Lexis Nexis Front Office powered by Time Matters® – aka Time Matters Version 9 – Where Are We?

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With the usual fanfare, Lexis Nexis has released its latest version of Time Matters. As we are now a couple of months into this release, it would probably be good to have a little insight into what we know so far.

Let’s start with the positives –new features. There are quite a few, but in the interest of keeping this article short, I’ll single out a few of the most profound new features. For a comprehensive list of features, please click here.

1) UDRs. This is the acronym for the new feature – User Defined Record type. This is really quite a positive leap for those wishing to build their software to their practice specifics. A User Defined Record is a record type you create and use as you would a currently defined record, such as a Note Record. This means you would have lists, form styles, toolbar icons, classification codes and other record functions built around a record you need to associate with your case/matter records. A classic example of a UDR would be a “Damages” record. For Personal Injury firms, this is fantastic. You have the ability to create up to 5 UDRs. 2) Data Indexer. Conflict and global searching is MUCH faster with this new utility. Using dtSearch’s technology, this module keeps a constant index running. The row-level indexing helps searching from the Global Search or from the new Search Entry field on the Main Toolbar. You can now return results for the Global Search in seconds rather than minutes. 3) Archive Wizard. There are several new wizards in Time Matters 9, but I’m really glad to see this one. This wizard walks you through not only archiving the case/matter, but also any related records tied to it. You also have the ability to skip certain record TYPES (not single records). And for those matters which have already been archived without their related records, you do have the option now to go to the archived case/matter and use the wizard to archive the still active, related records.

Is there a negative side? Well, yes, occasionally into our path a little rain must fall. Nothing is perfect. And, of course, every program has a few kinks that need to be worked out. In the case of Time Matters 9, some features have hit a few bumps which can cause frustration to the user. As it has been historically, however, Lexis Nexis recognizes these bumps and they produce patches to rectify them. We are anticipating that patch any day now for this release. If you consider the vast plethora of complex networks, brands of PCs, operating systems and myriad of DIFFERENT environments being run by THOUSANDS of firms, it’s really quite amazing that a software as customizable and efficient as Time Matters is runs as productively as it does. So..Where are we now? I’d say we’re getting there. If you have purchased the upgrade and are looking for an install date, unless you have an urgent need for the program or the new features, you may want to wait for that first service release (SR). If you are considering whether to purchase the upgrade, investigate the features, make sure they will provide a specific benefit to your firm, and purchase the product based on that. Ultimately, Lexis’ newest version of Time Matters has made some great strides in features and functionality while still allowing firms to practice law according to their own processes and culture. Technology does move forward at a rapid pace, but it also makes you competitive.

Nevertheless, I must conclude with… SR1 – we can’t wait to see you!