Evaluating Conflicts Software - Part 2

Survey & Technical Requirements

Ms. Roberts' book outlines several checkpoints about evaluating conflicts software programs, today we're going to focus on looking at your firm's internal landscape as well as good technical questions for your software vendors that might impact your decision.

Procedure & Technology Survey:
You'll want to take 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?"

You'll also want to determine which format of conflicts software is right for your firm:

• Legal Practice Management
• Stand Alone Conflicts Software
• Spreadsheet
• Word Processing

Once you've got a good survey of your process, procedures, and software; you can determine your goals for upgrading or replacing as needed.

During this process you'll want to create a list of questions for your software vendors as they pop into your head.

A few good technical questions to ask are:

• What type of platform is required for the software to work smoothly?
• Tell me about upgrades:
• Frequency?
• Are they required?
• Is there additional cost?

Again, these points are part of the book "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice" written by Sandra Roberts (Amazon).

We welcome your feedback, especially if you have ideas about questions to ask your software vendors!


Cori Blackburn
RION Corp.
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com

Evaluating Conflicts Software - Part 1

We have really been enthralled with Sandra Roberts's book "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting you and your Firm From Malpractice".

One high value component of the book is a series of checklists that guide you through developing various processes from searching client & party names to setting up databases. We will discuss checklists related to evaluating conflicts software as a blog series for the next six or so weeks.

Sandra thank you for creating such a valuable publication!

We've broken down the multi-point checklist into categories:

• Survey & Technical Requirements
• Reports & Scanning
• Competency & Education
• Integration
• Forms & Conflicts-centric needs
• Miscellaneous

If you wanted to check out Sandra's book (and no we're not advertisers), you might find a copy here: Amazon

Keep an eye out for our 1st from this series later this week.

Cori Blackburn

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

Conflicts & The Cloud

"The Cloud" is a big conversation, and has been for quite some time. It might be a good idea to review what "The Cloud" is and how it pertains to us in the community of conflicts checks.

HISTORY

The idea of "The Cloud" has been around since the 1950's when mainframes were seen as the future of computing. "Dumb Terminals" were established at that time, and they were used for communications, but had no internal processing capacities. This is akin to the virtual terminals we use today where the computer terminal itself is accessing all of it's apps and software virtually, and none of the processing happens at the actual machine. Because mainframes were so expensive back then, it allowed multiple users to share physical access from multiple machines while driving down cost (as per time and CPU usage was accounted for at that time). This practice was often referred to "time-sharing", and IBM and DEC were some of the first to familiarize the term.

In the 1990's we saw telco companies start to offer VPN (Virtual Private Network) services with the same quality of service as "time-sharing", but at a lower price point. This allowed them to balance traffic and use server capacity more effectively.

TODAY

In talking about "The Cloud" in a modern sense, there's a bunch of technical opinions and IT-speak that doesn't really mean much to us. Today "The Cloud" really just means the ability to access a program or file from the internet instead of storing it on your computer, or in a folder on a network or server - or on paper.

As far as conflicts checking software in "The Cloud", this generally means that you'd log into a web page and do your work within an internet-based system. Good programs will integrate with the rest of your practice management software which may be in or out of the cloud depending on your provider, and the requirements of your firm.

PROS & CONS

Cloud Software means that you can access the program from anywhere (possibly freeing a conflicts analyst, manager, or attorney from the office on occasion). In the case of RION, for example, attorneys will be able to run a "Quick Check" from a tablet, smart phone, or laptop while in the field (possibly meeting with a client) - and if the quick check is clear she could accept business right then and there.

Conversely, it is not paper-based, so firms that require physical copies to be maintained may need to print PDF's of reports and file them manually if you're using a cloud-based system.

Because we can see the increase in popularity for the concept of "The Cloud" over the last 70 or so years, we can be confident that technology will continue to move in this direction. If you haven't already, we recommend preparing your conflicts for the cloud as it is nearly inevitable. We also expect that technology for conflicts in "The Cloud" will be evolving and improving to account for the needs of the conflicts checks at law firms and other areas.

What kinds of things concern you about moving conflicts checks to the cloud?  We invite you to share in the comments section below.


Cori Blackburn
224.277.3855
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com

Conflicts in the Universe of Practice Management

I often think of things from a different perspective.

For example, when we look at the conflicts software on the market today we might say a majority of the programs are offered by practice management firms. It's offered as an add-in or a module in order to assist with the workflow of accepting new business.

The tools offered are adequate for the purpose of accepting business, but are the results the best they could be for the purpose of mitigating the risk of accepting new business? Is it saving the most amount of time and effort for attorneys and the conflicts team? Is it providing highly automated, easy to produce and consume reports? Does it fit in with your firm's practices, or do you find yourself using "work arounds" and manual processes to make it function within your firm?

Conflicts of Interest Checks deserve a laser focus. The financial risk associated with an errant conflicts check is enormous, and we must consider that includes the risk of losing additional clients due to a simple clerical error in our field.

A conflicts-specific workbench that suits the needs of a conflicts checking process should be its own well designed, well defined, organized planet within the universe of the broader practice management platform.

RION Corp. is in the process of selecting beta test candidates. If you are interested in learning more, please find my contact information below. Thanks, and I look forward to speaking with you soon!

Cori Blackburn
224.277.3855
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com

Malpractice Insurance & CoI Avoidance

It is a good idea for all law firms of all sizes to have malpractice insurance, and we all know that comes at a price. In 2002 the ABA published a paper called "Controlling Legal Malpractice Insurance Cost and Availability in a Changing Marketplace".

It focuses on eight parts of the firm, that with a few focused efforts can drive down the cost of your malpractice insurance.

1. Docket & Calendar Control
2. Mail Handling
3. Conflict of Interest Avoidance
4. Serving as Corporate Director/Officer
5. File Opening Procedure
6. Fees & Billing Practices
7. Work Product Control/PeerReview
8. Client Selection

We see the third focus area is Conflicts of Interest Avoidance. Since this is our wheelhouse, we should take responsibility and actively participate in lowering malpractice costs.

Here's the CliffsNotes of what's recommended in this article:

• Be familiar with the Model & Code for Conflicts of Interest
• Keep current with recent case law regarding Conflicts of Interest for the latest interpretations.
• Even a robust and sophisticated Conflicts Checking system can only be as high quality as the information that's entered into it.
• The commitment to the Conflicts Checking System, Policies & Procedures must be firm-wide.
• Continuing education for Conflicts Avoidance should have an established and important place.
• Have a written policy & guidelines around Conflicts Avoidance with procedures and system use outlined, and stick to it.
• Firm members should not enter into business until firm management has approved.

How does your malpractice policy affect your CoI program or vice versa?  Please share in the comments section below.

Cori Blackburn
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com
224-277-3855

Benefits of a Standardized Process for Conflict Checks

I have been reading a book by Sandra J. Roberts called "Creating Conflicts of Interest Procedures for Protecting You and Your Firm from Malpractice", and have found it aligned with what I already knew; while providing additional detail and ideas for our Conflicts Analysis Standardization Effort (C.A.S.E.).

Have a look at a part of the Foreward:

"The objective for an effective conflicts of interest department is to create one that processes client names and associated party information accurately, efficiently and rapidly with minimal time taken away from the attorney's legal representations and valuable billable hours. Developing these effective conflicts of interest procedures has many benefits. Not only can effective procedures enable attorneys to reduce their risk, but it may help lower their professional liability insurance premiums. In order to do that, the process does not need to be cumbersome. It can be completed quickly with the right procedures in place regardless of the size of the firm. These procedures include implementation of the following actions:

• Entering accurate information into a conflicts database.
• Searching party information properly through the conflicts database and other research database resources.
• Reviewing the results to eliminate extraneous information.
• Clearing and approving the applicable results.
• Setting up further procedures to manage potential conflicts of interest issues."

While this is a very simplified 30,000 foot view of conflicts, I think it speaks to the Conflicts Standard that we're looking to develop at RION Corp. under the C.A.S.E.

To that end, we should have in mind the possible benefits of setting up and implementing the standard:

• Reduced Firm & Attorney Risk
• Reduced Insurance Premiums
• Increased Confidence in Accepting Business
• Creation of Competency Standards
• Increased Analyst Confidence = Additional Speed
• Best Practice Always Used
• Heightened Efficiency in Conflicts and Business Intake
• Increased Potential for Profitability

How does your malpractice policy affect your CoI program or vice versa?  Please share in the comments section below.

Cori Blackburn
RION Corp.
224-277-3855
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com

Conflicts Analysis Standardization Effort (C.A.S.E.)

RION Corp. welcomes you to April 2015!

We recently published some survey results; and at the end, communicated our desire to lead an effort to establish a standard for Conflicts Checking in the United States (and perhaps efforts abroad after we're a bit more established and have more global contacts to help).

As the title of this article suggests, we've named the effort the Conflicts Analysis Standardization Effort (C.A.S.E.), and it is our aim to partner with firms of all sizes across the United States to gather information about how conflicts checks are handled. We will be partnering with experts in the eastern seaboard area, west coast area, and midwestern area and are calling for any/all who would like to be involved in this effort.

As a company we have a laser focus on Conflicts of Interest, and developing a workbench focused on Conflicts Research and making it easier and more efficient, while providing added security and dependability in the checks and procedure than existing conflicts programs provide today. Most conflicts software that is currently available is an "add in" for a larger firm management package, and is not robust or efficient enough to meet the increasing demands of the majority of today's conflicts professionals and law firms. Conflicts checks are the cornerstone for avoiding risk in accepting business, and should not be handled as a "side benefit". Rather, our position focuses on a gold standard for conflicts analysis and enabling easy engagement with existing systems and firm procedures. We do not claim to know everything, and eagerly invite opinions and ideas from all angles!

You can see why we are interested in facilitating a standard for conflicts analysis and research at law firms. It is our focus, and is critical to the conflicts community at large moving forward.

Please expect to hear more about our open invitation for anyone with experience and ideas to share, if you'd like to keep yourself updated on the effort, we encourage you to join the mailing list or contact me directly with any questions or ideas. We plan to have at least 3 events before the end of 2015 and hope to solidify the standard by early 2016. If you'd like to host or facilitate please contact me directly.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

Cori Blackburn

RION Corp.
224.277.3855
cori.blackburn@rioncorp.com