One-stop shop

With an overwhelming amount of information available, lawyers can spend more time looking for information than actually using it. To try to correct that situation, a 350-lawyer firm, Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewishas deployed knowledge management software as its primary tool for organizing and maintaining information.

The LexisNexis Portal, powered by Plumtree Software, which is being used by Schnader, is designed specifically for law firms and provides a single interface for access to information, including e-mail and calendars, time and billing data, document management, the Internet and legal research, as well as other applications.

Says Bobbi Cross, director of Research and Information Resources for the law firm, "The LexisNexis Portal was the framework that allowed us to build a technology and information infrastructure for Schnader. It allows us to bring together internal attorney work product and external research resources. It brought together multiple desktop applications and became our central practice management tool."

According to a recent press release, Schnader was especially attracted to the portal's one-search capability. "It is an enormous productivity enhancer to be able to search simultaneously for documents on our intranet, extranet, the Internet and the LexisNexis service," says Ralph G. Wellington, Schnader chairman.

The law firm was also attracted to such other capabilities as the portal's classification and taxonomy systems and its customization feature.

"The classification and taxonomy systems are serious time savers since there are constantly updated searches on thousands of legal topics," says Cross. "Because LexisNexis was able to customize the portal to our individual needs, we now have a one-stop shop that provides everything we need to operate our daily practice."

The portal is also said to offer a law firm simplified navigation across internal and external information sources, secure extranet capabilities to improve collaboration between the firm and its clients, and personalized home pages for attorneys and staff. All of the features are offered on the Plumtree-powered platform.

Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis has offices in New York, California, Washington D.C., New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.