Legal Business Systems Developer I have spent the past 4 years developing solutions, in Advanced (Tikit) P4W, for a Solicitors in Bournemouth, to customise the Work Flows to improve the operation and minimise the level of training. My first project was to migrate our Family Mediation department from a standalone solution to P4W. This was achieved and overcame several challenges I’d never dealt with P4W and I ‘broke’ it but came up with several solutions. I managed to get it to work in a single Matter with mixed Private and LAA clients, something peculiar to Mediation I took 127 documents that the users were editing and cutting out ‘optional’ text before sending, to a fraction of that number that required no editing as they were totally automated Produced a system that needed minimal training as they were prompted through the workflow, both Fee Earners and Legal Assistants. The department has gone from being subject to potential closure to profitable We prepared for a build of a complete Conveyancing System encompassing all aspects not just buying and selling, this has been delayed by the department becoming extremely busy due to the SDLT holiday! I have also implemented a P4W / TaskCentre solution for the distribution of scanned post meaning; post is scanned, allocated to staff pigeon holes, alerts sent only to staff who have mail, then moved to the correct Matter and management can ‘see’ any ‘overflowing’ pigeon holes. I am currently working of a migrating our Licensing department fully into P4W, again they have a stand-alone system. Learning from previous development and the new challenges of paper-lite processing this new solution Allows for full document automation of held data (multiple interested parties) but for the solicitor to then add the customised text Automatically produce tasks to remind Fee Earners, and Legal Assistants, when to chase up on activities My most proud piece of work, developing a single email template that is ‘aware’ of the section of the Work Flow it is in and will therefore allow the user to send an email, from P4W, with no editing (unless they choose to) which also adds the relevant PDF attachments with no activity required by the user Minimises the training needed for a new member of the department on the documentation allowing them to focus on the legal aspect and the service to the clients Where possible I have used P4W own command set for customisation of Templates and used SQL Stored Procedures for any data processing. This means that in the event we changed from P4W provided the new system had similar features and an SQL backend migration would be simplified. I have also developed an Intranet, which is built on the world-class DNN Software (formerly DotNetNuke) platform, that interfaces to and uses extended P4W features allowing us to get around certain limitation of P4W, especially its ‘flat’ reports meaning user can go straight from the Intranet to the Matter or Step. The solution uses standard features of the platform which means any customisation is done in SQL and therefore should be easily transferable to any DMS with an SQL database behind it. This has improved the following areas Self Help and Fault Reporting to our Helpdesk Debt Collection Compliance – allowing management to be alerted when processes are not completed Task management With WFH a method for Fee Earners to request and check on Legal Assistants carrying out tasks e.g. making sure post is packaged and sent out I have also worked with various 3^rd Party providers to improve the efficiency of the systems; Infotrack, Bundledocs, Arken Legal, Adobe Esign to name a few. Although I do not have experience with other Legal Systems the principals should be transferable, I also had no experience with P4W before. I believe it is more important to understand the processes and procedures of the organisation and then get the tools to make them easier to implement

Legal Business Systems Developer

I have spent the past 4 years developing solutions, in Advanced (Tikit) P4W, for a Solicitors in Bournemouth, to customise the Work Flows to improve the operation and minimise the level of training.

My first project was to migrate our Family Mediation department from a standalone solution to P4W. This was achieved and overcame several challenges

I’d never dealt with P4W and I ‘broke’ it but came up with several solutions.
I managed to get it to work in a single Matter with mixed Private and LAA clients, something peculiar to Mediation
I took 127 documents that the users were editing and cutting out ‘optional’ text before sending, to a fraction of that number that required no editing as they were totally automated
Produced a system that needed minimal training as they were prompted through the workflow, both Fee Earners and Legal Assistants.
The department has gone from being subject to potential closure to profitable

We prepared for a build of a complete Conveyancing System encompassing all aspects not just buying and selling, this has been delayed by the department becoming extremely busy due to the SDLT holiday!

I have also implemented a P4W / TaskCentre solution for the distribution of scanned post meaning; post is scanned, allocated to staff pigeon holes, alerts sent only to staff who have mail, then moved to the correct Matter and management can ‘see’ any ‘overflowing’ pigeon holes.

I am currently working of a migrating our Licensing department fully into P4W, again they have a stand-alone system.

Learning from previous development and the new challenges of paper-lite processing this new solution

Allows for full document automation of held data (multiple interested parties) but for the solicitor to then add the customised text
Automatically produce tasks to remind Fee Earners, and Legal Assistants, when to chase up on activities
My most proud piece of work, developing a single email template that is ‘aware’ of the section of the Work Flow it is in and will therefore allow the user to send an email, from P4W, with no editing (unless they choose to) which also adds the relevant PDF attachments with no activity required by the user
Minimises the training needed for a new member of the department on the documentation allowing them to focus on the legal aspect and the service to the clients

Where possible I have used P4W own command set for customisation of Templates and used SQL Stored Procedures for any data processing. This means that in the event we changed from P4W provided the new system had similar features and an SQL backend migration would be simplified.

I have also developed an Intranet, which is built on the world-class DNN Software (formerly DotNetNuke) platform, that interfaces to and uses extended P4W features allowing us to get around certain limitation of P4W, especially its ‘flat’ reports meaning user can go straight from the Intranet to the Matter or Step. The solution uses standard features of the platform which means any customisation is done in SQL and therefore should be easily transferable to any DMS with an SQL database behind it.

This has improved the following areas

Self Help and Fault Reporting to our Helpdesk
Debt Collection
Compliance – allowing management to be alerted when processes are not completed
Task management
With WFH a method for Fee Earners to request and check on Legal Assistants carrying out tasks e.g. making sure post is packaged and sent out

I have also worked with various 3^rd Party providers to improve the efficiency of the systems; Infotrack, Bundledocs, Arken Legal, Adobe Esign to name a few.

Although I do not have experience with other Legal Systems the principals should be transferable, I also had no experience with P4W before. I believe it is more important to understand the processes and procedures of the organisation and then get the tools to make them easier to implement

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