Using LawOffice 97 Outlook Integration

(The following assumes that you are already familiar with Outlook and the benefits of using Outlook, and just discusses components that have been added by Eidelman Associates.)

Outlook Enhancements in General

Out of the box, Outlook lacks many features that attorneys need.  In particular: 

• there is no easy way to organize information by case
• the word processing merge features are limited
• the interface is tricky to learn but very powerful, especially when creating views and grouping, with the outline-oriented interface
• the reporting lacks the ability to print a columnar report without truncating the text in the narratives.  

Eidelman Associates has created solutions to these problems.  

Outlook Views and Reports

We have mastered how to view the data, and have created custom views that every lawyer and staff member can use to access the information.  

We have also designed a custom report interface in Visual Basic that uses the Crystal Reports ActiveX control to let any user print out Outlook information in a useful report, in columns, with any long fields "wrapped" properly.  

Case Orientation with Database Lookup

We have added one or more tabs for custom data to each Outlook item (contact, calendar, task, and journal), and have integrated Outlook with:

• An underlying database, so that you can connect Outlook items with cases and other codes in a billing/case management database:

Enhanced Contacts

• We have added legal information and case information about contacts, and set up automatic merging using WinDraft to send a letter or other document to the contact. Microsoft's merging solution from Outlook fails to meet the needs of attorneys because it only allows a limited subset of the fields to be merged. You can merge "Dear William," "Dear Mr. Clinton," or "Dear William Clinton," but not "Dear Bill." This is just one example. We let you merge any field, and to have the full power of a document automation engine, applying rules as it goes:

 

Case-specific information:

• Customized views
• Special Microsoft Exchange integration and support -- A folder for each case, with appropriate sub-folders
• Sharing information with Outside Counsel through Exchange, including electronic status reports and billing.

Enhanced Tasks, To-do's, and Journal Entries

Tasks and calendar entries in Outlook are enhanced in a number of ways:

• If integrated with WinDraft, the document assembly process can automatically create tasks and calendar items.
• The "LawOffice" Tab has information about Client.Matter, activity code, and ABA Task-based Billing Code.
• If you click on the "Add to TimeCapture" button, the system will automatically export all of the data from the task or calendar item to a new time entry (see below).

Time Entries using LawOffice 97 Time Capture: (Can be manually entered, or can be created automatically from a task or calendar entry, or automatically from the document assembly process.)