Acolyst VENELegal Matter Management Application

Transcription

1 Acolyst VENELegal Matter Management Application Acolyst VENELegal Matter Management application is for legal corporate and government professionals needing a tool to allow for collaboration, managing matter status and related objects, sharing notes, documents, assigning tasks, creating appointments, scheduling alerts and notification, and so much more. The objects revolve and relate to the Matter object record. For example, Tasks, Appointments, Documents, s, and Contacts are associated to a Matter project. VENELegal offers unprecedented intelligence, automation, flexibility, and stability. It is a fully web-based thin client application, which utilizes AJAX to retrieve and create data asynchronously and works with J2EE-compliant application servers such as JBoss, Weblogic, and others. VENELegal creates an optimal environment for multiple locations in that all data resides on a common database enabling collaboration across the department. With an Access Control List, the System Administrator defines the security for users/user groups. This type of access control ensures that although data is stored in a single database, it is properly segmented within the organization based on roles and responsibilities. The role field permissions provided is part of the application design. VENELegal is fully configurable and allows for an unlimited number of screens and fields to be added to the system using Acolyst's services. 1

2 1 VENELegal Application Features 1.1 Overview Acolyst designs and configures the VENELegal per client requirements. This solution provides the lowest risk basis for a comprehensive and seamlessly integrated because VENELegal: Has numerous configurable Graphic User Interface (GUI) modules to make changes quickly to adapt to business processes Designed for System Administrators to easily update and modify the drop down category list information as business needs changes Scalable to hundreds of users Integrates with many applications using standard API Web Services through SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) to facilitate integration with any third party system pushing and retrieving data. The VENELegal flexible nature and open integration capabilities allow integration with any other applications via XML, Java, or other web services software possible. In general VENELegal can support the movement of data to other systems via XML, Java or Database to Database on a real time or scheduled batch basis. Web application with an HTML-based interface o Supports many web browsers including IE 8 and above, Netscape Navigator, Mozilla, and Safari o Can be integrated with existing web sites of an organization Allows multiple users to access the application at the same time Contact Database Contacts are objects that contain the name, addresses, phones, and any pertinent information that applies to the Contact itself. Contacts are divided into Internal and External Contacts in addition to Customer Contacts. Internal Contacts, also referred to as Assignees and Staff, can have the following or more roles: o Senior Counsel o Attorney o Paralegal o Administrative Assistant The user can add one or more assignees to the matter depending on the organizational process. 2

3 External Contacts, also referred to as Involved or Related Parties have categories that provide the ability to create and collect information relevant to that category type. For example, an External Contact can be categorized under Court, Expert, Investigator, Auditor, etc. 3

4 The External Contact Categories Out of the Box (OOB) which can be modified by the System Administrator is listed below: External Contact Category External Contact Subcategory Agency Federal, Local, State Arbitrator Attorney Auditor Client Consultant Court Federal, Local, State Expert Hospital Insurance Adjuster Insurance Carrier Investigator Judge Law Firm Mediator Paralegal Physician Secretary Supplier/Vendor The user can also add one or more External Contacts / Related Parties to the Matter screen object depending on the organizational process. 4

5 Customer contacts are organizations / customers relating to a Project / Matter record Contacts can be accessed under the Matter Screen or Under the Contacts Menu Tab displayed on the top row. From there, the user can View all Internal (Staff/Assignees) and External (Related or Involved Parties) Contacts and Add New Customers and Find Customers. 5

6 1.1.2 Matter Database When creating a new Matter, a Matter Number can be auto-populated and formatted to the organization s arrangement (text, numeric, combination). Customers are related to the Matter object. If a Customer Exists, a drop down list is provided to retrieve the Customer or a New Customer can be added by clicking the + sign as shown in the screen image below. Other information relating to the Matter record is also captured. Required fields can be modified based on requirements and Status Category drop down (Pending, Open, and Closed) can be altered by the system administrator unless the field has special rules that requires configuration. There are multiple Matter categories and subcategories that are provided Out of the Box (OOB) as show below. The list of Matter category types and subtypes can be edited by the System Administrator. Matter Categories Bankruptcy 6

7 Matter Categories Adversary Proceeding Chapter 7 Chapter 9 Chapter 11 Chapter 13 Chapter 15 Litigation Evade or Avoid (4069) Amicus Employer Liability Collection Premium Collection Application to Terminate Plan and/or Appoint Trustee Lien Enforcement Title 1 (Fiduciary Breach) Monitor Legal Action Other Settlement Enforcement The application allows for flexibility where a user can select multiple categories and subcategories based on the Matter record object if necessary. The screen can be configured and additional Matter screen objects can be developed for the different Matter types required. 7

8 1.1.3 Matter Notes There are two Notes object within the application. The first is Notes about the Matter located from a tab within the Matter screen object as show below. When the Note is created, it captures which Assignee created it [Created By]. Reminder, that there can be multiple assignees related to a Matter object. The Note also captures who created the Note using a timestamp [Created On]. Multiple Notes can be added to a Matter record object. 8

9 The second Notes object is related to the Tasks associated to the Matter Record. Users can add Multiple Task Notes tracked by Assignee Name [Created By] and Time stamped [Created On]. Below displays the Multiple Assignee Notes listed 9

10 1.1.4 Calendaring/Ticker System From the Menu Tab Bar, under the Appointments Tab, the user can Add an Appointment to their Calendar, View the Calendar for All Staff members if permission given, can view a specific Staff Member s Calendar if permission granted, and can view their own Calendar called Calendar Mine. Several different calendar views can be used to manage appointments, such a 30-day calendar view, or a daily calendar view The Calendar All Staff view (shown in the image below) allows the user to see all staff member s calendar displayed differently to easily distinguish. The user can hover over the scheduled item for additional information, can right click to Edit / Delete, can double click to open the item, can click anywhere to add a calendar event and can drag and drop the event to another date. 10

11 Calendar Staff Member opens up a Staff Search Screen with a drop down ability to click on the staff member for whose calendar schedule needs to be viewed. Calendar Mine is very similar to the Calendar All Staff, but only shows the user s calendar view that can be displayed monthly, weekly or daily. 11

12 Multiple Appointments can be created for the same Matter and assigned to different Staff Members. In addition if one appointment is needed to cover more than 1 matter additional matters can be added on the Appointment screen and related to the matters added by clicking on the add icon. 12

13 The Appointment Type Category drop down list can be modified by the System Administrator. Appointment Category Type Out of the Box (OOB) 30B6 Deposition Arbitration Conference Discovery Hearing Investigation Meeting 13

14 Appointment Category Type Out of the Box (OOB) Pre-Trial Pre-Trial Conference Status Conference Trial Appeal Audit Conference Call Deposition Dispositive Motion Interview Mediation Motion Settlement Conference Training Document Templates, is generated from the Matter Screen by clicking on Display Template. The Display Template is set to a series of pre-designed fields that are merged into a document Template format. Templates can be configured as required during the requirement phase. 14

15 As can be seen in the image below, there are several field information from Multiple Objects (Matter and Contact Object in this example below) that has been merged onto the Word Document Template including Matter Number, Matter Name, Opened Date, Customer Number, and Customer Name from the Matter Screen Object and Contact Information such as Address, , Phone Number from the Contact Object. Document Templates can be generated using Microsoft Word 2003 and above (including 2007 and 2010). Document Templates can be saved, printed to be signed, and ed to others for review or for obtaining signatures, all depending on the organization s business process. Document Templates may include: Placeholders for data (like client name) to be taken from the database and inserted into the generated document (also known as "mail or document merge"). Placeholders for related data to be shown as lists in the generated document. For example, a customer letter may include details of all matters of the customer. Conditions indicating when a particular section of the template should be included into the generated document. Sub-documents to improve structure and formatting of complex templates. The document can be routed as a workflow and can even go through several notification and approval stages. If a document needs to be routed for workflow approval and requires e-signature capability, Acolyst does have integration and capability to offer this solution as an additional requirement add-on feature if later desired. 15

16 VENELegal can automatically send s. Business rules are used to specify conditions when s should be sent. s can be easily personalized: Subject and body of an may include placeholders for data (like client name) to be taken from the database and inserted into the . attachments can be specified as document templates, which are automatically converted into personalized documents when is sent. VENELegal can also receive s sent to a particular address and automatically take actions based on the contents as instructed by business rules. For example, VENELegal can recognize a customer by address and register the with the customer or if information received is specified in a particular way, such as an online form filled out and information captured into the relates the information to specific matter records. With the ability to conduct we see in the screen shot below that the user is able to send an to multiple contacts both internal and external and if necessary to their customer and matter related contacts as necessary. 16

17 1.1.5 Document Management (with ability to search, retrieve and organize) ALDM allows working with any type of electronic document or file. Documents can be searched, stored, organized, retrieved, printed, exported and saved to disk, imported from disk, attached to s and viewed within a browser with the appropriate editor. There are multiple locations within the application where users can upload and relate documents to specific matters. One is from the Task Object, second is from the Matter Object, and the third is from the Document link on the Menu Tab at the top of the screen. Below we see Document screen shots as they are related to a Task that is related to a specific Matter Object. 17

18 Note: User can add multiple documents to a specific Task for a specific Matter record 18

19 Screen image of Document Tab within a Matter Record Object. All documents relating to the Matter including the ones that were added under the Task tab will display here. If the organization has generic documents to pick from, the user would click on Add within the Document tab and can choose from a list of documents within the system to add to the Matter object. 19

20 Document check-in/out and version control is a feature that can be configured within the application and determined if the users want document status conditions also applied (pending, reviewed, approved, etc) based on requirements Reporting VENELegal includes a visual Report Designer that allows for comprehensive reports to be created that may include: Nested grouping of data with summaries for each group. For example, a workload or time-tracking report for an organization arranged by departments, teams within departments and individuals within teams. Sub-reports including nested sub-reports. For example, a report on all open matters where data for each matter includes a list of assignees responsible and each assignee has a list of task items. Conditional aggregate operations. For example, a report on closed matters where data for each matter includes the assignee and involved parties associated and the length of time it took to close each matter. Conditional data presentation where the same report field can show data differently depending on some conditions specified for the field. For example, open matters can be shown in black if it is positive, pending matters over 5 days in pending status can be in red or shown as a special icon per client requirement. The reporting can provide the ability to show status, length of time at each phase, number of regulations each user is reviewing or has reviewed and other complicated meaningful metrics. Charts, including bar, area, line, pie charts, can be used to support data series. Defined for which users have access to records and what information they can access within the record object. Within the Report Menu Tab, Reports can be displayed in PDF format. Reports are configured based on user requirements and can include graphical images such as pie, bar, line chart as well as other dynamic charts that display pop-up prompts. 20

21 In addition to the built in Report Designer that VENELegal provides, VENELegal can be complimented with an enterprise business intelligent reporting platform like MicroStrategy. If client decides to expand on its reporting needs to a more business intelligence reporting system like a scorecard or dashboard, Acolyst has partnership with MicroStrategy and feeds the data information from VENELegal to MicroStrategy. Acolyst is able to deliver the design the reporting requirements on not only the MicroStrategy platform but also based on the iphone or ipad mobile applications that is supported. The reporting solution can be provided in three different ways: Canned Reports: Reports run in batch mode usually overnight on a regular basis that has been predefined by the user and developed by the project team Parameter Driven Canned Reports: Reports executed by the user as needed that once executed, the user is prompted with a parameter screen to fill in data in predetermined fields and then once submitted, an already developed report executes (batch or real time) with this selection data Ad-hoc Reports: Provide data that allows the user to create or modify their own reports or queries real time and even export the results to other software tools like Microsoft Excel 21

22 The project schedule can be impacted based on the number and types of reports that are identified during the system requirements phase Home Page Screen VENELegal provides quick and easy access to important business object records and information through home pages. The Home Screen has a Dashboard with Portal Panes for the users to quickly view what is most important to their business function / role. The home page is the first page you see after logging into VENELegal. Home pages contain specialized sections called portal panes. From portal panes, the user can view appointments, open matters, tasks, and alerts. The home page can be modified to create and access various records and information that are of importance to the user client such as: Assigned documents Pending approvals News headlines through RSS Feeds Reports Etc Some portal panes contain important textual information, such as messages to employees or important announcements. Other portal panes are more interactive. You can click hyperlinks to access web sites and records, such as existing appointments, contacts, or claims. There are also hyperlinks that open tools or record screens with blank fields so that the user can create new appointments, contacts, or tasks. Most information that you can access from your home page can also be accessed from the tab bar. However, home pages and portal panes provide a quicker means of doing so. The next image shows the Calendar view in a Month format that can also be switched to a weekly or daily view. To the right there is information on Open Matters, Open Tasks, and Alerts that the user has received. The user is able to click on the Reading Navigation Icon (Magnifier) to the right to Open the Information they want to Review, Edit, or Delete. Within the application we see areas that are hyperlinked for the user to click to populate the information instead of clicking on the Magnifier icon. These can be configured based on user preference. At the top of the screen we see the various Menu Tab Items such as Matters, Tasks, Contacts, Appointments, Alerts, Documents, Search, Reports, and even easy accessible Links with a drop down. The entire tab names can be configured to the organization s naming convention and liking. Throughout the application there are Help Hints that pop up when hovering over the icons to let the user know what a specific icon will do. 22

23 1.1.8 Search Capability Matter Category Search can be found under the Matter tab by clicking on Find a Matter. The user can do a generic search by leaving everything blank and clicking on search or filling in one or more fields. The user can also add an asterisk to partial names to conduct wildcard searches using an asterisk or conditional searches using AND / OR. 23

24 Within the Search menu tab a Global search across various Business Objects can be applied. This is also a feature that can be configured based on user preference and needed functionality per requirement Adding Internal Contact The System Administrator is able to add a New Internal Contact (Staff Member), add the Job Title, Role, Login Name, and Password, and a Photo and also provide different Access Level depending on the user s Role. 24

25 User Security/Permissions VENELegal has a comprehensive security feature that assigns rights to user groups. These rights are the ones that determine whether one can view, edit, create, or delete records for a specific record type. VENELegal provides the ability to set security within the product based on group definitions of permissions. User Role Access Level is determined during the requirement gathering phase Instant Messaging There is also an Instant Messaging feature offered within the application. The Instant Message screen opens up a Chat Messaging capability that allows the user to customize the font size, color, highlighting the text and much more Flexible Workflow VENELegal offers the ability to create custom workflow rules to support notification, review, approval and other similar tasks as part of its baseline functionality. Examples of workflow rules include notification to matter assignees, approvals for changes in phase of a matter, acknowledgement of review, and receipt of information. VENELegal workflow is able to provide notification via Dashboard and/or via . 25