Case Study—
Practice Management
J. Edward Enoch Business Attorneys
OVERVIEW
Customer Profile: In 2006, Ed Enoch
recognized the need for a law firm specializing
in small business start-ups in Augusta, Georgia.
J. Edward Enoch Business Attorneys uses
Time Matters® paperless technology to
streamline and organize client, case, and
document management to provide a high-level
of service to his entrepreneurial clients.
Business Situation: Before opening his new
practice, Enoch was already at the forefront
of utilizing technology to increase efficiency,
productivity and revenue. But he found the
system he had used in his previous practice to
be cumbersome and began a search for law
practice management software that could meet
all of his needs. Being tech-savvy, he knew just
what he wanted and test drove every system
before deciding on Time Matters by LexisNexis®.
“Time Matters helped me realize my goal of
running a completely digital firm,” said Enoch.
Solution: Enoch has everyone in his office,
attorneys and support staff, using Time Matters
as the conduit that helps run the firm at optimal
efficiency. Scanned documents are shredded,
eliminating the need for even a filing cabinet.
“Electronic files don’t get misfiled or sit on
someone’s desk,” he says. One of his favorite
features is the ability to access information easily.
“A file can have over 200 documents in it, and
I can find what I’m looking for in seconds. The
search function has been a huge timesaver.”
Enoch eventually integrated Time Matters with
PCLaw®, also a LexisNexis solution, to keep the
office accounting and billing systems linked and
says, “It’s worked very well for us.”
Product Summary: Award-winning LexisNexis
Time Matters practice management software
helps law firms streamline operations and improve
efficiency no matter where professionals are
working.
Business attorney creates completely
digital firm that enhances client service
with Time Matters®.
As technology reshapes the legal landscape, a new breed of attorney
raised on computers, cellphones and tablets has emerged. Ed Enoch
isn’t one of those new breed, but he is proof positive that adapting to new
technologies can pay huge dividends for attorneys of any generation.
From the day he opened his firm, J. Edward Enoch Business Attorneys in
Augusta, Georgia, Enoch has adopted the latest electronic solutions to
create a completely digital office. “We literally don’t have any file cabinets,”
said Enoch. “With Time Matters, we are as paperless as a law office can be.”
Enoch’s visionary leadership also served him well in choosing the type
of clients he wanted to specialize in serving. In 2006, he recognized a
burgeoning small-business market developing in Augusta that resulted
from a changing economic climate. Enoch saw people who were advanced
in their careers losing high-level jobs, and for many, starting their own
businesses was the answer. Sensing the opportunity, he created a business
model for his law firm that catered to those start-ups. Today, his successful
law firm advises entrepreneurs at all stages of growth on a wide variety of
legal issues.
Business Situation
Before venturing out on his own, Enoch and his former partner were
amongst the earliest adopters of practice management software for the
legal industry, beginning with a then new-to-market program. “I didn’t like it.
It took a lot to figure out and it was cumbersome,” said Enoch. “And it took
too many steps to get where I wanted to go.”
Ready for a switch at his new firm, Enoch needed to find a practice
management software program that would play an integral role in
positioning his firm as an innovative, highly-efficient legal resource for
small business entrepreneurs, providing the highest level of service at
reasonable rates. “We needed to implement the latest technology to serve
our clients in the most efficient way possible,” said Enoch. “In fact, part
of our pitch is how we invest in technology that benefits our clients and
streamlines our operations.”
One of the key criteria in Enoch’s search was finding a centralized case
and matter repository that could be accessed virtually by his team of two
attorneys and two support staff—whether they were working in the office or
offsite. After “test driving everything on the market in 2006,” Enoch found
Time Matters,
“With
we are as paperless
as a law office can be.
We literally don’t have
any file cabinets.
”
— Ed Enoch
J. Edward Enoch Business Attorneys
been amazed at
“I’ve
how a large percentage
of firms still don’t use
technology. Time Matters
is up on everybody’s
desk the whole time
they’re here.
”
— Ed Enoch
J. Edward Enoch Business Attorneys
that with Time Matters, he could realize his goal of running a completely
digital firm—allowing him to provide the highest level of service to his clients
and gain a clear competitive advantage amongst business attorneys in
Augusta.
Solution
Enoch can’t help but laugh when he recalls his paralegal’s first day on the
job, asking “Where’s the file cabinets?” He explained that electronic files
can’t get misfiled or lost on someone’s desk, and that’s one of the reasons
they use Time Matters every day to run the firm at optimal efficiency.
“You’ll never hear us say ‘I’ll have to pull the file and get back to you,’
because all of our files are available to us in digital form at our desktops,
securely backed-up offsite every night,” said Enoch. “My clients like that I
can talk to them about a file that’s four years old without getting out of my
chair. It’s all right there at my fingertips.”
Time Matters serves as a single source shared by all members of Enoch’s
firm to quickly locate case information relevant to matter, including
contacts, emails, notes, calendaring, and tasks. According to Enoch, Time
Matters is “up on everyone’s desk,” helping to foster collaboration on
matters, respond to clients quickly, and sync calendars. “We all work off
of the same calendar, so Time Matters makes it easy to set appointments
without conflicts and we appreciate the reminders,” said Enoch.
“Time Matters case matter management is the key for us,” said Enoch.
“Having a way to easily see every email, contact, document—everything
related to the case, in seconds is a tremendous time saver that allows us to
provide outstanding client service.” Enoch often works from the summary
screen and relies heavily on Time Matter’s search function. “I can have a
file open for a year, with 200 documents related to it, and all I have to do to
locate what I want is type in a few specific words and there it is.”
Next Steps
Enoch keeps his finger on the pulse of technology to enhance law firm
operations, and is always looking for new ways to improve his firm’s
efficiency. Currently on his “wish list” is a scanning system, such as Fujitsu
ScanSnap, that can quickly turn paper into PDF files and easily be saved in
Time Matters.
Matters is key to
“Time
having a way to easily
see every document and
contact for a file. It’s a
huge time saver.
”
— Ed Enoch
J. Edward Enoch Business Attorneys
According to Enoch, the fulfillment of Time Matters’ promise to optimize
firm efficiencies and client service levels has enabled him to realize the goals
he set forth when he first envisioned his digital firm. “I took a jump dive when
I started out,” said Enoch, “and the payback has been everything I hoped.”
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis® (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of content-enabled workflow
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100 countries with 15,000 employees worldwide.
The opinions expressed within this case study represent customer opinions. LexisNexis believes this
case study experience generally represents the experience found with other similar customer situations.
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case study may not be deemed to create any warranty or representation that any other customer’s
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