Clients join on-line pilot

A Preston-based firm has co-opted two major clients - Iron Trades and the RAC - to help it pilot Axxia's case management system.

The firm is the first defendantpractice to use the system with the aim of managing cases on-line.Peter Rickson & Partners has spent 50,000 on implementing the legal IT solutions provider'ssystem, which comprises twoelements: e-Case allows clients to monitor the progress of the caseon-line, while e-Tran means that files can be sent on-line into the system directly from the clients.Iron Trades will be trialing e-Case, while the RAC will be testing e-Tran.Doug McLauchlan, development director at Axxia, said the clients will benefit from reduced costs achieved through greater efficiency and a better quality of service.

He explained: 'This one system processes every element of the case, including activities, documents, data, people and third parties involved.'Peter Rickson, senior partner of Peter Rickson & Partners, said the system is a move towards 'the seamless and transparent management of litigation by law firms on behalf of their clients'.He added: 'There is still a lot of talk about Web-enabled systems, but little evidence of firms actually doing anything substantive with them.'Paula Rohan