“Aderant Total Office has been great for

us. It is a very sophisticated system, and

is a marked improvement from what

we have used in the past. We may be

a 100-year-old law firm, but thanks to

Total Office we have a highly efficient,

21st-century case and financial

management system.”

Tracy Puritz , Executive Director

Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen

Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest law firms

specializing in personal injury and medical malpractice. The firm has seven

attorneys listed in Best Lawyers in America, and was named one of the Best Places

to Work in Virginia by Virginia Business and Best Companies Group in both 2011 &

2012. These honors and many others are a reflection of the experience, knowledge

and skills that the firm brings to personal injury cases.

In 2002, the firm upgraded its case and financial management software, purchasing

two separate systems and integrating them through a third-party interface that was

customized and installed by a software consultant. While this was an improvement

over the firm’s old DOS-based case management system and accounting

spreadsheets, it wasn’t a solution that would stand the test of time.

When it became necessary for a software upgrade, its third-party interface severely

limited the firm’s ability to upgrade either its case management or financial systems.

As a result, the firm was forced to operate with outdated versions of both its case

and financial software, and ultimately lost technical support from vendors. It

became clear that they needed a truly integrated system that could support the

needs of a growing, innovative firm with multiple offices.

PLAINTIFF FIRM BENEFITS FROM FULLY INTEGRATED CASE AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

ADERANT SUCCESS PROFILEADERANT TOTAL OFFICE

TOP PRIORITY: INTEGRATION

To determine how to accomplish that goal, Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen

formed a 20-member committee to review and evaluate software

options. They set as a benchmark the upgrade that was offered by

the firm’s existing case management vendor, which featured a built-

in interface with a widely used accounting software package. The

committee reviewed nearly a dozen software options before selecting

Aderant Total Office (formerly Client Profiles).

Why Aderant Total Office? In a word, integration. Very few of the

vendors that the firm considered could provide both case and

financial management software. Among those that could, Aderant

stood out for its robust case management tools and intuitive user

interface.

The firm was also drawn by the level of customization that Aderant

offered. The firm has eight different law types with detailed and

unique screens, pick lists and to-do packages attached to each. In

addition to the screens provided by Aderant at the outset, the firm

created six new tabs to identify, monitor and track crucial case

management information. As different elements are identified or

there is a new ruling or change in the law, the firm is easily able to

design new fields, checklists and pick lists that pertain to the change.

Any information then generated through these new fields can be

tracked through a written report.

Customization is particularly important to the firm’s intake process,

which uses custom screens to capture data relating to the nature of

the call. Those data fields correspond with a specific merge document

that attorneys can use to print a report prior to meeting a new client.

In addition to developing fields that apply to the individual and cause

of action, the firm also created fields to capture marketing and referral

information. The subsequent reports enable the firm to track the

types of calls received, the number of calls taken during a particular

time frame and who took the calls.

Aderant’s status as a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner was also

important to the firm. Not only does Aderant offer complete front

and back office integration, but also an unmatched integration with

the Microsoft applications used by everyone within the firm. Add in

a highly competitive pricing structure, and the choice became clear –

Aderant Total Office was the right solution for the firm’s needs.

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE

A successful implementation depends on good training. Allen, Allen,

Allen & Allen chose to centralize training, bringing everyone to the

headquarters in Richmond over the course of two weeks. A bank of

computers was set up in a conference room and customized training

sessions were held for management, intake and administrative teams,

as well as all of the attorneys and their direct legal support.

“Our goal was to implement without dramatic impact on the

employees, and I think we accomplished that,” said Tracy Puritz, the

firm’s executive director. “We wanted to make sure that we had good

training in place, and that we implemented the software at the right

time for the right people.”

During the first two weeks, the firm moved at a measured pace, slowly

adapting to the new software. They didn’t cut any case-related checks

or close any cases, giving themselves time to adjust to the new system

and make sure that everything was operating correctly. They also

did a lot of advanced planning, especially on the accounting side,

working closely with Aderant’s technical support team to confirm the

system was properly configured.

THE PAYOFF

Now, three years after implementation, Aderant Total Office has met

the firm’s expectations, and in some cases, exceeded them. Front

and back-office integration has been the primary benefit, providing

valuable business intelligence for firm management and increased

accuracy for billing and accounting.

“The integration of the front and back offices is pretty flawless,” said

Nancy Pugh, the firm’s controller. “Double-entry is eliminated.

Cash, case costs, and trust accounts are always in balance. Printing

and voiding of checks is smooth and charging to the correct case is

seamless.”

ADERANT TOTAL OFFICEADERANT CASE STUDY

The reporting capability of Total Office, as well as the ease of

report writing, has enhanced management’s ability to quickly and

efficiently address staffing issues and better balance individual case

management needs. Customized reports provide management with

a snapshot of case status, top 50 cases, top valued cases, cases in

litigation, active case inventory by value class, case intake comparison

to prior periods, and much more. A consolidated case information

report has been developed that provides attorneys with a quick view

of pertinent case information without the need to query various

screens and tabs. All told, the IT department has developed more

than 200 custom reports within Total Office over the past three years,

saving the firm a significant amount of time and effort compared to

systems that require the software vendor to develop the reports.

Total Office has also made it easier for attorneys to share case

responsibilities even if they are located in different offices. All case

information can be reviewed simultaneously by computer rather

than relying on the physical file. The Parties tab lists everyone

involved with the case, including the plaintiff, defendants, insurance

companies (and their coverage), witnesses (and their deposition

dates) and more. All the documents and pleadings are stored in the

Worldox tab, which is attached to the case. The Scheduled Events tab

houses all important appointments, hearing and deposition dates.

Everything the attorneys need is instantly available, no matter where

they are located.

The system is also vastly more stable than the previous configuration,

which would often crash and leave attorneys and support staff with

no access to critical case documents. Law firm staff are now able to

easily locate documents.

ADERANT TOTAL OFFICEADERANT CASE STUDY

LEARN MORE

Contact us today to see a demonstration of the powerful

capabilities in Aderant Total Office that can help you better

manage, grow, and protect your firm.Copyright © 2012 Aderant Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved. www.aderant.com | info@aderant.com | +1 888 604 2366