Examen Launches Internet-Based Management Tool For The Legal Industry
Examen´s new Internet-based service is available through the company´s Automated Bill Review (ABR) product, a business solution that provides clients with an objective and consistent analysis of outside counsel legal bills. According to Johnson, clients may choose from more than 50 standardized reports and 170 customized vital management reports. These reports include the average cost per case type, regional or jurisdiction comparisons, staff or task variances, and average cost of legal services to settle a case, among a host of other vital information.
We offer clients an unparalleled data repository of information with hundreds of thousands of cases and bills reviewed and analyzed," said Johnson. "With this vast compilation of confidential data, clients can drill down to the most detailed information to better manage internal legal departments and budgets, and more effectively analyze the use of outside counsel. In addition, this data is protected by state-of-the-art security," he said. According to a 1997 Corporate Law Department Spending Survey conducted by Price Waterhouse, total spending by law departments fell slightly for the sixth straight year in a row (to 0.34 percent of total corporate revenues), demonstrating the industry´s unwavering commitment to managing expenses. According to this survey, legal departments are trying to manage costs by limiting the expansion of departments and outsourcing specialty or overflow work more effectively.
Corporate legal departments are struggling to contain costs and manage a growing number of outside legal resources," said Johnson. "For a long time, these departments have retained multiple law firms each year, yet they haven´t had access to comprehensive cost-management data. Examen is the first company in the industry to provide corporate counsels with real-time, expert expenditure information to help legal departments be more precise in managing legal matters," he said.
Examen, which first introduced the company´s comprehensive Automated Bill Review service in 1995, has led the industry in capturing objective and consistent cost and bill analysis information ever since. ABR helps clients manage costs by reviewing bills against a predetermined set of billing protocols developed by the client companies. The net result is information that allows general counsels at Fortune 1,000 companies and other organizations make more intelligent payment decisions, depict trends, manage overall and real-time costs, and improve business operations.
Examen, Inc., a privately held company, is the nation´s premier legal resource management firm and innovator of comprehensive, Internet-based management tools for analyzing and managing escalating legal costs. Founded in 1990, Examen´s mission is to set the standard for legal resource management through vision, collaboration with clients and advanced technology. Since 1995, Examen has been a member of the American Corporate Counsel Association´s Alliance Program. Examen won the 1999 Vanguard Award for Internet Innovations and earned recognition as a 1999 regional finalist for the Arthur Andersen Best Practices Award for exceeding customer expectations. Its corporate headquarters are at 3831 North Freeway Blvd., Suite 200, Sacramento, Calif., 95834. Telephone: (916) 921-4300. For additional information, please see the company´s website at www.examen.com.