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Commentary: Up Close: Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition 2009

By: dmc-admin//October 5, 2009//

Commentary: Up Close: Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition 2009

By: dmc-admin//October 5, 2009//

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Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition 2009 is a legal practice management application targeted at small firms. Gavel and Gown Inc., its publisher, is a well-established player in the legal software market and has been around since the early 1990’s.

The software supports the essential work of a legal office: client and matter management, calendaring, conflict checking, task management and time tracking. It is a no-frills package.

For most solos and small firms, it probably does everything you need. However, if your needs go beyond the basics (for example, remote access or document management) Small Firm Edition may not be the right choice. A more powerful Premium Edition is also available, and provides many more features. Naturally, it’s priced higher and requires more computing infrastructure than Small Firm Edition.

Installation

The software ships with easy-to-use mini-guides for installation. For a single user installation, it couldn’t be easier – simply install the software on the computer you’ll be using. My installation was for multiple users, though, and required a separate file server. The setup on the file server installs the shared database files as well as administrative tools for configuring the software. My installation went well, though the installer offered some options that were not explained in the installation booklet.

Configuration

After the file server installation was complete, I configured the application using the Amicus administrative tools. The tools are a bit clunky, and not overly friendly, but the online help is decent. I had the configuration done in short order.

The accounting system options are impressive – the software has the ability to integrate with a surprisingly large number of accounting software packages.

After the file server setup, I installed each user’s software on each computer directly from the file server. The workstation installer offered to install a Palm PDA link, but did not have options for newer devices like Blackberries or IPhones (contacts and calendars for these can be synched using Amicus Attorney’s Outlook synchronization).

Operation

Getting started with Amicus Attorney was, as advertised, pretty darn easy. The “Daily” view is a nice visual overview of daily priorities, with the day’s appointments, tasks and phone messages available at a glance. It’s a logical “home base” to make sure you stay on top of things.

Creating a new matter is simple, and once it’s created you can add people and their role in the matter (such as “client,” “attorney” and “witness”). From there you can add events, notes, time, tasks and files. A chronological view of the matter makes it easy to go back and see what’s happened on a case.

For a busy attorney, Amicus Attorney does a good job of minding the dollars. The built-in timer makes it easy to attach time to a matter, and makes it easier to capture time spent multitasking on multiple matters. Time gets logged automatically when logging phone calls, and time tracking is always “in your face” for other matter management tasks.

The application supports collaboration with shared access to matters, contacts and calendars. It also provides built-in messages and sticky notes to make sure everyone on the team stays up to date. Amicus Attorney’s Library feature enables the team to share and search resources within the firm as well as Internet-based resources and services.

Some aspects of the software were disappointing and show the application’s age. For example, the software did not recognize large font settings. Switching back to normal fonts fixed the display problems, but I was a little annoyed at having to change my settings to accommodate the software. The application also limits passwords to seven characters, making strong passwords virtually impossible.

I wasn’t impressed with the overall user interface. It tries very hard to be photo-realistic – for example, files look like physical file folders. The metaphors are taken a bit too far, and the usability of the product and screen real estate utilization suffer as a result. It’s also easy to wind up with several popup windows open with no intuitive means of navigating between them.

Clicking on one brings all Amicus windows to the foreground, which is annoying if you have multiple monitors with other applications running.

Pricing, support and training

License fees are based on the number of users who will be accessing the application. The initial license for Amicus Attorney Small Firm Edition is $499. You’ll need to purchase additional licenses for other users at $399 each.

Licenses for the Premium Edition are costlier: $699 for the first license and $599 for each additional user.

Maintenance plans are for three-year terms and are priced at $280 annually for the first seat, and $180 annually for each additional license. For the Premium Edition, the first license is $350 and each additional license is $250.

Online training is available, and is broken down into modules corresponding to the major operational areas of the software. Each training module is $99 per person, or you can attend all modules for $399.

Ron Phillips serves as Vice President and General Counsel to Serlio Software in Wauwatosa, and runs a solo practice in Ozaukee County. He can be reached at [email protected].

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