This short article is based on my web page www.venables.co.uk/softwareireland.htm which provides links to the software companies websites.
The “problem” for Ireland, as for any smaller country, has been that the potential market for the sale of legal software is much smaller than for countries with larger numbers of law firms. A few years ago, this often meant that Irish legal software suppliers were in fact subsidiaries of larger UK software companies and others were genuinely small firms, possibly without a very large financial backing.
This is still the case to some extent – would you rather have a local Irish source of help and assistance or a major corporate backing for your supplier? There is no simple answer to this question but I think it would be worthwhile for any potential purchaser of legal software in Ireland to establish where the “real” base of operations is located and to consider how quickly a local problem will be resolved.
Here is a list of key legal software and IT suppliers in Ireland.
Asdon Group has been working with clients throughout the UK and Ireland for over 90 years to support and streamline their business processes. The principal activities of the Group are the provision of Office Products & Business Technology Services including cloud services, IT project management and digital dictation.
Clio provides a cloud based legal case management software for small- to medium-sized law firms enabling the user to streamline the most tedious processes, like billing and scheduling, document automation, calendars, collaborating with clients and legal accounting, all in one SSL-encrypted place so information stays up to date and confidential. Clio originates from Vancouver, with additional offices in Toronto and Dublin.
Documatics, based in Cork, provides Case Management. The system stores all the details gathered about a particular case in one centralised location. All of the necessary information can be easily retrieved at the click of a button. Storing all the information for a case in one convenient and central location allows your office to manage and organise data more efficiently. Multiple users can work on the one case in concurrence, and the CheckIn/CheckOut facility ensures that no one’s work is overridden. It has been created through years of experience in the legal industry.
eXpd8, based in Swords, Co Dublin, is a leading provider of practice management software solutions with over 2,500 users worldwide and a team in the company of 34. They provide a range of IT solutions including case management software, accounts software, digital dictation, VoIP, transcription services, IT security, cloud solutions, Office 365 hardware sales and network support. eXpd8 is one of only 6 Microsoft Gold Partners for Small & Midmarket Cloud Solutions in Ireland. The accounts software integrates with case management to provide the seamless flow of activity on a client’s file to the ledger card and avoiding duplicate data entry. The system automatically creates a fully auditable trail on each file.
Harvest Software was established in 1991 and is now one of the leaders in management accounting software for solicitors with its Harvest Law application. They have a dedicated development and service team based in Waterford City and a network of experienced agents based in Limerick and Dublin. Their software (for smaller and midsize firms) is designed specifically for the Irish market, is simple to use and ensures compliance with the accounting regulations. Harvest Law has been installed in over 700 solicitor firms.
Keyhouse, based in the IMI Business Campus on Sandyford Road in Dublin, provide responsive and innovative business solutions for the legal profession. They have the largest market share of the Top 500 law firms and in-house legal departments in the Republic of Ireland and the most comprehensive product range in its market. Keyhouse Law Office is a full suite of practice management software incorporating a seamlessly integrated range of products including case and document management, accounts, time recording and billing, keymobile (a case management app) and digital dictation.
Legal & General Software, based in Dublin, provide Lex solicitor accounts software, risk management and time recording. This is all compliant with Revenue and Law Society Regulations, but above all is easy to use and is supported by experienced Accounts personnel. There are now users in every County in Ireland. They also supply legal precedent software together with computerised Requisitions On Title. Legal & General Software are also the main suppliers of customized accounts software for Barristers.
Legal IT, based in Ballincollig, Cork, specialises in the development and implementation of IT solutions to the legal industry. Areas include financial & case management, practice management, digital dictation and remote bookkeeping services, as well as back-office hardware and software support. The software is provided by Tikit, a large and highly respected provider of legal software in the UK. In addition to providing software, they also operate a dedicated bureau accounts department for solicitors. This provides bookkeeping and/or financial management services to solicitor practices of all sizes. They also provide document management and digital dictation software.
T-pro, based in Dublin, offers premium transcription services and dictation services to law firms and other businesses in Ireland and the UK. Their fully trained transcribers are Irish and have prior experience as legal or medical secretaries or in a business environment. Their clients include some of Ireland’s leading law firms, top medical institutions, accountants, surveyors, and individual practitioners.
Delia Venables is joint editor of the Newsletter and maintains the UK legal portal site www.venables.co.uk. Email delia@venables.co.uk. Twitter @deliavenables.
