Case Management is more than just a "piece of software" like a word processor. Case Management software is not meant to sit there passively. It is meant to be integral to the way you practice your trade. It is best viewed as the "electronic assistant" who answers every beck and call. A well designed system is like a good Porsche - zero to 100 in ten seconds flat. Within ten seconds of a client inquiry, you will have the answer you need to their question (or the question that you wanted the client to answer).

You want some reasons to take Case Canagement seriously? Ok, here are some reasons to have a Case Management system like Time Matters® or Amicus Attorney.

Care and Feeding of Existing Clients

What better reason than because your clients demand it? You may not realize it, but most clients believe (hell they know) that they are the center of the universe and that you are merely there to serve them. Because of this, they expect that when they call, e-mail, page or instant message, you can get back to them with the answer or status of their case almost instantly. What an electronic file (like Time Matters) can do is give you the ability to satisfy them. Within 2 clicks, you have the complete case history, another click, you can open any related document, another click and you can post a reply email and pop in a clipboard of data from their file answering their questions. Keep your clients well fed with information and services and they will give you more work.

Effective Prospecting of New Clients

At some point you will want to gain more clients. Even if you are working full-out, you need to grow and have protection if that anchor client leaves you or you decide you need to diversify. That is where Case Management software really helps. Every contact with your firm, whether via email, phone, snail mail or encounter is logged. Then, when you have a break from "real work" you have a list of prospects that you can "call". Or you can prepare a newsletter, and in a few clicks, have an "email list" to send it out, or for the more traditional, generate a set of mailing labels to put on a printed newsletter.

Consolidation of All Matter Information

Case Management is sometimes called Matter Management .... because the Matter is one of the central features of the Case Management system. In the old days, the secretary would open a file - a physical file folder with several subfolders for pleadings, correspondence, contracts, notes, research etc. The file would sit in your office, or by your secretay's desk, and every piece of paper, note, call etc. would be placed into the file. Now, several pieces never got into that file. And other pieces would get pulled out of that file, never to be found again. The solution is the "electronic file," a central feature to any Case Management system. From a "Matter Record" in Time Matters, with a single click, you can see a complete timeline of all related files, or see all calls and their contents in a powerview, or view the billing history and status, or just check for the return dates for motions.

Better Work Product

When the Case Management system is integrated with document automation, either document assembly or merge templates, the work product that comes out meets minimum standards of quality that are often far greater than the average work product from scratch. Not only is the quality better, but the product takes just seconds (or minutes) to create. Link Time Matters® with HotDocs®, and you can just print money.

Organization of All Critical Documents

Whether the Case Management system is integrated with a free-standing document management system (like Worldox or iManage) or whether you use the built in document profiling schema, your documents are now tied to your electronic file. From the Time Matters® document profile, in a single click, you can see all documents linked to the matter or just the drafts of agreements, or just correspondence or just memos to file.

Take Your Information on the Go

With all this power, you don't want to leave it at your office. Time Matters® lets you take what you need with you to the court room, to your client site, into the deposition. With laptop synchronization and PocketPC synchronization, you can have what you need at your fingertips, wherever and whenever. Wow! Case Management can do all of these things, IF you have taken the time to understand what it does, what you need from it, planned how to implement it and most importantly: refine and use it constantly.