Case management - IT is a cultural thing

Last time, we were looking at the fact that although a lot of solicitors' practices have now installed case management software, many are still not enjoying the benefits of this technology because they have failed to implement the appropriate changes within their own organisational procedures and structure to realise these benefits fully.

When talking to lawyers about case management, one of the most frequently heard complaints is that they want a software system that almost exactly replicates the way they already operate.

'After all, why should we change the way we work just to suit a computer system?' they say.

Although it is human nature to have such views, it does unfortunately miss the entire point of products such as case management.

Unless users are prepared to change the way they work - and in some instances change it quite radically - it is not going to be possible to enjoy any productivity or efficiency gains.

For this reason, you will frequently hear the term case management associated with such concepts as 'workflow management', 'business process management' or even 'business process re-engineering' - the emphasis being that until you are prepared to change your working practices, there is little to be gained from investing in new software applications.

Sadly, too many firms devote huge resources to trying to change the software to reflect their existing procedures, instead of changing those procedures to exploit the software.

This also explains why you may encounter complaints along the lines of 'We spent three years trying to make case management software work but it wasn't a success', when what they actually mean was that they failed to implement their case management projects properly.

A further complication is the way some firms will spend months trying to create a system that can cater 100% for every conceivable eventuality in a legal case plan, when they already had an out-of-the-box solution that could meet 80% of their needs.

In such instances, the more cost-effective route is to use software to handle the volume work but still rely on lawyers to deal with the non-standard matters.

My suggestion is to remember the mnemonic PCPCT - People, Culture, Process, Change and then Technology - when considering any case management implementation project, for once you tackle the preliminary issues, rolling out the software element will become a lot more straightforward.

Charles Christian is an independent adviser to the Law Society's Software Solutions guide