The Law Practice Management (LPM) software technology market has arguably reached its most exciting stage of development in over 20 years. The venerable stalwart, Time Matters, the once dominate application in the market, now (according to some) stands by like a dinosaur stuck in a tar pit, while new innovators begin to advance the future of Law Practice Management software.
I first met Bob Butler, co-founder of Time Matters, at a technology conference in the early 1990’s. There, Mr. Butler was demonstrating the first Windows version of Time Matters, extending the lead of the first “widely commercially viable” LPM application in the industry. Time Matters was raising the bar for functionality while lowering the economic barrier to entry. Many in the industry began to replicate and ultimately improve upon these early innovations. However, based on the most recent releases, most in the practice management community agree Time Matters has neither continued to lead, nor has it kept up with changes in technology. The management team’s lack of continuity and vision is identified by a pedestrian commitment to mobility, client (and co-counsel) access and modern extensibility. If Time Matters continues this modality, not only will it lose its spot as a popular option in LPM, but it will not even be viable in a modern age. Others will reminisce about this dinosaur, dig up its bones and wonder how it ever survived as long as it did.
Over the last year and a half, I have enjoyed (in a significant way) the chance to work on a new generation of LPM offerings. It’s interesting how a fresh 360-degree view enhances one's thinking. Step back from the trenches; it’s now clear that innovation from land-locked LPM has seriously stalled. For the most part, other vendors have historically followed the leadership of Time Matters. In fact, you may remember Amicus X, which many believe came out of Gavel and Gown’s attempt to keep up with the technology leap of the World Edition of Time Matters. With a four year hiatus in developing meaningful functionality, the competitive landscape is starting to catch up (with Time Matters), but most are not extending the functionality horizon. On the other hand, a new age of LPM software is agile, allows for distributed resources and doesn’t penalize solo or small firms by lacking in functionality.
On With the Future, My Year in the Cloud
Being a scholar and architect of Law Practice Management Software, I spend a great deal of time thinking and pontificating (with associates) about how we can use the internet in a safe and meaningful way, call it a mobile, cloud-based mentality. From my research I have come to define SaaS products in terms of functional maturity. There are two groups of new LPM products: those with very low end functionality, therefor simple to learn, and those aiming more toward an on-premise replacement with very high end functionality. Examples of the former, low-end functionality group are Rocket Matter, Clio and LexisNexis Firm Manager. Rocket Matter and Clio are more established and have proven track records. On the more functional side are Salesforce.com and HoudiniESQ, clearly the most robust players in the SaaS genre of practice management software. These two products are extremely well designed; in their core architecture they recognize customization and integration as key to a robust platform. Additionally HoudiniESQ recognizes the need for legal-domain specific functionality, like integrated billing and document management.
Fortunately, for the consumer, this new generation ushers in a class of LPM software that retains the traditional requirements and meets the needs of the newly mobilized professional. Traditional land-locked products, like Time Matters and Amicus are losing thousands of users to SaaS based LPM products like Rocket Matter, Clio, and most significantly HoudiniESQ. Frank Rivera, architect of HoudiniESQ states that HoudiniESQ is currently (summer 2011) used by more than three thousand law firms and many federal, state and local government agencies. This represents a significant number and, by number, the most successful of the new SaaS vendors.
Summarizing the Landscape
Many customers I speak with feel they are ready to make a LPM software change. Most however are not ready to give up the rich client interface and desktop integrations they currently rely on. This is where HoudiniESQ shows a richer market readiness than the overly simplistic web-based LPM offerings. Having worked several years with Mr. Rivera at Time Matters, I have an excellent perspective of the nuts and bolts of HoudiniESQ. Many of HoudiniESQ’s principle design aspects are based on the same goals as Frank’s design of the Time Matters World Edition (now sunset by LexisNexis). Some of these design points include: functionality, performance, cross-platform support and most important (to the LPM market) the ability to install HoudiniESQ on-premise.
I have also spent well over a year deploying LPM on the Salesforce.com platform, principally while performing the duties of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at AdvologixPM, a Force.com/Salesforce.com based application. Of the two products HoudiniESQ is well ahead in the area of legal-specific domain features. AdvologixPM lags in functionality and more importantly (in my humble opinion) lacks the LPM domain knowledge at the management level.
What This Means for Data Equity
Data Equity has a forward-looking business model to serve and support the consumers of LPM software, primarily through mobile and client facing software add-ons for Time Matters. We have also been very active representing the end user who otherwise finds their voice drowned by a toxic corporate controlled messaging.
Data Equity is focusing less on Time Matters and more on the future of LPM software. Please know we continue to develop and support our customers, product line and support the priorities of end users. There are many firms that have grown tightly bonded to Time Matters whom we sincerely respect and will continue to remain committed to helping get the most out of their LPM software. We also look forward to introducing and helping to usher our customers into an exciting new age of practice management technology. To this end we will be launching several new LPM consumer educational initiatives.
Our blog, PracticeBetter.com, will shift from helping Time Matters consultants (and consumers) to an informational source for the broader Law Practice Management community primarily focusing on the standards of modern LPM software. Our existing Time Matters related articles will be archived and available on request via our free eBook, Inside Time Matters. Additionally, Data Equity will be launching a new LPM consumer-oriented web site that focuses on LPM software reviews, comparisons and insights; The Law Practice Management Software Survey. With over a decade of research, LPMSS will contain commentary and specific information on over 80 LPM products.
Steve Stockstill
President, Founder Data Equity LLC
