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Services Provided by Heckman Consulting
Heckman Consulting
Tel: 201 792-0022
e-mail: heckman at heckmanco dot com
Click here for PDF version
Based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Heckman Consulting focuses on
the metropolitan New York area, with clients ranging from
Philadelphia to Boston.
Frustrated by the Software
Jungle?
Frustrated by the software jungle and programs that won’t work as
advertised? As vendor-authorized consultants with years of
experience across many different firms, we can assist you in finding
a solution, negotiating with vendors, or providing acceptable
workarounds. Our general approach to consulting and specific areas
of expertise are set forth below. See more detailed pages for
software we support and other information about legal technology
problems
Business Automation
It often seems almost impossible to keep up with the rapid pace of technological change. No sooner do you buy a brand-spanking-new computer
than it is outdated. How does a firm decide what it really needs to keep it competitive and profitable and what is merely marketing hype? Heckman Consulting can assist you by examining the state of your firm's technology and your
requirements.
Heckman Consulting draws on
over 20 years of experience advising law firms and other companies on how to use computers to automate business
processes and improve productivity. Key to the success of business automation is customizing the software in use at a firm so that different programs integrate seamlessly with each other and so that users will actually use
the technology available to them. Heckman Consulting will analyze your site and your needs and help you get the most out of what you already have or, where desirable, upgrade intelligently. Based on a needs analysis, we will
suggest options and alternatives to enable your firm to move forward.
In a legal market that is increasingly competitive, the selective adoption of key technologies can help a firm stay ahead of the pack. Firms that
do not keep pace will, in the relatively near term, not be able to
stay competitive in the services they offer clients.
Does One Size Fit All?
Vendors are increasingly attempting to provide "one size fits
all" solutions: "Buy our program and you won't need anything else."
However, as vendors move away from their core areas of expertise,
the "add-on" modules are frequently not really up to par (or at the
very least not ready for prime time). Is a "good enough" solution
right for your firm or can "best of breed" be integrated for a
better solution? Buying software is like many other purchases.
Something that seems "good enough" why you buy it becomes
frustratingly inadequate six months later. We can assist your firm
in making these decisions.
Technology Transfer
A basic ingredient of Heckman Consulting's approach is Technology Transfer. We firmly believe that an essential part of a system integrator's
job is helping the client become independent by transferring the knowledge necessary to perform routine administrative tasks. If at the end of a project the client cannot administer the installed programs on a day to day basis,
then we have not fully done our job.
E-Mail / Internet
For many companies, e-mail has been a driving force for expanding the use of computers. The need for a single location to receive e-mail,
faxes, voice mail, integrated with the Internet, is becoming increasingly urgent. Heckman Consulting can enable you to get Internet mail through your e-mail system without worrying about firewalls, security, viruses or employees
wasting time "surfing the net." We can integrate your e-mail with faxing and voice mail, as well as your word processor by using a centralized electronic rolodex such as ContactEase
(Metz Phones).
Backup/Data Storage
Maintaining appropriate backups is key to both protection of your
data on a day-to-day basis and data recovery in the event of some
disaster. For example, if a single user leaves their computer on
with Amicus, Time Matters, PC Law or similar programs running, your
"backup" may not function properly and can be useless if you need to
recover data. Like many computer areas, this has been changing very
rapidly, and a wide range of new options are available: backup to
DVDs, removable hard disks, even USB flash drives. These can provide
you with instant "off-site storage" by taking home a backup on
something smaller in size than your cell phone. Let us review your
present backup system and see whether options have become available
that better fit your needs.
Word Processing
Word processing is a core product for law firms -- or any company for which intensive document production is at the heart of business
processes. But neither Word nor WordPerfect are optimized for legal use "out of the box." We will review and customize your installation so it best meets your needs. Our custom macros and templates act as "wizards" tailored to
your specific site to walk you through common tasks, thus reducing the time necessary to perform routine, repetitive jobs. They can provide an essential element in making your system work the way your people actually work and
communicate. Custom macros and templates can be the key to a truly integrated and effective system.
If your firm is planning to convert from WordPerfect to Word,
Heckman Consulting can
assist you in identifying pitfalls, planning the conversion
(including document conversion) and making sure your training is
customized for legal needs. John Heckman's years of WordPerfect
consulting experience mean he can address the felt concerns of your
users and point out the "gotchas" in working with Word. Our class on
"Surviving Word" has been very well received.
Document & Practice Management
Document and Practice Management are two areas of automation that can bring substantial productivity increases but have been widely neglected
by smaller and mid-size firms. Do you never want to "lose" a document again? Would you like to have all the elements of your paper file available to you electronically and never again have to put a client on hold for several
minutes when someone asks you what your schedule is? These programs can help you provide better client service and faster turnaround times.
Heckman Consulting has substantial experience with Worldox
and other document management products, which automate the way you
store documents and reduce the amount of time it takes to find any
given document to mere seconds. Lost files or lost disks can be a
thing of the past! Practice Management programs such as Amicus
Attorney or Time Matters®
can integrate your file structure, time keeping, contact lists and
calendar and link your practice management to time and billing
systems such as PC Law®
to further increase productivity. Assiduous use of such a system can
increase the capture of billable hours by 10 to 20% per year.
The savings in time gained by implementing these programs can free up staff to focus on more productive tasks, and can help increase a firm's
attorney-to-secretary ratio so that it more approximates the 3-1 ratio common today in larger firms.
The combination of time savings and capturing additional hours for
the same amount of work will easily translate to a Return on
Investment of over $10,000 per year per attorney!
Time, Billing and
Accounting
Many firms use Timeslips for Time and Billing, and
Quickbooks for accounting. However, this is quite inefficient since
it involves double entry. In addition, Quickbooks is hardly
customized for legal practice, in particular handling Trust
Accounts. In our view, the increased efficiency provided by a single
program such as PC Law®,
more than warrants consolidating on a single solution.
Litigation Support
Even the smallest firms involved in litigation on a regular basis can benefit from Litigation Support software. Heckman Consulting can help
you implement and customize leading litigation support products such as Summation Blaze or CaseMap. For more limited use, programs such as e-Binder from RealLegal can help organize and analyze court and deposition transcripts.
Electronic Letterhead
Our design specialists can help you find ways to take your desktop publishing in-house, improve the appearance of your documents and save
substantial sums on outside printers by reproducing your existing letterhead electronically for faxing and other cases where engraved letterhead is not necessary.
Training
Heckman Consulting offers training for all systems we install. In addition to end-user training and "train the trainer" classes, we will
train your administrative and support personnel so that they can administer your network and gain more control over your computer system.
Our "cheat sheets" make life easy for end-users.
Research & Development
Heckman Consulting devotes substantial time to R&D. With software and hardware changing ever more rapidly, our goal is to be able to answer
your questions concerning new products while the products are still in beta. We focus on legal-specific and Internet-oriented products. In many cases, we can point you to new or different programs that will meet your needs as a
result of our investment in keeping abreast of the state of technology for law firms.
June 2006 |
