Book Review: The Lawyer’s Guide to Practice Management Systems Software

The Lawyer’s Guide to Practice Management Systems Software intrigued me because technology is a passion. I have raised my hand for every conceivable marketing technology project, whether in-house or consulting.  Further, having served on a matters management task force and implemented a client relationship management (“CRM”) system at prior firms, I felt somewhat uniquely qualified to opine on the book’s content. 

The book is worth much more than the $129.95 price; however, the rationale for submitting the book for review on the Law Marketing Portal when the word “marketing” (let alone the participation of the marketing staff) is not even mentioned is unclear.  Moreover, the patience level of lawyers being what it is, I doubt any lawyers worth their billing rate will actually read its 354 pages.  Nonetheless, the book contains valuable information if you know where to look.

The author, Andrew Z. Adkins, III, clearly put a lot of work into this effort.  Those who read The Lawyer’s Guide to Practice Management Systems Software (second edition) will be rewarded with easy-to-follow tables comparing nearly every practice management system available as of the second quarter of 2008 (due to a survey conducted of software developers).  The charts, appendices and handy CD in the back of the book offer templates and forms for each stage of the process of analyzing workflow and needs, evaluating, purchasing and implementing a practice management software system (or case management system, “CMS”) within your law firm, corporate legal department or government office.  The templates are wide-ranging and include sample RFPs to software vendors, evaluation forms for the RFP responses, a reference-checking form, a sample implementation and training plan, a job description for a CMS administrator, and other very useful documents.

Adkins’ failure to mention marketing or the integration of CMS with CRM (or even noting that such a discussion is beyond the scope of this book) is inexcusable.  The only mention of CRM is on a couple of pages in which the author states that integrating with one’s Rolodex is a feature of some CMS systems.  (See pages 44 and 172.)  At a time when CRM is part and parcel of law firms of every size, I find this a major omission.

In addition, Adkins’ narrative offers lessons for any lawyer, technology professional or marketer in everything from how to define CMS to overcoming obstacles in the implementation process – as well as helpful sections on why a law firm, law department or government office would undertake such a project to begin with – from benefits to the organization to calculating return on investment.  In this way, Adkins provides a framework for articulating the entire business case for CMS – something most organizations usually find very challenging.

Adkins also makes an excellent point right in the Preface, namely that a CMS “help[s the organization] become more efficient in handling cases and matters.”  (Page xvi.)  When Adkins adheres to those basic concepts, the book is quite readable.  When he does not, it can drone on.

Adkins injects humor into his book – and at times he succeeds.  For example – at the beginning of the book he heads a section as follows:  “Questions always asked at the beginning of a technology book to help determine just how inefficient your office is.”  (Page 6.)  Near the end of the book, he sums up as follows:  a CMS “is only as good as the people that use it, the data it contains, and the software’s ability to use that data….[B]ecause this is the end of the book,” he offers 10 simple tips for a successful CMS implementation.  (Pages 200-201.)  I found these quips and pithy suggestions helpful, and I think lawyers will as well.

Dry and boring computer stuff

Having said that, the author is correct when he says “there is plenty of dry and boring computer stuff contained within these pages.”  (Page xv.)  In addition, the book’s overall value is often obscured by Adkins’ repetitive, occasionally glib and sometimes arrogant writing style.

For example, Adkins draws on his prior life in the US Navy to present stories of how that equates to the daunting task of needs and workflow analysis, selecting vendors, evaluating RFPs and implementing a CMS.  Each Navy story is lengthy, challenging to read due to italic type, and followed by “There is a point to this story.”  Statements that Adkins should know because he has been in this business for 20 years, insertion of the word “duh” and other colloquialisms, and that developers are professionals and should be respected as such, quickly wear thin.  (See, e.g., pages 5, 164 and 185.)

I suppose the argument could be made that the book’s audience is in part the small law firm that may lack a marketing department, as well as corporate law departments and government offices.  Indeed, many of the software packages in the charts are specifically for small law firms and the like.  However, anyone purchasing this book to supplement his knowledge, for instance, of how to use CMS systems to integrate with CRM or the client proposal process or to leverage matters for marketing’s use in business development will be disappointed.

Publishing under the auspices of the ABA’s Law Firm Practice Management Section adds credibility to the book and to the author’s credentials – after all, Adkins also wrote the first edition, entitled Computerized Case Management Systems:  Choosing and Implementing the Right Software for You in 1998.  Given all that has transpired in the legal technology field and that Adkins has run ABA TECHSHOW and oversees the Legal Technology Institute, the time was right for a new edition, and Adkins clearly has the experience and knowledge to have written it.

However, be forewarned:  this is not an easy read, and I would highly recommend that Marketing and Technology split the chapters between them, form a task force internally and collaborate extensively – lest they overlook the vast research and experience behind the dense content.