Transcript Automating Firm Processes

Automating Firm Processes
Maryann Negrey
Accounting Systems Manager
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Wolf, Block, Schorr & Solis-Cohen, LLP
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Established in 1903
Main Office – Philadelphia PA
Branch Offices
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New York, NY
Harrisburg, PA
Cherry Hill, NJ
Newark, NJ
Norristown, PA
Wilmington, DE
Over 250 lawyers
Our chosen areas of the law are Corporate/Securities, Real Estate, Intellectual
Property and Information Technology, Communications, Financial Services,
Health Law, Government Assisted and Affordable Housing, Securitization,
Mortgage Conduit Lending, Tax, Business Litigation, Complex
Liability/Surety/Fidelity, Family Law, Utility Regulation, Environmental Law,
Estates and Trusts, Employment Services and Employee Benefits.
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Wolf Block Environment
• Accounting System
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Elite Enterprise 3.3
HP-Unix platform
Informix database
1 Application Server
• Records and Conflict
– Legal Key
• Marketing
– Interaction
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Presentation Overview
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Business Process Automation
Why Automate a Business Process
An Automated Process at Wolf Block
The Do's and Don'ts of Automation
Future Wolf Block Plans
Questions
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Business Process Automation
• What is it?
– It is a means to automate manual procedures.
– Provides the ability to update multiple
databases automatically
– Provides for the ability to validate
– Processes can span across departments
– Can be accessed via the intranet
– Uses e-mail
– It isn't easy
– Can change constantly
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Benefits
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Reduces paper handling
Eliminates redundant data entry
Validation
Audits
Virtual Office is a reality
Standardization
Forms contain entire process
Helps to identify more processes to automate
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
ABP at Wolf Block
• New Business Intake
• Decision based on
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Redundancy of data
Forms moving back and forth between offices
Complaints that numbers taking too long to process
No way to see where the paper form was bottlenecked.
Accounting wanted to check financials when a conflict
was introduced and not after the matter was opened.
– Firm wide benefit
• Choose Elite's Workflow Product
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Steps to Automating a Firm Process
Identify
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Identify each component of the process
Identify responsibilities
Identify the flow of the work
Identify Controls
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Identify Sub-processes
• Client Matter Intake process at WB
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lawyer bulletin
conflict check
obtaining all information
get all approvals
data to Elite
data to Legal Key
data to Marketing
Create Folders
Notification of number
update various databases
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Identify Responsibilities & Flow
• Roles
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Secretary (initiates form)
Conflicts (prepares report)
Accounting
Request Attorney (reviews conflict report)
Finalizer
• Approver Roles
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Executive Committee
Originating Attorney
Section Leader
Contingent
Securities
Special Rates Attribution Splits
Pro Bono
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Next Steps
• Review with management!
– Remember this is a simple step if you stick to
the existing manual process steps
• Identify any changes
– We added an additional approval for all new
matters – Originating and Section Leader
approval.
– Also added EDR notifications to Branch
Managers
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Testing & Training
• 1 1/2 year effort of Design, Programming and
Testing
• Training
– Records, MIS and Accounting
– Demos presented to Managing Director and Section
Leaders
– Demos presented to each Department
– Secretarial Staff training during Lunch & Learn
Workshops
– Individual training on as needed basis
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Rollout
• Pilot Phase
– Records and Accounting staff tested for 4
months
• Roll Out
– Two Months
– Philadelphia
– Each Branch
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Savings
• Direct Savings
– The accounting department saved 3 hours a day
of one clerk's time
– Also saved training time for backup when
primary was out of the office
– Records department saved about 2 hours a day
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Savings
• Indirect Savings
– Controlled process – all requests go thru conflicts first
– Single point of entry for the Bulletin Information and
the New Business Request
– Consistency of Data
– Interoffice requests were no longer an issue
– Accounting aware of potential new business early in the
process
– Conflicts report turnaround time much quicker
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Other Benefits
• Bulletin now takes 5 minutes to produce prior to
WF edits to the document were done in the
Marketing Dept.
• Prior to WF, completed requests received after
2:30 in the Records Dept were not put into Elite
until the following day.
• Eliminated lag time in updating other databases
• Opportunity for Process Improvement
• More information for conflicts captured
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Costs Other than Financial
• Time consuming Project
• Resistance to a computerized process
• Very visible application – so when there is a
problem, it isn't a secret
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Things Not to Do
• Don't under estimate the effects of change
• Don't under estimate the project time
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Things Worth Doing
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Take the time to Identify each process
Don't reengineer a process
Get management support up front
Discuss options with your analyst/programmer
Bring key users into process sooner
Break up process into do-able steps
Start with a vendor form and go from there
Do work with qualified people
Do expect the unexpected
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Future Projects
• Enhance current Client Matter Intake
– Revise form and flow based on suggestions and
policy changes
– Records
– Marketing
• Staff Time Entry
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
References
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www.e-workflow.org
Plesums, Charles Introduction to Workflow
www.staffware.com
Whitepaper: Guide to Automating Business
Processes November 2000
• www.metastorm.com
• www.adobe.com
• www.elite.com/solutions/prod-workflow.asp
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership
Questions?
Thank you for your time.
Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, A Pennsylvania Limited Liability Partnership