The reform of civil litigation costs shows even the most senior lawyers need to be wired into time-management software. But law firms may be able to ensure compliance without carrying out open-heart surgery on their practice management systems, says Andy Ellis
I need to start with a health warning and a disclaimer. I am not an IT specialist – less still a ‘techie’. Over the years, I have maintained an impatient dialogue with legal IT suppliers and support firms. Most of the time my questions are along the lines of: “Why can’t I just see a report that tells me [any example of currently impenetrable management information]?” Some days it can descend to: “If internet telephony is so [expletive deleted] marvellous, why does it sound like I am making a trunk call to the Outer Hebrides in 1947?” Or even more bizarrely: “What do you mean it won’t export to Excel?”
