Features

Manage Matters    |   Leverage Knowledge  |  Communicate   

We could go on and on about the features we build into our extranets, and convention requires that we do some of that. But the truth is, many of these things have become ordinary in today's world. The most powerfiul computer (or program), is the one people actually use. The ultimate value of any technology solution is how inviting it is to use, how good the support is when there are questions or problems, and how well it fits the way you work. Those are the areas that we focus on - anyone can code a calendar.

The basic goal of all of our tools is to help our clients manage current matters, leverage existing knowledge and past effort, and communicate.

That said, use the links above to see an itemization of various features. Because each client has different needs, and systems, we custom develop all of our extranets to fit the goals and workflow of each client. Many of our features have been created in response to the suggestions and requests of our users (to learn more about that, click the "About T Lex" link above and then the "Custom Built" link)

Legal matters are complex -- there is always a great deal of information to be managed. Corporations often face the issue of managing a portfolio of many matters with a number of outside counsel. Coordinating information, and having it available when it is needed, is a constant challenge. Law firms have the same need, and also often have the need to coordinate many parties in complex matters, to work with or oversee other firms and to share information with their clients.

To help with these efforts, we offer a suite of case or matter management tools. These tools serve two general purposes:

  • They allow inside corporate counsel to more effectively manage the individual matters that outside firms are handling.

  • They allow firms to more effectively organize matter information and communicate it to their clients and others they work with.

The site "sponsor" (often a corporate law department) can see, and manage, all of its matters. Each outside law firm (or other third party partner) has access only to the matters that it is handling. (For firm-sponsored extranets, the converse is true: firm lawyers can see all of their matters, each client can see only its own.)

The standard case management tools we offer include the following. As is described elsewhere in this site, custom tools can be developed to meet particular needs (use the "About T Lex" link above and then click "Custom Built"):

Get a general idea of how we approach things by viewing a sample screen for a Case Menu

 Case budgets, including invoice submission, processing and tracking, and analysis of actual costs against budget.

 Case calendars, fully searchable and sortable by date, case, event type, responsible person or firm, etc. As with many of our Case Management tools, our system sends automatic notification to the individuals responsible for each matter when new events (and documents, Comments, Status Reports, etc.) are added.

 Status reporting functions - we allow for any number of different reports to be submitted on a case. If you have a reporting format that you already use, we will replicate it on your extranet. We also provide a mechanism for clients to track (and send reminders for) overdue status reports.

 To Do lists and Ticklers.

 "Document management" style collaborative drafting with document check-in/check-out, "edit trail" of modifications, and document comments or annotations.

 A powerful "Case Builder" module that lets users develop a theory of the case with key facts, documents, witnesses and legal theories -- all of which linked to underlying detail and analysis of the facts, documents (including images), witnesses or issues.

Case dockets and documents -- with links to images of pleadings and discovery documents, exhibits, etc. -- witness tracking, legal issue analysis and more.

One click reports tailored to each individual so you can see upcoming events, overdue items (status, reports, budgets, etc.), items awaiting review and anything else you need to know on a regular basis.

If it's worth doing once, it's probably worth keeping - and making it available - for future use. Most organizations "keep" their past work. Very few make it easily available, both internally and to their external partners, to be drawn upon in new matters.

A constant concern for corporations and firms alike is how to best leverage past effort, knowledge and experience. By judiciously drawing on past work and learning, current matters can be handled more efficiently and better results can be achieved.

We make it easy to consolidate knowledge of all kinds and make it a seamless resource for the handling of current matters.

Creation and maintenance of comprehensive work product databases which consolidate the work done by both in-house legal staff and outside counsel. These databases can include briefs, memos, forms, pleadings, transcripts, templates, outlines -- any kind of written work product. We make these materials available so that they can be reused, not recreated.

Other databases to collect -- and distribute -- a wide range of other knowledge and experience, including:

Technical, medical and scientific literature.

Witness information for fact and expert witnesses with links to transcripts, exhibits, reports and related documents, and users' comments about and experiences with each witness.

Information about opposing counsel and judges, with links to related documents (rulings, model pleadings, etc.), and users' comments about and experiences with each attorney, firm or judge.

Databases of past matters to assist in evaluating current matters.

Information can be viewed on screen, or custom reports can be designed for printing using our report writer.

Custom databases of any information that you want to draw upon and/or share with outside counsel, clients or other firms. We've buit custom database systems to track product recalls, landlord and lease details, vendors, specialized technical literature, arbitrators and mediators and more. Knowledge is power. Easy access to, and appropriate sharing of knowlegde is a lot of power.

Communication is always an issue. A T Lex extranet enhances communication by literally putting people on the same page. We offer various ways to make it easier to stay in touch.

E-mail distribution lists permit communication among clients and firms (or other site users) with dynamic distribution groups.

User contributed "Newsbits" - important announcements can be easily added and are automatically e-mailed to all participants.

Bulletin boards to facilitate exchange of ideas.

Automatic e mail notification of significant site-based events such as the addition or modification of important documents, calendar events (with Outlook sync), invoices, status reports, etc.