Peer to Peer Magazine

WWW.ILTANET.ORG 27 Want to appear in the next Peer to Peer? Here's the question for the Fall edition on security: What's the one tip you'd offer on how to improve security in an organization? Send your answer to kristy@iltanet.org VIRTUAL DESKTOP INFRASTRUCTURE name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scott Randall company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advanced Legal website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.advancedlegal.com Firms should seriously be considering VDI when the time comes to refresh their desktop hardware or applications in the coming years. While the upfront cost of VDI (mainly storage) can be more than putting a new machine on each desk, firms see significant administration savings, even in the first month after implementation. That savings is further compounded as repurposed PCs are replaced with thin clients over time, and at least two software/hardware refreshes can occur using the existing VDI storage infrastructure. While cost always looms in IT decision-making processes, there are other aspects firms need to consider when looking at a VDI strategy. The human factor weighs in right along with budget. Understanding how users interact with their applications is critical to a successful implementation. VDI is certainly not new, cutting-edge technology, but it is coming of age. Law firms should be evaluating this strategy, even if it has already been considered in the past. MORE SOPHISTICATED MATTER MANAGEMENT name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keith Lipman company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prosperoware website . . . . . . . . . . www.prosperoware.com Law firm pricing professionals have been laboriously modeling budgets and alternative fees to address ongoing fee pressures. As the volume increases, firms will need to invest in sophisticated matter planning and monitoring that are usable by lawyers, not just pricing or finance personnel. The key feature of the next generation of matter planning and monitoring will include: • An ability to leverage big data to discover similar matters to allow for effective estimating • Products that allow the creation of a budget from the top down (starting with an amount) or from the bottom up (building a plan based on activities) • The ability for lawyers to monitor their matters on a weekly or even daily basis to see how they are doing against the budget TECHNOLOGY-PROFICIENT USERS name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sue Pasfield company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capensys website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . www.capensys.com For firms to be more profitable and competitive, they need to do everything possible to help their attorneys and staff be technologically efficient. Firms and legal departments should implement a continuous improvement program to up-skill their users. To facilitate this, the LTC4 (Legal Technology Core Competencies Certification Coalition) came together to pool their collective expertise to establish industry-standard core competencies for attorneys and staff. LTC4 is a not-for-profit organization and comprises over 65 firms in the U.S., Canada and U.K. Members include magic circle and Am Law 100 firms as well as smaller firms — all of which are committed to up-skilling attorneys using these industry- standard core competencies. Why has it become so important to aim for technological efficiency through a core competency up-skilling program? • Clients: Corporate legal departments are looking for outside counsel to differentiate themselves via their technological competence. They do not want to be billed for time wasted through lack of IT skills. Having core competency programs in place and LTC4- certified attorneys and staff provide exactly that differentiation. • Internal Efficiency and Profitability: As the trend for fixed fee arrangements and higher attorney-staff ratios grow, IT efficiency is a major factor in managing costs and improving profitability.

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