CASE STUDIES
Archers Law rolls out Eclipse’s Proclaim Practice Management Software solution firm-wide rchers Law, an established Teesside based firm, has selected the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution in a 6-figure investment with Eclipse Legal Systems, the sole Law Society Endorsed legal software provider.
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With longstanding roots in the regional area, Archers Law has grown from humble beginnings on the high street to a modern law firm with a 60 strong team. Providing a full range of services to private clients and business organisations, the practice continues to build upon its foundations to offer a responsive, empathetic and reliable service, ensuring clients receive the highest standards in legal advice. Darren Gower
Archers Law has chosen to implement the Proclaim Practice Management Software solution across the firm including case management modules for Conveyancing, Debt Recovery and Probate. The system will serve to provide legal teams with a consistent approach to matter management, whilst the integrated financial platform will enable a seamless approach to billing and overall practice management. To further enhance client service, Archers Law will implement a number of Eclipse’s additional systems and integrations. The lead management system will provide true end-to-end management of all incoming enquiries, and will incorporate the online document delivery and acceptance tool, SecureDocs – serving to streamline
all client inception procedures. Following instruction, Archers Law will use FileView as a further option to keep clients and referrers informed, enabling staff to securely display case information on the firm’s website, therefore reducing the number of ‘update’ calls received. Additionally, Proclaim’s integration with the LRBG will allow conveyancing fee earners to access Land Registry services directly from the system, whilst the integration with BigHand will expand the functionality of Proclaim and enhance the current digital dictation solution, including speech recognition, which the firm already uses. Vicky Browning, Practice Director at Archers Law, comments: “Whilst our current technology is already in advance of some other local firms, we saw an opportunity when developing our business plan to invest further in our IT infrastructure, impacting specifically on enhanced client service and improved internal working practices. Our primary goal is to have a system that will expand with our commercial objectives and move us towards a paper-light environment internally. After a thorough selection process, it became clear that Eclipse’s Proclaim system will deliver on all accounts, providing us with unrivalled intelligence, detailed reporting and, most importantly, a centralised and consistent solution.” For further information, please contact Darren Gower, Marketing Director at Eclipse Legal Systems, part of Capita plc, via darren.gower@eclipselegal.co.uk or call 01274 704100. Alternatively, visit www.eclipselegal.co.uk
The rising number of flood risk cases O
ur Homebuyer Urban Flood Risk Report found that nearly one in seven UK homebuyers faced a potential flood risk when purchasing a home in 2017.
Our report analysed trends in homebuyer activity within the ten most populated cities across England and Wales, using our data gleaned from tens of thousands of home buying transactions during 2016 and 2017. Across these ten cities, homebuyers seeking properties in London (23%), Manchester (21%) and Cardiff (20%) faced the highest likelihood that their chosen home may be at risk from flooding. Comparing year-on-year trends, aspiring buyers in Liverpool, London and Birmingham were all more likely to be targeting locations at risk of flooding in 2017 than they were the previous year.
local variations, this data emphasises how flood risk is something all conveyancers and their clients need to be aware of as part of the homebuying process. It is interesting to see that homes in our biggest cities are some of the most likely to come with a potential flood risk. It is therefore vital that conveyancers keep up to date with the latest developments in assessing and managing potential flood risks and by doing so, they can ensure that a potential issue needn’t result in the collapse of a transaction.” Future Climate Info. To read our full Homebuyer Urban Flood Risk Report, head to www.futureclimateinfo.com.
Based on our sample, conveyancers based in Liverpool saw the greatest increase in the frequency of flood risk, with 10% of purchasers in 2017 encountering a potential risk compared with 7% in 2016. Both London and Birmingham saw an increase of two percentage points, from 21% to 23% and from 9% to 11% respectively. In contrast, reduced levels of flood risk were seen for transactions in Bristol, Leicester, Leeds and Sheffield in 2017 compared with 2016 – which could be influenced by fewer sales in at-risk areas. Commenting on the findings, Geoff Offen, Managing Director of FCI, said: “We’ve assessed tens of thousands of transactions over the last two years, and while there are significant regional and
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Modern Law 61