Allen & Allen, a personal injury firm with seven attorneys listed in "Best Lawyers in America," leverages Aderant Total Office to improve their business.

1. ADERANT SUCCESS PROFILE
ADERANT TOTAL OFFICE
Allen & Allen Personal Injury Firm Leverages
Aderant Integrated Case and Financial Management
Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen (Allen & Allen) is one of Virginia’s oldest and largest law “Aderant Total Office has been great for
firms specializing in personal injury and medical malpractice. The firm has seven us. It is a very sophisticated system, and
attorneys listed in Best Lawyers in America, and was named one of the Best Places
is a marked improvement from what
to Work in Virginia by Virginia Business and Best Companies Group in both 2011 &
we have used in the past. We may be
2012. These honors and many others are a reflection of the experience, knowledge
a 100-year-old law firm, but thanks to
and skills that the firm brings to personal injury cases. As of October 2012, the firm
had 120 employees including 25 attorneys. Total Office we have a highly efficient,
21st-century case and financial
While the firm has long looked to technology to help improve employee productivity
and streamline manual processes to better and more quickly serve clients, our management system.”
case and financial management software in particular, was in need of an overhaul.
Tracy Puritz , Executive Director
Our first improvement in this area occurred in 2002, when the firm upgraded its
case and financial management software, purchasing two separate systems and
Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen
integrating them through a third-party interface that was customized and installed
by a software consultant. While this was an improvement over the firm’s old
DOS-based case management system and accounting spreadsheets, it wasn’t a long
term solution. Fast forward a decade … the firm has not only grown in sheer size,
but also opened new offices, and the demands of clients when it comes to knowing
how a case is progressing, collaborating with outside counsel, and having online
access to case details has grown exponentially.

2. ADERANT CASE STUDY
ADERANT TOTAL OFFICE
A technology upgrade was definitely in order but not for the sake of integration, but also an unmatched integration with the Microsoft
change or simply having new “bells and whistles” to play with. The applications used by everyone within the firm. Another selling point
previous system interface severely limited the firm’s ability to upgrade for Total Office was Aderant’s experience and track record with larger
and apply a new version resulting in the firm’s use of outdated and more complex law firms. The previous case management system
versions of both our case and financial software. Ultimately, we was primarily built based on small(er) firm requirements so we did
also lost ongoing technical support from our vendors and it became not have the confidence our case and financial technology could keep
abundantly clear that ‘ease of system and technology integration’ pace with firm growth and expansion.
would be a major factor in selecting a new system that could support
Beyond the Microsoft “game changer” we identified other Aderant
,
the needs of a growing, innovative firm with multiple offices.
Total Office automation features that swayed the selection committee
Before making the move to a new platform, we came to the in Aderant’s favor:
conclusion that any integration “challenges” in the future would
• Automated Settlement processing: Total Office offers a
be severely limited by not only controlling the number of vendors
settlement processing solution that takes the gross settlement
involved in providing the firm with case and financial, but by making
value, deducts firm fees, referral fees, firm costs, liens and
sure that everything worked with and complied with Microsoft since
letters of protections medicals (with reductions) and produces
Allen & Allen is what you would consider a MS “shop”
.
a net figure payable to the client(s). This document includes all
necessary waivers and is client signature ready cutting our firm’s
Microsoft and true integration
time spent on producing a settlement from several hours to less
While we knew what IT and Accounting wanted in a new system, we than five minutes
formed a 20-member selection committee to get a broader firm-wide
• Modular integration: All application modules integrate with
perspective and evaluate all of our software options including the
each other. For example, when writing a check for a client cost,
existing technology. The committee reviewed nearly a dozen possible
the costs gets posted to the matter automatically
solutions before selecting Aderant Total Office (formerly Client
Profiles Case and Financial Management) and it’s Plaintiff Financial • Accounting integrity: All though it might be considered a ‘no
Package (includes T & B, AP, Collections, GL, and Reporting) and brainer’ Total Office has the proper accounting controls are in
,
Case Management Package (client-intake, full-text indexing, etc.) place to ensure firm data is not corrupted, either accidentally or
intentionally. This relates in particular to trust accounts but is
Why Aderant Total Office? In a word, integration. Very few of the
true across all bank accounts.
vendors that the firm considered could provide both case and
financial management software. Among those that could, Aderant True value of customization
stood out for its robust (aka easy to use but plenty of features) case
The firm was also drawn by the level of customization that Aderant
management tools and intuitive (aka easy to access, learn and train on)
offered. Again, this is something other systems also offered but
user interface as well as its partnership with Microsoft. It was clear
not to the extent we were looking for. The true value of software
to the firm that we needed to switch to a solution that integrated
customizations is in the time saved to perform work on behalf of clients
with Microsoft so it was a plus that Aderant is a Microsoft Certified
while not having to re-train users on how to work the new software
Gold Partner which gives them direct access to Redmond’s legal
but instead molding the technology to accommodate the way the firm
development and management team as well as various MS-sponsored
works.
Technology Adoption Programs (TAPs). From an upgrade standpoint,
we knew Aderant would synch its technology updates with Microsoft
and as the software giant rolled out new legal-specific solutions,
Aderant and the Total Office team would be on the same page.
Furthermore, we faced a series of server upgrades and new purchases,
but knew even with the new technology, we would not be gaining
any new functionality from the archaic system. With Microsoft and
Aderant we would be able to leverage both vendors’ latest features
and upgrades, and thanks to their partnership, in a tightly integrated
fashion. Not only does Aderant offer complete front and back office

3. ADERANT CASE STUDY
ADERANT TOTAL OFFICE
Case in point. The firm has eight different law types with detailed All-in-one. The aforementioned front/back-office integration has
and unique screens, pick lists and to-do packages attached to each. been a god send, providing increased financial accuracy for billing
In addition to the screens provided by Aderant at the outset, the and accounting. Our controller has reported no more double entries,
firm created six new tabs to identify, monitor and track crucial case balanced trust accounts, smooth printing and check handling and
management information. As different elements are identified or better cash flow.
there is a new ruling or change in the law, the firm is easily able to
design new fields, checklists and pick lists that pertain to the change. Reporting. Total Office’s reporting capabilities as well as the ease
Any information then generated through these new fields can be of report writing, has enhanced firm management’s ability to
tracked through a written report. quickly and efficiently address staffing issues and better balance
individual case management needs. Customized reports provide our
Customization is particularly important to the firm’s intake process,
which uses custom screens to capture data relating to the nature of management team with a snapshot of case status; top 50 cases, top
the call. Those data fields correspond with a specific merge document valued cases, cases in litigation, an active case inventory by value
that attorneys can use to print a report prior to meeting a new client. class, and case intake comparison to prior periods, among others.
In addition to developing fields that apply to the individual and cause A consolidated case information report has been developed that
of action, the firm also created fields to capture marketing and referral provides attorneys with a quick view of pertinent case information
information. The subsequent reports enable the firm to track the without the need to query various screens and tabs. All told, our IT
types of calls received, the number of calls taken during a particular department has developed more than 200 custom reports within Total
time frame and who took the calls. Office over the past few years, saving the firm a significant amount of
time and effort compared to systems that require the software vendor
Training (practice) makes perfect to develop the reports.
A successful implementation depends on good training. Allen, Allen, Collaboration. The new technology has made it easier for our
Allen & Allen chose to centralize training, bringing everyone to the
attorneys to share case responsibilities even if they are located in
headquarters in Richmond over the course of two weeks. A bank of
different offices. All case information can be reviewed simultaneously
computers was set up in a conference room and customized training
by computer rather than relying on the physical file. The Parties
sessions were held for management, intake and administrative teams,
tab lists everyone involved with the case, including the plaintiff,
as well as all of the attorneys and their direct legal support.
defendants, insurance companies (and their coverage), witnesses
Our goal was to implement without dramatic impact on the
(and their deposition dates) and more. All the documents and
employees. We wanted to make sure that we had good training
pleadings are stored in the Worldox DMS tab, which is attached to the
in place, and that we implemented the software at the right time
case. The “Scheduled Events” tab houses all important appointments,
for the right people. During the first two weeks, we moved at a
measured pace, slowly adapting to the new software. During this hearing and deposition dates. Everything the attorneys need is
“trial period” the firm didn’t cut any case-related checks or close any
, instantly available, no matter where they are located.
cases, affording us time to adjust to the new system and make sure Beyond these benefits, Total Office is vastly more stable than the
that everything was operating correctly. Allen & Allen also did a lot previous configuration, which would often crash and leave attorneys
of advanced planning, especially on the accounting side, working and support staff with no access to critical case documents. Overall,
closely with Aderant’s technical support team, to confirm the system
Aderant Total Office has been great for us. It is a very sophisticated
was properly configured.
system, and is a marked improvement from what we have used in the
past. We may be a 100-year-old law firm, but thanks to Total Office we
The Payoff
have a highly efficient, 21st-century case and financial management
Today, three years into our initial Total Office implementation, the system.
case and financial management technology has not only met the
firm’s expectations, but in some cases, greatly exceeded them.
About the author
Tracy Puritz has been Allen & Allen’s executive director since 2002 and active
in various law firm operational leadership roles since 1988. His areas of focus
include finance & budget administration, strategic planning, and broader HR
Copyright © 2012 Aderant Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
and firm operations. He can be reached at Puritz@AllenandAllen.com. www.aderant.com | info@aderant.com | +1 888 604 2366