables us to work smarter with key best practice documents.’ Blueprint does just that.”
The day-to-day development, launch and marketing programme for the software is being managed by Cerys Burcher, who has a publishing and advertising sales background within companies including The Economist and Informa.
Iphelion has announced the release of Outline v1.5, introducing a host of new features to their legal template management and document assembly platform.
The new version includes house style variations that allow you to change the numbering in a document between preconfigured styles at the click of a button, and the ability to insert customised tables of contents based on the template you are using and the firms house style.
Iphelion is a London based software company specialising in the legal sector that was started in 2006 by managing director Andy Driskell, formerly of OpenText, and technical director Simon Ashby-Crowe, formerly with KPMG.
Outline is used by leading law firms including Stephenson Harwood, Bevan Brittan, Clyde & Co, Stewarts Law, CMS Cameron McKenna, Hill Hofstetter and Kennedys.
Kroll Ontrack has expanded its advanced review services to include the extraction, analysis, disposition and potential repapering of contracts as part of a new Corporate Legal Projects offering.
“When a corporation is navigating a transaction that involves a large set of contracts and a looming deadline to execute a change, they need great technology and exceptional process expertise,” said Mark Williams, CEO, Kroll Ontrack. “As an ediscovery technology pioneer with real experience managing complex global review projects, Kroll Ontrack is in an excellent position to help corporate clients more efficiently and cost-effectively navigate these complex legal projects.”
In support of the new offering, Kroll Ontrack has opened a state-of-the-art review facility in Chicago, Illinois.
Having recently hired Lisa Hawke as director of policy and compliance, Everlaw has successfully completed a SOC 2 Type II audit over security, availability and confidentiality principles, demonstrating that that its system is designed and operates effectively to keep clients’ sensitive data secure.
And Netmaster Solutions, a global leader in cloud-based solutions to the legal services market with its e-bundle and court presentation system CaseLines, has achieved certification to ISO 27001 Information Security Management.
Industry news
As the Big Four accountants continue to make significant headway in their legal sector expansion plans, PwC is to integrate PwC Legal into its UK business with effect from 1 October to become a multi-disciplinary practice.
Kevin Burrowes, head of clients and markets and executive board member at PwC, said: “This is the natural next step. PwC Legal has a simple strategy to offer advice that complements services provided by PwC. By fully integrating PwC Legal into the rest of our business we are better placed to meet increasing client demand for more holistic advice.
“The ability to embed legal advice more fully into our advisory services allows us to better help our clients solve their complex challenges and problems, particularly as the UK heads towards the unchartered territory of Brexit.”
PwC Legal has 16 partners, 26 directors and a 350-strong UK team in total, based in London, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester and Belfast, providing advice in areas such as cyber security and data protection, corporate reorganisation, disputes, employment, immigration, M&A, pensions and technology.
Its revenue over the last year jumped by 24% to £60m.