Legal Files Software: Simplifying Investigation Management

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John Kanoski, CEO

Tracking investigations of any enforcement division such as licensing, commodities, securities or general investigations of inspector generals, human resource departments and more, is one of the most critical methods to ensure accountability and enhance effectiveness. However, most enforcement agencies adopt the silo-based approach that employs multiple databases and systems, creating significant integration, information sharing, and data-quality challenges internally and across external entities. And as this process is manual and inefficient, more often than not, there is a loss of key information. At the same time, the lack of a centralized collection of data also adds to the inefficiency of legal processes. This fragmented data management approach adopted by legal departments has become a significant problem in recent months, as the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting social distancing guidelines have pushed personnel into working from home, hindering the efficiency of collaboration and data collection.

US-based Legal Files Software addresses these challenges with its unique case management software that helps users manage a multitude of legal processes from a single, unified, interface. “Legal Files is a flexible software that has the non-technical configuration tools built directly into its system, which allows users to leverage its features to meet even the most unique case and investigation management requirements,” says John Kanoski, CEO at Legal Files Software.

Founded in 1990, Legal Files Software expanded out of its original legal case and matter management offering over the last decade as the company grew its focus into the government/public sector. Subsequently, more and more customers shared their firsthand experience of using Legal Files Software and its impact on boosting the efficiency of legal documentation and data management, enabling Legal Files to become the powerhouse it is today in the case management arena. “Once the legal arena recognized the value of our software, investigators of all kinds—inspectors general, analysts, affirmative action & diversity officers, licensing investigators, internal affairs, labor relations managers—began to approach us,” adds John.

The current generation of Legal Files Software is a one-stop-shop of case management capabilities designed to address and mitigate the most prevalent pain points for managing investigations.

For instance, to help users eliminate human error, the software can automate repetitive tasks with its workflow management module and many others. The company’s offering also has a built-in document generation component to automate the creation of documents, alongside customizable user and case management dashboards, that enable users to quickly find key documents and files, which further speeds up the documentation process and eliminates human-made inefficiencies. Alternatively, Legal Files offers a user-friendly management dashboard that enables managers to seamlessly manage workloads, identify bottlenecks, and review project status. For users who have to perform many data entry tasks, the software offers its picklists, data field templates, and drop-down features, which minimizes tediousness and ensures more consistency.

Legal Files is flexible and has the non-technical configuration tools built directly into its system, allowing users to leverage its capabilities to meet even the most unique case and investigation management requirements

Furthermore, as a relational database, Legal Files reduces the need for file updates, i.e., once new information, whether it a different email address or a change to a deadline, is entered into Legal Files, that change is reflected throughout the entire system, regardless of where that information is referenced. “This is possible because information such as contact records, documents, tasks, or calendar events are viewable from many locations within the application, but stored in just one place,” explains John. Legal Files also offers both case level and global timelines of all activities and deadlines. Concurrently, the software’s Legal Files Drop Zone and seamless integration with Microsoft Office allows users to save or copy documents and emails individually or in bulk, allowing users to save a huge amount of time.

At the heart of Legal Files Software’s success is its organizational culture that allows open and honest communication. “If someone has something to say, we want to hear it; there’s no point hiring good people and then not allowing them to voice their ideas, suggestions, concerns or complaints,” elaborates John. The company takes a similar approach to its customers and always ensures that they do not over/under promise and can 100 percent deliver on its customers’ needs. In pursuit of this, Legal Files leverages its highly competent customer relations team to regularly contact customers and determine if they are making the most of the software. According to John, there have been instances in which customers request that new functionality be added to the software. In these cases, the company researches how to make that happen and starts building new functionality and enhancements to its product that will help all customers. Staying true to this customer-focused model, Legal Files’ future plans revolve around refining the current iteration of Legal Files and expanding its feature set based on direct feedback from customers.

Company
Legal Files Software

Management
John Kanoski, CEO

Description
Develops case and matter management software for the legal industry that has undergone thorough hands-on testing to produce peerless real-world matter management and workflow management applications

Legal Files Software News

How Flexible Legal Software Can Transform Your Organization’s Operations Overnight

When it comes to implementing a new CIMCON Digitallegal software system, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Your organization is unique with varying needs based on the people you serve and how your organization operates. One of the most important things an organization must decide before implementing a new legal software solution is what you want your software to do before you roll it out to the entire organization. The importance of choosing a flexible software solution—that can grow with you—cannot be overstated when choosing your legal software.

One Company’s Success with Legal Case Management Software

Heritage-Crystal Clean (HCC), a leading environmental services company, saw a transformation in its organization’s operations after turning to legal case management software after years of using a computer system to generate file numbers for legal matters.

“For many years we had a random way of organizing information by folders—some on a computer, some as hard copy files—with a random numbering system. Our notes, documents and email were all over the place,” Samantha Corso, Legal Operations Manager at HCC, said.

The company’s legal team members were also using traditional file folders and manual systems to keep track of data and it wasn’t serving them well. HCC could not conduct automated reporting with its current system and gathering data was cumbersome and time-consuming.

As HCC set out to find a software solution to ease its pains, it quickly became apparent that legal case management software was exactly what it was looking for. Here are some of the steps the company undertook during its journey to uncover the ideal platform and seamlessly integrate it into the organization.

Identifying the Requirements For Software Success

Change in an organization doesn’t just happen by chance—usually an individual or team is the driving force behind the decision to overhaul existing operations. For HCC, this driving force was a new general counsel who wanted to see improvements in efficiency and effectiveness across the board.

One of the first things the company did was sit down with internal teams to conduct a discovery session to determine what requirements it needed in a new platform and what it would like to see changed. This helped the general counsel gain a comprehensive understanding of how people did things and why.

“We developed a detailed outline of the data we wanted the new system to capture,” Corso said. “We knew we needed to be able to track payments, agreements, contract terms, issues and more as well as a variety of matter management metrics such as the number of files opened/closed, matters worked on by specific users and bids won/lost.”

Selecting the Right Legal Case Management Software

The time HCC spent identifying requirements paid huge dividends when it came time to select the right software platform to meet its needs.

“Identifying our needs was not only paramount when we went to customize and implement the program, but also during our selection process,” Corso said. “When we first saw Legal Files, it made so much sense to us immediately, because we knew the software was going to meet our needs.”

Versatility is key when selecting a legal software provider. You want a system that can grow with you and meet your needs not only now, but in the future as well.

“What’s great about Legal Files is that depending upon the needs of the different sections, we use it for multiple types of work,” Corso said. “Our general counsel typically uses Legal Files for litigation, mergers and acquisitions. Compliance uses the software for board of directors and governance work, and our contract administrators use it extensively. I use it for legal operations. We all use the software for different things, and it meets all of our needs.”

Utilizing a Phased Approach to Software Implementation

Sometimes an organization has so much to overhaul that the thought of implementing everything at once can be overwhelming. If this is the case, you may opt to implement your software in phases just like HCC did.

“It was important to keep implementation simple at first. We knew if it was overwhelming, we wouldn’t get it done,” Corso said. “Legal Files helped us stay on the right path and build a strong foundation. We knew we could add more functionality later, which is what we planned to do.”

Once the software was installed and configured, HCC administrative users were trained and took some time to experiment with the platform to make sure it was set up the way they wanted, and any issues could be resolved before the larger team began using it. “We had the program set up the way we liked,” Corso said. “And two months later we rolled it out to everyone.”

The Benefits of Using Legal Software for Smoother Operations

There are numerous benefits your organization can expect to see after implementing legal software to improve operations. For HCC, the results were almost immediate.

“Legal Files has brought clarity to the department and has unified us,” Corso said. “We all have different responsibilities and work with different kinds of files and documents, but we have the same standard procedures all laid out in one place through Legal Files. Our legal department touches every department in this company, and Legal Files touches everything we do. It has made our work lives so much better.”

Consolidating Legal Data in One Place for Consistency and Clarity

If you are like HCC and are looking for a better way to manage your legal activities while increasing efficiency and productivity, then legal case management software is the tool for you. You can lay the foundation for successful legal operations by implementing basic functions while having the freedom to adapt and add-on as your organization evolves. Finally, you can say goodbye to siloed systems and manual, outdated processes that no longer serve you.

With Legal Files Software, you can consolidate all your contacts, email, file progress and documents into a manageable, collaborative repository that gives you a 360 degree view of your cases/matters. With software that supports an unlimited number of cases, matters, documents and users, Legal Files offers boundless possibilities to meet your needs.

As a partner in the implementation process, Legal Files Software, Inc. offers 30+ years of experience supporting organizations across numerous types of industries. Expertise is offered by full-time, professional team members who are committed to your success. Based on our years of experience helping other organizations improve and thrive through legal software, we can help you configure a system that meets your unique needs.