Law Times

LAW TIMES / MAY 26, 2008 Law firms evolving with technologies FOCUS BY DARYL-LYNN CARLSON For Law Times oon, no matter which of the six Canadian offices of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP any one of its 500-plus law- yers walk in to, they will be able to log on to a computer and get to work as if they were at their own desk. The seamless connec- tivity and accessibility the firm is in the throes of establishing is a result of an initiative to upgrade its information technology sys- tems with what's called a "shared services" model that is managed on a national level. "The IT function is managed as a nationally integrated group and all services will be delivered consistently firm-wide," explains Scott Saundry, FMC's chief technology officer, who oversees the firm's IT operations from its offices in Calgary. "The focus is to ensure the lawyer experience is the same from office-to-office, which will make travelling be- tween offices much more effi- cient, and likewise for sharing and collaborating on files." Shared services is a means to integrate IT systems to create a convergence and streamline all of its functions so that they are unified across the organiza- tion. Businesses are increasingly implementing shared services to achieve cost savings and consoli- date the delivery and mainte- nance of their IT systems. At FMC, the firm attained S its size and reach as a result of mergers and acquisitions over the years, and many of its locations had been operat- ing autonomously. The shared services platform will signifi- cantly help align operations, says Saundry. He says the firm believes the project is relatively unique within the profession; many firms have integrated their IT and finance departments by centralizing these functions, for example, but not many have embraced a strategy to fully in- tegrate and align the whole op- eration across the country with distributed resources. The firm began the new plat- form integration in February by reorganizing the firm-wide IT group into "virtual teams" to manage services across the firm, a departure from the historical approach of managing IT at a local level. nature of the shared services model also requires new ap- proaches to facilitate collabora- tion and knowledge sharing, says Saundry. To this end, the firm-wide IT team is using Microsoft's Office Groove col- laboration software to facilitate knowledge sharing and real-time collaboration across the virtual teams, while at the same time evaluating how the technology could assist other areas within the firm, he explains. By the end of June, all FMC offices will be on the same Cisco VOIP platform, he says, which will improve how the IT group manages this service and how the lawyers and staff interact. "With this new platform, FMC contin- ues to make use of desktop video conferencing to see how it can improve collaboration." The firm also uses client ex- tranets to collaborate on files that are very document-intensive and that involve many parties over multiple time zones, he says. "The extranet approach provides everyone with 7/24 access to the electronic materials and moves the file management to a more structured environment." While a significant change in technology is normally daunt- ing for lawyers, FMC is making strides to ensure those at the firm are kept up to speed on devel- opments through a national IT advisory committee that is com- prised of partners from each of- fice. "This group in turn acts as a liaison to the lawyer commu- nity," Saundry explains further. "We have also recently intro- duced the concept of relation- ship managers within our new shared services model, which has involved identifying senior IT personnel who actively man- The geographically dispersed age the relationship between the IT group and lawyers and staff," he says. "We also produce regular tech tips for lawyers and staff to make them aware of features within software, or to show them more efficient ways to use our systems." While the plat- form will facilitate uniformity throughout the firm's operations, it is far from achieving the "paperless" workplace. "There is progress being made in certain areas," he acknowledges. "How- mentum to move more of your files to digital, and everyone around you is par- ticipating, the firm stands to benefit on many fronts," he says. Scott Saundry ploring new technologies. It has recently introduced BlackBerry docketing. "We've introduced a tool on the actual hand-held device, so On a smaller scale, Aylesworth LLP, a mid-sized firm of nearly 100 professionals lo- cated in downtown Toronto, is also ex- We've introduced a tool on the actual hand-held device, so when someone's making a phone call or reading or responding to an e-mail, a screen pops up asking them for a file number to bill the transaction to. ever, there is a long way to go." Still, there are tremendous ad- vantages to an increased electronic environment, such as enabling lawyers to work from remote lo- cations, facilitating business con- tinuity, and reducing off-site file storage costs. "If you can get mo- 08-724 TR_PI_ad#2Gautier.qxd:Layout 1 4/25/08 12:39 PM Page 1 when someone's making a phone call or reading or responding to an e-mail, a screen pops asking them for a file number to bill the transaction to," says Edmund Reid, manager of information systems at Aylesworth, which provides services to mostly busi- Trust [ NO OTHER FIRM IN ONTARIO CAN MATCH THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF OUR SERVICES. Leonard H. Kunka - Partner | L. Craig Brown - Partner | Darcy R. Merkur - Partner For over 70 years Thomson, Rogers has built a strong, trusting, and collegial relationship with hundreds of lawyers across the province. As a law firm specializing in civil litigation, we have a record of accomplishment second to none. With a group of 30 litigators and a support staff of over 100 people, we have the resources to achieve the best possible result for your client. Moreover, we are exceptionally fair when it comes to referral fees. We welcome the chance to speak or meet with you about any potential referral. We look forward to creating a solid relationship with you that will benefit the clients we serve. THOMSON, ROGERS Barristers and Solicitors 416-868-3100 Toll free 1-888-223-0448 www.thomsonrogers.com YOUR ADVANTAGE, in and out of the courtroom nesses and financial institutions with complex legal matters. The program addresses much lost time and revenue. "We're prob- ably one of the very first firms that have looked into this tool. I don't know any other firms that are doing this," he says. The firm has also incorporat- ed digital dictation and provides clients with access to records on web portals, DVDs, and CDs. But Reid, too, suggests that while more business is indeed transacted by law firms electron- ically, a paperless office is still a theoretical fantasy. "In law firms most people won't print on two sides of the paper," he says not- ing some lingering institutional requirements for documenta- tion regarding government or other organizations. "We're all trying to do our part, but the paperless office, it's just going to be a more paper- reduced office," he says. "There are technologies like tablet read- ers that are coming on the mar- ket, but there are a lot of weight issues, battery life issues, and I think that until somebody can come up with something that's the size of a sheet of paper with approximately the same weight, it's probably not going to happen." LT PAGE 13 Every time you refer a client to our firm, you're putting your reputation on the line. It's all about trust well placed. www.lawtimesnews.com erbatim_LT_May26_08.indd 1 5/20/08 3:32:31 PM

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