Fee-earner desktops - good idea or gimmick?

Previously, we have looked at the various computerised time-recording options now available (see [2003] Gazette, 6 February, 11).

However, when you actually start shopping around for this type of software, you will find that what most suppliers will try to sell you is something called a 'fee-earner desktop' (FED).

Yes, it does handle time recording from the point of view of the individual fee-earner but it also offers a whole lot more, a fact that has prompted many firms to stop and wonder whether a FED is actually a useful tool in enhancing productivity or merely another gimmick the legal IT industry has dreamt up in the hope of being able to sell even more software to solicitors.

In fact, as with all legal software, the technology itself is neutral and its value depends on how effectively it is deployed by the firms in question.

So just what is the value proposition behind a FED? The overall concept is that along with being able to record - and subsequently keep track of - all the time they spend working on different matters, fee-earners also need a simple way of accessing other information relating to clients and their matters.

This will include contact details, progress reports and even financial information, such as the client's unpaid bills, as well as any as yet unbilled work-in-progress and disbursements.

There are other ways of finding this information, such as asking a secretary to dig it out, calling down to the accounts department for a balance, or even making an on-line enquiry via the practice management system.

But they all take time and either place an extra burden on support staff (and one thing all firms should be doing today is cutting back on the number of non-fee-earning support staff they employ) or require the fee-earner to master a range of different software applications.

However, the purpose of a FED is to circumvent these drawbacks by providing a simple-to-learn and easy-to-use shortcut to all this information.

Thus you do not need to search the firm's entire client/matter database or accounts ledgers because your FED already lists all your current clients and matters.

It will also contain a series of ready- made reports providing snapshots of all the key pieces of information you need, such as client balances and unbilled work in progress.

In fact, as the name implies, it is the computerised equivalent of having all your current files sitting within easy reach on your desktop.

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