CALSPro - California Association of Legal Support Professionals

The Cloud

Posted July 6, 2012 in Membership, Technology

What is cloud computing? Most often when hearing this phrase people come up with a variety of different ideas about its true meaning due to its complex nature. “The cloud” is used as a metaphor when referring to the Internet. An expansive interpretation of cloud computing is the belief that anything outside of a firewall is considered to be a part of “the cloud”. On the other hand vendors and analysts characterize cloud computing as virtual servers which are accessible on the Internet.

An easy way to understand the term cloud computing is to get to the root what an IT’s needs are. These include licenses for new software, training for personnel, boosting capacity, and additional capabilities all of which are needed without creating a new infrastructure. Anything that can be paid per usage or uses a subscription on the Internet is under the umbrella term we call cloud computing. There are a variety of forms being used today. These different types of cloud computing are as listed: Software as a Service (SaaS), platform as a service, managed service providers (MSP), utility computing, Internet integration, and service commerce platforms.

Cloud computing is beneficial to the Attorney Service industry because many helpful applications have been created by using “the cloud”. Software companies are building their applications to harness the cloud’s efficiency and Process Serving companies would be wise to take notes. Data Integration, .asp or (.Asp .NET) websites, connecting multiple branches; all of these things work better and work faster in a cloud.  Investing in cloud technology makes sense.  Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of improved uptime, quicker access to data, safer server environment, built in redundancy, and application portability?

Dennis Chaples
www.TristarSoftware.com

Court of Appeals e-filing

Posted June 29, 2012 in Membership, Technology

The State of California, Court of Appeals, Fourth Appellate District has just begun electronic filing. On May 1, 2012 Divisions 1 (San Diego) and 2 (Riverside) began to accept electronically filed documents and Division 3 (Santa Ana) is not far behind. More details can be found at http://www.courts.ca.gov/17948.htm.

This represents a drastic change from the previous policy at the Court of Appeals where they would only accept documents with original signatures (in most cases), wanting multiple copies of documents and requiring that documents be specially bound. Although this may not be a major portion of most attorney services business, it will become a loss of some work for many attorney services. More importantly, it is a sign of things to come.

E-filing may have suffered a setback with the Judicial Council halting the statewide deployment of version 4 of CCMS which would have allowed for e-filing in all Superior Courts in California, but eventually it will be here. Court filings are a large portion of many of our members business. For anyone that is involved in the legal support industry, you need to start preparing (if you haven’t already) for how you are going to adjust your business model to compensate for e-filing. Robert J. Ringer once said “If you are prepared, then you are able to feel confident.” As members of CALSPro, we need to take the necessary steps so that we are prepared for any obstacles or changes that may come our way. We need to be flexible, adaptive and always looking towards the future so that we can have the confidence that our industry and our individual businesses will remain relevant for years to come.

Jeremiah Jones

Technology Chairman

Data Integration: The Future of Attorney Services

Posted March 23, 2012 in Membership, Technology

A mere two decades ago, landlines and paper were the dominant forms of communication. Business tasks required human involvement at every stage. As keyboards replaced typewriters, the pace of the business world accelerated. Pagers and mobile phones became familiar sights, enabling contact between the office and field.  Over the years, toaster-sized batteries shrank into iPhone and Androids. According to a recent Pew Research Center report, nearly half of American adults are Smartphone owners. Computers are in our pockets, homes, and vehicles, and the attorney service industry has access to new capabilities that did not exist a few years ago.

Communication is evolving at an unprecedented rate and data integration technology is at the core of this transformation. Data integration allows users to see a unified view of data from different locations and sources. When information was primarily conveyed on paper and the almighty FAX ruled the workplace, the system was only as accurate as the humans maintaining it. Revolutionary advances in cloud computing and web services are empowering businesses to work smarter, not harder.  Collaboration and partnerships are the new norm and the desire to expand and network is more pronounced than ever before.

Attorney service companies would be wise to look into data integration. Technology is changing at a rapid rate, and those who fail to adapt will be left behind. How can a company using old human-powered systems stay relevant when their competitors can complete identical tasks with a few clicks? Data integration allows companies to share data with their clients in real-time to complete tasks as commonplace as checking status that can be accomplished immediately using the client’s own program.  Sharing jobs with other attorney service companies instantly and directly is now a reality. How about when you forward a job to an affiliate? You would normally send an email with instructions, only to have your client re-enter the same data. With data integration, you can send the work order directly into your affiliate’s system.  Data integration makes it possible for a single software package to streamline the operations of an entire attorney service company, and to smoothly manage a job from beginning to end.

Attorney service companies should find out what kind of programs their clients are running, as there may already be web services or other tools available to make data integration possible.   As the industry begins to shift to new technologies such as E-Filing and GPS integration, and  cloud computing; companies who are quick to embrace the inevitable tide of change will be in a stronger position.  Data integration makes companies more marketable and effective. Who doesn’t want to save time, money, and significantly reduce the potential for errors?

Dennis Chaples
www.TristarSoftware.com