A recent legal technology survey came up with a startling fact: Not many firms are implementing new technology. One reason cited was in a comment from a reader at the end of the article, stating there wasn’t anything out there worth their firm’s investment of time and effort. We beg to differ, particularly after seeing the latest release from CosmoLex, the cloud-based practice management application that includes case/matter management, contact management, calendaring, time & billing, trust account management and accounting functionality. And now with their release last week of Version 4.2, several features were added.
We thought about writing an article that summarized the new features but concluded some of them merited individual attention. One of them is their new client portal.
We’ve heard from our clients why having one is so important. As an attorney, you need to exchange documents with your client. But people seem so busy nowadays and the usual response from clients is, “Can’t you just email the documents to us?” And the answer is, no you can’t – unless extraordinary efforts are made, sending documents via an unsecured channel is a violation of ethics. But for the most part, portals are either a project for a web designer or something attached to a program that may or may not work. Either way, it costs money.
With CosmoLex, setting up this feature is easy and is included at no extra charge with your license. It’s very easy to turn on and set up:
- You may select which items your firm will share with clients
- And there is even a feature which will copy the code needed to embed this on your firm’s website!
Once the Client Portal feature is set up, it then becomes a matter of identifying which matters and which clients may use it –
After the client is set up to receive an invitation, they receive an email inviting them to activate their personal portal:
When the client has activated their account, they can now sign in to CosmoLex. This is what their dashboard looks like:
The team at CosmoLex has impressed us with the thought and care they put in to engineering new features, particularly over the past 12 months. Their concept of a client portal is both sophisticated and comprehensive — a true means of communication and collaboration between a law firm and its clients. As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, this is one of several features included in this latest release and you will hear more from us about other features in the weeks to come.
“No new technology or innovation in practice management programs?” Not true! Nor is it true that there isn’t something to discover or use in the software or applications you own. Our team at Crosspointe Consulting Group is here to help you get the most from your programs, whether it is through training or customization. Please contact us at [email protected] or call us at 877.357.0555.
Dana Riel is President and Founder of Business Solutions, Inc., serving the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area since 1985. Her firm is the authorized training center for the region for Time Matters and PCLaw by PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC; Timeslips and Sage 50 Accounting by Sage Software; and QuickBooks by Intuit Corporation. She also serves as a consultant for Caret Legal (formerly known as Zola Suite), CosmoLex, Soluno & TimeSolv. As a trainer, Dana has provided training services to organizations such as the DOD Defense Logistics Agency, Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAG)/Department of the Navy, University of the District of Columbia School of Law, U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as with small‐ to mid‐size law firms in the Baltimore‐Washington D.C. area. In 2009, she participated in the series of day‐long seminars sponsored by the District of Columbia Bar Association Practice Management Section, titled “Basic Training: Learn About Running a Law Office”. Ms. Riel also served as an Adjunct Professor in Georgetown University’s Paralegal Studies Program, having taught the course, “Legal Ethics/Legal Technology” in 2009; and “Legal Technology” for the Spring and Summer Semesters of 2010. She presently serves on the Advisory Board for PCLaw|Time Matters, PLLC.
