WHITE PAPER MATTERSPHERE TECHNOLOGY AND FUNCTIONALITY REVIEW CONNECTING YOU WITH WHAT MATTERS

Transcription

1 WHITE PAPER MATTERSPHERE TECHNOLOGY AND FUNCTIONALITY REVIEW CONNECTING YOU WITH WHAT MATTERS

2 MATTERSPHERE A MATTER-FOCUSED, INTEGRATED FRONT-OFFICE SOLUTION MatterSphere from Thomson Reuters Elite is the first truly intuitive, truly integrated front-office system for legal and professional services firms built within familiar Microsoft Office technology. Designed to bring every aspect of a matter front and center, MatterSphere brings manila file management efficiency to the world of distributed data, multiple applications, electronic documents, and proliferating simply and securely. In addition, MatterSphere provides access to mobile devices anywhere, anytime, using Microsoft Silverlight and HTML5 Web-based technology. MatterSphere has the information you need, 24/7, for you, your staff, your firm, and your clients. MatterSphere provides legal professionals with unified control of their matters, tasks, workloads, and all related documents and reference materials, via a single click within Office. This central approach supports how legal professionals actually work by contextually organizing activities and workflow, letting them easily view, share, collaborate, and act on information, all from inside the familiar environment of Office. But MatterSphere isn t like other Office add-ons; in fact, it s not an add-on at all. MatterSphere is built completely on Microsoft.NET technology from the ground up, with an architecture that is designed by MatterSphere s two separate yet collaborative teams: one that focuses on the platform technology and the other that specializes in legal expertise. The result is a strong, enterprise class platform with limitless functionality for matter management. Delivering client, contact and matter management, document assembly, case management, workflow, resource control, and reporting for the whole firm, MatterSphere enables legal professionals to tangibly improve their productivity and profitability. And because it links disparate systems together, integrates with third-party document management systems, requires less end-user training, and has rapid adoption rates due to the familiar Office interface, IT resources can be reallocated to focus on delivering more desktop value rather than maintaining silos of information. KEY FEATURES UNIFY MATTER CONTROL By providing a unified way to view and manage information, MatterSphere increases productivity and efficiencies and allows users to automate repetitive tasks. MatterSphere s key features provide you with the tools you need to enhance your firm s productivity and collaboration. A key feature of the MatterSphere technology is that it centralizes access to all matter-level information. MatterSphere isn t just matter-centric; it offers centricity around the individual user, client, or contact, so it can be professional-centric, partner-centric, or admin-centric. If you are a paralegal, you see a desktop with your tasks and information. If you are a partner, MatterSphere provides you with information on metrics and performance at your fingertips. Whether the user is a professional, an admin, a manager, or any other staff member, MatterSphere provides the appropriate views critical to the user. With this technology, all members of the firm become more productive, because access to all matter data for any client is always just one click away. Delivering client, contact and matter management, document assembly, case management, workflow, resource control, and reporting for the whole firm, MatterSphere enables legal professionals to tangibly improve their productivity and profitability. Embedding MatterSphere within Office reduces workflow bottlenecks and allows more billable work to be completed. The end result is an immediate increase in the firm s return on investment. Whether communicating with related case parties via or telephone, creating correspondence or producing pleadings, motions or transactional documents, Office is the place where legal work product is ultimately produced. MatterSphere keeps your professionals and staff working fluidly by not making them bounce in and out of disparate environments to find information and produce work product throughout the day. MatterSphere also increases profitability by integrating time and billing capture. To aid in collaboration, MatterSphere improves the management of matters by making it possible to share all related documents, s, contacts, and tasks with other people in the firm. It also standardizes common working practices by centralizing information, templates, and precedents. Collaboration does not come at the expense of security: MatterSphere s powerful security delivers with easy-to-use controls. The technology offers both role- and level-based permissions, and all original data is hosted within the firm s network, ensuring that data stays safe and secure. SINGLE OFFICE APPROACH MatterSphere s single office approach ensures that resources are used efficiently. It does this by providing a system of electronic file folders that emulate the physical file drawers containing all matter details. All client and matter information is stored under a unique matter number, providing the firm with more control. Matter information is accessible to users at any time and from any place, reducing information silos. Storing and finding client information becomes easy and efficient. All relevant information from different sources is pulled into one spot and then can be made available in the appropriate form to professionals, staff, and other relevant parties including clients. As a result, communication is enhanced, and storage and accessibility of information is improved. This approach creates that critical link between matter content and knowledge sharing. MatterSphere manages the flow of structured information, automates processes and tasks, and tracks staff performance and profitability. This solution helps you collect required reporting information and meet deadlines and, when in working mode, assists with billing processes by making it easy to record and manage time and disbursements. Finally, training requirements are minimized through a contextual working environment within Office. With MatterSphere, routine operations are simplified. 1

3 Whether you utilize MatterSphere s enterprise document management technology or a 3rd party DMS, MatterSphere technology overrides inefficiencies in the document creation process. MATTERSPHERE: BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER MatterSphere s features fit naturally into the daily operation of legal professionals and are accessible through Office and popular mobile environments. MatterSphere revolutionizes matter management operations, from end to end, by providing a single unified way to view and manage daily activities, including clients, cases, workloads, and all related documents and reference materials. Core functionality: Filing everything in one place and improving workflow at the same time MatterSphere s core functionality is a central repository, which enables users to associate all documents, s, tasks, and contacts to a single file for easy access, sharing, and retrieval. MatterSphere provides a contextual integration with other platforms that you may have, so no information is isolated in another system. When you assemble a document in MatterSphere, all matter details, including any information maintained in third party applications is available for use in the new document. Whether you utilize MatterSphere s enterprise document management technology or a 3rd party DMS, MatterSphere technology overrides inefficiencies in the document creation process. For example, no longer do you need to go through several steps just to save a document. MatterSphere doesn t just integrate with other systems, it complements them and improves the process. This core functionality provides professionals with a comprehensive view of their workloads. The ability to track information, documents, and s by both client and matter makes MatterSphere ideal for managing work and ensuring regulatory compliance. MatterSphere also improves the productivity of professionals by embedding functionality directly within Microsoft Office 2003/2007/2010, which is commonly used every day through Outlook, Word, and Excel. This seamless integration minimizes training time, improves user uptake, and enables professionals to access information without having to open yet another software application to access information. In summary, MatterSphere s core functionality provides a single, simple way to meet the front office requirements of the entire organization. It also provides a feature-rich and embedded workflow, document production, and document and matter management system. MatterSphere leverages the latest Microsoft Technologies including the.net 4.0 Framework for compatibility and interoperability, SQL Server 2000/2005/2008 database for resilience and scalability, and Office for security and ease of use. Putting matter details at the center of workflow The MatterSphere interface reflects the normal work practices of professionals and enables users to fully process, track, manage, and analyze a file from beginning to end. The interface is customized to the individual user so each person sees toolbars relevant to their tasks. Using the software s automation capabilities, processes can be streamlined to promote higher productivity, improve collaboration, reduce the risk of errors, and improve oversight and quality control. MatterSphere pulls together all matter-related information within the Office environment via a single mouse click. It provides individuals and other members of a department or project team regardless of location with an all-inclusive and real-time view of each client and matter. This view includes consolidating important information from a wide variety of sources, such as tasks, documents, appointments, contacts, milestones, and notes. All of this data is associated with the appropriate file and stored centrally for collaboration purposes, subject to permissions. Not your typical Microsoft Office integration: A familiar environment from the ground up Completely embedded within Office, MatterSphere provides a familiar interface used to manage clients, matters and all associated details using built-in MatterSphere ribbon bars (Figure 1). The resulting solution increases user productivity as it becomes a seamless part of the daily work environment, eliminating the need to access separate applications and data stores. MatterSphere s platform technology is built from the ground up to integrate Office, but it s much more robust than a typical Microsoft add-on. MatterSphere was written entirely using Microsoft.NET framework and translates to high adoption rates by end-users, especially among professionals and their support staff. Thus, MatterSphere and all matter-related information are accessed directly within Outlook, Word, and Excel, and actions, documents, and s are initiated easily from within Office applications. Toolbar items and field labels can be modified to tailor actions to meet specific needs of users, roles, departments, or the entire firm. Client software is deployed via MSI and Microsoft Active Directory (AD) Group policy. (Intended MatterSphere users should be listed in AD; selective client PC testing is allowed on each site prior to deployment.) Since the MatterSphere user interface appears inside commonly used Microsoft applications, implementation is easy, user acceptance is fast, and training requirements are minimal. All of this leads to increased productivity for the user and, ultimately, the firm. Figure 1. MatterSphere is completely embedded within Microsoft Office, easing implementation, acceptance, and training. 2

4 A room with a view: Managing everything on a matter from one place The matter-view of MatterSphere provides users with an organized and intuitive view of all information for a matter, including documents, s, contacts, tasks, appointments, milestone plans, critical dates, notes, accounts information, and more. The relevant file information is centrally stored and easily shared and searched, improving collaborative work processes (Figure 2). The Information Bar provides a quick view of contextual data, actions, or reports specific to the type of information viewed. Users can capture and track file-specific data through both simple and complex extensibility options. Figure 2. Users can view all file-specific documents and document details (including s), irrespective of type. Command Center: Retrieving materials easily A key component of work management in MatterSphere is the Command Center. The Command Center views are uniquely tuned to the needs of every professional in the firm. Two built-in versions are supplied for configuration standard and senior but others can be created via the Admin Kit. The standard Command Center is designed for a single user to access the matters they are responsible for, while the senior view can provide overviews of all matters plus performance data on accountable staff (Figure 3). The Command Center can be launched automatically on start-up or manually via the MatterSphere menu. Additional functionality with optional features is available and included in the MatterSphere package. Figure 3. Users can review all active matters by fee earner, viewing works in progress, their status, and the various action items. 3

5 Client and matter functionality: Setting up what s what MatterSphere s core server licensing includes access to the client and matter functionality of the core database. Client and matter numbers are automatically generated to a protocol that is defined during the initial stages of deployment. The content of the Matter Type Information screen contains document management and general details, plus additional tabs associated with each of the optional features provided with the MatterSphere software solution (Figure 4). Figure 4. The Matter Information screen presents information relating to each matter, as defined by MatterSphere and fine-tuned by the user. Contact Management: Creating a repository of contacts and details MatterSphere s Contact Management function allows professionals to create and maintain a single, global contact repository for use in files. This function manages multiple contacts and contact details for each matter, including multiple addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and addresses (Figure 5). Contact management extends far beyond simple name and address storage relationships between departments, matter, and documents are also automatically stored, and each contact can be associated with different files and documents in different capacities. Intuitive and flexible search capabilities help prevent duplication. This element of the technology streamlines work practices and automates document creation. MatterSphere s Contact Management element provides centralized storage and access to contact information across the entire firm. Figure 5. MatterSphere s Contact Management function creates a centralized repository of detailed information on contacts. 4

6 Document Automation: Creating a repository of templates MatterSphere s Document Automation module features standard templates for the production of documents, paragraphs, and clauses that help increase the accuracy of finished documents and lower the response time from event to output. These templates are housed in a central repository, allowing for easy search and retrieval. In this way, users have ready access to standardized content and style by matter type and/or department (Figure 6). Figure 6. Any data field can be merged into a document template, including contact information from the Contact Management module. Template Management: Standardizing language and terminology MatterSphere s Template Management module ensures that consistent language and terminology are used throughout the firm and within each individual practice group. MatterSphere standardizes those processes that are appropriate to standardize and allows for tuning to meet the needs of each practice group and matter type. The module captures, stores, and shares data from multiple sources, including key client, matter, and contact data, making it available to others inside the firm (Figure 7). The time required to create complex or multiple documents is thus reduced, allowing delegation of document creation tasks, and enabling users to do more client work with less resources, as well as freeing up staff to concentrate on other tasks. With MatterSphere, the number of documents and templates are reduced within the firm, and repetitive and unstructured content is better managed. Automation allows a firm to consolidate experience and share expertise, keeping knowledge within the firm, even during staff turnover. Figure 7. MatterSphere s Template Management module increases staff productivity and ensures consistency of language across the firm. 5

7 Document Management: Organizing any and all file types MatterSphere s matter-focused view provides access and organization of all matter-related items in a variety of file forms, including Word documents, s as well as their attachments, Excel spreadsheets, Adobe PDFs, scanned images, and miscellaneous documents. A single repository holds all incoming and outgoing documents. The Document Management module provides full version control, check-in/check-out/lock options, as well as capabilities to preview and compare documents. The capability to conduct full-text search is offered through a Full Text Indexer. MatterSphere fully integrates with third-party document management systems, automating document workflow even more and enabling the firm to leverage existing investments. Figure 8. Document Management module makes all files connected to a matter easily available and searchable, regardless of file type. Task Management: Helping you stay on track The MatterSphere Task Management module helps you stay on track with your tasks and actions. Users can set actions and prompts for completion following an event as well as set reminders and prompts for action (Figure 9). Actions and prompts can also be assigned varying levels of importance. The interface makes it easy to enter and review file notes, and associate tasks, reminders, and time entries to specific documents. The user also can set the module so that it automatically triggers actions once a document is completed. Figure 9. The Task Management module makes it easy to create detailed tasks and reminders, increasing office efficiency and productivity. 6

8 Key Dates: Keeping time under control MatterSphere s Key Dates feature allows you to create procedures that track key events and dates, set reminders and review prompts, and tag events with escalated importance. By retaining knowledge gleaned from past events, Key Dates provides you with the information you need to decide on your next action (Figure 10). Data can be shared through the module, allowing users to share matter outcomes with others in the firm, and weigh success in each area. Figure 10. The Key Dates module retains data that helps you determine what your next action should be. Milestone Management: Tracking throughout the file lifecycle With the Milestone Management feature, you can create unique static plans by matter type that track key stages, dates, tasks and other actions required throughout the file lifecycle. By standardizing work processes, you will be able to improve the internal efficiencies of your firm. Milestone Management makes it easy for you to review a process to determine the stage of a given matter and see when a milestone is reached so you can progress the matter to the next stage of the plan. The software solution tracks when the stages of the matter lifecycle are due to be completed. Figure 11. The Milestone Management feature allows you to track target and achieved dates and see every milestone required for a given matter. 7

9 BRING SEAMLESS CONNECTION INTO YOUR DAILY WORKLIFE Easy to deploy and run, MatterSphere has been implemented in hundreds of legal organizations throughout the world. Through best practices that have been developed over more than a decade, Thomson Reuters Elite has comprehensive methodologies to efficiently design and deliver solutions with high levels of early user adoption that bring immediate financial benefit to the firm. This technology can be deployed as a group-by-group approach within a firm, or it can be rolled out across multiple areas at once. This modular implementation method allows firms to be up and running on MatterSphere in a very short time frame, and can be done without sacrificing future scalability when users adopt the technology or the firm grows. MatterSphere is the complete solution to overcome the challenges of siloed data and the traditional divide between transactional and casebased information. MatterSphere provides you with a single unified way to view and transforms your daily activities, into a centralized command center with all the information you need to perform your job all with a single click. MatterSphere links naturally with your existing document management and back office systems, and works across every mobile platform for anytime, anywhere, any device access, with complete security. The modular design allows you to choose just the functions you want and add more as you need them. As your business evolves, so does MatterSphere easily, simply, transparently naturally connecting to the way you work. MatterSphere matter management software increases productivity by centralizing and providing critical context to case and transactional information. Less time wasted on routine tasks boosts profit potential, and 24/7 access to essential resources lets you provide greater responsiveness to queries and enhance client relations. With MatterSphere, you can move ahead to a more profitable future knowing that you are working with one of the world s leaders in providing professional services firms with the most innovative of business solutions. For more information on MatterSphere, visit mattersphere.com Thomson Reuters W /1-13