The Bottom Line
June 2000 Vol. 21, No. 4
Statements or expressions of opinion or comments appearing herein are those of the editors or contributors, and not necessarily those of the association or section.
Contents
| * | "A personal life--it's about time" |
| * | Who is in charge here? |
By Paul Bernstein
Author's introductory comments
There are a good number of excellent case management software products on the market. Abacus, AmicusAttorney, TimeMatters, ProLaw, 21st Century Lawyer, PINS/ Needles, CaseMaster, and more are among the leading products in this software category. However, life is easier when it comes to a "standard" such as for word processing...we have basically a choice between Microsoft WORD and Corel's WordPerfect...and choosing among two fine, excellent products, each with a huge installed base, is a much easier task for lawyers. When it comes to case management software, there is no "standard"...a product or products that is/are such standouts as to be head and shoulders above the rest. Standards are recognized by there being only two or three such products on the market.
The situation is very complex, for what would make a given product or products the standard? Although features and functions are very important, it is at least equally important that a product or products have:
* Consultants throughout the country that are trained on the product and are good at what they do.
* Adequate telephone support.
* Online forums and conferences where users, consultants and the vendor can interact.
* Local users groups to meet regularly and help each other with a given product.
* A vision and goal to have the product be accessible via the Internet with only a Web browser.
* Adequate capitalization.
From time to time, in our quest for the "Holy Grail" we come across a new case management program that might or could become the standard. In this article we discuss an exciting, new product that you should know about, called EsqWare. We invite you to sample the product, call the vendor, visit their Web site, and see if perhaps, EsqWare might be coming up fast on the outside!
Company background and design philosophy
EsqWare, Inc. is a privately held corporation founded by several litigation attorneys who recognized a need for comprehensive legal software tools to assist attorneys in managing their practices and their stress. The underlying idea was to create software that allows attorneys to intuitively manage all of their important case information. As the practice of law increasingly depends upon computers and technology, the need for well-conceived and easy-to-use tools becomes more vital.
Rather than serving as simply an electronic calendar, EsqWare functions as a virtual law office, providing instant access to all of your practice information, and automatically tracking all pending matters. It offers multiple configurable views and provides seamless document management, imaging and document assembly, while maintaining a streamlined and easy-to-use interface.
EsqWare is unique in the way it most accurately mirrors the information handling process used by law offices. It is an intuitive, fast, and reliable program with a forward-looking design. The program is intended to serve as a foundation for other companion programs which will further extend the capabilities of the system well into the next century.
Getting started with EsqWare--what's up
After logging into EsqWare, you are greeted with the "What's Up:" window, which briefly encapsulates the important matters pending before you. For example, you may be notified of unfinished To-Do entries, unread phone messages, events on your calendar for the day, and upcoming statute of limitations deadlines. The "What's Up:" window provides a useful starting point for your day.
EsqWare's office files
One of EsqWare's distinguishing features is the realism of its electronic legal files. The program uses the "Office File" as a primary component in its design, because your files are the main repository of all of your important case information. EsqWare Office Files are used to organize the information related to each of your cases. New office files can be created for any matter in your office, including potential cases. All of the important case information, including filing dates, S.O.L., deadlines, discovery, meds and much more can be recorded in an EsqWare office file.
"Folders" are used to organize the information within each office file. By default, the program includes folders for Pleadings, Correspondence, Discovery, Documents, Events, To-Do lists, Memos, Telephone Messages, Medical Bills, Medical Records, Case Costs, Deposition Transcripts, and more. If needed, you can also create your own custom folders.
EsqWare displays all information about a file on just one window, using a simple tabbed interface. You can switch folders (and files) with one mouse click. If you want to find a letter, click on the "Correspondence" tab. To find a motion, click on the "Pleadings and Motions" tab, and so on. This approach is very intuitive and makes the program simple for everyone in the office to use.
In addition to file folders, each office file also has some additional tabs which further extend the functionality of the file. For example, if you click on the "Timeline" tab, you'll see a complete time line of the file, listing all of the file's entries in chronological order. On the "Data Sheets" tab, you can view and add an unlimited number of custom screens of data ("Data Sheets") to the file. EsqWare's Data Sheet feature is ideal for recording standard questionnaire responses or any other custom information in a file. The "People" tab contains a list of all people associated with the file, and each person's role in that file. Addresses (actual and e-mail) and phone numbers are always handy, and a built-in telephone dialer lets you dial a person's number just by clicking on the "Dial" button. (Note: Data Sheets or names and addresses can be instantly copied to the clipboard and then pasted into your word processor.)
To help you keep a handle on your cases, you can always see a complete list of the office files, or you can filter the file list according to any assortment of criteria. You can view just the files assigned to a particular attorney; you can choose to view only files of a particular type, such as only motor vehicle matters; you can limit the view to show only the files that have been closed, or those that are open; or you can limit the list of files using any combination of the above-mentioned criteria. For example, you could choose to see only closed criminal matters assigned to JGM.
Response tracking
While having instant access to your case information is powerful, it's just the beginning. EsqWare uses a unique Automatic Response Tracking System to constantly follow the status of all pending matters in your practice. The response tracking system "flags" all of the entries in your files which require a response. For example, when you serve discovery requests to an opponent, just tell EsqWare the date you are expecting a response. The program then knows that a response to the requests is "due." Whenever you look through a file, all entries which expect a response are highlighted in red.
EsqWare also automatically puts each "due date" on your calendar, but it goes one important step further. The program provides a "DueView" so you can see everything that's due, both to you and from you, instantly. There's no need to scan through your calendar. Using the DueView, you'll see everything that is due, regardless of the date when it may be due. This eliminates the need to search through entries on the calendar, or move unfinished matters forward on your calendar.
In addition to operating like a sentinel that's always watching everything that's "due," EsqWare's Automatic Response Tracking System has another useful benefit: It knows which entries are responsive to one another. So, if you open a file and click on the "Related" tab, you'll instantly see a tree view which shows you the entire transactional logic of your case.
Office Calendar
EsqWare's Office Calendar is very flexible and straightforward. You can view a calendar for an individual firm member, or for the entire office. You can see a calendar for a selected day, week or month. All of these options are accomplished with one mouse click, so you can reconfigure the calendar "on-the-fly." Because much of the case information is kept in the office files, clutter on your calendar is reduced, meaning your calendar only shows you what's important, your events (appointments), reminders and the "due dates" for all outstanding matters in your files.
The calendar is totally integrated with the rest of the system. This means that file-specific calendar entries will automatically appear in the appropriate file's "Events" folder. Conversely, entries made to an office file's "Events" folder will also automatically appear on the calendar. In addition, the "due dates" for all file entries which require a response will automatically appear on the calendar. This integration creates a good synergy between your calendar and your office files.
Office Address Book
The Office Address Book is where all of the names, addresses, and phone numbers of each person or company are stored. You can easily add, change and delete entries in the address book. The address book has an incremental locator which makes it easy to find the entry you need. As you type, the address book automatically jumps to the nearest matching record. You can also scroll down through the list of names. As the scrollbar moves down the list, the information for the highlighted entry is displayed on the screen. You can click a button to copy the highlighted name and address to the Windows clipboard, so it can then be pasted directly into your word processor or any other Windows application. You can also click on the "Dial" button and EsqWare will automatically dial the selected person's phone number for you.
The Office Address Book is fully integrated with every other part of the program. Whenever a name, address or phone number is used anywhere in the program, that information comes from the office address book. Consequently, when you update an entry in the address book, the change will be reflected system-wide. Another important benefit of this integration is that each person or company is only ever typed into the program once. Thereafter, the person or company is picked from pick lists, or is intelligently filled in by the program. This "enter once" design, which is used extensively throughout the program, greatly reduces data entry and improves data integrity.
EsqWare Office Views
EsqWare offers several other office-wide perspectives on your data, which are known as "Office Views." The first office view, mentioned above, is the DueView, which shows all file entries expecting a response. You can view things that are due to and/or from an individual firm member, or for the entire office. The DueView is a very powerful and useful feature because it assembles, in one place, a comprehensive list of everything that is pending, so you can more easily stay in control.
The next office view is the "Memos" view, which shows you all memos in your entire office. You can limit the view to show only memos that are from or to an individual firm member. You can also limit the view to show only memos that have not yet been read, or those that have been read. For example, you can view all unread memos that were sent to MAK. Or, you can see all unread memos for the entire office. As with everything else, the "Memos" view is integrated with your office files. File-specific memos added to the memos view will appear in the appropriate file's "Memos" folder, and entries made to a file's "Memos" folder will appear on the "Memos" office view.
The next office view displays To-Do lists. You can see To-Do entries for everyone, or for an individual firm member. You can also limit the view to show only To-Do entries that haven't yet been done, or those that have been finished. As with the memos and the calendar, the To-Do lists view is integrated with your files, so entries made on your To-Do list will automatically appear in the appropriate file's To-Do folder, and entries made to file's To-Do folder will also appear on the designated person's To-Do list.
You can also use EsqWare to keep track of your phone messages using the "Phone Messages" view. This view works much like the "To-Do" view. You can view messages for the entire office or for an individual firm member. You can also view only the messages that haven't been read, or those that have been read. The Phone Messages view also integrates with your office files, so all of your phone messages are automatically placed in the appropriate office file.
Document management, imaging And Web links
EsqWare has a powerful document management system which lets you "link" word processing files, scanned images or internet hyperlinks to any entry in your office files. For example, if you enter a Complaint in your pleadings folder, you can also link the word processing file of the complaint to the entry. Thereafter, you can open the linked word processing file simply by highlighting the Complaint entry in your Pleadings folder and clicking on the "View" button. EsqWare then opens the document in your word processor for viewing or editing.
Imaging is seamlessly integrated into the document management system by treating a scanned image as just another link to a file entry. For example, if you were the recipient of the above-mentioned Complaint, in one easy step you could scan in the document and link it to the entry in your office file. Thereafter, you could view the scanned image by highlighting the entry in your office file and clicking on the "View" button.
It is worth mentioning that the EsqWare imaging system uses the standard imaging components built into Windows, rather than third-party OCX's or dlls. By using standard Windows imaging, EsqWare's imaging system works with any TWAIN scanner compatible with Windows Imaging, and requires no setup. If the scanner works with Windows Imaging, it will work with EsqWare. EsqWare's imaging features include the ability to rotate an image, zoom in and out, shrink to fit, multi-page scans and more. Best of all, the imaging system is easy to use.
You can also add links to Internet Web pages to any office file entry. Thereafter, if you highlight the entry and press the "View" button, EsqWare will start your browser and load the web page. This makes it simple to integrate web content directly into your database. For example, you might write a memo to another firm member and include several web links for information you found on the internet.
EsqWare's document management system is powerful, versatile and expandable. You can link an unlimited number of resources to any file entry. The system is also very easy to use, because it treats word processing files, scanned images and Internet Web links in a uniform manner, and is integrated seamlessly into the office file metaphor.
Document assembly
EsqWare also includes a document assembly component ("Docu-Maker") which generates unique new documents at the touch of a button. Docu-Maker works with Word '97 (or higher) or WordPerfect 7 (or higher), which means that you can to use your own word processor in the document assembly process.
The document assembly is fairly straightforward. First, you create the form from which the new documents will be generated. Thereafter, when you want to generate a new document from the form, just highlight it on the list and click on the "Generate" button. The program will ask you a few questions, then it calls your word processor and creates the desired document. When the document is generated, it is automatically saved using the name that you specify, and is opened in your word processor so you can further edit the document as needed. Docu-Maker can then ask you whether you want the new document automatically recorded in your office file. If you agree, Docu-Maker automatically puts a new entry in the appropriate office file and links the newly generated document to the file entry. Thereafter, if you want to open the document, just highlight the entry in the file and click on the "View" button.
EsqWare's Docu-Maker component greatly simplifies the document assembly process, and like the other parts of EsqWare, it is well integrated with the rest of the system.
Reports
EsqWare includes numerous reports which you can generate at any time. Some of reports included are an office file report, a file inactivity report, an S.O.L. report, a client report, and many more.
Generating a report is simple. Just choose the desired report from the "Reports" menu. Many reports allow you to specify certain criteria, so you can limit the report to show only the information you need. Each report also offers the option of previewing the report on-screen before you send it to the printer. The report preview has a zoom feature so you can see the report close up, or a page at a time. You can then select to print the entire report, or only selected pages. You can also choose to preview a report on the screen, and then skip printing. The reports and report preview are useful and easy to use.
Security and backup
EsqWare also includes an easy-to-use security system which provides several useful security features. You can prevent users from modifying office file information, folder definitions, entry types and data sheet templates. You can also prevent users from modifying file entries made by other users. You can assign user levels and specify which restrictions apply for which user levels.
The security system is administered using a separate EsqWare Security Utility program. The security utility program makes it easy to administer user passwords, security levels and security restrictions. You can also disable or enable the entire security arrangement without affecting each individual security setting.
EsqWare also includes a separate data backup utility which makes a compressed backup archive of all of your EsqWare data files. Just click on the backup button and the program makes archive on your floppy drive (or wherever else you specify). A nice feature about the backup utility is that it can test the integrity of all of your data files before making the archive. This integrity test helps assure the quality of your backup data. And because EsqWare's database design is highly relational, the compressed data files take up very little space. In fact, many users find that they can backup all of their data to just one floppy disk!
EsqWare's entire design is oriented towards ease of use. The "enter once" approach is used throughout the program, which means that, most of the time, information is selected from picklists or intelligently filled in, rather than typed by the user. Because all of the components are well integrated, your data is kept current and is easily located. And the user interface is streamlined, simple to use and familiar.
EsqWare is a 32 bit program, which means you must have Windows 95, or higher, to run the program. EsqWare is a true compiled program, so it is efficient and runs fast. There are no runtime interpreters or external database/report engines. The minimum recommended hardware needed to run the program is a Pentium 75 (or higher) with 16 megabytes of RAM (32 meg or greater recommended). EsqWare can also be run on almost any network.
Installation and set-up
Among the excellent features of this product is the "Installation and Setup Instructions" manual, which is short, to the point, understandable and works! I had no problems of any kind loading the program.
Quick Start Tutorial
Getting a product loaded on your computer is one thing...getting to do something useful is another. Here too, EsqWare shines, as the brief, but to the point and well written "Quick Start Tutorial" will get even the most computer-phobic lawyer off to a fast start.
Contacting the vendor and pricing--pricing is extremely low for this quality
To contact the vendor:
EsqWare, Inc.
P.O. Box 1003
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
Phone: (800) 568-7996
Fax: (610) 669-1511
Internet: http://www.esqware.com
As to pricing, well...I am blown away. Note all that is included in this product, including document assembly, imaging and document management. As this is written, the first-user cost of EsqWare is only $209 and each addi