I saw in my feed today that there is a new ebilling administration product available called BillSync by ScanLogic. They call it “the first ebilling platform to be launched in 20 years based on new technologies.” The platform is “designed to aggregate all ebilling data across multiple platforms and vendors” and their press release goes on to refer to it as “a solution to aggregating all billing data where others cannot.” I have not yet seen the product and am curious whether their technology really does access the dozens of ebilling platforms in the legal industry that law firms are required to use. If it truly lives up to this promise, then this is indeed a powerful solution.
Readers should investigate for themselves here.
Category: New Product
New product(s) in the Enterprise Legal Management space
Updated Resource Room Links
I am just back from LegalTech NY and have added numerous new systems to the Resource Room pages. See also our new page with information on IP Solutions.
New Law Firm Ebilling Compliance Tool
A new tool has been released by Smart Time Apps called EBillReady that is designed to perform pre-invoice submission validation. By increasing the accuracy of first time invoice submissions the tool helps to create a more efficient and less costly workflow.
The cloud-based system allows for creating validation tests based on client outside counsel guidelines and, by importing a LEDES file, will identify issues and provide a means to easily edit the ebill. To learn more go to their web site.
New Risk Management System at ILTA
At the ILTA Conference I saw a product worthy of mention. Called Prevalent, it is a risk management solution which provides information on the security of systems that may be used by any organization. They offer a couple of different models: one, where an organization can be a regular subscriber and receive information on the security or breeches of systems used or under consideration or, two, where an organization undergoing a system selection can obtain information on the few systems under consideration.
As a legal technology consultant, I see value in an offering like this. Particularly when undertaking a systems selection, an organization is able to receive unbiased information on the security of systems under consideration. Sure, you can ask questions on the security of a platform in an RFP, but all too often RFP respondents answer the question they want to answer, not necessarily the question asked. As we move into an age were security is a greater concern than ever before, an offering like Prevalent is well timed for success.
New Timekeeping System
I had a demo of a new timekeeping system today that was really interesting. Called ClockedLegal, not only does it have a great mobile capabilities, it auto-codes UTBMS on time entries!
New Legal Ebilling Offering for Law Departments
There is a new ebilling offering for law departments called Viewabill is a very new take on the client’s desire to manage better. The system gives clients the ability to monitor work performed by outside counsel real time. It allows clients to monitor services provided while work is underway instead of discovering four or more weeks later when a bill is submitted that the work deviated from the agreed to plan. With this system there should never be any surprises.
I am intrigued by this product for a couple of reasons: it completely eliminates the need to provide accrual information, and it provides insight into the actual services performed under a flat fee instead of producing a shadow invoice. These are two of the most cumbersome manual processes in ebilling today and with Viewabill they are not a factor.
More importantly, it represents a new take on ebilling. I always have been intellectually interested to see how ebilling will evolve. Will this be a better mouse trap? I can’t wait to see.
I do feel the need to caution law firms. Now is the time to get your billing practices in order. Because Viewabill allows clients to see real time data, time must be entered on a timely (daily) basis, as cleanly as possible and in accordance with the client’s billing guidelines. You don’t have the luxury of the billing process to massage raw entries under this system. I suggest you don’t wait until one of your clients requests your firm to use this kind of system before you start to put your timekeeping practices in order.