You Can Do It

Implementing a case management system can elicit anxiety from even the most technosavvy legal professionals. And converting from one document manager to a new and unknown system can be no less intimidating. In the world of small-practice law firms, such tasks often have been handled entirely by only the most technically inclined legal professionals, whose technical experience sometimes affords them a level of competence needed to avoid making a mess of things.

Increasingly, however, the function of paralegals as the curators of information within the firm is dictating their larger role in the process. Because legal assistants move and organize the documents and various data in and out of software applications, including case management systems, their input on the implementation of said programs is seen by many as crucial. While installing and debugging a new system is still, in large part, the job of those with extensive technical experience, customizing the layout and design often involves a paralegal more often than an attorney.

“It can be intimidating,” said Jacqueline Bryan, a paralegal with Richard B. Kilpatrick, a solo practitioner in Bellevue, Wash. She said apprehension among paralegals about working on a case management system conversion is justified, because it’s not hard to ruin or destroy a program. But that should not stop them, she added. Regardless of their level of experience, paralegals should let go of their fears and dive right in, because it’s a valuable experience that will prove useful now, and throughout their careers.

After incorporating Time Matters, a popular case management program by DataTxt Corp., into their office, Bryan soon realized it was not what she needed. She struggled along for a while, but it was simply too cumbersome and too unstable — crashing frequently and disrupting her work.

“It wasn’t working well for her,” said Dick Kilpatrick, Bryan’s supervising attorney. He claimed Time Matters made the retrieval of information difficult and time-consuming for Bryan, so he purchased a copy of Case Master, Version 10. Now known as PracticeMaster, the program is a popular and established case management program from Software Technology, Inc. that allowed Kilpatrick and Bryan to set off down the darkened path of system conversion.

“I handled the really technical end,” Kilpatrick said, “but a lot of the technical stuff just gets you to one place.” Layout, the design of specific fields and a host of other interface issues must still be confronted, he said. And rather than simply handling the whole thing himself, he brought Bryan into the fray because she is the one who will use the program most.

“This way we have something more like what she can use,” he said, adding that by having her help decide “on the conversion issues, I have a better picture of what we should be attempting in enhancements.”

The collaborative project took about four weeks total, Kilpatrick said. Bryan provided a perspective unavailable to Kilpatrick, who worked with her to determine what to import from the old program and what to leave behind. “Because I handle the data entry end of things, I was more familiar with case matter upkeep and some of the more customized options we would need,” Bryan explained.

“She would provoke me to think about things,” Kilpatrick said. “I didn’t have to undo many mistakes.”

As the conversion and design process unfolded, Kilpatrick and Bryan realized more time should have been allotted. “Our work is complex litigation, so every day is different. If we had realized what was really involved, we would have spread the implementation out more — say maybe six weeks — and would not have been in such a rush to get it done,” Bryan said. While there were a number of glitches and a cumbersome technical learning curve, Bryan admitted that the biggest obstacle was finding time to continue operating their small practice while trying to implement their new case management system.

“Trying to implement it and keep up with the office work was difficult,” Bryan said. “We had to do it in bits and pieces.”

Another challenging lesson Bryan said she wants to share with other paralegals was the need for patience during the conversion process. “I’m the type of person where I want something and I want it now,” she said. “But it’s not something you can just do in a day.” The initial design is only the beginning, she added. The customizing process can be seemingly endless.

The new system’s capabilities are proving more satisfactory than Time Matters, Bryan said. PracticeMaster better fits her firm’s customizing requirements, and it doesn’t “crash all the time.” And, a number of pleasant surprises followed implementation, including the discovery of templates in the program that can be customized for use as court-date ticklers.

Bryan’s wish list, however, is still lengthy. She said she wishes PracticeMaster could take information from case notes and automatically turn it into an e-mail to be sent to attorneys quickly and more efficiently. The calendar section makes it difficult to find “todos,” she said, and finding relevant information means scrolling down a long list.

“You have to go in and search for the information and some things get lost in the shuffle,” Bryan said. But, “overall it is OK.”

Before conversion from one program to another becomes a necessity, a small-practice law firm must have implemented its first program, a daunting task for some. And, as proven by Bryan’s case, deciding on the right program from the start isn’t easy.

“The decision takes a little thought,” said Shawn Peterson, a paralegal with Schmidt, Ronca & Kramer in Harrisburg, Pa. His firm, a small practice with five attorneys, recently implemented Needles, their first case management program. For Peterson and his boss, deciding on what to buy was the hard part. After using listservs and talking with professionals about a number of programs, they decided Needles would best suit their needs. A consultant, who was supplied by the software manufacturer, then helped mitigate some of the challenging tasks in the set-up process. The ongoing implementation, though cumbersome and time-consuming, has been relatively smooth given the project’s size and scope, Peterson explained.

The firm’s management assigned five people to act as the “core group,” those who will make the decisions and learn the software, including Peterson, two attorneys, the office manager and a legal secretary. Peterson was appointed the “go to” guy on the project again because, as a paralegal, he will be the one who will use the program most. He has worked closest with the consultant and does all of the data entry — the initial part of which took about four days.

“It’s important to have one person doing this,” said Gerry Kramer, Peterson’s supervisor. “For these systems to work properly, they have to be uniform.” Accordingly, Peterson and one legal secretary are the only ones with the power to make changes to the design of forms and fields, and setting up other protocols, he added. That way, uniformity is assured.

“He’s been very effective,” Kramer said of Peterson’s involvement. Things such as proper grammatical structure and other issues like designing letter formats are the kinds of important, detail-oriented skills unique to his background as a paralegal. He intimately knows how the cases flow. He is also the one who worked on previous versions of Microsoft Word, a talent in short supply and much demand at his firm as it implements its first case management system.

Until the program is up and running with few or no glitches, Peterson noted, decisionmaking and training will be limited to the core group. “The rest of the firm is kind of out of the loop right now,” he said. “It hasn’t really touched them.”

Peterson’s expectations of an increase in efficiency have not yet been met since the program has not been fully implemented. But he is excited by what he has done so far and by his future role as the one who will be in charge of the program, despite it being “a lot of work.” Setting up documents has been most challenging, he said, but the consultant is continuing to help him overcome the learning curve.

Peterson has some advice for paralegals and their supervisors considering their first case management program. “Definitely do the research,” he said. And once the right program has been chosen, the paralegal who will use it most should then study it to prepare for the cumbersome process of implementation and training.

Hands-on experience is a big plus, Bryan added. Don’t pass up any opportunities to get experience with a case management program before, during or after an implementation or conversion. “Paralegals who do not have hands-on experience should speak up,” she said. And, “don’t get discouraged if one program doesn’t meet your needs.”

Because she was part of the process, she now has a better understanding of what is possible and how to communicate that to her boss. And the result is an appropriate system that continues to work efficiently.

John Caldwell is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. He is a former business manager who holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He writes for numerous national publications that cover a wide variety of genres. John can be reached at tandj@tempuscorp.com.