NebDocs Seminar
Introduction and Basic Training on
Using NebDocs in Your Practice
Kirk Goettsch
October 7, 2015
Embassy Suites, La Vista
We are document assembly.
Document
Automation
Presentation:
• Document Generation Challenges • Document Automation & Assembly Solutions • Use Cases • About HotDocs • Questions? •Time consuming •Attorney guidance/review required •Outdated Word templates •Multiple regional versions •Error prone •Cut/Paste •Error of omission / error of inclusion •Search/Replace •Save vs Save As
Do
misspelled
words
and
mistakes
matter?
accept except adverse averse affect effect anecdote antidote contract contact deformation defamation depreciate deprecate device devise discreet discrete fee free form from guarantee guaranty later latter not now quiet quite remuneration renumeration vary very waiver waver •While working for a security firm, an employee was told "You are not allowed to exceptany bribes.“ •Bankruptcy attorney publicly reprimanded and ordered to pay court costs and attend legal writing course. •The Rushmore offering plan promised to give buyers a right to back out of the plan if the first closing did not occur before the first day of the budget year, Sept. 1, 2008, rather than Sept. 1, 2009, after the last day. The first closing occurred in February 2009.Do
misspelled
words
and
mistakes
matter?
HotDocs
Document
Generation
Options
• Continue to self‐generate documents…
1. Create “gold standard” documents, forms or templates (form that has every option that could occur,
in the order it could occur and completed in a ‘fill in the blank’ manner).
2. Add word processor automation to your “gold standard” documents (e.g. drop down option for text
in MS Word).
3. Incorporate Matter Management software into form generation (document assembly feature). 4. Commercial drafting systems – automated document assembly of pre‐drafted forms, agreements,
etc. Some customizable, some not.
5. Document Assembly software applied to your own forms templates in Word, WordPerfect for fast,
accurate document generation.
Mo re ef ficien t Less ef ficien t
Document
Generation
Solutions
Transformation of “gold standard” documents into templates for
fast, accurate document
generation
.
1. Document Assembly Saves You Time. 2. Document Assembly Reduces Mistakes. 3. Document Assembly Makes Life Simple. 4. Document Assembly Makes Training New Associates and Hires Easy. 5. Document Assembly Fits Into a Larger Philosophy of Efficient Workflow.Top
5
Reasons
to
Automate
Legal
Document
Creation?
Larry Port, Legal Productivity.com,Jan 25, 2012HotDocs
Document
Generation
Considerations
$ Cost Time Risk of Error(s) Self Generated Semi‐Automated Fully‐Automated
What is Document Assembly?
HotDocs templates makes the creation of even the most complex documents simple and easy—eliminating risk, ensuring compliance, saving time and slashing costs. Take any document or set of documents used in your firm or business… …and convert to an intelligent, dynamic template(s) with “variable text” fields and
active logic (decision tree) that conforms with
each case or client.
Data is entered into the template(s) either manually using a HotDocs interview wizard, or automatically
via integration with other data sources
Answer data can be reused for subsequent document creation HotDocs then “assembles” the finished document set in seconds
Work
More
Efficiently
Add
Value
Reduce
Risk
Use
Case:
Law
Firm
Nationwide firm
oEstate planning
oPublic finance
oReal estate
Use
Case:
Law
Firm
Global firm
oCorporate restructuring
oTerm sheet creator for start‐ups with external portal
Benefit: better client service/competitive ability to attract new clients
Use
Case:
Law
Firm
Top 50 UK law firm oClients are large employers oIn‐house legal and HR challenged Benefits: browser access (no need to email sensitive documents), less typing, speed of assembly, consistency and reduced in‐house counsel review
Use
Case:
Law
Firm
o Real estate lending o Need for speed o Secured large client Benefits: no server install, no maintenance/upgrades required; client provides variable information and firm has centralized controlOther Law Firm Uses
•Corporate tax filings for one client—all 50 states
•Credit agreements
•Complex retirement plans for high net worth clients
•Civil litigation—complaints, summons, motions
•Employee on‐boarding/off‐boarding
•Franchise Agreements
•Immigration
•Leases
•Patent Applications
•Surrogate court—family law
•Sourcing/vendor agreements
Use
Case:
Global
Bank
Global bank with 10,000 users oHundreds of satellite offices globally o350,000 security/loan packages annually oExpert Loan Benefit: reduced risk and loan package generation from 3 days to <1 hour
Use
Case:
State
Government
Government agency—road‐building oCooperative Agreements with contractors Benefits: reduced complaints/legal issues; staff reduced while producing more contracts; complex contracts reduced from 3 months to 3 hoursUse
Case:
Corporate
Legal
National employer service company
o32‐page documents with 500 variables
oField reps making ad‐hoc edits to close deals
Benefits: centralized control; risk mitigation and regulator compliance
resulting in good contracts and less litigation
Use
Case:
Top
5
Insurance
Company
Auto, property and casualty insurer oAutomated all pleadings, motions, answers and cross‐claims oEliminated reliance on Visual Basic programming oDesired standard approach company‐wide Benefits: Integrated with case management to pre‐populate variables; less trouble‐shooting, less programming; better risk mitigation & compliance
•Speed + accuracy •Centralized control over documents •Works just as well for simple and complex documents •No custom programming •Risk reduction •“Killer” teaching tool for new employees and associates
Document
Automation
Benefits
•Is there a need to improve document drafting, cycle times?
Reduce signature or approval time
Reduce repetitive data entry
•Is there a need to produce more/grow a department without adding staff?
What kind of documents?
Generation of document sets required?
•Is meeting compliance/providing consistency important?
Any problems keeping up with regulations, especially by region?
Need to reduce liability?
•Analysis by practice area
Practice improvement goals? Better engagement of outside clients?
Desired turnaround?
Identify documents suitable for automation
Questions
to
Consider
Questions
to
Consider
/
Recommendations
• Is data available for integration for speed and error‐free completion?
Can data be shared among related documents?
• Can regional documents be consolidated into one interview process?
Cost of current process?
• Number of people assisted, frequency of use, cost of production, data re‐use?
• Practice areas that can be expanded without more labor?
Recommendations:
• Start with simple, straightforward documents (and allow time for adoption)
• Train sufficiently and continually
• Address “push‐back”/engage for template development – the measure of how long it takes does
not equate to value!
• Ask about opportunity cost: “how much more time could I spend on client development if I were
•“Top Five Essential Document Assembly Features in Practice Management Software” by Seth
Rowland, AmicusAttorney.com,
http://amicusattorney.com/sites/default/files/whitepapers/doc‐assembly.pdf
•“Magic in Minutes – Effective Use of Document Assembly” by Jim Calloway and Diane Ebersole,
ABA Law Practice Today
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/law_practice_today_home/law_practice_today_archi ve/september12/magic‐in‐minutes.html
•“TechNotes: Automate Your Documents” by Wells Anderson, ABA GP Solo eReport:
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/gpsolo_ereport/2012/february_2012/technotes_aut omate_documents.html
•“Document Assembly for Real Lawyers” by Joy White, AttorneyAtWork.com
http://www.attorneyatwork.com/document‐assembly‐for‐real‐lawyers/
Other
industry
white
papers/documents/blogs:
HotDocs
Portland Salt Lake CityDayton New York
Edinburgh
Atlanta London HotDocs at a Glance
HotDocs is the global leader for document assembly technology across all industries. GLOBAL SCOPE Users Worldwide 1M AWARD-WINNING TECHNOLOGY Clients Worldwide 45+ 8K Countries where HotDocs is installed Global Network of 50+ Partners
HotDocs Users
Legal Banking Insurance Government Corporate Publisher
Market
Leader
•Innovator •Domain expertise •Enterprise‐grade technology •Smallest to largest organizations •HotDocs communityHotDocs
Products
HotDocs Developer • Create templates, interviews • Used for authoring templates for all HotDocs end‐user experiences HotDocs User • Complete interviews, assemble documents • Desktop software (thick‐client) HotDocs Server • Internally hosted client‐server model • Browser based document generation (thin‐client) HotDocs Document Services• Cloud‐based web‐site • Subscribe and use HotDocs Cloud Services
• Cloud‐based web services for flexibility/integration. HotDocs Market
HotDocs
Product
Timeline
Desktop delivery / installation 1993 1999 2012 2013 2015 Self-hosted server farm Document Services Cloud Services (HotDocs hosted) HotDocs MarketHotDocs
services
•Documents to template conversion
•Desktop to Cloud template conversion
•Training
•Consultancy
•Special projects
Smart content. Smart business.
So
What
is
HotDocs
Market?
• iTunes for HotDocs templates
• A single platform offering:
–Unique publishing and ecommerce capabilities
–Legal workflow efficencies
–Seamless 3rdparty integration (e.g. Rocket Matter)
• A new web‐based, document automation platform available on any
device with a web browser, designed for end‐users across the legal
industry.
Smart content. Smart business.
How
does
hotdocs
market
work?
1. Publishers create* and upload templates to HotDocs Market. When Publishers update templates, subscribers instantly receive updates
HotDocs collects recurring subscription revenue streams and sends their share back to publishers. * created in HotDocs format
2. Publishers bundle templates into products, set pricing, subscription
periods, volume discounts. 3. Legal professionals pay a subscription fee to access products via HotDocs Market.
4. Legal & Corporate professionals use products repeatedly through HotDocs Market or through 3rdparty apps (e.g. Rocket Matter) to fulfil client & business needs.
•Desktop •Client/Server •SharePoint •Cloud •Any browser, any device
Accessible
Anywhere
Smart content. Smart business.
HotDocs
Market
Subscriber
benefits
•Content is:
oDelivered via the cloud
oAlways accurate and up‐to‐date,
oPractice area / jurisdictionally specific
•Accessible anytime, anywhere on any device
•Affordable (monthly and/or annual subscriptions)
•Efficient (fast, accurate document generation)
•Seamless integrates with 3rd party applications
Smart content. Smart business.
HotDocs
Market
focus
•Designed to serve law firms ‐focus is on small‐medium sized firms
•Offer publishers the opportunity to provide existing customers with
one‐stop cloud delivery options
•Expand publishing base beyond existing HotDocs publishers to
broaden content offering for customers
•Work seamlessly within customer workflow through 3rdparty
Smart content. Smart business.
DEMO
HotDocs
Market
status
Smart content. Smart business. 41
HotDocs Market launched February 2015:
370,000+ site visits 16 products, 6,670 templates 1,350+ subscribers 4,340+ users
Number of documents created: 51,000+
Multiple State Bar Association and commercial legal publishing partners
Q&A
Wrap
‐
up
Thank
you
for
your
time
and
the
opportunity
to
present
HotDocs
and
HotDocs
Market!
Any questions after this presentation, please contact:
Jonathan Hoy Director, Publishing Partnerships