TECHNOLOGY New From the Start-Up Alley
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O 318 Texas Bar Journal • May 2019 texasbar.com TECHNOLOGY the form of many new startups, a num- ber of which pitched in the Start-Up Alley competition leading off the TECHSHOW on February 27, which was hosted by Ambrogi and sponsored by Clio. Among these are several that have looked to integrate with practice management systems, further adding to the change and morphing of system on system to make law practice more auto- mated, seamless, and hopefully more effi- cient. This is an example of how convergence and integration have contin- ued to ramp up efforts to make legal prac- tice more profitable at a time when there is even further disruption in the legal space. Among the enterprises pitching are Your Firm App, a company started by small-firm family law attorney Chris Smith, of Oklahoma, that offers person- alized apps for law firms and app-based portals for client communication and other functionality. While this app didn’t win the Start-Up Alley competition (as the winner was chosen by voting of the audience in attendance), it is now offering a ton of functionality including its client-facing solution. These include features such as mobile messaging, mobile bill pay (with integration with LawPay, Clio, and PracticePanther), calendaring, document sharing, and also document signing. HelpSelf Legal (now called Documate) claims to automate document production, turning forms into ready-fileable docu- ments, in the areas of family violence, debt collection, clear marijuana con- victions (it’s listed), guardianship, and child support, with the addition of the ability to have “Instant Client-Facing Apps,” and publish intake interviews that populate necessary documents. It also touts the ability to provide flat-fee document services on your site and thus further promotes both this automation trend along with increased secure client communication. During the Start-Up Alley pitch, the emphasis was on the ability to help attorneys service those who may be the victims of family violence and are not only the least able to defend themselves but also the least able to afford legal representation. According to the founder, Documate was able to help attorneys file over 2,000 more applications in the California legal aid environment than the prior year. OurChildInfo.com, originally created by another family law attorney, is a startup that claims to be unique (non-deletable messaging and tracking system for parents of children). The big current players in this market are OurFamilyWizard.com, which provides an app for both parents and functionality for attorneys to view/ download records, etc., and AppClose. OurChildInfo claims uniqueness as it only charges one parent ($7.50/month) and the other parent is free, though AppClose offers a “freemium” model and makes money via a portion of payments received from one payer to another along the lines of “fintech”-type start- ups PayPal, Venmo, and others. They claim further uniqueness in that a parent can’t delete, backdate, or alter data and can print out a log file with date and time-stamped log file. Chicago-based War Room, another interestingly named startup, has been around since 2012 and claims to be unique in that it is the first web-based deposition review software. While many have used the tested apps for iPad— TrialPad, TranscriptPad, and DocReview- Pad (*iPad users only)—this web-based depo review may appeal to some. Start-Up Alley Pitch Results The Biggest Upset: DocStyle is an excellent surprise, boasting the ability to take a PDF and convert to Word using an algorithm six years in development to maintain (re-create) the formatting of the original document and make it editable. This product was launched February 27 at this pitch contest and follows another offering of a metadata removal product that competes with others but seems user friendly. It allows for single or batch metadata removal On the flight from Austin, I’m already running into techie-peeps all around. LawPay is a major sponsor this year, and two out of the 10 reps are on the flight. I’m sitting with another vendor to my left and across the aisle a solo who escaped from big law and legal tech wonk, both going to their first Amer- ican Bar Association TECHSHOW. Oh, how their world is about to change. Change is the one thing that comes at these events. We’re currently experi- encing more options than ever before for law practice management, e-discov- ery, client communication, document management, automation, artificial intelligence, and general legal tech. That is morphing these categories in new and different ways, adding not just layers of tech on top of one another but crossing into the functionality of other systems in an effort to gain market share. In the case of the ABA TECHSHOW, change comes in the form of tracks and topics. Many of the traditional speaker-guard is back, as well as many new lawyer presenters, including as many vendor presenters that can get in and an infusion of law school types as TECHSHOW goes younger and law schools increasingly add practice management technology to their curricula in some way. This is highlighted by the addition of a tech- nology component to the definition of competence in certain states’ rules, fol- lowing the ABA’s telegraph back in 2012. 1 There are now 36 states that have added some form of this technol- ogy language to their definition of competence, including Texas as of Feb- ruary 26, 2019. For a full list of the states having implemented this, see Robert Ambrogi’s ongoing tally found at lawsitesblog.com/tech-competence. This “sea change” has also taken New From the Start-Up Alley What I learned from this year’s ABA TECHSHOW. BY MARK I. UNGER
Transcript of TECHNOLOGY New From the Start-Up Alley
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318 Texas Bar Journal • May 2019 texasbar.com
TECHNOLOGY
the form of many new startups, a num-ber of which pitched in the Start-UpAlley competition leading off theTECHSHOW on February 27, whichwas hosted by Ambrogi and sponsoredby Clio. Among these are several thathave looked to integrate with practicemanagement systems, further adding tothe change and morphing of system onsystem to make law practice more auto-mated, seamless, and hopefully more effi-cient. This is an example of howconvergence and integration have contin-ued to ramp up efforts to make legal prac-tice more profitable at a time when there iseven further disruption in the legal space.
Among the enterprises pitching areYour Firm App, a company started bysmall-firm family law attorney ChrisSmith, of Oklahoma, that offers person-alized apps for law firms and app-basedportals for client communication andother functionality. While this app didn’twin the Start-Up Alley competition(as the winner was chosen by voting ofthe audience in attendance), it is nowoffering a ton of functionality includingits client-facing solution. These includefeatures such as mobile messaging,mobile bill pay (with integration withLawPay, Clio, and PracticePanther),calendaring, document sharing, and alsodocument signing.
HelpSelf Legal (now called Documate)claims to automate document production,turning forms into ready-fileable docu-ments, in the areas of family violence,debt collection, clear marijuana con-victions (it’s listed), guardianship, andchild support, with the addition of theability to have “Instant Client-FacingApps,” and publish intake interviewsthat populate necessary documents. Italso touts the ability to provide flat-feedocument services on your site and thusfurther promotes both this automation
trend along with increased secure clientcommunication. During the Start-UpAlley pitch, the emphasis was on theability to help attorneys service those whomay be the victims of family violenceand are not only the least able to defendthemselves but also the least able toafford legal representation. Accordingto the founder, Documate was able tohelp attorneys file over 2,000 moreapplications in the California legal aidenvironment than the prior year.
OurChildInfo.com, originally createdby another family law attorney, is a startupthat claims to be unique (non-deletablemessaging and tracking system for parentsof children). The big current players inthis market are OurFamilyWizard.com,which provides an app for both parentsand functionality for attorneys to view/download records, etc., and AppClose.OurChildInfo claims uniqueness as itonly charges one parent ($7.50/month)and the other parent is free, thoughAppClose offers a “freemium” model andmakes money via a portion of paymentsreceived from one payer to anotheralong the lines of “fintech”-type start-ups PayPal, Venmo, and others. Theyclaim further uniqueness in that a parentcan’t delete, backdate, or alter data andcan print out a log file with date andtime-stamped log file.
Chicago-based War Room, anotherinterestingly named startup, has beenaround since 2012 and claims to beunique in that it is the first web-baseddeposition review software. While manyhave used the tested apps for iPad—TrialPad, TranscriptPad, and DocReview-Pad (*iPad users only)—this web-baseddepo review may appeal to some.
Start-Up Alley Pitch ResultsThe Biggest Upset: DocStyle is an
excellent surprise, boasting the ability totake a PDF and convert to Word usingan algorithm six years in developmentto maintain (re-create) the formattingof the original document and make iteditable. This product was launchedFebruary 27 at this pitch contest andfollows another offering of a metadataremoval product that competes withothers but seems user friendly. It allowsfor single or batch metadata removal
On the flight from Austin, I’malready running into techie-peeps allaround. LawPay is a major sponsor thisyear, and two out of the 10 reps are onthe flight. I’m sitting with anothervendor to my left and across the aisle asolo who escaped from big law and legaltech wonk, both going to their first Amer-ican Bar Association TECHSHOW. Oh,how their world is about to change.
Change is the one thing that comesat these events. We’re currently experi-encing more options than ever beforefor law practice management, e-discov-ery, client communication, documentmanagement, automation, artificialintelligence, and general legal tech.That is morphing these categories innew and different ways, adding not justlayers of tech on top of one another butcrossing into the functionality of othersystems in an effort to gain market share.
In the case of the ABATECHSHOW, change comes in theform of tracks and topics. Many of thetraditional speaker-guard is back, aswell as many new lawyer presenters,including as many vendor presentersthat can get in and an infusion of lawschool types as TECHSHOW goesyounger and law schools increasinglyadd practice management technologyto their curricula in some way. This ishighlighted by the addition of a tech-nology component to the definition ofcompetence in certain states’ rules, fol-lowing the ABA’s telegraph back in2012.1 There are now 36 states thathave added some form of this technol-ogy language to their definition ofcompetence, including Texas as of Feb-ruary 26, 2019. For a full list of thestates having implemented this, seeRobert Ambrogi’s ongoing tally foundat lawsitesblog.com/tech-competence.
This “sea change” has also taken
New From the Start-Up AlleyWhat I learned from this year’s ABA TECHSHOW.
BY MARK I. UNGER
JurisByte has no integrations but claimsto have these coming. I know of oneother product (zipwhip) that is sold asbusiness text messaging for clients andhas the ability to use landlines and alsohas many and multiple integrations suchas Clio, Salesforce, Zoho, and others viaZapier. When asked about comparisonand other functionality as compared tosome of the practice management appsintegrating with app solutions, thedesigners were definitely thinking ofthose integrations. The unique featurehere seems to be the ability for an attor-ney to use existing cellphones to textclients, then get a report to be able to billfor those communications. As always,look for many changes and additionswith this and all other solutions every sixmonths. The more things change, the
more they … well change. It’s a bravenew world out here. TBJ
Note1. See Model Rules of Prof’l Conduct, r. 1.1, comment 8 (Am. Bar
Ass’n 2012).
This article originally appeared on the State Bar ofTexas Computer and Technology Section blog and hasbeen edited and reprinted with permission.
MARK I. UNGER is a family lawyer, mediator, andconsultant in San Antonio, primarilyfocused on family law. He is thefounding member of the Unger LawFirm and is highly involved in the
integration of technology and the law. Find Unger onTwitter @miunger or online at unger-law.com.
texasbar.com/tbj Vol. 82, No. 5 • Texas Bar Journal 319
and also has an Outlook plugin thatwill automatically strip the metadataand convert it to PDF for sending. It issomewhat customizable in that it has anignore button but that button can alsobe turned off by administrators to preventthe human factor from creeping in.
The Winner: The pitch that garneredthe most number of votes was JurisByte(another attorney startup), which isbased on the premise of clients demand-ing text communication with attorneys.This product, definitely in its infancy,boasts the ability to create secure textmessages using existing mobile devicesand protecting the telephone numbers ofattorneys (and ostensibly clients). It willalso create a daily mail report showing alltexts so that these communications canbe stored for documentation purposes.
To keep up on the latest legal news from around the state,subscribe at texasbar.com/dailynews.
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