AMICUS ATTORNEY PRO - GETTING BETTER
WITH AGE...
What can you say about a product that reduces its price by 25 percent, and increases its functionality by 50 percent? Well, the FutureLawyer says buy it now! Amicus Attorney Pro is still a wonderfully inexpensive and fully featured lawyer productivity software program. The new incarnation of the software costs $100 less, and delivers a punch that any attorney will find irresistable.
Amicus Attorney Pro is truly a law office on the computer. It integrates the lawyer's calendar, contacts, time entries, telephone directory, and contains the best file management for the law firm that the FutureLawyer has ever seen. When last reviewed, the FutureLawyer found that the program was the kind of killer application that would cause non computer literate lawyers to buy and become comfortable with a computer. Amicus Attorney still contains a case management feature, which allows the organization of all events for every file, including critical data management, for automatic scheduling, and precedent files can be created to automatically create transactions or events common to similar matters.
The new version of Amicus Attorney Pro, however, has greatly expanded the use of the case management function. A DO button has been added that allows the user to merely click in order to bring up applications which allow the drafting of documents or task accomplishment. Advanced document automation has been added, using Hot Docs, Word or WordPerfect merged templates. The lawyer is able to create custom file types and fields which reflect special practice areas, and can customize a business source list to show how each file comes to the firm. The calendar function of the software uses a desk calendar metaphor which most attorneys will find very familiar. The calendar keeps track of, and displays, daily appointments, deadlines, and "TO-DO" tasks daily.
The Amicus Attorney calendar also uses the DO button, as a part of each event, making the calendar function intelligent. By clicking on the DO button, a lawyer can dial a phone number, draft a document, run a spreadsheet, open the client's file, and much more. As a case management system, Amicus Attorney Pro also fully integrates time sheets, allowing the posting of time to any existing legal accounting system. In fact, the FutureLawyer has found that it is easier to enter time in Amicus Attorney Pro, and then to post it to PC Law Jr. ( the Financial Accounting program used by the FutureLawyer.
The network version of the software, Amicus Team, has had some difficulty recently, in posting to PcLawJr, while using the Amicus Link program written by Alumni Computer Group, Inc., the manufacturer of PCLawJr. The problem seems to be connected to the upgrade of PcLawJr. to a 32 bit software program Thus, entry of time using the Link function now requires the use of a time code, which adds a step to the time entry process. The makers of both products have promised a fix soon. While this took some getting used to for the FutureLawyer, it is still much more functional than entering time into a Time and Billing program, since Amicus resides on top of the Windows screen at all times. The entry of time becomes second nature, and posting at the end of the day is a breeze. The time entry portion of the program contains many functions that allow the use of it for the fast recording of chargeable time, automatic time entries in many situations, monthly overviews, and detailed reporting.
The contact management portion of the software is still one of the most valuable features of the program, since all contacts related to all matters for the lawyer are kept in one place, and the information is connected to all other portions of the case management software. In addition, templates have been added to the software that permit the exporting of the Amicus Contact management data to the Pilot organizer that has taken the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) market by storm recently. Once a lawyer becomes familiar with Amicus Attorney Pro, and the software is very easy to learn and to use, this Amicus Attorney Pro quickly becomes central to the lawyer's daily routine. In fact, the FutureLawyer would not feel comfortable practicing law without the familiar icon bar of Amicus sitting on top of his other Windows XP applications. This software is a must buy for the lawyer, and would be an incredible bargain at five times its current price. It becomes a network program, upon the addition of a $399 Amicus Team network module. The FutureLawyer was amazed when the price of this extraordinary software was reduced from $399 to $299. Bargains in productivity software are few and far between. Ask any user whether he or she would part with it, and watch the fireworks. The new version is still a magical piece of software, and still deserves to be in every lawyer's computer
Recent Comments