Attorneys sometimes work out of more than one office — especially if they work for large firms, which have multiple offices scattered around the country.

This has presented a challenge for RB8 users. If you haven’t encountered problems due to this, here’s what can happen & what can be done about it now:

Let’s say Mr. Smith works mainly out of the New York City office of Smith & Jones. But once in a while he calls from the Washington DC office. In RB8, these two offices must be entered as two separate firms since they have different physical addresses. Mr. Smith also has to be set up twice, as a contact under each firm [office], resulting in two log-in IDs for RB Web. That in itself can seem like a hassle to Mr. Smith, but here comes the real trouble:

When Mr. Smith logs into RB Web using his New York ID, he won’t be able to see the depositions that were scheduled from DC. And vice versa if he logs in with his DC ID. The same goes for transcripts, case files and invoices. Even though this makes a perfect sense to a geek like me; Mr. Smith, your client, no doubt will be very unhappy.

As you know, in RB8, a contact can grant access to other contacts in the same firm, but contacts haven’t been able to grant access beyond the firm [office] boundary. Granting access to other contacts in other firms (called universal access) hasn’t been allowed. So Mr. Smith had to log in twice looking for his own stuff.

Fewer sign-ins to remember

This all changed with the latest update (released  June 4, 2010). We’ve found a way for you to make Mr. Smith happy and keep him as your client.

In the Manage Access tab of the Contact detail screen, we’ve added a new section called Grant Universal Access To. Simply click Add to add contacts from other firms who should have the same access rights as the currently selected contact. Add Mr. Smith’s DC identity to his NYC identity here, and he only needs to remember one user ID and password to access all of his info on your RB Web.

Help your clients collaborate on big cases

It goes without saying that this new feature will also work for cases where multiple attorneys from different firms working as co-counsels need to access the same information. For example, BP is going to need many attorneys from many firms to defend all the cases being filed right now.

As with giving an attorney who works out of multiple offices combined access to all of his/her info on RB Web, you can grant universal access to attorneys from different law firms, per your client’s request. They tell you who to permit access to, and you manage the access rights in RB8.

Now Mr. Smith can go to Washington with the freedom to access any pertinent information in RB Web without worrying about what jobs were called in from which office. And you can go after those big, complex cases with another powerful tool in your arsenal.

I hate consultants. As the saying goes, “Consultants borrow your watch to tell you the time — and then charge to return the watch.”

I believe they are responsible for all the rules that benefit large corporations, while putting so many burdens on small companies like ours.

Here is an example:

Back in 1995, large corporations (mainly insurance companies) were complaining about spending too much money processing paper invoices submitted by law firms. They wanted to automate the data-entry process to cut costs.

They also wanted to scrutinize the invoices line-by-line to control the escalating legal costs. They were throwing around words like, “efficiency,” “automation,” “cost containment” and “standard.”

Guess what? Those are the kind of words consultants feed on. Price Waterhouse (a den of consultants) was hired to spearhead the project to come up with a standard to exchange legal data electronically.

The Legal Electronic Data Exchange Standard (LEDES) was adopted by all the parties involved. Law firms hated it (they still do). Time-and-billing software vendors for the legal industry scrambled to come up with updates to handle this new requirement. And poor old secretaries in small law offices were typing funny-looking characters using Notepad to create LEDES files by hand.

No more one-line invoices like, “Services rendered by me: $50,000.”

Over time, law firms have learned to live with it. It’s become the status quo.

Now it’s the court reporting firms’ turn. You get to go through lots of motions to save big corporations money if you want to keep your clients who rely on e-billing.

However, you don’t need to suffer as many law firms did, if you are using RB8. I worked with our programmers for over a year on LEDES for RB8. With the latest update, you can easily generate LEDES 98B files and email them to whomever is holding your money as hostage.

Once you have set up the codes in your Service Items Master List and mass-updated your billing rate tables, it’s as easy to generate a LEDES 98B-compliant invoice as any other invoice in your RB8. And by giving your clients invoices that they can directly upload into their e-billing system, you enhance your chances of getting paid quickly.

This e-billing option is included free in RB 8.53, released March 12, 2010. And we’ve published an e-Billing User Guide on our website in the Team RB members-only area, so you can start using this new feature immediately.

I’ll probably never warm up to consultants, but I love programmers.

Avoid a lawsuit by following this advice

When it comes to handling word indexes, does your agency fall under one of the following categories?

1. You provide word indexes (usually with condensed transcripts) to clients free of charge.
2. You provide word indexes (usually with condensed transcripts) for a flat fee (e.g., $25).
3. You provide word indexes (as part of standard transcripts) at the same per page rate as you charge for the transcripts themselves.

If you answered “#3,” then you could be vulnerable to lawsuits unless your rate sheet fully discloses your billing policies concerning word indexes.

Lawsuits have already been filed

This is already happening to other firms. Several class action lawsuits are pending in federal courts that contend that court reporting firms are padding their bills by charging full per-page prices for word indexes without full disclosure.

Here are my observations as to why it will be difficult to justify the practice of charging full price without disclosing that up-front:

• The word index is not a part of the record prepared by a court reporter.
• The word index is generated by a computer program, not by a court reporter.
• The court reporter usually is not paid for the word index.
• The total page count is different from what the reporter turned in.
• The client usually isn’t aware of the practice.

Protect yourself

I recommend that you go for peace of mind with full disclosure even though it might hurt your bottom line. Include word indexes for free with condensed transcripts, and use that as your marketing edge. You’ll be more attractive to clients and less attractive to lawsuits.

Introduction

[This introduction & 3 tips are reprinted from OMTI's brochure for the 2010 NCRA Firm Owners Executive Conference, held Feb. 3-5 in Orlando, FL.]

I wanted to give you my top three tips for ensuring your business will survive and thrive in 2010.

Last year was a tough one for many court reporting firms. It was the worst I’ve seen my clients experience in my 25 years of developing software and services for managing and marketing legal support businesses.

While the overall economy is slowly improving, I foresee continued tough times for your industry. The legal industry is experiencing stagnant business growth so cost containment is one area they are focusing on, leading many firms to drop longtime vendors in the hopes of lowering their outside costs.

At the same time, they are also more open than ever to new ways of doing business and using technology to save money and improve their own services. So in spite of the disturbing trend of disappearing loyalty, there is still business for you out there, but only if you do everything you can to cut costs, maximize efficiency, provide relevant services and communicate effectively.

I believe you can be successful in 2010, and to help you hold onto your clients, win new clients and improve your business, I offer you my top tips for 2010 and best wishes for a prosperous year.

Sincerely,
Yong Lee, President & CEO
OMTI, developers of ReporterBase

Tip #1 | Tip #2 | Tip #3

Is your office getting in the way of your business? Get rid of it.

You could save thousands a year in overhead by eliminating costly office space. Before you dismiss this as too radical, remember: Extreme business conditions require you to re-think everything.

Question the amount and kind of space you need:

• Can you and your staff work from home? You don’t need expensive commercial space if you can all work remotely.
• If your reporters turn in their work online, and you offer direct deposit pay as well as online pay statements, they don’t need to come to the office anymore.
• Eliminate the need for file cabinets by scanning everything into a central system that also automatically maintains electronic copies of all work products, job/client/resource/location info, invoices and statements, etc. Then give clients and reporters online and wireless access to their information in your system automatically.
• Save even more space — and the need for tech services — by using data farms for your electronic storage infrastructure instead of maintaining your own servers.

With a ReporterBase (RB) system, you can do all of the above. Plus you can automatically access job, client and reporter info on the road via your BlackBerry so you can maximize your own effectiveness. No telephone tag, no unnecessary trips back to the office — it even has Google Maps so you won’t get lost driving to a new client’s location.

Tip #2 | Tip #3

Who’s afraid of lawyers? Become their partner in cost containment & technology solutions.

Before you get that dreaded “We’re switching to someone cheaper” call, make your firm the most cost-effective, attractive solution to your clients’ problems — and tell them about it.

You can compete on price, as long as you educate your clients on what that means:

• Tell them you don’t charge for word indexes, cover pages and other filler. Other firms attract your clients with lower per-page costs, then pad their invoices with extra pages. While their per-page cost looks better, help your clients compare total costs for services to see that you are the best value.
• Offer online repositories for their pre-trial discovery period, during the trial and beyond at a low monthly cost. Add no-cost-to-them benefits like online and wireless access to their depo calendars and invoices, plus e-commerce for instantly downloadable transcripts, and you are lowering their costs even further by saving them time and not adding to their overhead.
• Provide nationwide services by being a member of a court reporting network so they don’t have to narrow their choices to only the big national firms for large cases. Negotiate competitive rates within your network so your clients see they’ll save money by relying on you for all their depos and other legal service needs.
• Establish your reporters’ superior credentials. Agencies that are undercutting other firms’ prices are not paying top dollar for reporters. It stands to reason that their reporters are less qualified. Your experienced reporters produce top quality transcripts meaning your clients don’t waste time deciphering shoddy work.

You can do all of this with an RB system — even providing the best reporters. Not only does it allow you to easily keep track of your reporters’ credentials, but it also helps you attract and retain the best reporters with valuable perks like:

• Direct deposit pay — eliminating trips to the bank.
• Online pay reports — so they always know their future and past pay amounts with details.
• Online turn-in — saving them a trip to the office.
• Job notification via automatic text messaging — so they instantly know when they have an upcoming job without the interruption of a phone call. Plus they can instantly text you their acknowledgment.
• Online access to job files (like shared dictionaries), their schedule and more — giving quick, convenient answers to their questions 24/7.

Un-level the playing field in your favor without resorting to unethical behavior or getting into a pricing war by using all the tools in the RB arsenal to manage expenses and clients.

Tip #1 | Tip #3

It’s never too late to get a jump on the competition.

Since everything I’ve described is in RB already, you don’t have to start from scratch finding and adding the latest technology and offering the best services. So even if you feel like you’ve lost ground in the marketplace, you can come out ahead by incorporating RB into your business now.

And if you are hesitating to make such an investment in a down economy, think again:

• We’ve been developing this system for 25 years, so you’ll have better tools than the big national firms’ proprietary systems.
• You can rent the system instead of buying it, so you can get $10M software for as little as $125/mo.
• If you don’t like it, you can cancel it at any time — you’re not stuck if it doesn’t work for you.
• You can add all the web and mobile features with RB Web for a flat $199/mo. for all of your clients. And if you have only one client who needs an online repository for one case, you can add RB Web to meet their needs. Then when they don’t need it anymore, you can cancel the online services.

Keep your clients and win new clients by offering cutting-edge online services and competitive prices for all of your services with the help of powerful RB tools.

Move your business forward in 2010

While you might have spent 2009 in business survival mode, 2010 should be different.

Be pro-active and talk to your clients now about what you can do to help them control costs and take advantage of the benefits of new technology. Don’t let your clients forget you or wait until they drop you before you contact them about how you can work together to succeed in a difficult business environment.

And as we have for the past 25 years, OMTI is here to help you control your own costs and provide valuable services that lawyers want. We understand your industry and new technology, and actively work with our clients to continue to develop RB to meet the ever-changing needs of court reporting and other legal support firms.

To find out more, visit our website or contact us today.

Tip #1 | Tip #2

*Updated* 7th annual Team RB user conference, Sept. 25 & 26

Every year since 2002, OMTI has sponsored a conference for litigation support business owners and managers. Topics covered typically include the latest developments in business management software, new technologies and best business practices for the industry.
The conferences are called Team RB user conferences because they focus on ReporterBase (RB) software and companies that use it. This year’s conference theme was “Navigating through turbulent times.”

Three seminars were presented over 2 days covering what’s new in business management & online services, plus future projections for the industry. Emphasis was on cost cutting while preserving business and protecting profits.

Yong Lee, president & CEO of OMTI, led the seminars.

In keeping with this year’s theme, this year’s conference was online to be easy to attend and inexpensive.

Visit our website for more details.

Welcome to the new OMTI blog, Idea Salad with Yong Lee, which we hope you find useful. We plan to cover topics that affect court reporting and other litigation support firms, plus provide tips and resources for managing and marketing your businesses better.