The 7 Second Blog

The Blog

This is essentially a Blog about implementing practice management solutions in law firms and in-house corporate counsel.  Most of our work is with Time Matters and PCLaw but we also incorporate HotDocs where appropriate.  

About Me

In Canada we focus on Ontario with clients in London, Hamilton, Ottawa, Toronto and all over the GTA. I work in a limited way in the United States and have clients in Michigan, California (Los Angeles and San Diego), Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana (New Orleans and Baton Rouge).

Some History

I got my introduction to managing a busy law office while I was in Law School in Toronto (Osgoode Hall) in 1995. I helped out a lawyer that used PCLaw and was trying to use technology to his advantage. I was also involved in a busy criminal pratice that grew from 2 to 7 lawyers quickly. This office did not use technology…not at all.  I was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1999 and had some short lived adventures in criminal law (Toronto courts),  business transactions and general policy and future legislative consulting (best example was consulting 7 local Indian Bands on the privatization of Ontario Hydro).

Following a serious automobile accident I was not abe to contine my solo shop so I had to look elsewhere as I recovered.  I began to manage lawyers’ offices in Alabama. I quickly grew that into full time consulting on Amicus Attorney, Time Matters and PCLaw.  Founded in a steady stream of posting and debates on the elder law lists I grew a web presence and a reputation in the Time Matters world.  This was noticed by Bob Butler of Time Matters and my entrance into “the culture’ followed.  I have extensive experience in implementing Time Matters in almost any environment in any size firm.

LexisNexis Related Experience

• Trained (and created the materials) Time Matters technical support in both Toronto and Dayton
• Performed most of the initial Billing Matters Premium Solutions Support for Lexis
• Created a features package and strategy for a corporate counsel -Corporate and Federal Markets LexisNexis
• Taught the Time Matters certified user course in the United States and Canada
• Implemented Progressive Insurance working with a team from Counselink, HotDocs and the professional services group
• I was approached and I entertained taking the position of Product Champion/Manager for Time Matters

Law Firm Related experience

• Trained and worked with thousands of users in firms ranging from a few users to several hundred. 
• Implementation along side many other consultants including many with the team at Out of the Box Consulting (www.otb-consulting.com). 
• Worked in several countries – United States, Canada, Dominican Republic and Equador (my first Vista install was in Spanish – I do not speak Spanish)
• Primary focus is Canada   
• Worked in litigation as well as transactional and on both sides of the table.
• We have expertise in Defence litigation especially with large compaies as clients.
• Implemented two Insurance companies: Infinity Insurance and Progressice Insurance.
• High volume outside counsel work in products and premise liability along side the automobile liability.   These are focused both in the US and Canada.  
• Understanding of the key concept of client reporting.  
• Complex litigation including firms involved in class action and mass torts.
• The plaintiff side parallels my experience.
• Releasing of the SpeedMatters product for Statutory Accident Benefits in Ontario
• Soon to be released related Tort package. These are focused in Ontario.

Why does the experience in and out of Lexis matter?

As I have such a varied experience, as a company we are uniquely positioned to understand the factors that affect the practice management market related to the LexisNexis products. The internal working of Lexis are a key factor in where the market (and products) have been and where they will go in the future.  I have had the opportunity to meet with the product management team on several occasions (and have those after hours discussions) even being invited to be involved in Think Tank sessions to determine the product future.  Some of this is seen in Time Matters Version 10 and the new powerviews.

Simply stated – we have the requisite knowledge to properly implement these products in firms. We understand the history and the future of the features…which drives our choices when we implement.  We do not have firms with technical issues in Time Matters. I have not called technical support in a long time.