Arizona Attorney - October 2015

and comments about certain software products or services. This information is certainly helpful and should be a part of your online research. But pay attention to the author. Is it a lawyer, a consultant or a vendor? Read through the filter of a “ consultant’s eyes”—for example, many people will blame a product for failing to perform when in fact the user has not been properly trained or is otherwise lacking information. Also remember that people are more likely to voice their opinion when they have a complaint than when they are satisfied. Don’t forget to read the testimonials on the vendors’ websites. Of course the vendor is going to only post positive comments, but reading these will give you insight to the size and types of firms who have found success with the product and the features (timekeeping, calendaring, etc.).

In my recent online research, I came upon Capterra, which describes itself as “the smart way to find business software.” It allows vendors to provide detailed information (according to Capterra’s structure), invites input from users to “review” software with commentary and a 5-star rating system, provides a link to the vendor website, and search filters. I was fascinated.

Capterra appears to be a fairly young company, as most of the products listed have yet to post content by vendors, comments or ratings, but this seems like a great idea. Also, I notice that there are some very popular products listed that either have little, no or negative comments. I am left thinking that the vendors who shine best have a strong force of staff, consultants or users who are at home with social media.

Let this be a wake-up call to the other vendors. Of particular interest is the June 24, 2015, Capterra article on “The Top 20 Most Popular Practice Management Software,” an infographic that includes their survey questions and responses: http://blog.capterra.com/ top-20-most-popular-law- practice-management-software-solutions/

Finally, as you may have narrowed down your research to two or three software products, look for the “Free Trial or Evaluation”

download. The large suite of software and services vendors will not likely offer this, but most of the other vendors do. The trial periods vary from 14 to 30 days, so you will want to plan accordingly to get the full benefit of the time before you download.

Lawyer Friends and Listservs

Go ahead, now. Ask your lawyer friends. Post a question on the listserv or Facebook page: “What do you use?” By this time, you will be able to qualify that question more specifically by adding, “I am the managing partner in a three-lawyer firm with four support staff, practicing in the area _____. I do (do not) wish to keep my software and data on the vendor’s computers.” By this time, you may even be more familiar with some of the software so that you can discuss them more intelligently with other lawyers.

ments or public lawyers. Most all software is priced per user. Some charge more for the first user, then less for additional users. Or for cloud software, they may price it higher for attorney users and less for support staff users.

Be aware that many vendors do not publish a purchase price because they want you to contact them for a quote. Don’t be shy. Request a quote. They want an opportunity to talk with interested shoppers. But here is your chance to plead your case,

negotiate your deal. At the very least, you will know whether to cross this product off your list.

Online Research

Depending on what you are searching for, here are some search terms you can try: law firm, legal-specific, software, case management, practice management, accounting, time and billing, time tracking, document management, document assembly, e-discovery, file sharing, client portal (so your clients can log in to see their appointments, bills and documents), outsourcing, virtual, software, services.

If you practice in certain areas of law, add those terms to your search—family law, wills and estate planning, personal injury, public defender, and so forth. Adding terms like sole practitioner, small firm, large firm may be helpful. Just remember, the more words you enter, the fewer “hits” you will receive. So, if you are not finding many software products, you need to try another combination of words.

Watch the videos, and read about the features. But as your research becomes more refined and targeted, you should have no problem finding the “DEMO” button or menu and requesting a demo from the vendor. They will schedule a one-on-one walk-through of their product. This is a very time efficient way of learning about a product.