A NEWSLETTER FROM LEGALSUITE SOFTWARE

With the year in full swing, we hope that it is turning out to be a good one for you.

As you know there have been a number of changes to LegalSuite over the past few months and so we have included a lot of useful information in this edition to hopefully make your life a little bit simpler.

First and foremost we would like to welcome Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes (STBB) who have recently joined us. We have also included some interesting information regarding decisions taken at the annual Registrars Conference towards the end of last year. This information will interest both the Conveyancing Attorney and secretaries alike. We will also be introducing you to our new Instant Messaging, which you will be pleased to know has been added back into the program.

Last year, Smith Tabata Buchanan Boyes (STBB), one of the leading conveyancing firms in South Africa, began investigating the possibility of upgrading their conveyancing software. They felt they needed a system that not only offered the flexibility to satisfy their unique demands, but could also cater for their multi-branch environment running over a Wide Area Network. They also felt it necessary to move to a SQL-based system which would handle their extensive data requirements, and allow them to query the data and generate reports “on the fly”. They also wanted a program that allowed them to design their own business processes, i.e. they wanted the ability to customise the actual workflow of the program so that they could track the progress of each matter based on milestones and time frames they chose. They also wanted a system that allowed them to report back to clients and other stakeholders in an automated, yet intelligent, manner. The ability to customise the built-in documents, emails and SMS’s were also a high priority. STBB also wanted a software supplier that provided good backup and support and were willing to listen to their ideas and adapt the program if necessary to improve its usefulness to its users in general. These were some of their goals and a team led by Brent MacKay was assembled to identify if such a program existed.

After an extensive analysis of the various conveyancing products available locally, LegalSuite was chosen as the most likely candidate. The team from STBB spent a further 14 months examining every aspect of the program - its capabilities, flexibility, features and user friendliness. Needless to say, LegalSuite came out tops in all departments. After requesting a number of minor changes to the program, LegalSuite was accepted by STBB management as their software of choice. An implementation plan was put into place and the process of converting their extensive data from their legacy system began.

“This proved to be quite a challenge”, says Rick Jordan of LegalSuite. “We had to consolidate data from separate stand-alone databases into a single SQL database. Since each STBB branch had its own independent database, there were inevitably a number of Matters with duplicate file references. We used some clever techniques to identify and resolve the duplicates before writing them to the SQL database which is actually a tribute to the power of SQL Server and it’s scripting language."

The SQL script to convert the data took three months to write and the data was finally converted on Friday 24th April 2009. The program was installed, implemented and commissioned over the weekend and STBB Helderberg Branch went live on Monday 27th April 2009. After a successful implementation at the one branch, STBB decided to press ahead with the implementation plans for their remaining branches.

“We are very pleased with results so far”, says Brent MacKay, team leader at STBB. “Our users are still in the foetal stage of adopting LegalSuite and will soon became familiar with the new system. We have had to iron out the inevitable teething problems, but LegalSuite has been extremely helpful in this regard. Overhauling our entire software system was a big step and somewhat of a culture shock for STBB, but we felt we needed to have a system in place that could provide us with the tools to manage our multi branch environment without diminishing our ability to enhance customer service levels. While LegalSuite is a product that will service our needs in the present, it also shows the required promise to adapt and grow with us. We believe LegalSuite has all the features and tools to accomplish this and look forward to a long and mutually beneficial business relationship with them.”

“We are very proud to have a firm of STBB’s stature as one of our clients,” says Anrie Eastes, Sales and Support Director at LegalSuite. “Their vigorous analysis of our program and its competitors, and their ultimate thumbs up to LegalSuite, indicates that we are doing something right and that we have a product that now rivals, or even surpasses, those available in South Africa, especially for bigger firms. We feel that other large firms may now see the way clear to follow STBB’s lead and consider LegalSuite’s conveyancing as a viable alternative to their existing systems.”

We have recently integrated L@WLink instructions into the LegalSuite Program, and L@W instructions and messages can now be viewed from the Desktop under the "L@W Instructions Tab" You will no longer have to access a different program to view, send and receive messages on matters sent via L@W.

This has been done in order to assist you, the user, in various ways. All your Bank and Council instructions will now be available in a common interface, and Standard Bank and Rates Matters will now be in line with the First National Bank and ABSA Bank instruction screens. (The ABSA Bank screen is currently under construction). You will also be able to apply the full power of LegalSuite to LawLink, FNBLink and ABSALink by using QBE (Query By Example) facility.

First National Bank (FNB) have developed a new system called the Attorney Gateway (AG) to send bond instructions to their panel Attorneys. The system is also used to receive messages and updates back from the Attorney as a Matter progresses through the bond registration process.

During the course of a bond matter, messages are sent to the Bank by the Attorney and to the Attorney by the Bank. These messages are used by the Bank to monitor the progress of the Matter and to advise the Attorney of any amendments, additional instructions, etc. The Bank calculates statistics on their panel of Attorneys so it is important to attend to the Matter timeously and notify them of any delays so that your firm is not prejudiced in any way.

Click Here to view Whitepaper

We have recently been advised by Standard Bank that various documents are to be removed from the LegalSuite program and made available via the L@W Bond Portal. The documents in question are:

• Main Cost of Credit (Part A)
• Terms and Conditions (Part B)
• Switching Cost of Credit

These documents will now need to be downloaded directly from the L@W Bond Portal. All other Standard Bank documents are still available in and are to be printed from LegalSuite.

PLEASE NOTE that the L@W Bond Portal is compulsory for all Standard Bank panel Attorneys to generate critical bond documents such as those set out above.

Michele Holland from our offices recently attended a seminar hosted by L.E.A.D and presented by Mr Allen West, lecturer and author of numerous legal texts and opinions, which provided feedback from the Registrars' Conference held at the end of 2008.

The purpose of the annual Registrars' conference, held in the Free State Province, is to bring uniformity to the registration process in Deeds Registries across the country. This message was reiterated in the opening address by the Chairperson of the conference, Mr Sam Lefafa, Chief Registrar of Deeds.

Mr Lefafa stated that ALL Registrars and their staff are bound by the decisions taken at the conference, which become effective from 2 JANUARY 2009 in terms of Chief Registrars Circular (CRC) 16 of 2005

Seventy resolutions were taken in terms of day to day Conveyancing practice, and each is briefly discussed hereunder:

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LegalSuite has recently upgraded the messaging system in the program. We have incorporated a new system called LegalSuite Instant Messenger, which will automatically check for messages from L@W at regular intervals of your choosing, and will notify you by means of a pop-up message when new messages arrive. You can also randomly check for messages coming in via L@W.

The LegalSuite Instant Messenger can also be used to send pop-up messages to other Employees in LegalSuite, and also has the facility to exit users from the program for the purposes of updating and maintenance.

Installing the LegalSuite Instant Messenger:The LegalSuite Instant Messenger will automatically be installed with a LegalSuite program update, and no additional installation is required.

Click Here to view Whitepaper

The Renaming of High Courts Act, 2008 (Act No. 30 of 2008) came into operation on 1 March 2009.

Below is a table which reflects the Seat of the High Court together with the new Name of the High Court:-

In LegalSuite, each employee needs to change their defaults so that the new High Court names are reflected on all new matters that are inserted. To change your employee defaults:-

1. Highlight a collections matter and click on the Document Generator Database icon

2. Click on the (Setup the Defaults, Costs and Interest Rate Schedules icon)

3. Click on the (Defaults) button

4. Click on the High Court tab and amend the details in the

5. Click on the icon to copy this setting to all Employees.

Over the past few months, the Technical Support Department at LegalSuite have been receiving an alarming amount of calls regarding servers crashing due to power surges, power dips etc. These electricity issues are renowned for corrupting Database files as well as Microsoft SQL Server installations.

We strongly recommend that each and every firm have an active "Disaster Recovery Plan" in order to prevent complete loss of data.
Your Disaster Recovery Plan should be discussed with the person that manages your general IT infrastructure to ensure that your LegalSuite, as well as any other critical programs are backed up on a DAILY basis.

LegalSuite provides a package called the "Off-Site Data Security" whereby you the user will send us a copy of your Database on a monthly basis, we will in turn keep that back-up, as well as run numerous checks on your LIVE system. You will receive a detailed report at the end of each month describing the current problems and any future problems we may foresee with your system - if any.

To find out more about the above package please contact us on 0861 711150.
Either way a daily backup of your Database is CRUCIAL and HIGHLY recommended, for help with a "step by step" guide of how to run a backup.

Click Here to view Whitepaper

You can view back issues of our Newsletter on our website at www.legalsuite.co.za.

If you have any questions, queries or comments about this newsletter, please contact Anrie Eastes:anrie@legalsuite.co.za.

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