INTERFACE IN PMS BEST OF BREED ALLIANCES
Interface Software, the company behind the InterAction client relationship management system, last week announced a series of deals and initiatives involving three of the world's top four practice management systems that will strengthen the product's position as the CRM system of choice for firms implementing best of breed strategies.

Both Solution 6 and ResSoft have formed strategic partnerships with Interface. These will see the companies not only reselling the product but also extending the current levels of integration that already exist between InterAction and their respective CMS Open and TPM practice management systems. Both CMS president Cynthia Sessions and ResSoft managing director Ken Symons said the alliances would add value to their users and help them uncover new revenue opportunities.

In addition, Interface has launched a new integration service for the 100 plus law firms who run InterAction in conjunction with an Elite PMS system. US top 100 firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has already signed up for the new service, which is designed to make it easier for firms to leverage financial data from Elite time and billing records for use in CRM initiatives, such as cross selling.

Interface has also reorganised its UK distribution network and alliances with companies committed to marketing, selling and implementing InterAction. Tikit now becomes a premier partner, Aurra Consulting is an official reseller and Baker Robbins is a consulting partner, handling implementation projects but not product sales.
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LSSA GETS THE XML BALL ROLLING
At a recent meeting the Legal Software Suppliers Association's XML working party agreed to develop a set of standard XML schema components. The proposed list includes schemas for basic case information, external parties, legal bills, time transactions and disbursements.

These components will then be used to build application specific XML schemas, such as an interface for insurance company panels. This would give an insurer a single interface to interact directly with all their panel solicitors' case and practice management systems. Conversely, the law firm only has to maintain a single interface to interact with many insurance clients.

LSSA believe the adoption of such a standard would bring huge savings in time and effort for the insurance company, the solicitor and the legal systems developer. The initial component list is scheduled for completion by the end of October and will be published on the LSSA web site for public discussion.

LSSA's XML working party is chaired by Neil Ewin (Solicitec) and includes Tim Smith (MSS), Kerry Frater (JCS), Doug McLachlan (Axxia), Phil Snee (Linetime) and Rob Graham (Sanderson). www.lssa.co.uk

PROLAW GOES WEST
The US legal systems vendor ProLaw was last week bought by the West legal publishing group. West say ProLaw's front and back office systems will be integrated with the next version of its WestWorks practice management software for law firms. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but ProLaw founder Bill Bice, along with the entire ProLaw management team, will remain with the company. Although ProLaw has regularly taken stands at trade shows in London, to-date its only major UK site is Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.
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TFB SETS SIGHTS ON IRELAND AND EURO
n a move the company hopes will provide a test bed for its products in the eurozone, Technology for Business has finalised a distribution agreement with the Irish software supplier Legal IT (353 141 26565). With offices in Cork and Dublin Legal IT already sells software and services to over 70 solicitors practices across the Republic and Northern Ireland. However, according to sales manager Mark Gilmartin "...the deal with TFB will benefit both Legal IT's existing and prospective clients. In particular TFB's web based thin client technology will provide the market with a more productive means of going about their business and a faster return on investment."

TFB say that along with providing its first outlet outside the UK, the partnership with Legal IT "will act as a key introduction and testing ground for the European environment and specifically for the euro-based market."
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HUMMINGBIRD BUYS DEALROOM COMPANY
Hummingbird has acquired PeopleDOC, a developer of web collaborative environments and virtual dealrooms from its founders and financial backers 2M Invest.

Hummingbird say the deal will allow it to incorporate new functionality into its existing enterprise portal and PC Docs document management products, "thus opening up significant new market opportunities". The acquisition is not expected to have any adverse impact on the operation of virtual data room service PeopleDOC launched into the commercial property and M&A markets, in conjunction with Williams Lea Legal Solutions, earlier this year.

On the broader front, the deal is expected to strengthen Hummingbird's hand as it moves into the intranet and extranet business. This is in contrast to erstwhile rivals, such as FileNet, who are currently suffering falling revenues as the legacy DMS market stagnates.

The deal also raises the question as to whether independent extranet developers have a long term future? Along with the departure of PeopleDOC, this year has also seen the collapse of Geodesia - the company closed within weeks of launching its WorkRooms legal extranet application in the UK. While over in the United States, Niku has announced it will not support its Legal Anywhere extranet product beyond March 2002.
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THE LEGAL TECHNOLOGY JOBS BOARD
If you are a legal systems supplier or a law firm looking for IT staff, including positions in management, development, sales, support and training, you can post your vacancies free of charge on the Legal Technology Insider web site. Email job details to: news@legalnewsmedia.com Current postings include vacancies for a sales consultant at Norwel and an account manager for CMS Open.
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EX-CAPSOFT THREE IN NEW DISPUTE
Terry Lawley, Gary Rodrigues and Tom Callway, who were in the news earlier this year when they departed on less-than harmonious terms from Capsoft UK in the aftermath of a failed management buyout bid, have now fallen out with their subsequent employers Epoch Software.

After leaving Capsoft, Lawley and his colleagues joined Epoch in March, taking sales and management posts with the team responsible for the Rapidocs product - a direct competitor to Capsoft's HotDocs document assembly software. Unfortunately a few weeks later all three lost their jobs when Epoch was hit by the dotcom recession and forced to slash costs and restructure its business.

Lawley admits that if he had known then what he knows now about Epoch, he would never have joined the company in the first place, adding "Well, we live and learn," Lawley also said that he and his colleagues were concerned they had not received their full statutory entitlement to money in lieu of notice or redundancy pay.

Epoch's co-founder Richard Cohen described the story as "really very old news" and said that while "we have had a shot across our bows from the ex-Hotdocs boys" they had not been deprived of their statutory rights because none of them had been with Epoch long enough to qualify for extended notice or redundancy pay.
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LOSSES AT KEYSONE BUT PROFITS AHEAD ?
Keystone Solutions recently published preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2001 reveal a turnover of £4.5 million, with an operating loss before non-recurring items of £7.6 million. This compares with last year's loss of £0.2 million on a turnover of £4.8 million. Despite these results, the company is optimistic about the future and says its new strategic partnership with Oracle "has already leveraged a significant new sales opportunity that is expected to be announced shortly".

The company's non-exec chairman Claes Hultman also adds: "Keystone has weathered the post-Y2K market doldrums and now has a strong balance sheet and encouraging business prospects - particularly in the US and UK legal markets. The directors believe Keystone continues to make progress in its aim of achieving sustained annual profitability in the year to March 2002.

"In the wake of the dotcom market shakeout and the loss in market confidence in technology stocks, Keystone has adopted a more conservative growth strategy. The international management team is focused on maximising our existing opportunities for growth, while ensuring that costs remain tightly controlled."
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LEGAL SYSTEMS SHOWS GET NEW OWNER
The UK legal technology events market has seen another dramatic change of ownership when it was announced last week that Imark Communications Europe had been acquired by the VNU Business Media group.

Imark only entered the legal market in the spring of 1999 when it acquired the old SOLEX event from the Keith Searby group. This event was subsequently rebranded LegalTech London and is now run jointly by Imark and American Lawyer Media. (This year's event takes place at the ExCel Centre on 31st October & 1st November.) In addition, earlier this year Imark bought the Solicitors NEC show from Nationwide Exhibitions, thereby giving it a major regional venue to complement the London event.

So why did Imark sell? Insider sources suggest Imark's US parent company wanted to concentrate its efforts on its home market, while VNU has been looking for some time to expand beyond its traditional publishing operations into business-to-business (B2B) exhibitions and events market.

Will the change of ownership make any difference to the LegalTech London and Solicitors events? The answer should be "no" as they will continue to be run by the current Imark team out the company's Sudbury offices (01932 730700) and the relationship with American Lawyer Media will also continue in connection with these events. Longer term however VNU's extensive resources are expected to result in fresh ideas and additional investment being channelled into both the LegalTech London and Solicitors events.
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SPINNING THE WEB AT AMC
Ashurst Morris Crisp is implementing a new knowledge management system, christened Arachne after the woman in Greek mythology who was turned into a spider. The system is intended to help AMC lawyers provide an improved and speedier service to clients, by integrating the firm's stored know-how automatically with legal processes via 'layered' information management techniques.

Typically, any lawyer instructed on a matter will be able to instantly call up a structured index showing background information, relevant legislation, cases and supporting documentation, ranging from general public information to the specific work within relevant Ashurst departments.

Where the index refers to material on AMC's document management system there is a direct link to the relevant wordprocessing file. Within documents there are also hyperlinks to cases and statutes to which the document refers - the database also creates links to other documents within Arachne referring to the same case or statute.

So why do it? According to Ashurst's legal development manager Jeremy Thomas: "With Arachne, we're witnessing the weaving together of an increasing firm wide knowledge stock - instantly applicable to the work of any lawyer at any time. Good knowledge management is one of the reasons we do so many deals."

The design of the Arachne is being facilitated by Granite & Comfrey, the company set up by Derek Sturdy and Christine Miskin following the acquisition of their old Legal Information Resources business by Sweet & Maxwell.
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NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH FROM WORKSHARE
Workshare Technology, best known for its DeltaView redliner software, has announced the release of its latest product Synergy 2.0. The application allows document collaboration between a managing author and multiple contributors but within a framework that does not lose the control and integrity of the original document.

With Synergy, the managing author sends a replica of the original document to contributors, not the document itself which never leaves the security of the document management system. Additionally, there is no danger of metadata or the inclusion of unwanted macros into the original as Synergy strips out hidden information from the replica document. Replica documents are transmitted via email (which can be password protected and encrypted) to contributors who review and edit it using the Synergy Contributor utility. This can be downloaded free of charge from the Workshare web site at www.workshare.com
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BOOST FOR CIVIL COURTS IT
Plans to modernise the English civil courts system were boosted in early August with the announcement of an additional £17.9 million in funding. One of the first projects to benefit is an electronic diary management system. This aims to improve use of courtrooms and judicial time, as well as reduce instances where parties attend court to find their case was listed but not reached.

Along with replacing the paper diary systems currently used to keep records of hearings in county courts, the new electronic diary will be linked to court case management systems and be accessible by court users, providing them with an alternative way to check the progress of a case. The project will start with a nine month feasibility study, followed by a six month pilot.

In a related development the Judicial Working Group has published a report identifying four systems it regards as essential tools to meet the requirements of a modern justice system. These are: the electronic case record, the electronic file, the electronic diary and the electronic case management system.
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iMANAGE SAYS LAWSUITS ARE WITHOUT MERIT
DMS and content management system developer iManage has become the latest US company to be hit with class action lawsuits from investors claiming they were duped at the time of the company's initial public offering in 1999. Since the early summer over 900 of these claims have been filed against various companies and their bankers in federal courts in New York. iManage says the claims are without merit and will vigourously defend against them.
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INSIDER SITE HAS NEW LOOK
Legal Technology Insider this month relaunched its companion Legal News Media.com web site. Changes include the redesign of the main pages to eliminate frames with the result that the site is now quicker to load and easier to navigate. Web design minimalists will also be pleased to learn there are no Flash, Java or other manifestations of multimedia on any of the main pages. www.legalnewsmedia.com
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WHO SAID THAT FAX WAS DEAD ?
Although the volumes of email messages law firms receive may now exceed the volumes of fax traffic, reports of the demise of the fax are premature - in fact there are still new suppliers entering this market.

One of the latest is Topcall UK (0118 952 8900) which has just seen its unified messaging system - TOPCALL Communication Server One - installed at Linklaters. Linklaters were looking for a desktop fax solution that could not only replace its old fax machines but would also improve administration, in terms of cost tracking and archiving, and be compatible with the firm's WTS (Windows Terminal Server) network infrastructure.

Linklaters' Frank Paton said the implementation of the new Topcall system, which is plug and play compatible with Microsoft Exchange, had little impact on the overall performance of the WTS network and the firm was running a pilot to evaluate the system's automated archive storage capability. Topcall say the system, which also provides users with the options of real time sending status, fax preview and integrated voice player, was developed with non-technical users in mind to avoid the need for specialist training. www.topcall.co.uk
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NEWS IN BRIEF

WATCH OUT FOR EMAIL TAPS
The US Privacy Foundation is warning lawyers that the latest JavaScript enabled versions of some popular email client software, including Outlook, Outlook Express and Netscape 6, contain a potential security loophole that allows third parties to tap into your email and monitor the content of your messages.

For example, if you were to receive an email from the other side in a case and then forward it, along with a few comments, to your client, if that original message was JavaScript enabled, your comments could also be read by the other side, the JavaScript effectively tapping the message by adding a covert blind copy instruction to the email. Tapping can be defeated by encryption, disabling the JavaScript function and using web based email systems, such as Hotmail, which strip out all JavaScript programs from incoming mail. More details and advice can be found on the Privacy Foundation web site. www.privacyfoundation.org
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PEOPLE AND PLACES
Simon Phelan has been appointed the new northern regional sales manager for Elite with responsibility for Scotland and the North of England. Phelan has an extensive track record in the UK legal IT industry, dating back to the 1970s with Kienzle, later Axxia, and laterly Miles 33.

Following its recent acquisition of
Avenue Legal Systems, Technology for Business has appointed Richard Higgs as its northern region sales manager and Gillian Samuel as training manager. Higgs previously ran Avenue's northern office, while Samuel was a fee earner and IT manager at Surrey law firm Goodhand & Forsyth, where she was responsible for beta testing TFB's criminal defence service software.

Gerald Newman has moved on from the English Law Society where he had been deputy director of communications. Christopher White has succeeded Kris Grabarczyk as IT director at Ashurst Morris Crisp. Nick Taylor-Delahoy, previously with Allen & Overy, next month joins Nabarro Nathanson as chief information officer with overall responsibility for IT and knowledge management. His team includes the firm's new IT director Richard Elson, who replaced Lindsay Dean who resigned earlier this year.

Jeff Barrett has replaced John Copley as head of IT at Norton Rose. Tim Hyman has moved from Tikit Group plc to join S J Berwin, where he will report to Simon Kosminsky. Lisa Kenyon, previously with Solicitec, has joined Pericom Legal Services as project manager.

Millnet Legal Services, which last year took over the old Bowhawk litigation support business, has moved to larger offices at Stapleton House, 29-33 Scrutton House, London EC2A 4HU. The new phone number is 020 7375 1100.

Interface Software has appointed Sarah Worsfold as UK technical manager. Worsfold was previously with Tikit where she worked on CRM projects involving the Interface InterAction product. In addition she has served as an IT support consultant at Berwin Leighton and as a sales and marketing consultant for Perfect Software.
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VISIT LEGAL WEB TV
For the latest news and views on developments in law, legal business and legal technology watch Legal Web TV. This is a free service from the publishers of Legal Technology Insider and now includes a new interactive programme guide. Programmes are delivered via the internet in streaming video format and viewed using RealPlayer 8.

The current line-up features: law reports - litigation reports - practice reports - legal technology reports - and legal interviews, including Ross Cranston MP on legal ethics and Melissa Hardee on legal education. Legal Web TVÕs team also produce video programmes for inhouse training, CPD courses and corporate promotions. www.legalwebtv.com
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BETA TESTERS WANTED
Software developer EMIS Legal (01845 527904) is looking for five law firm beta test sites for its new Seneca KM document and knowledge management system. EMIS director Chris Spencer says the product has already undergone a first beta test so users need not be concerned about receiving rogue systems.

The requirements are: an existing network with NT4 (or greater) server, TCP/IP and IE5, plus a dedicated KM server running W2K server, SQL 2000 (clean install) and a minimum of 128MB ram. The Seneca KM client machines would be any normal spec Pentium. EMIS will supply the KM software, installation, configuration and support and (where necessary) the dedicated Seneca KM server. If this sounds of interest contact Chris Spencer at EMIS.
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PUBLISHING NEWS IN BRIEF

SELECT HAS ART OF DEALING WITH COMPETITON
Select Legal Systems (01482 644334) edged out incumbent suppliers at three sites over the summer. Cozens-Hardy & Jewson in Norwich was won in a straight fight with Norwel and Ramesys. The firm also commissioned Select to build and deploy its new online e-conveyancing system - this will be based around Select's case management product. The other wins were at Curtis & Parkinson, a former Avenue user, and a small AIM site Harrowell & Atkins.

Select's sales director Steve Ness points out that while his company may not be the largest in the market - its systems are in use at just under 40 firms, amounting to about 1000 seats in total - it is secure. This is thanks to a thriving second arm to the business - six out of the UK's nine regional arts boards now run Select systems.
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ONLINE NEWS IN BRIEF

EVENTS NEWS IN BRIEF

SORRY, BUT YOUR TOWER NEEDS DOFFING TONIGHT
Finally, we all know email can get lost on the internet but this is undoubtedly the most bizarre error message the Insider has received to-date: "We have investigated the bounce back message you received. Our towers are being doffed at midnight tonight, any changes that have not already been propagated will do so then."

Despite sounding like a sexual practice that is still unlawful in several parts of the world, we are assured that when translated into English it actually means there was a temporary delay while the law firm we were in communications with upgraded its mail server technology.
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LEGAL TECHNOLOGY EVENTS DIARY

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Email: news@legalnewsmedia.com

Publisher & Editor: Charles Christian