Kristin O'Neill

ABA TECHSHOW ’18

March 28, 2018 By Kristin O'Neill Leave a Comment

Every year in early spring, lawyers and legal techies venture to the Midwest to attend the American Bar Association’s premier legal technology conference, ABA Techshow in Chicago, Illinois.

This year’s ABA Techshow hosted an abundance of innovative solutions aimed to accelerate the adoption of new software and services for solos, small firm lawyers, and legal techies alike. Our biggest takeaway was how firms’ are adapting to the new legal tech landscape. In this post, we’ll discuss developments to the law firm business model as it relates to evolving technologies such as process automation via Client-service Chatbots and Document Automation apps, as well as non-technical industry growth in terms of gender equity in executive leadership.

Smarter Chatbots

What does artificial intelligence mean for the legal profession? Like at LegalTech in New York, this is the question many sought to address during this year’s Techshow. Intelligent solutions for contract analysis, client-intake and messaging automation, budget-management, and more, highlighted the ever-growing role of technology in law. Although not every new technology is ready for prime time, we found chatbots have particularly matured over the past year – and firms who’ve adopted early are already realizing ROI from gained efficiencies. A new entrant to this arena that really impressed the Techshow crowd was Gideon Legal . Their intelligent legal messaging platform empowers firms, at any scale, to connect and serve their clients. Chatbots, especially those that can learn and become more dynamic over time, are a great enhancement a lawyer can bring to the client-service side of their practice. Successfully deployed chatbots are proving to be a more quickly-responsive and cheaper option when compared against a traditional human-lawyer consultation.

Document Automation

Another legal process that is ripe for next-gen evolution is document automation. Already, many firms have deployed standardized protocols that govern the creation and assembly of legal documents. They have found that by automating this process, they’re able to realize time-saving efficiencies and eliminate common errors, all while maintaining a consistent level of service across similar cases. At Techshow this year, we were able to witness to how generic automations’ have become more intelligent. One intriguing standout poised to grow is Lawyaw. The Lawyaw platform uses machine learning to streamline document drafting and form preparation. When it comes to accelerating document drafting, firms need to balance two things: risk and efficiency. Trust in AI driven document automation continues to develop, but what can be realized now is a 13% immediate increase in capacity of lawyer’s hours. When it comes down to it, process automation software completes tasks within seconds, is less error-prone, and never takes a sick day.

Women in Legal Tech

This year, the Techshow agenda centered women’s issues with a remarkable dedication to diversity. Debbie Foster, co-chair of this year’s event, observed: “Diversity has always been important to Techshow, but this year we felt strongly about elevating the presence of women in legal at the conference. As co-chair, I am proud to have been in a position to support all of the amazing women and their contributions not just to Techshow, but to our industry as a whole. Women have made, and will continue to make, a remarkable impact on the way that lawyers use and leverage technology in their firms.” We saw female Founders, CEOs and thought-leaders dominate the legal tech industry. LawToolBox’s Carol-Lynn Grow, RayNa Corp’s Lori Gonzalez, LawPay’s Amy Porter all shared their unique stories, which demonstrated the dedication required to come out on top as a woman in the legal tech industry. The theme was clear, promoting and providing career advancement programs for women will ensure that the process for getting a seat at the table creates opportunity for women to be equally represented in the legal tech sector.

Hello from Chicago! — From Jeremy, Kristin, Steve, and Stephanie

Top 4 Takeaways from LegalWeek 2018

February 6, 2018 By Kristin O'Neill 1 Comment

The top 4 takeaways from LegalWeek 2018 were anywhere from Biglaw vs small firms and how alternative legal service providers (ALSP) fit into the discussion, to Cyber Security, and how we see AI shaping the future of law. Of course, there will always be a debate on these topics, but let’s go through what we took away from each of these over the past week.

How ALSP companies are affecting the legal industry – The rise of Alternative Legal Service Providers is playing a large role in legal services today. Whether it’s outsourcing specialized tasks like eDiscovery support services, or technical legal services both inside and outside the courtroom, showing improved results for clients. Paul Stroka from Thomson Reuters discussed how ALSPs provide a path for buyers to access the technology they need, while relying on the domain expertise, experience, and service components that ALSPs can provide. Alternative Legal Service Providers plus a small/mid firm is like breaking the monopoly Biglaw has had on data-intensive work.
Biglaw and how/if it’s affecting small firms – Law firm ecosystems are drastically changing each generation so with the rise of ALSPs are small/mid law firms chipping away at the Biglaw market? That seemed to be a common theme at this year’s LegalWeek which hosted a variety of opinions on the matter. Bill4Time services thousands of small to medium size firms and although LegalWeek is geared more towards Biglaw, no one can deny the growing impact that small firms have in the legal industry. A noticeable theme, which separated the debate, was focused on skill-networking and professional collegiality, regardless of the size of the firm. This exchange would increase efficiency and offer almost a “one stop shop” level of service for clients. Nicholas Bruch from ALM Intelligence discussed forward trends in the legal market which highlighted an increasingly diverse collaboration across types of legal service vendors.
Cyber security and Data Privacy – Cyber security is an always-hot topic and this year was no different. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson joined an expert panel to discuss his experience with cyber security in relation to the legal industry and what we can do to protect ourselves. Cyber security is ever-evolving and a business risk for any size law firm. Client driven pressure to review security guidelines and protocols encourages law firms to adopt more secure measures. During one keynote, Brian Krebs a Cyber Security blogger, discussed why businesses are losing the arms-race on criminal cyber enterprise and the need to build proper response strategies. They keynote challenged the way we think about security on many levels and we can hope that the legal industry continues to build on this trend.
Is AI the future? – Innovation and technology was the biggest topic of the week. Walking the floor, different AI technologies marked every corner, and many believe AI will greatly impact the delivery of legal services within the next few years. Some feel AI is the future while others find it to be a distraction. Personal opinions aside, the early adopters we met claim that Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the way lawyers do business, but will it be for the better? A main takeaway from the convention is that the decision to incorporate new technologies in the legal industry is met with slow professional adaption. Many standard practices are still delayed when adopting tech enhancements like AI due to the lack of confidence in their data accuracy.

From key notes, to panels, to many vendors, it was clear that the Legal Industry does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon and the Tech world is trying their best to keep up.

To learn more about Bill4Time or to schedule a Demo, please email Sales@Bill4Time.com or call 877-245-5484.

Bill4Time 2017 Year in Review!

January 3, 2018 By Kristin O'Neill 1 Comment

Another year has passed and 2017 has us reflecting on many amazing features released this year and more exciting updates to come.

Just in case you missed it, here are a few features released each month in 2017.

Don’t forget to click the month to gain access to the full list of features!

— FEBRUARY —

MacOS Desktop Widget – The desktop application allows you to track time and expenses both online & offline. Along with the Windows and Chrome application, we have released the download for Mac.
Added Server Capacity – Doubling the server capacity was made in an effort to improve load speeds and decrease latency for users.

— MARCH —

ACH via Stripe – In an effort to accelerate the adoption of secure, reliable, and convenient online payment options for firms and their clients, ACH payments via the Client Portal was released. Not only is this a lower-cost option compared to traditional credit card transactions, but ACH payments offer a more rapid and direct method of payment.
Annual Billing Plans – Annual billing is now available and can be updated within your Subscription. Click here for further instructions.

— APRIL —

Invoice Template improvements – implement new features and apply them to all templates, template layouts more responsive to content changes
Box & Files Update – This update streamlines the process of opening files in Bill4Time by opening in new tabs instead of same tab along with improving the upload pop ups with Box integration.

— MAY —

Trust Account Summary Add-on improvements – show/hide, Euro Date format, Bill Start Date observance – Updates to the Trust Account add-on within Invoicing observes date format and selection.
Conflict Check PDF downloads – Updates to the Conflict check allow you to now download and save PDFs.

— JUNE —

API – public beta that supports get/read operations from Bill4Time to other applications
iOS update – enhanced expense tracking: Image upload, quantity calc, unit price defaults

— JULY —

Support Site Overhaul – Along with a complete redesign, we’ve implemented more robust community features that allow our Support team to better track and respond to feature requests, questions, and comments.
Conflict Check is more robust – Update will now scan through project-level addresses for possible matches.

— AUGUST —

Late Fee Auto-Calculate – Late Fee update that recalculate each time a payment is applied to an invoice or deleted automatically.
Mobile app login tracking – Login tracking for mobile app users has been enabled to track via the account settings in Bill4Time.

— SEPTEMBER —

LEDES enhancements – Updates to Tax IDs and new Timekeeper classifications to bring into alignment with the LOC revised timekeeper classifications codes.
Batch Trust Payments – streamlined to observe defaults and reduce ‘clicks’

— OCTOBER —

Conflict Checker Update – Whole word search has been added so once enabled will limit results to only those that match the exact terms entered.
Invoice batch optimization – improve load speeds and complete actions more quickly, streamline editing a batch.

— NOVEMBER —

Web Content Accessibility – enhanced compatibility with Screen reading and other accessibility software.
Trust Deposit void display tracking w/o having to open the transaction – Easily track if deposits have been voided.

— DECEMBER —

Invoice Email BCC – Addresses can now be added to the BCC new feature when emailing invoices, so you can easily BCC yourself on any emails sent out of Bill4Time.
Invoice Email Report Update – An update to the Invoice Email Report includes the Body Text section of any email sent out of Bill4Time.

New Reports

Schedule Report – Update to reflect “All Day” appointments has been added to the Schedule report based on user feedback.

Project Billing Method – The Project Billing Method report will detail a list of projects, grouped by client, with their corresponding ID number and Billing Method.

Unbilled Summary Report – This new report pulls only unbilled time for review. This report generates in a format similar to the other summary reports, with similar filter options a table layout.

Task Summary Report – Available for our Legal Plan subscribers, this report filters, sorts, and sub totals by Task Code.

Alpine Backs Bill4Time, Steve Reardon new CEO – https://www.bill4time.com/blog/alpine-investors-backs-bill4time-appoints-steve-reardon-ceo/

Invoice email tracking – We’ve developed key email tracking features that eliminate the theatrics of tracking these emails and ultimately getting invoices paid. https://www.bill4time.com/blog/invoice-emails/

Stripe ACH – This feature broadens the existing relationship between Bill4Time and Stripe – in an effort to accelerate the adoption of secure, reliable, and convenient online payment options for firms and their clients.

API read-only beta – Simply put, this interface allows programmers to develop applications that communicate with an existing application or service to automate the flow of data and manual data entry.

Tip of the Month: Legal Time Saver—Batch Trust Payments

June 25, 2017 By Kristin O'Neill Leave a Comment

Applying trust funds has never been easier with the Bill4Time Batch Trust feature. Creating your invoice batches and applying trust funds to invoices can be done in a minute. When you go through the batch process you can invoice more than one client at a time. Why not save time by using the same process for your trust payments?

(Link to Full Video)

Once in the Invoice Batch screen, you will see a Trust Payments tab. Click onto the tab to show the amount remaining on each invoice, Trust Account options, Funds Available, and the option to change the payment amount and date. Once you click the Pay button, it will automatically create and apply your payments to your invoices. It’s that simple! You can go back to review and edit the payments as needed and delete them to put the funds back into your Trust Account.

Bill4Time helps you track and maintain your clients’ trust account records while eliminating human error. We make it easy to streamline your monthly billing process. Learn more about Bill4Time legal time billing software.

ACH available now with the Client Portal!

March 7, 2017 By Kristin O'Neill 4 Comments

Bill4Time is thrilled to announce that ACH payments are now available through the Client Portal! This strategic partnership with Stripe will result in a more seamless payment experience for your clients. This new feature broadens the existing relationship between Bill4Time and Stripe – in an effort to accelerate the adoption of secure, reliable, and convenient online payment options for firms and their clients. Not only is this a lower-cost option compared to traditional credit card transactions, but ACH payments are a more rapid and direct method of payment – creating value on both sides of the transaction. For more information about Stripe’s processing fees Click Here.

How to Setup ACH:
To setup ACH, first sign into your Client Portal. Top right, click your name and select Settings. From Settings, click on the Client Portal tab and scroll down to “Allow ACH Payments”. Switch this option from “No” to “Yes” if you already have your Stripe account setup, or click Connect with Stripe to setup your account. *Please note that for security purposes your clients must be invited to the portal in order to pay using ACH.

Once your client logs onto the Portal, they can access their information – including the setup of their bank account. Once the bank account is verified and saved, they are able to select ‘Bank Account’ as their payment option.

Be rid of paper invoices, paper checks, and trips to the bank with this new ACH integration. For company & user setup guides, Click Here.

*Please note* There is a transaction threshold permitted by your Stripe account for up to $10,000.00. You are able to increase this threshold by contacting Stripe and submitting the appropriate documentation Click here to sign into your Stripe account to send a request: Contact Stripe

Bill4Time Desktop Mac & PC Updates!

January 13, 2017 By Kristin O'Neill 1 Comment

Bill4Time has released many updates to the Mobile & Desktop applications recently including the new macOS download!

The Desktop application allows you to track time and expenses both online & offline. If you track time offline, the application will store the entries and automatically upload the data to the program as soon as you have an internet connection. You can also view Client information, Projects, recent entries, and Balances. Add Clients and Projects from the desktop application and have it sync to and from the program!

To download the applications, log into Bill4Time and click the “Downloads” link at the bottom of any page. From there, choose the PC or Mac download option.

With the Bill4Time Desktop Application, managing your data has never been so simple!

Download Now!