June 08 How much automation is right for you?
Buckles' softly, softly approach to case management automation has gained acceptance from lawyers and support staff alike.
In common with many firms, Peterborough headquartered Buckles has wrestled with the problem of striking the right balance between IT-driven efficiency achieved through automation and being sympathetic to the needs of the rainmakers - those established lawyers and partners who create the wealth of the firm. Some lawyers are more uncomfortable than others with IT and are resistant to its increased use unless they can see empiric and immediate proof of its worth. At Buckles the solution has been to implement SOS Connect for practice and case management systems where the level of automation can be tailored according to the task and the needs of the team in question and where the interface to the system is as familiar as using Outlook or Word.
Buckles has 14 partners, 100 employees operating across three offices in Peterborough, Stamford and Whittlesey and has succeeded in making the transition from high street practice to an expanding regional provider of legal services.
After using Osprey from Pracctice as its accounts system for ten years, Buckles had a very particular list of requirements for a replacement, including that it be .NET based. The idea was to seek out a package to integrate accounts, the marketing database, document production (including email) - so that the whole practice, including the rapidly growing commercial team, would be managed via the same software package. As well as the integration with Outlook and Word, SOS's experience in data conversion from Osprey and clarity of pricing helped secure a deal. Connect is now the standard across six different practice areas.
Integration is key for Buckles but client service is of ultimate importance. As IT Partner, Michael Rabbett said: "We like automation, but we like to be able to bespoke it, and to do that ourselves. We employ experienced lawyers and support staff and we don't want them to feel that they are made to follow to the letter a template that may not fit the circumstances well. We have faith in them and employ them because of their experience and client care skills and it seems a shame to waste that knowledge and force them down a fully automated case management route where that is not needed and, more importantly, detracts from the satisfaction they derive from doing their jobs.
In areas like conveyancing and PI, Buckles takes full advantage of the efficiency advantages of SOS Connect and our workflow scripting tools.
"SOS Connect has allowed us to automate as much or as little as we would want which is unlike many other solutions which tend to dictate prescribed processes. The beauty of SOS is that, following training, we now can re-script workflows and processes to suit our exact needs. If something happens in the market we react quickly. We are not stuck with a static system nor do we have to rely on SOS to make the changes. Moreover, our personalisation does not affect future supplier upgrades or the maintainability of the software. This enables us to write new work flows tailored to our preferred method of working. SOS offers the best of both worlds."
