Re-Cap of Evaluating Conflicts Software

We will be adding this as a resource to our website in the future, but for now here's a re-cap of all our considerations for evaluating Conflicts Software:

1.     Procedure & Technology Survey

a.     Look at the conflicts procedure from start to finish with a question in the back of your head: "Is this the best use of our resources?"

b.     Determine which format of conflicts software is right for your firm:

                                               i.     Legal Practice Management

                                              ii.     Stand Alone

                                            iii.     Spreadsheet

                                            iv.     Word Processing

c.      Create a list of questions for your software vendors:

                                               i.     What type of platform is needed?

                                              ii.     Tell me about upgrades:

1.     Frequency?

2.     Required?

3.     Additional Cost?

2.     Inputs & Outputs

a.     Consider what type and where information is coming from as it goes into your conflicts system.

b.     Consider what type and where information is going to as it leaves your conflicts system.

c.      Consider WHO is on the giving and receiving ends of your conflicts system, and what preferences they may have.

d.     Scanning questions:

                                               i.     Pleadings naming multiple opposing counsel & firm titles into the database?

                                              ii.     Able to scan (and store) Conflicts of Interest documents:

1.     Waiver Letters

2.     Engagement Letters

3.     Declined Representation Letters

e.     Questions about Reports:

                                               i.     What varieties of reports are available?

                                              ii.     Can they be customized?

1.     Self customized?

2.     Required additional consulting?

3.     Competency Requirements

a.     What level of competency is required?

                                               i.     Will we need to understand programming or anything technical?

b.     In what timeframe can we expect to be trained and ready to work?

                                               i.     Learning curve after training?

c.      How frequently will we require education?

                                               i.     Required or available upgrade training?

d.     Are there seminars?

e.     Is the education virtual, or is classroom attendance required?

                                               i.     Do we need to budget for travel arrangements?

f.      CLE credits available for attending training?

                                               i.     If yes – this increases the value of the training.

4.     Integration Questions

a.     How does it interact with our inputs/outputs (if looking at a stand-alone product).

b.     Does it integrate with research engine databases and 3^rd party sources that the firm uses?

                                               i.     D&B

                                              ii.     Westlaw

                                            iii.     LexisNexis

                                            iv.     Capital IQ

                                              v.     Bureau van Dijk

c.      Does it integrate with with OFAC?

                                               i.     US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control

d.     Does it provide global conversion of existing data?

e.     How long will it take to convert our data?

5.     Intake Forms & Conflicts-Centric needs

a.     Is your intake form online or does it need to be fed manually?

b.     Can we revise our own intake forms?

                                               i.     If not, will there be consulting fees to make revisions?

c.      Are ethics walls stored?

d.     Are Conflict of Interest Waiver Letters stored?

e.     Do you have a thesaurus feature?

f.      Can we add aliases?

                                               i.     How many? (optimal answer: unlimited)

g.     Do you have soundex or phonetic searches?

h.     Can we manually select/deselect content before publishing the report?

Again - this list was pulled from Sandra Roberts' book: "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice" - with a few additions of our own. If you're interested we found our copy on Amazon.

Cori Blackburn

cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com
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Legal Software Startup Looking for Talented Account Managers

Account Manager Job Description

Mission Statement

RION Corp. is in the business of automating, standardizing, and improving conflicts software in law firms because we see the increasing need for automated due diligence. We are creating a thriving and positive environment for our employees, and a warm and mutually beneficial relationship with our partners. Our goal is to to protect and educate our clients, while empowering them to work smarter with significantly reduced risk.

As a leading edge technology company with a commitment to becoming the best in class, industry standard for conflicts software, we are committed to working with partners and clients to define a standard framework for conflicts analysis. Conflicts clearance and compliance is the cornerstone for avoiding risk in taking-on and maintaining new business; it is imperative to hold the process in a higher regard than exists anywhere today with greater consistency and ease of execution.

Our technology focuses on five main objectives:

·       Secure – designed to protect your clients and your firm with state of the art security design

·       Audit friendly – created to easily plug into audit processes

·       Intuitive and easy to use – conceived and developed to work well with people and API’s

·       Highly accessible and customizable

·       Provides value through time and cost savings

Job Description

We are looking for a passionate Account Manager who will partner with and ensure the long-term success of our customers.  You will be responsible for developing long-term relationships with your portfolio of customers, connecting with key business executives and stakeholders.  You will liaise between customers and cross-functional internal teams to ensure the timely and successful delivery of our solutions according to customer needs.

Responsibilities include:

·       Operate as the lead point of contact for any and all matters specific to your customers

·       Build and maintain strong, long-lasting customer relationships

·       Develop a trusted advisor relationship with key customer stakeholders and executive sponsors

·       Ensure the timely and successful delivery of our solutions according to customer needs and objectives

·       Communicate clearly the progress of monthly/quarterly initiatives to internal and external stakeholders

·       Forecast and track key account metrics

·       Identify and grow opportunities within territory and collaborate with sales teams to ensure growth attainment

·       Assist with high severity requests or issue escalations as needed

Requirements

·       Proven account management or other relevant experience

·       Demonstrated ability to communicate, present and influence credibly and effectively at all levels of the organization, including executive and C-level

·       Experience in delivering client-focused solutions based on customer needs

·       Proven ability to manage multiple projects at a time while paying strict attention to detail

·       Excellent listening, negotiation and presentation skills

·       Excellent verbal and written communications skills

·       BA/BS degree or equivalent

·       JD Preferred

Competitive and Aggressive Compensation Plan

Full or part time, virtual setting (work from home).

If interested please send me your resume:

ryan.vago@rioncorp.com

 

Evaluating Conflicts Software - Part 7

For our last publication for the Evaluating Conflicts Software series, we'll address all the other "miscellaneous" questions that we should raise to insure we have a thorough understanding of the offerings from our software & services vendors.

Here's our last list of questions for this series:

• How do you differentiate yourself from the other conflicts softwares on the market?
• Do your users have a group?
• Online?
• In person?
• Time Zone: You'll want to consider if they will be available during your firm's business hours.
• Where is your company located?
• Where is your support located?
• What level of support is provided?
• Emails?
• Phone calls?
• In Person?
• Are we able to override or disable standard features?
• Can we please have a demonstration of your product?
• Are we able to test it during a trial to determine if it is a good fit for us?
• How long do we have?
• Is your organization woman or minority owned?
• Check to see if they will be able to meet your deadlines of when you expect to have the new conflicts software installed, integrated, and everyone trained.

Most of these questions are from Sandra Roberts' book "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice" (Amazon).

Cori Blackburn

cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Evaluating Conflicts Software - Part 6

Today's publication is centered around Intake Forms & Conflicts-centric needs in evaluating conflicts checking software. A conflicts checking software program that takes the time to address our concerns about intake forms and items that make our jobs easier is one worth considering very seriously. A conflicts module out of a practice management suite may have a hard time competing with a stand-alone in this area.

Here are some very specific questions to ask your software vendors:

• Is your intake form online or does it need to be fed manually?
• Can we revise our own intake forms?
• If not, do we need to pay for consulting so you can customize our forms for us?
• Are ethics walls stored?
• Are Conflict of Interest Waiver Letters stored?
• Do you have a thesaurus feature?
• Can we add aliases?
• How many? (you're looking for unlimited)
• Do you have soundex or phonetic search capabilities?
• Is there a field for comments?
• Can we manually select/deselect content before publishing the report?  

Again, these questions are from Sandra Roberts' book "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice" (Amazon).


Are there other conflicts-centric needs that aren't addressed on this list?

Cori Blackburn

cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Evaluating Conflicts Software - Part 5

In week 2 of our series we briefly discussed inputs and outputs for conflicts checking software programs - today we'll get a little deeper on the topic of integration.

Integration is one of the key drivers of cost when switching over to a new system as it generally requires consulting services from the software vendor as well as downtime for your conflicts department. This could cause a back-log, and it's important to understand how that's going to impact the firm.

Again, you also want to select a program that is as open ended on the front and back end to insure that your inputs and outputs will meet the needs of the firm. In week 2 of our series, we discussed taking a survey of your existing landscape - and this is where that list of existing software programs that are on the input and output sides of your conflicts software will come in handy.

Here are some good questions for your software vendors about integration, again we've borrowed some from Sandra Roberts and added a few of our own:

• (If it's a stand-alone product): How does it interact with our list of inputs and outputs?
• Does it integrate with research engine databases and 3rd party sources that the firm uses?
• Dun & Bradstreet
• Westlaw
• LexisNexis
• Capital IQ
• Bureau van Dijk
• Does it integrate with OFAC?
• US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Asset Control
• Does it provide global conversion of existing data?
• How long will it take to convert?

Again, these questions are from Sandra Roberts' book "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice" (Amazon).

Cori Blackburn

cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn