These days, who would want to be a law firm’s IT director? Careers are won and lost with bets made on new technology, and perhaps nowhere more so than in the all-encompassing area of practice management systems (PMS). It is a sector that seems to get more extensive and budget-hungry each year – when media reports claimed Linklaters had spent almost £27m on its new system, jaws dropped.
Whether we like it or not, PMS implementation has become something of an act of faith, requiring Solomon’s wisdom and nerves of steel. But such systems are increasingly being seen as vital to a law firm’s effective operation. The ability to make the billing process more efficient and profitable, and to streamline business reporting, is key to all but the smallest of firms. In the meantime, integrating matter management, reporting, finance, HR and customer relationship management (CRM) on one common platform remains the Holy Grail for firms with budgets as large as their aspirations.
