Thomson Reuters Elite has just signed up Burness Paull as an Elite 3E client as it also puts some ‘skin in the game’ by rolling out delayed client payment options, subscription pricing and extended warranties.
Burness Paull has upgraded from its legacy practice management system Elite Envision to 3E. The top 60 UK firm joins new 3E customers Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis in Philadelphia and McCague Borlack in Toronto, which have just signed up to convert from Elite’s end-oflifed PMS Enterprise to 3E. The new wins come as Elite refines a number of client conversion packages and payment options to accommodate clients of different sizes and in different stages of their budget.
Speaking to Legal IT Insider, vice president of global sales, Bill Burch said: “People always worry about cash flow. We have created some delayed payment models that are designed to match payment to budget cycle. Maybe clients don’t have the money in the budget this year, or the budget will be approved next year but they want to get started this year. Clients really appreciate the fact that we’re listening and doing something about it.”
As Elite moves towards launching 3E in the cloud in 2017, the New York-headquartered software firm has also brought in subscription pricing that better fits the partnership model, where the most senior partners are often those that are looking to retire and less keen to make large capital investments.
Similarly, Elite is giving more aggressive assurances around delivery, including extended warranty options for bigger projects. Burch says: “We’ve brought in delivery guarantees around staffing that have teeth. It’s not just to say ‘we’ll do that’ but put teeth behind it so clients feel that we have some skin in the game. Most are for the largest firms where we want to hit a certain date and give guarantees over how the project is staffed and who is involved.”
The ‘pick and mix’ payment options overlay a number of different conversion options for more rapid implementation, under which firms can but don’t have to bring all their data into 3E. Burch says: “Firms are saying they want to convert to 3E cheaper and faster and we’re saying ‘here’s what you can do’ – it doesn’t mean your data is not available but firms are warming up to the fact that they are never going to look at their old data.”
Elite’s Express Service Package, a highly configured version of 3E that enables rapid deployment in nine to 12 months, has seen recent traction among medium-sized firms including Irish law firms Mason, Hayes & Curran and LK Shields, and to which 180 firms have now signed up. The new pricing models started out of the work Elite is doing in the Asia Pacific region, where Wall Street rates don’t wash.
Burch adds: “We’re trying to build up different programmes that firms can say ‘that fits me’ and go down that path. It gives the client more control.”
This article first appeared in Legal IT Insider – click here to sign up for your free copy