One of the greatest challenges to the business of an IP practice is the management of the core docketing process. Since its inception, docketing has been manual, voluminous, complex and complicated. Docket due dates are highly dependant on one another, and one mistake or offset can affect an entire portfolio. The exposure and risk of [...]
I’ve recently been following several online forum discussions about eBilling and the increased focus on electronic invoicing as a method of cost effectiveness and process efficiency, both direct and indirect. I find these discussions interesting because of the passion expressed by most posters about a topic I frankly considered passé. Essentially, the majority of posters [...]
A story recently came across my desk about a complaint filed in Missouri against LegalZoom, alleging that LegalZoom engages in the unauthorized practice of law and requesting class certification. What caught my interest on this matter is not so much the facts of the case, but the context under which it has arisen. (Read about [...]
I’ve spent the last several years writing about the “next generation” of IP management systems. However, I find myself penning this post under the realization that in 2010 we have certainly made it through and past the “next generation” to something altogether more evolved. I find that we no longer need to convince people of the [...]
Thanks to all for a warm welcome at ILTA 2009 at the Gaylord National Resort just south of Washington, DC! Attendance was down this year, to be sure, but perhaps because of the more intimate atmosphere, I think there was generally congenial attitude focused on learning and peer collaboration. I met with many great law firm technology [...]
[An IPM Treatise]
Those of us in IP circles have for a long time been keenly attuned to the commoditization IP prosecution. In fact, as innovation springs in higher volumes and faster cycles, it is imperative for IP practices to be ever more efficient and vigilant about their work. IP has always been a very manual [...]
I’ve been thinking about my last post on integrations, and thought it might be useful to delve a little further. So:
Initiative # 6.5: More Integrations!
I don’t think there’s any argument on the usefulness of thoughtful data ownership models, or of establishing enterprise systems of authority. But what kinds of integrations? Following is my list of [...]
Process improvement initiatives don’t have to cost money! Remember, technology isn’t a panacea; it’s a useful tool for making your work easier and more efficient. Ideally, it should be able to do routine tasks for you, so that you can concentrate on the bigger things. In the spirit of “using what you got”, my continuing [...]
Anyone who’s worked with me at any point over the last 5 years knows how seriously I take workflow. As a concept, it is in fact the foundational component of my IPM Value Pyramid. If you accept the notion, as I’ve stated many times, that the best means to achieve the ephemeral “Knowledge Management” is [...]
Initiative # 5: Automated Docket Clearance – my proposition
My vision for automated docket clearance would go something like the following. Please note, all current “next-gen” IP Management systems (the thin-client, web-based collaborative models) are built to manage the following process; they’re just not deployed with any imagination:
1. Lawyers would log in to their “My Matters” [...]
