Chicago – Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that the Firm received a 2004 Legal IT Award given annually by Legal IT magazine, a United Kingdom-based publication that provides strategic intelligence to information technology entities in the legal industry. Each year the publication honors legal organizations worldwide for exceptional strategic vision and innovation in information technology initiatives in ten categories.
The award, which was announced at the annual Legal IT Forum in Gleneagles, Scotland, is the Firm’s second information technology award in 2004 and follows its third CIO 100 award earlier in the year.
The Firm received the award for its proprietary FOLEY:ClientSuite extranet, which placed first in the information technology for litigation support and alternative dispute resolution category. Each entry in the category was judged on return on investment, efficiency, productivity gains and how the project changed the working practices of litigators.
FOLEY:ClientSuite is a central case management and storage system that provides easy and secure Web-based access to all information pertaining to a case to the Firm’s clients and attorneys regardless of where they are located. The system is composed of Web technology that allows a single point of access for all attorneys, staff, clients and co-counsel involved in a case via the same Internet address whether they are located inside or outside of the Firm’s firewall. Everyone involved in a case are guaranteed access to information from anywhere in the world via an Internet connection.
“The growth of electronic data substantially increased the costs of litigation support services for our clients,” said Doug Caddell, chief information officer for Foley & Lardner. “As a result, we saw the opportunity to focus on our client’s support needs by creating an interactive information technology tool that reduces costs, increases productivity and efficiency, and strengthens our relationships with our clients.”
The attorneys in Foley & Lardner’s Litigation Department have embraced the FOLEY:ClientSuite technology, and leverage it to support existing clients as well as a unique selling point to win business with current and prospective clients.
“Corporate counsel are continuously impressed with the management components of the FOLEY:ClientSuite technology, and its ability to seamlessly integrate the firm’s 400 litigators nationwide with hundreds of clients,” said Jon Wilson, chair of Foley & Lardner’s Litigation Department. “Though only a year old, our proprietary litigation support technology is a key advantage for helping to deliver quality services to our corporate clients.”
The features of FOLEY:ClientSuite include:
• A centralized repository for all case documents
• Centralized task lists
• A single location for case information resources
• Secure access to all data worldwide via the Internet
• Quick searches through thousands of documents stored on the extranet
• The ability to generate limitless accounting and status reports
About Foley & Lardner LLP
Foley & Lardner is a provider of legal counsel to global companies. The firm’s experience encompasses a full range of corporate legal services. Foley & Lardner’s attorneys understand today’s most complex business issues including corporate governance and compliance, securities, mergers and acquisitions, litigation, labor and employment, intellectual property and IP litigation, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, life sciences, financial services, insurance, health care, energy and sports industries. The firm’s Web site can be found at www.foley.com.