It’s no surprise that COVID has pushed the legal industry into rethinking its approach to tech for 2022. In our conversations with people in law, over the past two years, the need for a flexible, integrated and cloud-based practice management system was at the forefront of most practice managers’ minds.
This is why it piqued my interest when it was announced last year that Infinitylaw was being acquired by The Australian Tech Innovators and being managed by Leap Legal Software.
Infinitylaw is one of the most popular practice management systems in Australia, and is the largest practice management system in New Zealand by market share. This makes its acquisition of particular interest in Australian and Kiwi law firms’ software strategy.
So what does this acquisition actually mean for Infinitylaw users?
A new InfinityLaw
Donna Broadley, CEO of Leap AU, spoke on the short-term goals for Infinitylaw including enhanced software support, new features and opportunities for Infinitylaw users. More specifically, Leap has already launched a help desk to better support Infinitylaw customers, as well as “Infinitylaw University” where users can attend courses and workshops to get the most out of the practice management system. However, long-term plans to move Infinitylaw to the cloud and launch an API were unclear, leaving many users wondering what Infinitylaw’s expiry date will be.
A move to Leap
Leap has their own cloud-based practice management system, launched in 2010 and used in Australia, UK, US and Canada. During their recent conference, it was announced that a NZ version of Leap will be launched in Feb 2022. In Australia they have already seen over 15% of Infinitylaw users move to the Leap AU version, it will be interesting to see if Kiwi law firms follow suit.
Time for a change
A lot of law firms are using Infinitylaw’s acquisition as the push they need to transition to a new practice management system. When speaking to our customers the main attributes they were looking for were:
Cloud-Based
With the COVID pandemic creating a rise in remote working, we can already see that flexible working structures are here to stay. This has led many law firms to start viewing cloud-based tech as a necessity when choosing new software.
API & Integrations
A big trend we are seeing in legal tech is the need for a one-stop integrated solution. Practice management systems that can integrate with document management products like iManage or phone systems like Vxt Call will have the competitive advantage moving forward.
Practice Management Systems to watch:
Actionstep
Actionstep is one of the first platforms to become cloud-based. They have many great integrations including NetDocuments and Vxt Call.
OneLaw
OneLaw is another notable practice management system with a focus on providing a modern solution that doesn’t overcomplicate things for their users.
Clio
Clio is a Canada-founded practice management system that is cloud-based, with a range of integrations and has a great user interface. Clio is the most successful cloud-based practice management system in the world measured by number of users. Their suite of integrations includes Vxt Call among others.
Transitioning between practice management systems is in the short term an expensive, frustrating, and daunting process. However, over the last decade there has been an influx of innovative systems that are integral in taking law firms all over the world through to the next wave of legal technology.
Feel free to get in touch with the team at Vxt to discuss your law firm’s needs and how Vxt can meet them.
Written by Chelsea Aitken, Chief Customer Officer at Vxt
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