Firm dials up reports

PROGRESS REPORTS: system to cut solicitors' phone calls

A London firm has cut the time its solicitors spend on the telephone by giving clients and third parties what it claims is unprecedented on-line access to progress reports.

Three-partner Sykes Anderson, which is renowned for its innovative use of technology, decided to put a publishing facility on its Web site to speed up the flow of information to clients and reduce the need for them to contact solicitors directly.

The firm worked with legal IT specialists Pracctice, to develop a prototype for on-line provision of information to clients so that law firms would not have to commission tailor-made systems.

It is claiming to be the first firm in the country to experiment with such a facility.The system allows clients to view charts which lay out how a case is progressing, including each task related to it.

The facility can be made available to an organisation either globally or by branch office.Sykes has ensured security by making access possible only with a log-in name, which is given out with the client's permission.

This means agents, surveyors, accountants and other parties can also keep tabs on what is going on, if the client agrees.

The firm said the tool is useful for managers of chains of estate agents that want to view the status of transactions handled by a branch.

Partner Christopher Sykes said the Web feature, which has been up and running for about a month, has been well received.'We thought this would be a good idea, especially to cut down on the number of calls on conveyancing matters, if agents could view the status of the case,' he explained.

'We have had some extremely positive feedback, and a number of agents have shown great interest.

Clients have also been indicating that they are very keen.'Paula Rohan